THE MOMENT
"You mean me, Foley?" Derrick hadn't actually joined the gang yet; but, he was already starting to feel like it was a bad idea. However, in daily life, it often felt like not being in a gang was a worse idea. Just being a member offered minimal protection that made life a little easier without being hassled regularly. A friend of a friend had connections to the most popular gang and it didn't take long to get an invite. Derrick found himself in front of a lanky high school senior at least 8 years his junior, and it only made his nerves worse. He was already anxious about whatever mystery initiation they would force; but, teenagers were known for being more than unreasonable.
While waiting to be addressed, Derrick witnessed a conversation. Another, older, gang member was reporting to Foley. They used words like 'turf' and 'war' and their annoyance seemed to flare as Foley kept stealing glances at Derrick. Finally, he looked at the older man and nodded at him.
"We'll take our new member. Let's go defend our turf," he gestured to the side with his head. But, Derrick stayed put, unsure. "Yeah, I mean you," he added after Derrick's question. "You came lookin' to join, yeah? This here is a ready-made initiation opportunity," he patted Derrick on the shoulder once before pushing forward with force.
"Right..," Derrick walked with them. The small crowd of eight males traveled five blocks across town and Derrick had to admit it felt nice. He was easily the oldest of the group at 26 years old. The rest were highschoolers with a couple of college kids. Regardless of their ages, the numbers were the magic. He wasn't afraid of being assaulted at every corner anymore. It only happened to him once when he was younger; but, it left him shaken. Now, he felt strong again. He might have been marching to his death; but, he took pride in knowing he was facing it head-on.
Derrick was surprised when they entered the derby park. He'd seen some exciting roller derby matches on TV. He appreciated the sport but never learned how to skate. The park had quite a crowd with all four derby tracks surrounded by people of all ages. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he thought of the violence that was about to happen. But, he was surprised again when Foley led the group directly to one of the tracks. The strangers parted as Foley and Derrick's group arrived and the gang walked straight ahead to a group of teenage girls.
"Britt?"Foley stopped suddenly once they were close enough to recognize each other. A girl with twin afro-puffs on her head looked up from her node, then scowled at Foley.
"Yes, it's me," she answered. Then, she dropped her gaze to the gadget in her hand again.
"Hold on...," Foley sighed, then he walked his gang back a few steps away.
"You didn't tell me Britt was on the team!" Foley growled at the other member that made the report.
"I didn't know! It doesn't matter! We just gotta lose, what difference does it make??"
"Lose?" Derrick voiced the question; but, it was ignored.
"It matters," Foley answered. "I'm playing this match, we're not losing to Britt."
"But, we gotta!" the teen protested. "Aury said...,"
"You already told me," Foley shook his head. "I don't care...," he walked forward toward the group of girls again. "...trust me, Britt doesn't need a confidence boost
323...," he added. The rest of the group walked forward behind him; but, Derrick stopped one of them. He tapped the informer's shoulder before he walked away.
"Hey,..sorry.. what's going on?" he asked. "I heard the words 'turf war' a lot."
"It's a game mode," he nodded at Derrick. "The competitors bet with city blocks and/or resources. This match was supposed to be us taking a dive."
"So... Foley isn't in danger..?" Derrick asked. He wasn't sure he solved everything yet; but, he felt he understood more of what was happening. The gangs used roller derby as their battleground, and apparently losing was a valid option sometimes. At least he understood how he got roped into it by chance.
"No,.. he is..," the informant chuckled. "He underestimates his sister too much; Britt might just embarrass him in front of his gang."