Scorpions

Jamal sits on the front step of Tito’s building, waiting for him to come out. Tito was supposed to sneak out to meet Jamal at 9:30, but it’s already 10. A “rail-thin wino” approaches Jamal and keeps trying to tell Jamal his “story” about how he used to be a talented basketball player, but Jamal keeps deflecting him. He doesn’t want to become like this person. Tito comes out with a bag of garbage, telling Jamal that Abuela is still awake, but he’ll sneak out as soon as he can. The “wino” lectures Jamal about not trusting Puerto Ricans. Tito finally manages to get out, but they’re going to be late for their meeting with Indian.

As they head to the park, Jamal tells Tito to hang back in the shadows with the gun. He instructs Tito to let Indian beat him up if it comes to that. He’ll run if he needs to. Two Jehovah’s Witnesses greet them at the park entrance, trying to spread God’s message.

Jamal finds Indian swinging at the playground, smoking a joint. Angel is there too. Jamal tells them that Randy wants them to get the money for his appeal and then Indian can take charge of the Scorpions. Indian says that Jamal can’t leave the gang unless he, the leader, says that he can go. Jamal pauses to look up at the stars but cannot bring himself to ask to leave, and the two older boys taunt him that he’s not so tough without his gun and his warlord. Indian and Angel start closing in on Jamal. They want to send a message to Randy by beating his younger brother up. They say that they’re going to get Mack too. They start punching and kicking Jamal. Jamal is about to pass out when he notices the flash of a knife blade. Angel is about to stab him when three loud cracks ring out. Tito runs out from the shadows and grabs Jamal. Angel is lying on the ground having almost fallen on Jamal, and Indian is crawling away. Tito and Jamal fearfully look around, but no one is coming to get them. They run out of the park where teenagers are dancing to a boombox.

Jamal and Tito run as hard and as far as they can until they collapse against a wall, out of breath. Jamal tells Tito that he saved his life, but Tito is sobbing uncontrollably. Jamal takes the gun from Tito’s hand and throws it in a dumpster, pouring more garbage over the top. Jamal tries to comfort and hold Tito while Tito vomits and lurches around. Jamal is worried that Indian, Angel, or one of the other Scorpions is going to come for them. He helps Tito into bed, where Abuela comes in to take care of him, and then runs home, fearing for his family since some of the gang know where Randy lived. He thinks about going back for the gun but is too frightened to do so. He sneaks upstairs quietly, checks that Sassy is alright, and tries unsuccessfully to sleep.

The next day, the school nurse gives Jamal a pill to treat his supposed hyperactivity. The pill makes him feel alright all day, if a bit sleepy, forgetful, and disengaged. A classmate tries to get him to fight with Dwayne again, but Jamal just laughs him off. Tito comes in at lunch, looking like he’s been crying all night. He says that there’s nothing about the shooting in the newspaper. Tito is upset and wants to come over to Jamal’s house. Jamal tries to comfort him, but he says that he can’t come over to his house because his mom’s too upset about Randy. The truth is that he’s afraid that the Scorpions will target them there.

At home, Mama tells them that the lawyer says that there’s nothing that he can do without money, but he does file a transfer request to get Randy moved to a different prison for safety. Both Mama and Sassy think that Jamal is acting strangely. Mama wants to get Jamal and Sassy away from Harlem before they get mixed up in crime too.

Mama skips a day of taking the bus to visit Randy and hauls the kids to church instead. Jamal tries to get out of it by saying that he’s not feeling well, but his mother is suspicious that he’s taking drugs. He reluctantly changes into his church clothes. He wonders if Randy is feeling scared like him. Jamal reflects that he hadn’t felt scared when he had the gun: “Maybe […] you got messed up easily when you had a gun, but at least you weren’t scared” (204).

Mack is waiting for him on the front steps of the apartment building as they exit. Mama gives Jamal five minutes to join her at church. Jamal listens in disbelief as Mack tells an elaborate story about how he shot Indian and Angel. Angel is dead from a shot in the head, and, when Indian went to the hospital to get his neck wound treated, he was taken into police custody. Now Indian is in jail with a lengthy sentence for possession.

Mack says that the Scorpions belong to him and Jamal now, but Jamal says that he “can’t carry it” (206). He tells Mack that he should be the top dog. With Mack staking claim to the shootings, the other gang members are ready to accept him as the new leader. Jamal asks if he’s going to get in trouble, but Mack says that he has too many friends in jail for Indian to be able to turn him in. He doesn’t think that the police will be after him for Angel’s death either because they don’t care when you “snuff somebody ain’t got nothing” (207).

Jamal tells Mack that he’ll tell Randy that Mack is taking over. Jamal wonders if Indian will try to make trouble for him, and Mack says that he won’t because you have to accept what goes down if you live by the rules of the street. Mack says that the Scorpions will still have Jamal’s back, and they slap hands on it as Mama comes back to get Jamal. He tells her that Mack is going to take over the Scorpions, which is what he thinks Randy would want.

Angel has a small funeral. The children in the street are talking about how cool it looked when the gang members all came out of the service in their Scorpions jackets and got into two new Lincoln cars that the crack dealers had lent them. One young boy claims to be a Scorpion.

Jamal went to visit Tito the week before the funeral and told him the update about Mack intentionally taking responsibility for the shooting to boost his street cred. Jamal realizes that Tito has been another casualty of the violence. Tito is sitting in his room alone in the dark and whispers about how he never wanted to kill anybody. Jamal tries to comfort him, but Abuela will not let him in the next time he tries to visit or speak to him on the phone because he’s “too sick.” Tito isn’t in school, and the secretary says that he’ll have to be held back a year if he doesn’t start attending.

Jamal begins sitting on the front steps of Tito’s building every afternoon. Abuela sometimes comes out when he’s there, but they don’t speak to one another. Mama is worried about Jamal and thinks that he’s using drugs. She wants to take him to North Carolina, but Jamal refuses to go.

It’s almost the end of fall semester. Jamal misses a homework assignment and is sent to Mr. Davidson’s office. The principal wants to move him to a school for “problem kids.” Jamal says that he’s fine with that, but Mrs. Rich advises him that he does not have to do what Mr. Davidson says. She says that Jamal can leave for a term and repeat this year, which she thinks would be better for him than getting mixed up with the rough students in the alternative school. Jamal shrugs but is secretly happy that she’s taking an interest in his fate.

Instead of going to school the next day, he goes to Tito’s stoop. He’s thinking about getting a job when Tito comes out. He looks pale and thin. He walks away, and Jamal follows. Jamal is concerned about Tito, but he’s also concerned about what Tito has told Abuela. Tito admits that he had to tell Abuela about the shooting because he was making himself sick by concealing the truth. She got a lawyer and made him go to the police with the story that he found a gun and used it when he was “jumped” in the park. He doesn’t think that the police cared about his crime. They charged him as juvenile and said that he didn’t have to serve any time if he went to Puerto Rico to live with his father. Tito is sobbing again. Jamal apologizes while Tito runs back into his building.

Jamal walks away, wishing that he could have said all the things he felt to Tito. However, he knows that Tito knows that Jamal often wishes that he still had the gun despite how much trouble it’s caused them. Abuela calls to let Mama know that they are leaving for Puerto Rico. Jamal decides to say goodbye on his own. Tito turns away when he sees Jamal approaching, but Jamal realizes that it’s just to hide his tears. Jamal promises to visit Tito in Puerto Rico once he gets his boat, which makes Tito smile. Jamal offers Tito the portrait that he drew of him. It’s the best work he’s ever done. Tito looks at it and hands it back, saying that he doesn’t look like that anymore. Tito runs to the cab, and Jamal watches the car pull away before walking dejectedly home. He hears someone call his name; it’s Tito. His cab is slowly coming toward Jamal. Tito runs out to hug and kiss Jamal. Tito takes the portrait from him after all, and they share one last meaningful look. Then, Tito runs back to the cab and is gone.

As Jamal begins walking again, the air suddenly feels colder. A kid that’s taller than him gives Jamal an appraising look as he passes. Jamal makes his expression so tough and hard that the kid looks away and “Jamal pulled his collar up against the wind” (216).