Briana Poteat Final Draft 6th period

What I Call Life

Boom,boom,boom Ahhhhhh! Nay-Nay, Day-Day, Poodie, come on run get the baby, Motherf*****,get out my f****ing house now!my mother screamed as me and my brothers and sisters headed out the door crying;crying because their scared, sad and alone.The only one they can depend on is me Shaquetta Johnson. I’m ten years old and I live with my 2 brothers and 2 sisters and one on the way I don’t know why we don’t need it she doesn’t take care of the ones she has now. We live in a rathole on a ghetto neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. We never had a father or seen him, in fact I wouldn’t say I had a mother neither, she was here in spirit not person. She was on dem drugs bad everyone called her Runny because she would run for and run drugs all through her body in the craziest ways. She also was a prostitute who owed everyone in the neighborhood money and because of this we have to live in fear everyday thinking someones gon kill my mom or maybe us. But I didn’t want to believe it at all I knew is that we loved her so much and if something happened to her my brother and sisters would be hurt. Basically I take care of everyone because I’m the oldest and most mature but it not easy I’m not able to be a child instead I have to play the role of a mother and this is what I call my life.
It all started, well every since I could remember she was like this I have never seen her any other way. She constantly lies about where she is going but she always said the store the older I got the more I understood and knew she wasn’t going to the store.It started with me then along came all the others all by different men and I don’t think she knows who the fathers are she just a whore to me. Christmas would come and she wouldn’t get us nothing she would just always say “you better be glad you live to see another year so go upstairs and pray to your lord”. At the time I didn’t know how to pray but somehow I learned and knows he answers prayers. So I hoping God answers my prayers to this thing I call life.
I am now 9 years old and struggling to surive I am faced with many challenges everyday but the most one I am worried about happening is my mother dieing and my siblings being heartbroken. Today is December 21, which is currently the first day of Winter, which also means that this is when all the trouble and hardship comes. My mom struggles to pay the bills because of it being so cold. She borrows money from everyone and never pays them back.We digged in the trash cans looking for food sometimes when my mom spent our money on drugs.
The day I thought would never happen came the death of my mother the day was March 31, a cold winter day.At first we were in school trying to learn anyway when the teacher got a phone "Hello good afternoon Ms. Brown's class",Hi yes I calling to tell u about one of your students named Shaquetta Johnson,"yes" Hmmm!She has an early dismissal,she was told to come straight home, with her brothers and sisters,Okay Thank u,Have a nice day.The teacher hung up the phone and told me the message.I got up and left in shock that this day had finally came I didnt think it would be this soon.I didnt tell my brothers and sisters I just told them to come on dont worry about it.We got home and seen everything from the blood,the destruction and my mother I didnt have to tell them what happened they were mad at me because I didnt tell them.Everyone asked question but the question everyone asked is HOW DID SHEW DIE?After everything settled down we got put in a foster home and my mother got cremated.My brothers and sisters now realize how much I did for them and because of this they consider my their mom but the youngest one call me mom.Only I know the truth of how my mom died.The truth is a man who she has owed money to for the longest time finally got tired of it and Broke in our house, raped my mom and then shoot her because she refused to come get me out of school so he can rape me, I would of never thought she would have done something like that that for me but you never know the truth until a person dies.I found this out when I had to show up trail about the case and while at the trail he confessed the holy truth and nothing but the truth, when I found this out I was shocked and completely hated his guts.He got sentenced 50 to life, no bail,or parole just sit and rot.I am now 16 and still in contact with my sisters and brothers and I realized that in life we go throught things and at the same time we are being taught something and learn from these mistakes there you have it My Life by Shaquetta Johnson.R.I.P. MOM I LOVE U!