My Strange System

It can only be Jacq

It was a Sunday morning. Jacq woke up and yawned big before jumping out of his bed to clean up. He did a little round of push ups and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He finished brushing his teeth after about three minutes then made back for his room.

His phone rang.

Mom?

He guessed just right. That is no hard guessing though. He hardly gets any call from anyone except from Karl, and Karl had no reason to call him so early on a Sunday morning.

He picked up the phone.

"Mom?"

"No. I'm not your mom." The voice came from the other end.

Shocked, Jacq looked at his phone again to check if he was mistaken. It's still mom.

He laughed to himself.

"What have I done this time, momma?"

"Don't 'momma' me. You know what you do." Her English wasn't that fluent.

Jacq laughed out.

"It is, 'you know what you did', Mrs Albert. Correct yourself." He teased.

"I did not bring you to Boston to correct my English, young boy."

"Aha. Your bad, ma'am. You brought me to Boston and left me in Boston." He feigned annoyance. "Why did you have to leave for California?"

Mrs Albert paused before answering.

"There is something they call 'job'. Have you heard of it?"

"No. This is the first time."

"Wow. My baby still have a lot to learn."

Jacq laughed again.

They continued talking for about 10 more minutes amidst japes and teasing. This is the relationship between mother and son. It grew even stronger after Albert's death.

Normally, it was supposed to be so because she is the only parent he has left. He's not letting anything hinder the connection he has with his mother, considering how his happy moments with his father was suddenly cut short through his death.

"... Nah, I don't miss you, ma."

"You will miss me when you need your pay check again." Jacqueline replied.

"Pay check? I'm not working for you..." Jacq grinned.

"I hear you. Bye for now, my little baby." She made to end the call. "Say hi to Karl."

"Bye mom."

Jacq dropped his phone and went to his room for his clothes. He whistle a tune from the mobile game, Dead Effect as he searched his wardrobe.

He shuffled through his clothes, looking for that hoodie and pants he never wore. Karl had invited him to the Wedemeyerr skate park today and he isn't going there to be laughed at, as a nerd.

After putting on his ash coloured baggy pants and his favorite black hoodie with his headphone safely strapped around his neck, he stepped out of his apartment, out into the street.

It took him about 20 minutes to get to the park. He passed by Briggton High and a short while later, he arrived at The Wedemeyerr Skate Park.

Before even coming close to the park proper, Jacq had heard the rhythmic whirring sounds of skateboard wheels on concrete. It was hypnotic, just like in the games.

He passed a group of boys at the entrance. The girls with them said something that made them laugh. One of the girls attends Briggton High and he recognized her at once.

Might have my revenge later. He thought jokingly to himself.

He passed by them unfazed.

"Unbothered, cool as a cucumber, like a skater rolling down the hill with a rumbler..." Jacq sang a rhyme to himself as he stepped on.

"Haha... I'm the next big thing in the rap industry. Wait, what is a rumbler? You suck, Jacq.

He kept on finding new words to replace the "rumbler" blunder he thought he made. Just then, another group of boys appeared before him. About eight of them, each one wearing black hoodies and ash coloured cargo pants like his. They all carried black skate boards with a fiery logo at the top of the board.

The one who who seems to have a boss's aura to him walked a few paces faster and stopped right in front of Jacq. He has a slim face but a wide body. A chestnut coloured hair hides the left part of his face, and Jacq perceived a nice smell of Cologne emitting from him, being so up close to him.

"Hey fella. What do you think you're doing?" He asked menacingly with a slight swagger in the way he moves his body when he spoke.

"Forming raps, you?" Jacq replied unblinking.

"Me? I'm about to whoop your ass."

"What have I done, big guy?" Jacq asked another question, keeping his composure. He knew better than to start a fight with them.

Yet, it seems this gang are all about the fight.

"What you doing up here, all dressed in hoodie and pants the same colour as ours? You have a death wish?"

Consequently, Jacq's fashion idea had provoked The Fire Kindlers, as they are popularly known.

The Fire Kindlers has been known for their trademark dress code and anybody coming to the park has a good reason not to dress in black and ash. This gang has a violent nature to them, and sometime past, they went on turf wars with other gangs.

The turf wars all happened in the past but the violence they exhibit still remains.

After explaining the reason for their confrontation to Jacq, one of them grabbed him roughly by the hood.

"What can you do, son? Where's your board? I'll let you leave after playing 'the game of SKATE." The chestnut haired guy edged even closer.

"Whah… what is that?" Jacq was puzzlss.

Their leader half turned back to his gang. "God, he's a fool," he smirked. "Get a board, land your tricks. For every trick you fail to land, you'll get a letter. S-K-A-T-E, boy."

Jacq panicked.

Then, he straightened up. He's not going to give them the satisfaction they wanted.

"Truth be told, I can't skate..." He was cut short.

"You're gonna regret this, boy." Big guy shook his head in fake pity and the gang all laughed.

"... But do you know what else I can do? Jacq went on like he hasn't been interrupted. "I CAN GAME."

The gang stopped laughing. Chestnut haired bent down a little and squinted.

"Get me Cyrax, Nick," he commanded without turning. The one bearing Nick dropped his skate and stepped a foot on it. He kicked the ground twice and off he went.

"Who's Cyrax?" Jacq whispered.

"The one you're going up against, boy." He pointed to his left. "The game centre is over there. Let's go."

Shit, where is Karl? It's most likely I'm not winning this? Jacq, you're a jerk...

Aha, another rhyme.

*******************************

Karl sat on the bare concrete floor after more than an hour of skating. A pair of boys, Maxx and Kiwi sat opposite him and they gisted about who the greatest skater is. The three boys agreed on Nyjah Huston because he's the closest they know of modern skaters.

Karl, expecting Jacq to show up got tired of waiting and prepared to track back home. It's not disappointing, though. He half believed his friend won't show up. The four walls will always confine him, poor dude.

Just then, a set of boys from his group training ran up in their direction, panting. Two of them stopped to talk to Karl.

"Guess what guys..." This new guy is short of breath.

"You got admitted to Harvard?" Karl guessed jokingly. The others laughed.

The second runner continued. "There's a new guy in the gaming centre..." He paused to catch some breath. "He beat Cyrax real bad..."

The first guy went on. "Cyrax is in tears at the moment. He has not lost a game in a long while... He smashed the two game pads. He was about to smash the screen before he was stopped by the Fire Kindlers.

They continued their running after passing the message.

"Any idea who that is, Karl?" Maxx asked.

Karl got up, dusted his butt and picked up his skateboard. He smiled to himself.

"It can only be Jacq."