Chapter 1: Walk

"Can't you see, I'm easily bothered by persistence...

-Pantera

A small, stringy, slightly awkward teenage boy walked down the leaf covered sidewalks of west Hamilton street. It was early fall ‘99, and everyone was looking forward to the start of the school year and most importantly, the start of the new millennium. He looked to his left as he walked and noticed a sign. The sign was advertising his dad's grocery store. He smiled, as he remembered his dad’s ad plan.’

"Pendejo," he remembered his mother grumbling at his father when he bought it, "you used all of of your advertising money on one stinking billboard? You could have put ads in every paper in the city!"

"That is true amor, but you and I know most people never bother to read the ads in those things, and almost EVERYONE in the city drives by Hamilton street at least once or twice per day, I mean, at least to bring their kids to school, so ha!"

He remembered his mother looking at his father almost as if to give him a few more points of argument, but she instead just muttered "pendejo" again and went back to cooking dinner.

The small, stringy, slightly awkward boy looked at that billboard with pride and nodded yes as he passed it, unaware of a few less savory teens who were walking right behind him...

(Partial. Full book available in print soon...)