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Robin: A Young Adult Novel Sneak Peek

Robin: A Young Adult Novel Sneak Peek


Prologue: Robin and the Band of Thieves

 

Me and my niggas tryna get it, ya bish. Hit this house lick tell me is you with it, ya bish. Home invasion was persuasive. From nine to five, I know it’s vacant, ya bish. Dreams of living life like rappers do, I heard Kendrick Lamar rap on my cell phone’s alarm as I quickly opened my eyes. The sun rays peeking through the blinds over the window to the left of my bed symbolized that today was going to be a good day. It was late summer, the weekend before we started school, and it was going to be the day my crew and I pulled off the biggest job we had done in the past three months. I looked toward the ceiling and flashed my pearly whites to express my excitement. I had carefully created a fool-proof plan that was going to set my crew, my family, and me up for the rest of the year at least, and I was only eleven years old. I guess it did help that I was a tech-savvy genius who had the mental capacity of a healthy thirty-year-old as my Uncle Buck would say. I sat up in my twin-sized bed and stretched the night slumber off my body. Then, I picked up my phone and slid the touch screen button to the left to dismiss my alarm. After that, I threw my covers off me, got out of my bed, and quickly made it up, so I could go to the bathroom before I had to fight my brothers for it. I was the middle child of seven kids, and I was the only girl, so I caught hell getting into the bathroom in the mornings. It was seven o’clock on the dot, so I knew I only had about an hour and a half before my parents and my two oldest brothers woke up for the day.

 

Before I could even get to my room door, my cell phone went off. I picked it up and a message from my cousin and best friend City was on my home screen. City was my right-hand man and the nucleus of our crew. She kept us together and on track when my ambitions were bigger than our capabilities. Sometimes I would forget that the rest of the crew’s brain didn’t operate like mine, and I would bite off more than they could chew, so I needed her by my side to keep the kleptomaniac in me in check. I tapped on her photo icon to open the message.

U ready to b the modern-day Robin Hood? I shook my head as I read her message. I hated it when she compared me to Robin Hood. Robin Hood was just a common thief with a savior complex. I was a revolutionary. I chewed on my lip as I texted her just that.

Lol u watch Hidden Colors twice and suddenly ur a revolutionary? Negative. I sucked my teeth at her for trying to play me.

Wuh u doin up so early anyway?

Wuh u mean? Today is an important day. You talked to Dizzy yet?

No, u know Dizzy don’t wake up this early. Shoot, I’m shocked u awake.

Ye have little faith in me boe. I’m ready. Locked and loaded.

You know the rules, E. No guns. My plan is all we need.

Ok, Rob. I got u.

Aight. I put my phone on the charger and finally headed out of my room. As soon as I took a step outside my bedroom, my oldest brother June ran toward the bathroom. I took off running behind him, but he beat me to it and slammed the door in my face. I sucked my teeth and lightly kicked the bottom of the door as he laughed at me from the other side of it.

 

“Dammit June! I got sump’n important to do today,” I yelled quietly, trying not to wake the rest of my brothers up.

 

“Wuh you say little girl,” I heard my mother say from behind me. I swiftly turned toward her.

 

“I said dang it,” I lied with an innocent face. She squinted her eyes at me and bounced my whining baby brother in her arms as she scanned me for any sign of deception.

 

“Mmhmm. You bettuh not be cussin’ in my house,” she warned. I walked closer to her and gently kissed my baby brother on the forehead. Then, I got on my tip toes and kissed my mother’s cheek.

 

“Good mornin’, Ma. Whatchu’ doin’ up so early,” I asked her. She usually didn’t wake up until seven-thirty. She was a beautician and owner of a hair salon, so she woke up early to open her shop.

 

“Yo’ stubborn little brother bin’ givin’ me hell these past few days. I think e comin’ down wit’ sump’n ‘cause e bin’ fussy and a lil’ warm to the touch,” she explained. I rubbed my brother’s back while she rocked him back and forth. He stopped whining a few seconds later.

 

“Thank you, Princess! You always seem to calm the two of us down,” she told me with a faint grateful smile. I returned her smile and scanned her face. Her enchanting green eyes were puffy like she wasn’t getting much sleep, and her usual glowing tawny skin was pale and dry looking. She had her coarse jet-black hair pulled into a low ponytail instead of her usual press and bouncy curls. She was a hairstylist, so she was expected to always look good. It wasn’t like she needed the extra bells and whistles. My mother was a beautiful Gullah woman who favored the actress K. D. Aubert. She was five feet and ten inches tall just like her, with long beautiful legs like a model. She had a slim curvy figure, a dainty nose, pouty pink lips, a slim oval face with high cheekbones, and a slim jawline. I was sure that her looks were what initially attracted my father to her. That was also why he had impregnated her four times. Let him tell it.

 

My oldest brother June and I had the same mother and father, but our father and his wife Giselle raised us. As far as I was concerned, she was my mother since my egg donor abandoned me at birth. My second youngest brother Rico was adopted when he was a newborn. Ryan, Rilo, Remy, and Ramiro were my father and my adoptive mother's sons together. We were a big family living in a small four-bedroom apartment with a living room, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. Poor was an understatement when it came to the Wylly family, but my father and mother worked their behinds off to make sure we got what we needed.

 

“Did I hear you say you had sump’n to do today? Wuh so important dat you up at seven in the mornin’,” she questioned as she slowly sat down in the recliner that was in the living room of our apartment.

 

“Nutt’n much. I’m jis’ hangin’ out wit’ City dem today as usual. Jis’ wanted to get in the bathroom b’fo the boys got up. You know dey tek over ev’rythin’ when dey up,” I half lied. She stared at me for a while as she processed what I said.

 

“Oh okay. Well, you can use our bathroom. Yo’ Daddy ain’t wake up yet, so it’s free. Jis’ keep it down so you won’t wake ‘em,” she told me. I nodded at her and quickly spun around so I could head back to my bedroom to get my toothbrush and rag. Then, I went into my parents’ bathroom and washed up quickly. By the time I was done, my dad was still asleep. I was glad because I didn’t want to see him before I left the house to do what I was planning to do. My mom was less strict than he was about knowing my whereabouts, so I wouldn’t have been able to leave the house without telling him exactly where I was going. It was hard for me to lie to him, so I was happy that he was still asleep. I quickly tiptoed out of their room and headed to my bedroom. Once I was dressed, I grabbed my phone off the charger, got my NIKE book bag off the coat hanger on my room door, and kissed my mom on her forehead before I headed out of the apartment.

 

Dizzy lived on the other side of the Frierson Home Apartment Complex, so I had about a ten-minute walk to get to his place. My father joked that Dizzy’s mama chose to live on the opposite side of us to keep him away from my brothers and me so we wouldn’t corrupt him. She hated my father for some reason he wouldn’t disclose to me, but I knew there had to be something deeper than what my dad was letting on. Our parents used to be friends when they were in school like we were, but they grew apart as they got older. I just hoped that never happened to us. I couldn’t imagine not being friends with City, Dizzy, Jazz, or Redd anymore. City and Jazz were my cousins, so I had known them since we were newborn babies, but I met Redd when we were five years old, and I met Dizzy when I was nine years old, and he was ten. His mom and dad were originally from Kingstree, but they moved to Memphis when Dizzy’s older brother Kentrell was three years old. Dizzy and his sister Michel’le were born and raised in Memphis. However, they moved back to Kingstree two years ago. Dizzy told me that his dad left home one day and never returned. His mother waited for his father for over a year before she decided to move back home.

 

When I finally got to Dizzy’s apartment, I walked around to the right side where his room window was located. It was still early, so I didn’t want his mother to be upset at me for knocking on her door this time of morning. She already acted like she didn’t like me, so I tried to avoid making her mad as much as I could. Before I could knock on Dizzy’s window, my cell phone went off. It was a text message from my little brother Remy.

Y u ain’t woke me up? U kno I want n Rob.

Idk bout that Rem.

Come on Rob. I promise I won’t get n da way. I exhaled deeply as I eyed his message. I was apprehensive about letting him get down with my crew because he was younger than the rest of us. However, since I let him help us last time, I may as well let him be a permanent member.

Aight Rem. Meet me @ City house in 20. Don’t get caught leavin’ either.

Aight big sis. I promise I won’t. I shook my head while I slid my cell phone back into my pocket. Then, I walked up to Dizzy’s room window and lightly tapped on it.

 

 After about two minutes of knocking, I didn’t get a response, so I knocked harder as I said, “Romeo! Romeo! Where art thou, Romeo?” Then, I paused for a few seconds to see if he heard me. Shortly after, he came to the window and pulled the curtain back. I smiled as my eyes landed on his fresh smiling face.

 

Once he raised the window, he said, “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” The smile on my face shined brighter than the yellow summer sun. Dizzy and I greeted each other this way every time we met at his or my window. It was an inside joke he started since our families had beef like Romeo and Juliet’s families. His mother acted as if she hated my father, and as a result, she didn't like him hanging with me. The beef was mostly one-sided, but my parents added fuel to the fire sometimes, even though they didn’t have an issue with Dizzy and me being friends. Dizzy’s mother saw me as trouble, and I was always getting Dizzy in trouble, so her hate was warranted.

 

“What’s up witchu’ Pretty Black,” he asked me, making me blush. That was one of the many nicknames he gave me because of my beautiful radiant dark skin. He never missed a moment to remind me of how beautiful I was.

 

“Hopefully ‘dis job we ‘bout to pull off. How long it gon’ tek you to get ready,” I inquired as I averted my eyes from his abs. He was shirtless, and it was distracting me. Dizzy and I were best friends, but there were times when he made me feel things I couldn’t make sense of. City would always joke that we were in love with each other, but we were just friends. Besides, I didn’t think Dizzy saw me in that way.

 

“Gimme ten minutes,” he told me. I nodded.

 

“Aight, I’ma walk to Redd’s house to see if he ready,” I told him. He rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Dizzy and Redd had a rivalry ever since I introduced them to each other two years ago. I guess it was a boy thing, but if it weren’t for me the two of them would have been enemies for sure. Redd only lived a few apartments down from Dizzy, so it didn’t take me long to get to his house. Before I could even get in his front yard, he was coming out of the door, looking like he was ready for trouble. Redd was the troublemaker out of the gang. He was always getting into something with or without me, unlike Dizzy.

 

“Rob, my favorite thief. Wuh up witchu’,” Redd greeted me. I smirked.

 

“Wuh up Joker? Whatchu’ gettin’ into,” I asked him.

 

“Trouble, hopefully,” he responded. I sent all of my crew members a message a few days ago telling them that I had a job for us, but I hadn’t told them the plan. That was how we usually did things. I made a blueprint in my head. Then, on the day of the job, I gave everyone their roles, and we carried things out like a well-oiled machine. To everyone else, we may have looked like the typical group of little brats, but we were capable of doing things most kids couldn't do.

 

“I see you still hangin’ wit’ the ops,” Redd said to me as he stared behind me. I looked back to see Dizzy walking over to us. Then, I turned my attention back to Redd with a frown on my face.

 

“The ops,” I questioned. He always had some disrespectful name for Dizzy but calling him an op was out of pocket even for him. Besides, Dizzy was the most loyal soldier on my team. When I needed protection, he used his iron fists to defend me. Plus, he was the only one out of the crew who completely understood me, so he was my confidante. I shared things with him that I didn’t even share with City. Dizzy was the only kid I knew who stimulated me mentally, so I always felt seen when it came to him.

 

“You ain’t heard? His Pops ratted on Big Rob back in the day. Dat’s why dey left all those years ago,” Redd explained. I glanced over my shoulder at Dizzy through furrowed brows as I processed Redd’s words. I had never heard about that from anyone else. Our parents were at odds, but my father hadn’t told me why, so I didn’t put one hundred percent trust in Redd’s words, especially since I knew he didn’t like Dizzy.

 

“Aye Rob, don’t we need a car to-” Dizzy’s voice trailed off, but he stopped in his tracks once he realized I was staring at him.

 

“Wuh? Why you lookin’ at me like dat? Wuh ‘dis hatin’ nigga said to you now,” Dizzy questioned all at once. I shook my head to escape the thoughts Redd put into my mind.

 

“Nutt’n. Don’t worry ‘bout it. June drivin’ us ‘dis time,” I finally responded to his question. Dizzy stared at Redd for a few seconds as he tried to figure out what just happened. Redd smirked at him to taunt him, but Dizzy ignored him and turned his attention back to me.

 

“You sho’? You know I’ll get a car for you if you want me to,” he assured me.

 

“Nah. We don’t need dat type of liability wit’ a job ‘dis big. Let’s jis’ go to City’s house to meet ev’rybody else,” I told him. Then, I headed toward City’s house while Dizzy followed me.

 

“I’ll meet y’all dey,” Redd called out behind us, stopping me in my tracks.

 

“Whatchu’ mean you’ll meet us dey. ‘Dis a six-man job. We can’t afford to not be on one accord Redd,” I yelled out toward him. He waved me off and disappeared inside his apartment. I exhaled deeply and kept walking.

 

“If he don’t show up, we can do it ourselves. We don’t need dat snake anyway,” Dizzy remarked. I shook my head.

 

“Dat’s crazy ‘cause he feels the same way ‘bout you,” I mumbled. What Redd told me was on my mind heavy, but I knew Dizzy wasn’t a reflection of his father’s actions, even if what Redd told me was true.

 

“Wuh?”

 

“Nutt’n Dizzy,” I responded as I kept walking. Dizzy walked ahead of me and blocked my way. I avoided eye contact with him as we stood still. I shouldn’t have let what Redd said bother me, and I honestly didn’t know why it was.

 

“Wuh dat nigga say ‘bout me, Rob,” he questioned. I stared at the ground to avoid his eyes. Dizzy stepped in closer to me and raised my face toward him with his pointer finger. We locked eyes for a few seconds as my chest heaved. I hated staring him into his eyes because he was my kryptonite, and I believed he knew it.

 

“I ain't know wuh jis’ happ’n Robin, but you know me. I ain’t never gave you a reason to doubt me. Dat’s more than I can say ‘bout dat Joker lookin’ nigga. He always dippin’ off by himself right b’fo’ we do a job. You can’t trust him, Rob. I don’t even know why you keep lettin’ him come around,” Dizzy said. I swallowed hard as I stared into his eyes.

 

“We don’t have time fuh ‘dis right now, Dizzy. We gotta stay focused so ev’rything can go right,” I told him. Ever since I spoke to City this morning, I had this nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen today. I tried to ignore it though.

 

“You right, but jis’ remember… you my Juliet, Rob. I would never do nutt’n to betray you. No matter wuh nobody says. I got yo’ back forever,” Dizzy assured me after he lowered his hand from my face. I nodded at him. There was so much irony in that statement being that Romeo and Juliet’s story ended in tragedy.

 

“I know,” I responded. Then, we continued to City’s apartment. When we got there, City, Jazz, and Remy were there waiting for us.

 

“Weh Redd at,” City inquired.

 

“He said he’ll meet us dey,” I replied. City frowned but didn’t say anything.

 

“June said he’ll be out in a minute,” Remy informed me. Jazz was quiet, but that was normal for her. Every time we got ready to do a job, she got nervous. Unlike the rest of us, she wasn’t a rule breaker. We used her as a decoy most of the time when we needed someone to bat their eyelashes and sweet-talk us in or out of trouble. She was beautiful and a people person, so people loved her. She and I were the same in that way, but I was asocial, so I left it up to her to use her charm when need be. As if on cue, my brother June pulled up to City’s apartment in a black van. He worked for our uncle’s mechanic shop, so he had access to any vehicle he wanted as long as he brought it back the way he got it.

 

He winded his window down, and said, “Hurry up and get in,” as he scanned the area. I knew he didn’t want to be seen with us in case things went left. The five of us got in the van, and he pulled off like someone was chasing us.



A book cover of Robin: A Young Adult Novel
Robin: A Young Adult Novel Book Cover

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