HARDNOCK LIFE - by Success Uwakwe

Chapter 6: What You Running From Micah walked fast, hood up, hands in his pockets, like he had somewhere to be even though he didn’t. The city was cold that morning—cold in a way that made the bricks feel harder, the air feel sharper, and the silence feel louder. He passed by the corner where Dre used to post up. Dre wasn’t there anymore. Locked up. Maybe gone for good. One by one, the people Micah used to call “fam” were disappearing. The streets weren’t just dangerous—they were *hungry*. And they were still calling his name. He felt his phone buzz. A text from Tyrell. > “Heard you been talkin to Curtis. You switching sides now?” Micah stared at the screen. He didn’t answer. --- That afternoon, he sat in the back of the rec center while Curtis ran drills with the kids. Micah didn’t say much. Just watched. Watched how the kids laughed, how they listened when Curtis spoke, how they lit up when someone believed in them. Curtis glanced over. “You ain’t gotta hide in the back. C’mere.” Micah hesitated, then walked over slowly. Curtis handed him a whistle. “They need someone to look up to. You know what that feels like—to not have that.” Micah nodded. “You ready?” “I don’t know,” Micah said honestly. Curtis smiled. “Good. That means you care.” --- After practice, Micah was walking home when a car pulled up next to him. Windows down. Inside: Malik, Dre’s cousin, eyes like trouble. “Yo, Micah. Hop in.” Micah kept walking. “Don’t be stupid. We heard about that job Curtis offered you. That ain't your lane, bro. You tryna be a coach now? That soft life?” Micah turned, fists clenched. “You still out here acting like that life leads somewhere. It don’t. It never did.” Malik leaned out the window. “Then why you still lookin’ over your shoulder?” Micah didn’t answer. He just kept walking. Because Malik wasn’t wrong. Part of him was still scared. Still unsure. Still haunted. --- That night, he sat on the rooftop of Ms. Delaney’s building, looking out at the city lights. He thought about his mom. About the last thing she said to him before everything went dark: > “Don’t let this world decide who you are, baby. You decide.” The streets weren’t done testing him. But for the first time, Micah wasn’t running from something.He was walking *toward* something. And that made all the difference.

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