Birth of a Dark Nation Read Online Free PDF

three
stories tall, like the Magdalene office. I assumed that the third
floor must have been a full attic like ours was.
    "This is the crib," Dante said.
    "All this is yours?" I asked.
    "Yup," he replied. "Used to belong to my
cousin."
    "I see y'all are keeping it in the family."
He opened the door and let me in.
    The house was simply decorated on the inside,
with a brass wall clock and matching sconces on either side
adorning the far wall where the sofa sat. The carpet was thick
beneath my feet. The place itself smelled…old. Not bad. Just
old.
    "Have a seat," he said. I thanked him and sat
on the sofa, picking up the remote control from a small coffee
table and turning on the television. I turned it to the channel
nine news.
    "Make yourself at home," he quipped.
    "Thanks," I replied sarcastically. "I just
don't like to miss the news."
    As he disappeared into the kitchen, I could
hear him opening up the refrigerator. Annette Mitchell was on
television reporting on some sort of scandal in city hall, as if
that was anything new in DC.
    "I don't watch a lot of TV," he said,
emerging with two cans of Diet Pepsi.
    "Word? I love it. I like being entertained.
Music, sports, movies, all that."
    "That's what's up," he said, passing me a
drink.
    "Thank you," I said, popping open the can.
"So what do you like to do?"
    "I dunno, just chill I guess." He sat on the
opposite end of the couch from me.
    "What's a day in your life like?"
    "Why you got so many questions?"
    I laughed.
    "You do realize we just met last week, and
the extent of our relationship is me buying your bootlegs?"
    "Why you act so saditty, yo?"
    "Saditty? Are you kidding me? I'm just trying
to get to know you better, dawg. You seem like a cool dude, but I'm
starting to rethink that."
    Now he laughed.
    "You feisty."
    "Damn right I am." I sipped my Diet Pepsi. He
chugged his and burped.
    "'Scuse me," he said.
    I burped in response. Loudly.
    "Nigga, you nasty!"
    "Whatever. I already farted on your
couch."
    He laughed hard. I smirked.
    "Aight nigga, I'm no good at this, but here
goes," he began. "I live a real simple life. This my family house.
We had it a long time. Right now, it's just me living here. I ain't
go to college or nothin' like that. And yeah, I be sellin' movies
and shit to pay bills. I'm good at it. But I'm good at whatever I
feel like doin'. I don't want you to think I'm just some scrub, you
know?"
    "I don't think that," I said.
    "Yeah, you do. Look at your body
language."
    I looked down at myself and saw what he
meant: my arms were folded and my legs were turned away from him. I
looked like I didn't want to be there.
    "You're observant," I said sheepishly. I
uncrossed my arms and faced him more.
    "Yeah, I notice shit," he said. "So how long
you been at Magdalene?"
    "About four years. The money is okay, but the
work sucks. I sit in front of a computer all day."
    "I see. So you sit in front of a computer all
day then come home and sit in front of a TV all night."
    "I mean, you make it sound like a bad thing,"
I smiled.
    "It's whatever. I just like taking walks
sometimes. You know, be out in the air and shit."
    "That's cool," I said. I sipped some more
Pepsi until it was gone.
    "That don't sound like your kind of
thing."
    "It's cool. Dante, I gotta be honest with
you."
    "What's up?"
    "I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't
know what you're into. I ain't been on no date in years. I'm
just-"
    "Whoa, dude… Slow down. You getting all hype
for nothing. I just want to spend some time with you, yo."
    "Why?"
    "Because you fine as shit, nigga damn. And
you seem jive smart. And on the real? Ain't no nigga ever step to
me so bold like you did. I mean shit, what gay niggas you know
gonna cop some straight porn? If you don't think that's hot, then
you need to get it together."
    "You think it's hot that I like straight
porn?"
    "Hell yeah. You know what that says to me?
That you don't have no boundaries like a lot of these niggas out
here. You down for