The Circle: Rain's Story Read Online Free
Author: Treasure E. Blue
Baltimore. Fascinated, studying the local’s criminal activities that bustled around the clock.
In Baltimore the wrecks stretch for blocks in every direction. Shattered windows, buckling walls, sometimes just a façade, propped up by the houses on either side, perfect cover or tons of getaways, in case of emergency. It was like a stage play for her, and the dealers, junkies, prostitutes and police, were all the supporting cast. She had a front seat, and a panoramic view, from her third window, front and back. She took in everything from murders, drug sales, fights, robberies, and police chases. It was there, she learned the games referred to as “ghetto politics 101.”
Mesmerized by the goings on, Rain and her twin Dayvid would wager small bets on which crew had the better product. Seated along the side of the full-size bed in a room Rain shared with her two younger sisters, the twins watched the junkies come and go and tallied the number sold by each crew.
* * *
Almost two years ago to the day, siblings Rain, twin brother Dayvid, Fallon, 9 and Autumn, 7, lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the expressway. Although only ten at the time; Rain became the pillar for her younger siblings, the importance of keeping families together. She had no other choice.
Fortunately for them their Aunt Rachel, who everyone called Nanny, legally adopted them. Sparing the foursome from the foster home system, who nine times out of ten would have divided the four young Porters. Rachel, her mother’s younger sister, was far from the traditional caretaker. She was a natural free-spirit, someone who wasn’t weighed down by the troubles of everyday life and was always herself regardless of the situation living life to the fullest.
Often times, you’d think she was merely a big sister. All the children loved her for that, especially Rain and Dayvid because they could come and go as they please to do whatever scams to earn money to take care of their younger sisters and their household. In a year’s time, they learned a lot from their dear auntie. She passed down to them her unquenchable passion to steal. Aunt Nanny was a thief, plain and simple and she was good at it too. She spent summers up in New York during the old Times Square era, and her cousins taught her the hustle at an early age.
It was only natural that Nanny taught her nephew and nieces, every single one of them, down to the little sisters, everything there was to know about the life of a booster, a pickpocket artist, the game, a short con, a long con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko, a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. She even taught them how to spot the best marks or suckers, their intended victims. They did quite well as a family team. With all that, and though she had an aunt who took care of them on paper, a show for public and government purposes, Rain still took full responsibility for all of her siblings in every sense , and Nanny never interfered.
CHAPTER 4
A natural introvert, Rain had antisocial behavior with anyone outside her immediate family. Though she still struggled with her sexual identity, she knew for a fact that she was gay, even at that age. Rain was high yellow and wise beyond her years for a twelve year old. She was taller than most girls her age: 5’ 8”, rail thin, flat chested, and looked like a boy. With her braids, baggy clothing, made it virtually impossible to tell otherwise. Intrigued by the thrill she was receiving under the tutelage of her aunt, it became a silent addiction to her, and wanted a bigger challenge, much bigger
She became obsessed with all the commerce of the drug trade and sat for hours, writing down the exact time, day, movement, and drop offs of the biggest drug crew in West Baltimore— who happened to live directly across from them and gained valuable
In Baltimore the wrecks stretch for blocks in every direction. Shattered windows, buckling walls, sometimes just a façade, propped up by the houses on either side, perfect cover or tons of getaways, in case of emergency. It was like a stage play for her, and the dealers, junkies, prostitutes and police, were all the supporting cast. She had a front seat, and a panoramic view, from her third window, front and back. She took in everything from murders, drug sales, fights, robberies, and police chases. It was there, she learned the games referred to as “ghetto politics 101.”
Mesmerized by the goings on, Rain and her twin Dayvid would wager small bets on which crew had the better product. Seated along the side of the full-size bed in a room Rain shared with her two younger sisters, the twins watched the junkies come and go and tallied the number sold by each crew.
* * *
Almost two years ago to the day, siblings Rain, twin brother Dayvid, Fallon, 9 and Autumn, 7, lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the expressway. Although only ten at the time; Rain became the pillar for her younger siblings, the importance of keeping families together. She had no other choice.
Fortunately for them their Aunt Rachel, who everyone called Nanny, legally adopted them. Sparing the foursome from the foster home system, who nine times out of ten would have divided the four young Porters. Rachel, her mother’s younger sister, was far from the traditional caretaker. She was a natural free-spirit, someone who wasn’t weighed down by the troubles of everyday life and was always herself regardless of the situation living life to the fullest.
Often times, you’d think she was merely a big sister. All the children loved her for that, especially Rain and Dayvid because they could come and go as they please to do whatever scams to earn money to take care of their younger sisters and their household. In a year’s time, they learned a lot from their dear auntie. She passed down to them her unquenchable passion to steal. Aunt Nanny was a thief, plain and simple and she was good at it too. She spent summers up in New York during the old Times Square era, and her cousins taught her the hustle at an early age.
It was only natural that Nanny taught her nephew and nieces, every single one of them, down to the little sisters, everything there was to know about the life of a booster, a pickpocket artist, the game, a short con, a long con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko, a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. She even taught them how to spot the best marks or suckers, their intended victims. They did quite well as a family team. With all that, and though she had an aunt who took care of them on paper, a show for public and government purposes, Rain still took full responsibility for all of her siblings in every sense , and Nanny never interfered.
CHAPTER 4
A natural introvert, Rain had antisocial behavior with anyone outside her immediate family. Though she still struggled with her sexual identity, she knew for a fact that she was gay, even at that age. Rain was high yellow and wise beyond her years for a twelve year old. She was taller than most girls her age: 5’ 8”, rail thin, flat chested, and looked like a boy. With her braids, baggy clothing, made it virtually impossible to tell otherwise. Intrigued by the thrill she was receiving under the tutelage of her aunt, it became a silent addiction to her, and wanted a bigger challenge, much bigger
She became obsessed with all the commerce of the drug trade and sat for hours, writing down the exact time, day, movement, and drop offs of the biggest drug crew in West Baltimore— who happened to live directly across from them and gained valuable
Readers choose
William Sleator
J.L. Doty
Diane Munier
Marsha Hubler
Ellen O'Connell
Peter F. Hamilton
Kim Harrison
Andrew Britton