#ConfessionFriday
I ran away from a fight because dude bopped me on my head and I aint know what to do!
Ok. I was 11. Homie was like 14. He was definitely bigger than me!. We were at the basketball court, which is where I knew him from. After some games, I noticed my bike wasn't parked where I left it. So I stopped playing and looked around for it. It was nowhere! So, I was like... dang, somebody stole my bike. So, I checked the boy's bathroom. No bike. Then something told me to check the girl's bathroom. Lo and behold, I could see my bike tires under the door in the stall. Apparently, someone tried to hide it in there. I didn't know who did it or if the person was still at the court, because I didn't know how long it had been in there. So, I grab it and walk out with it. As soon as I get outside the bathroom and back onto the blacktop, Homie starts running toward me and yelling "Yo put MY bike back."
I genuinely thought he was joking.... because I've balled with this guy before. So I thought it was like a prank. So I said "Naw yo. This my bike."
He got over to me and grabbed the bike and jerked it toward himself, and said "Nah, I'm taking this bike. It's mine."
I started to realize he was serious. So I pulled the bike back toward myself and demanded him to let go. So we pulled the bike back & forth a couple times and now I'm heated, cuz Homie is really trying to debo my bike from me. So I let go of the bike and pushed him as hard as I could. He barely moved. (Remember, he was a lot bigger than me).
<SIDEBAR: At this point of my life, fighting was not new to me. I had been in several fights. I was ready for this, so I thought. I had a simple fighting strategy that always worked: I push first, they push back but I'm prepared for it so I brace myself for the push back and cock my hand back as they push so that when my leg locks to catch the pushback, I can come forward again and punch with magnificent force. And when they lose balance and stumble back, I can keep the attack going.> That WAS the plan!!
So anyhoo, I pushed dude. He basically stood in place. He pushed back, as I anticipated. I braced myself, I had my leg ready to catch my starting position, I cocked my fist back, then boom I threw a straight punch to his chest. He was a lot taller than me so I didn't even aim for the face. But I figured when I punched him in the chest, he would fall back and then I can take it to him. BUT, my punch didn't seem to phase him. So... immediately I knew this was not a good sign. But, I was still ready knuckle up with the dude.... cuz I've never been a punk. But then he hit me with an okey doke that totally changed the game...
He didn't just punch me or start swinging the way I knew how to fight. Homie literally did bopped me on top of my head. By "bop" I mean... his fist was vertical and his swing came down on my head.... you know like that "Whack-A-Mole" game... like if you play that game with your fist... THAT's how he hit me. And then... using the same hand, after he bopped me, he hook-punched me on my cheek in one fell swoop.
At that point I gave up. I quickly ran a few feet over to grab my bike (which was laying on the ground now) and started to run away with it. Homie started to chase me but one of his friends yelled "Leave that kid alone mane." Homie said "He punched me!". His friend said "You tried to take his bike. He should've punched you. Leave him alone." One of my boys from my neighborhood, who saw the whole thing cuz he was sitting on the bench watching us, yelled to me "Jaye. Put the bike down and go back and fight him. I've seen you fight. Don't run, you aint no punk." I screamed back at my friend to "Shut up!" And when I got enough distance away, I hopped on the bike and rode it home.
*When I think about it now... Homie's friend was the one that saved me. Haha. No way I would have been able to outrun Homie while carrying my back. I'm not sure what I was thinking by even trying to run. BUT... at the end of the day... he may have bopped me on the head, he may have punched me in the jaw... but he DID NOT steal my bike!!
**Btw... We got cool after that. The next time I saw him at the ball court, he said I had heart and picked me on his team. We had a cordial relationship from then on.