Crossing...

The Line
written by Just K

You ever seen violent acts stem from dudes playing the dozens?

It’s an interesting thing. I’ve seen it happen before, but I think I might be watching it take place right now, actually. This guy named Curtis walks into the room and clearly this other guy - let’s call him Ricky – kinda knows him, but doesn’t like him for whatever reason (probably something stupid like, “he looked at me wrong one day” or something like that). So anyway, as soon as Curtis walks in, Ricky starts talking sh*t about him. It started simple enough. Something stupid like…

Ricky: “Ahhhhhhh! Look at dude with his fake butters. With yo bootleg, margarine-ass Thinberlands.

Simple, right? Unwarranted, but nothing too crazy. I mean, it did receive a response from the people sitting around him, but if it’s a response he wanted, he got it from Curtis.

Curtis: “N***a, my margarines cost more than that small-ass shoebox you live in. My margarines came out of a bigger box than your whole apartment. As for fake, you the last person that needs to call someone fake. You fake like you rich, but your baby mama say you not.

Crowd: Ooooooooooooh!

Ok. Initially Ricky started going on Curtis for absolutely no reason whatsoever. The fact that he tried to blindside him was dirty, but Curtis decided to turn the heat up a few degrees. Considering these dudes have no real history, but still don’t like each other, I can’t see why things would go in an uglier direction; I’m still pretty sure it will. The crowd is loving it, though. Everyone moves in a little closer to hear who’s going to say what next. Apparently this is what we call entertainment.

Ricky: Shoebox? My shoebox of an apartment is worth more than your f****t son’s life.

Crowd: Oh sh*t! Did he just say that?

You know that imaginary line that exists when people are talking trash about other people? You know the line. If not, here’s a quick definition. I got it straight out of Webster’s, swear to goodness.

THE LINE – an imaginary boundary separating allowable topics of conversation from those that should remain off limits.

Well, Ricky officially crossed that line. The whole crowd is itching to see how Curtis will retaliate.

Curtis: You talking about my son, though? Aight, I got something for you. Matter of fact, I got something for you and your thick little Arab buddy.

(The crowd slowly shifts its collective gaze from Ricky and Curtis to Ricky’s chubby buddy. As Curtis begins to reach in his pocket, the crowd’s attention shifts back to the main event).

Would you believe that Curtis reaches in his coat pocket and pulls out a video camera with footage of chubby buddy’s momma at her job!? The audience that has now inexplicably grown in size is huddled around the camera in stunned silence. That imaginary line has been completely eradicated. Now there’s no telling where things will go from this point. Curtis sits back and smiles. Ricky matches Curtis’s cool demeanor with a nonchalant attitude of his own.

Ricky: Whateva, playa. That ain’t fazing nobody. If you was gonna do something for real you would’ve been did it, right homey?

Ricky looks at his chubby buddy for fearless companionship. Chubby Buddy meets his friend’s stare with a solemn gaze. Chubby Buddy is clearly not happy with the turn of events, but he’s fully aware that Ricky will do something in retaliation. What Ricky has planned, Chubby Buddy doesn’t know. Neither does the rest of the crowd, which is visibly uncomfortable at this point. Memories of line-steppers gone are just as present as the footage of Chubby Buddy’s moms. A very real fear that a simple game of the dozens could lead to violence is floating around the room. Some audience members turn away, refusing to relive a situation they lived through in the mid-90s. Others are screaming for more. Some continue to watch, knowing that only Ricky and Curtis can prevent things from going any further. It doesn’t look like Curtis will stop, especially since he just brought his boy Lloyd in to talk sh*t about Ricky. No one is sure if Ricky will either. I’m hoping that this stops before it goes too far, but you never know. I’ve seen it go too far before.