The Rooftop

JADA

“Jada Romain, are you still up?”

Jada quietly ran across her bedroom and jumped in her bed. She pulled the sheets up to her neck and squeezed her eyes shut. Her mother opened the bedroom door and stuck her head in. The hallway light shined directly on Jada’s face.

“Now that is strange,” her mother said while stepping into the room.

“I could have sworn I heard singing coming from in here. Sounded just like Whitney Houston.”

“For real?” Jada said as she sat straight up.

“Ah-ha! Knew you weren’t asleep.”

Jada giggled while her mom sat down on the bed next to her.

“I don’t know of any seven year old who would still be up at this time of night. Can’t sleep?”

“Not really.”

“Nervous about the first day of school tomorrow?”

“I’m just wondering who will be in my class. And I’m also thinking about what I want for my birthday in a couple of days.”

“I’m sure you will see some of your friends from your second grade class tomorrow in your third grade class. And we will talk about your birthday later, ok?”

Just then the walls to Jada’s bedroom began to rumble.

“That’s why I can’t sleep, Terry and his stupid friends makin so much noise.”

“I’ve talked to that boy time and time again about blasting that music at this hour. Terrance is about to go walk shep so his company will be leaving out with him.”

“Terrance, turn down that music!” Jada heard her father yell from the bedroom across the hall.

“And go walk that dog!”

Jada and her mother listened as Terrance and his friends left his bedroom and headed downstairs.

“Good night Mr. And Mrs. Romain,” Terrance best friend, Cancer yelled out.

“Is that better?”

“Yea,” Jada answered.

“Good. It’s chilly in here honey.”

Mrs. Romain walked to the window and closed it. She then walked back to the bed and pulled the covers up to Jada’s shoulders.

“Mary! Come here for a sec. you’ve got to see this replay.”

“Alright Reggie.”

“He taped the football game?” She asked her mother.

“Umm hmm, and I have to go and act like I care.”

They both laughed as Mary bent to kiss her daughter on the cheek.

“Love you.”

“I love you too mommy.”

The minute her mother closed the bedroom door, Jada kicked the covers off her. She closed her eyes and turned on her side. She tried to fall asleep but it was no good, she couldn’t. She jumped out the bed and walked towards the window. Jada picked the Winnie the Pooh stuffed doll that was sitting on the windowsill up and held it in one hand while she opened the window with the other. Jada looked out the window and saw four people stop in front of her house. At first she thought it was her brother and his friends but when she didn’t recognize any of the faces, she knew it couldn’t have been them. One of them looked like a little boy, she thought. She sunk to her knees and watched the only person in the group who wasn’t wearing a hood on his head; lift the latch on the gate in front of the house. He pulled his baseball cap down further on his head and then pulled his right arm out from behind his back. At this time the others pulled their hands either from out of their pockets or from their sides. Jada watched the youngest one as he held a small black object with both his hands. She moved closer to the window, almost sticking her head out. It was then that she realized what the youngest one was holding.

“A gun?” she whispered.

They walked right up to the front door. Then Jada heard her mom yell.

“I’ll get it Reggie, it’s probably Terrance. He can never remember to take his house keys with him.”

Jada looked at her closed bedroom door; she then looked back out the window. From her view she could now only see two of the guys, both of them had guns in their hands. One guy was shifting his weight from one foot to the other and kept looking up and down the block. Jada got up quickly and ran to her bedroom door. She pulled it open and called for her mother. She looked down the hallway and saw the top of her mother’s head as she was descending the steps.

“MOM!” Jada yelled.

“Why aren’t you asleep Jay?” her father asked while sticking his head out the bathroom doorway.

“Mom,” Jada said as she ran past him still clutching Winnie.

“Mom what? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Mommy don’t!” Jada yelled. She ran down the steps as fast as her little seven year old legs would take her.

“Jay, what?!!” Mary asked while placing her hand on the front door knob.

“Ding..Dong”

“Terrance pleaseeee, I’m here...I’m here.”

Jada caught up to her mother while she was just about to open the front door.  Before she could warn her about anything, shots rang out. Mary Romain screamed. Wood chips from the front door whizzed past her, one grazed her left cheek. Jada screamed and covered her ears, and then suddenly she dropped both arms and fell to the floor. Mary dove at Jada and landed on top of her, she lay there while the noise continued.

“What the hell is going on?” Reggie yelled.

He saw his wife lying on top of his daughter near their front door. The lamp on the front table shattered and Reggie fell to his knees. When the noise came to a halt, he ran down the steps.

“Oh my God, Mary?” he knelt down beside her.

“Mary?” he whispered.

“I’m okay Reggie.”  Suddenly she realized she was on top of Jada and she jumped up.

“Jada?”

Mary saw blood on the front of Jada’s nightgown and screamed.

“Oh lord-- Jada, honey?” Reggie noticed Jada’s Winnie the Pooh lying on top of her covered in blood. He removed it and noticed a hole in her right shoulder.

“Ahhhhhhh--.”Mary screamed.

Reggie placed his arm under Jada’s back, the other arm under her legs and scooped her up.

“Mary get the car,” he said sounding defeated.

Mary was frantic. She looked at the blood on the floor and screamed again.

“Mary! Get the car, now!” Reggie yelled.