Chapter 13 - Malik’s Threat
Jaylen denied it immediately.
“Carter wouldn’t threaten Marcus.”
Mr. Harris remained on speakerphone.
“My son showed me the messages.”
Jaylen stood.
“What messages?”
“I’m not sending them to you,” Marcus Harris Sr. said. “I’m sending them to the school.”
Derrick nodded.
“That’s the right thing.”
Jaylen looked angry.
“Can I see them?”
Mr. Harris hesitated.
“They say, ‘Keep your mouth shut about where the tests came from unless you want everybody seeing the video again.’”
Monique’s face went cold.
“The video Jaylen posted?”
“Yes.”
Jaylen stared at the floor.
Mr. Harris continued.
“My son thinks Malik saved a copy.”
Derrick turned to Jaylen.
“Did he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you send it to Malik?”
“Yes.”
Monique closed her eyes.
Mr. Harris’s voice shook.
“I accepted your apology and reimbursement because your wife told me Jaylen understood what he had done.”
Monique whispered:
“I thought he did.”
“So did I.”
Jaylen looked ashamed.
Mr. Harris continued.
“But that video is still being used to humiliate my child.”
Derrick stepped closer to the phone.
“Mr. Harris, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t need you to be sorry for Malik.”
“No.”
Derrick looked at Jaylen.
“But I am sorry that something my son created is still hurting yours.”
Jaylen flinched.
Mr. Harris became quieter.
“I appreciate that.”
The call ended.
Jaylen immediately grabbed his jacket.
Derrick blocked the doorway.
“Where are you going?”
“To Carter’s.”
“No.”
“He has no right to threaten Marcus with that video.”
Derrick stared at him.
“You made the video.”
“I know!”
“Then start by understanding you gave him the weapon.”
Jaylen stepped back.
“I’m trying to fix it.”
“No. You’re angry somebody else is using your mistake.”
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s exactly what happened.”
Jaylen’s fists clenched.
Renee stepped between them.
“Jaylen.”
He looked at her.
“Sit.”
He did.
She sat opposite him.
“Why is Malik your best friend?”
Jaylen frowned.
“What?”
“Why him?”
“He’s funny.”
“That’s not why.”
Jaylen looked irritated.
Renee waited.
Finally he said:
“He doesn’t care.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“Grades?”
“Parents.”
“Consequences?”
Jaylen gave a humorless smile.
“His dad barely notices what he does.”
Derrick looked at Monique.
Renee asked:
“And you like that?”
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t feel guilty all the time.”
Renee leaned back.
“Or he acts like he doesn’t.”
Jaylen looked away.
Monique sat beside Derrick.
She wanted to defend Jaylen.
She physically felt the impulse.
She did not act on it.
Instead she asked:
“Did Malik help you sell the answer key?”
Jaylen was silent.
“Jaylen.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He found people.”
“And took money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
Derrick asked:
“Did Malik know Lawson was involved?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know Ellis?”
Jaylen hesitated.
“Yes.”
Renee watched him.
“What aren’t you saying?”
Jaylen rubbed both hands over his face.
“Carter’s dad paid Lawson.”
Derrick frowned.
“For what?”
“Basketball.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
Jaylen stood and began pacing.
“He wanted Malik starting varsity.”
“That’s not something you can just buy,” Derrick said.
Jaylen laughed.
“You think?”
Derrick stopped.
Jaylen continued.
“Lawson controls summer minutes. He controls introductions. He tells the head coach who’s committed and who has attitude problems. He tells parents which scouts are watching.”
Monique whispered:
“So Malik’s father paid him.”
“Yes.”
“Does Malik know?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is he threatening Marcus?”
Jaylen stared at them.
“Because if Marcus tells everything, it’s not just test answers.”
Renee understood.
“It exposes his father.”
Jaylen nodded.
“And maybe half the basketball program.”
Derrick sat slowly.
What had begun as a family discipline problem was becoming a network of adults and teenagers protecting one another’s secrets.
But Derrick forced himself to focus.
“None of that changes what you did.”
Jaylen looked exhausted.
“I know.”
“Good.”
Derrick pointed upstairs.
“You’re not going to Malik’s house. You’re not messaging him. You’re not warning him.”
“What if he deletes stuff?”
“The school handles it.”
“You trust them?”
Derrick hesitated.
That answer was no longer simple.
“I trust evidence.”
Jaylen laughed.
“That sounds like something Renee would say.”
Renee smiled faintly.
“I’ll take it.”
Later that night, Jaylen sat alone in his room.
No game console.
No current phone.
No basketball.
Homework open.
He stared at a blank document for twenty minutes.
Then there was a soft knock.
Monique entered.
She held no snacks.
No secret phone.
No promises.
She sat on the edge of the desk.
“You okay?”
“No.”
She nodded.
“I figured.”
Jaylen looked at her.
“You gonna fix it?”
The question was partly joke.
Partly accusation.
Monique felt it.
“No.”
Jaylen’s face changed.
“No?”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“I’ll help you face it.”
He stared at her.
“That sounds worse.”
“It probably feels worse.”
He looked down.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Did you really think I could turn into Uncle Terrence?”
Monique’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Jaylen looked hurt.
She continued quickly.
“Not because you’re like him.”
“Then why?”
“Because I watched little problems become bigger ones while everybody called them little.”
Jaylen stared at her.
“And I got so scared of being harsh that I became blind in the other direction.”
He looked down.
“I used that.”
“I know.”
“You mad?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
Then whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
Monique did not say it was okay.
Instead:
“I believe you’re sorry.”
He looked at her.
“That doesn’t erase anything.”
“I know.”
She stood.
At the doorway she stopped.
“Your father and I have another appointment with the district tomorrow.”
Jaylen frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Coach Lawson’s lawyer contacted them.”
Jaylen’s stomach dropped.
“What lawyer?”
Monique faced him.
“He says Lawson is going to claim your father tried to bribe him last year.”
Jaylen laughed.
“That’s insane.”
Monique did not.
Because Derrick had not laughed when he heard it.
He had gone silent.
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Too silent.
And now Monique was afraid there was another secret her husband had not told her.
