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PROTEGE

THE JOURNEYMAN'S DIARY

By Faheem JacksonPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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Lost with no guidance.

"Tye, boy where are you at!"

"I'm in my bedroom!" Tye replied.

"Well come on, let's go!"

"Just a minute!" Tye exclaimed.

"Just a minute, the room is empty, what could you be doing, in an empty room!"

"Mom, I'll be right there!" Tye yelled back.

Tye, holding a planner sized black book. He walks over to the wall where the head of his bed used to be located. Kneeling down, Tye opens a floor board. Closing the floor boards, he slightly rubs his hand over the floor.

"Tye, I'm not going to say it again!" "I want to beat the traffic let's go!" His mom called out.

Tye stands to his feet, turns off the lights before leaving bedroom. The sound of the house door closes followed not long by the sound of a car driving way.

THE LIGHTS COME ON IN THE BEDROOM

A young school boy enters the room and closes the door. The bedroom is fully furnished. You would never have guessed that so much could fit into a which appeared to be so small a few weeks earlier. The boy falls onto his bed and looks up at the ceiling. He scans the poster of his favorite NBA player then leaves his bed. Grabbing a small basketball he closes his bedroom door. Dribbling the ball to the other side of his bed he stares down the hoop attached to the door.

"Five seconds on the, with the score 87-85." "A two pointer would tie, and a three would win." "Donte Stevens is out at the three point line."

Donte begins running from the hoop around the bed. He dives over the bed toward facing the basket, then around back to the other side of the bed.

"Oh my God, Donte is left open!" "The ball is inbound to Stevens, he gets the pass!" "He shoots and hits the three at the buzzer!"

The ball hits of the door and rolls under the bed after going into the hoop. Donte begins to celebrate jumping on his bed.

"Donte, boy what are you doing in there!"

Donte immediately stops jumping.

"Nothing mom!" Donte yells back.

He drops down on the bed and looks about the room. Climbing off the bed he drops to the floor and raises the blankets. Crawling under the bed, he grabs the ball and begins to crawl out. The floorboard shifts causing Donte to stop crawling out. He proceeds forward until he is close to the floorboard. Tapping the floor, the board moves. He then pushes the board down as the other side raises. Under the board, he sees the black book placed by Tye a few weeks earlier. Removing the book, he crawls from under the bed and sits at the foot of his bed. Wiping off the dust, he opens the book. The book which was addressed to know one began as follows.

"If you are reading this book, you have stumbled upon a treasure." "Not the type of treasure which leads to a chest full of gold." "I have information, information that I am choosing to share with you." "Information that if you don't know already will guide you through life." "Starting with being a young child."

"You see, I was raised by my mother, there was not much she could do to prepare me for the life ahead." "I still remember 1st grade." "Entering that new school after leaving kindergarten." "I knew no one, but the way students were talking among themselves, you would think they all knew each other already."

At the top bottom of the statement, a bold header read, "RULE #1, HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS."

"When I was this age, I was a very shy kid." "Not for much conversation, I took to being by myself." "It wasn't until I picked up a basketball and started shooting hoops that I attracted attention." "Then it allowed the other boys to see my talents." "They invited me over and I showed my true talents on the court." "This gave me the confidence to make friends because I showed them how good I was at something." "And from there, I was able to extend myself into other areas of school."

Donte read into the next section which was title in a bold header, "RULE #2, STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF."

"Growing up without a father, and not having a man to properly teach me how to assert myself, I often had troubles in the neighborhood and in school." "Not really knowing how to deal, things would get awkward if a kid wanted to fight." "But there are ways of dealing with this before it even gets that far." "For starters, it's all about how you move." "What I learned is that walking with confidence and moving like you have a purpose draws people away who seek to do harm." "You show fear, and it attracts perpetrators like bees to honey." "Beware of the Ooos and Ahhs" "These are the noises people make to get you to react which could lead to something else." "And hang with groups of kids that don't have too much to prove unless it is something academic or recreational." "Anything else can bring about problems also."

"Donte!" his mother calls out.

"Yes!" Donte replies.

"I'm cooking and will be finished with dinner shortly!"

"Thanks, I'm uh, doing some reading!"

"Alright!"

Donte continues on into the book. "RULE #3, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP."

"While in school, you will have moments when you're afraid to ask for help." "When young, it makes you feel like you are lacking an ability to perform the work." "But the reality is that some of the smartest people in the world needed help from time to time." "It's actually what separates the people who are truly intelligent from the ones who aren't." "The intelligent people were not afraid to ask, and even sound in the dark to get to the truth." "Because if you don't extend your hand, you are more in the unknown than initially."

"RULE #4, GRADES MEANS A LOT, BUT THEY ARE NOT EVERYTHING."

"After getting back a test, you sometimes see that D or F." "Don't let it get you down." "Yes, this will alter your grade, but don't let it deter you from doing better." "You will get a lot of opportunities to better yourself over time." "Now, that's easier said than done." "I can't lie, you will get a scolding when you get home." "But as long as you're doing better each time over, you are in a good place." "As you get older, the grades do have more of an impact, especially if you want to go to college." "Your grades will matter, but it won't be the end of the world."

"RULE #5, DRESS TO IMPRESS, TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY."

"I don't know what you have to spend, whoever is reading this, but try to look as good as possible." "What does that mean?" "It means that you may not have much, but let the few things you have speak volumes." "For me, not having a man around to show me how boy is supposed to style himself, I saw what I thought looked nice, and copied that look." "Now, it meant me looking bad time after time." "Then I developed my own look that carried me all through childhood." "Also, remember, when in doubt, a clean plain white t-shirt, light wash jeans, and basic sneakers are your friend." "It's plain, yet it makes you stand out."

"RULE #6, EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT."

"Growing up, I saw kids that would just eat, eat, and more eat." "You could tell at home, that there was not much oversight." "You don't want to be that kid." "Because you will pay for it later." "Most children into teenage years are able to be mobile." "And with the weight, and not able to keep up with your peers, you start to see the kid lost confidence." "So I say to you, run, jump, stay active." "It goes a long way the older you get." "Your body will always feel younger than you are at the moment."

A knock is at the door startling Donte.

"Yes mom," Donte replies.

"I know you're reading, do you want me to bring you a plate?"

"Sure, mom." Donte replies.

Donte focuses his attention back to the black book.

"RULE #7, WHATEVER YOU'RE DEALING WITH IS TEMPORARY."

"You will have this feeling like what you have been dealing with sucks." "But you know what, think of it as only something that is here one day and gone another." "Getting down on yourself does nothing to better your life." "Just push through it, trust me, I have been there, it will all pass over." "You'll look back and get annoyed that something so simple got to you."

"RULE #8, DEALING WITH HEARTBREAK."

"Be prepared because once you get to that age, you will have to deal with your first heartbreak." "And the reason for me saying this, especially if you haven't already dealt with it, here are some pointers." "It doesn't even matter how good or bad you are, you will have it happen." "Now, what I am about to say is easier said than done." "Assess the situation, and look over what has happened." "Try not to ask why the person did it." "Push it out of mind by getting back out there and dating again." "After a while, you will get in the groove of life." "Life is all about heartache and setbacks." "Get it out of your system early to deal later."

The doorknob turns and Donte's mother enters. He places the book under the covers.

"Here is your dinner." His mother says.

"Oh, thanks, it looks really good." Donte replies.

"Where is your book you said you were reading?"

"I finished, but I'm going to eat this, then I have some more schoolwork."

"Ok, come into the living room if you need anything."

His mother walks out of the bedroom and Donte retrieves the black book from under the covers. He places the food on his bed and keeps reading the book.

"RULE #9, MENTOR SOMEONE YOUNGER."

"As a student in school, always look back to someone who is younger who could use the assistance." "Because remember you were that kid that needed the help." "Don't you wish someone would have shown you the ropes coming through school?" "That is where you come in to better prepare the kid younger than yourself." "I would say try this out about in middle school." "Mentor an elementary school kid that could use the help." "Hey, you might even share this book with them to guide you through this mentorship."

"RULE #10, CHERISH YOUR HOME LIFE."

"I grew up with so many kids that did not have a stable home life." "And hopefully, while you are reading this, you are not that kid." "But if you are not the kid, please, I beg of you, protect it." "Make sure you try your best to listen and do as you're told at home." "So many kids I grew up with have gotten into trouble from the lack of stability at home." "So when you have it thank God you do...."

Donte starts flipping the pages until he gets to the end and there is nothing. Glaring at the black book, he gazes over the last rule. After God you do there is are dots. Donte unaware of the meaning, he sat in thought. Playing with the book, he noticed something else, a hole in the top of the bind. Tipping the book, and ink pen falls to the floor. He picks it up and looks into the book.

Smiling he realized in the moment what this ink pen was for. Donte placed the pen back inside the book and started eating his meal.

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