Concrete Rose

Mav, Junie, and Rico sit in the cafeteria at Garden High. Mav’s body is present, but his mind is with Iesha, Lisa, and especially Dre. Ant is just across the room, nonchalant as ever. Mav is sure that he’s going to kill Ant, but he doesn’t know how. Junie and Rico discuss each having lost family members to tragedy. Junie’s aunt was stabbed to death at a block party, and Rico’s twin brother was hit by a stray bullet when he was only nine. Mav muses that even though the Garden takes loved ones from everyone, its residents are still loyal because the Garden is “all [they] know” (151). At the bell, Mav heads to World Lit. Just as he goes to sit down, he’s pulled aside by his favorite teacher, Mrs. Turner, who asks him to go see Mr. Clayton, the guidance counselor. Overhearing this, Ant laughs and says that Mav is as weak as Dre. Fuming, Mav decides that talking to Mr. Clayton won’t do any good. It won’t bring Dre back or get rid of Ant. He tosses his hall pass in the trash and walks out of school.

As Mav walks away from Garden High, Shawn pulls up next to him. Mav gets into Shawn’s Benz, and Shawn apologizes for disrespecting Mav after Dre’s funeral. He thinks of Mav as a little brother and knows that Dre wouldn’t have wanted Mav to kill anyone. He advises Mav to honor Dre by continuing to be the best father he can be. They make up, and Shawn offers Mav a blunt, which he accepts.

Shawn drops Mav off at work after they smoke. Mr. Wyatt can instantly tell that Mav is high. It’s his second strike, and Mr. Wyatt gives him extra work as a punishment. After three hours of gardening, Mav is exhausted. When Mr. Wyatt scolds him again for showing up high, Mav blurts out that he just wanted to get his mind off of Dre. Mr. Wyatt asks why Mav has to suppress thoughts of Dre. When Mav responds that he “can’t sit crying over Dre” because he has to be a man, Mr. Wyatt responds that “one of the biggest lies ever told is that Black men don’t feel emotions” (163). Mav has the right to feel and show his grief just like everyone else. Mr. Wyatt pulls him into a hug. For the first time since Dre’s murder, Mav bursts into tears.

The Friday before Halloween, Mav attends a Garden High football game with Junie, Rico, and King. Ma agreed to watch Seven for the night, and even gave Mav 10 dollars for his ticket and a snack. As the game starts, King notices Ant sitting a few rows behind them, glaring at Mav. King, Rico, and Junie all promise that if anything goes down tonight, they’ll have Mav’s back. At halftime, Mav and King head to the concession stand to buy snacks. Mav complains that an order of nachos alone will use up all his money for the night. In response King pulls out a roll of hundred-dollar bills. He’s still making great money off the streets, and he reminds Mav that with Dre gone, there’s “nothing keeping [him] from getting back in the game” and dealing again (170). Mav declines this offer.

King asks if Mav will at least be going after Dre’s killer, and Mav tells him about the promise he made to Shawn. King calls Mav soft but is cut off by shouts from behind them. In the parking lot, a fight has broken out between the GDs and another gang, the Latin Royals. One of the fighting GDs is Ant. As Mav thinks to himself that fights like these usually “ain’t won by fists” (172), three gunshots ring out, scattering the crowd (172). When the chaos clears, Ant is dead on the ground.

Three weeks after Ant’s murder, Mav is unsure how he feels. Dre’s suspected killer is dead, yet Mav cannot take any joy in it. In the aftermath of Ant’s death, Mav saw his friends and parents grieve and realized that in the aftermath of street violence, “everybody get[s] mourned by somebody [...] Even murderers” like Ant (173). He’s been trying hard to keep living the way Dre would have wanted, but his grades are slipping because Seven tires him out.

It’s Sunday, and Mav is at home with Seven, watching Space Jam on VCR. Seven lies on Mav’s chest. He doesn’t know that his father is still “technically a kid” himself (175). All he knows is that he’s safe in Mav’s arms. The doorbell rings. Peeking outside, Mav sees Lisa for the first time since Dre’s funeral. He lets her in and can tell that something is off. Although she’s glad to see Seven, her eyes are full of sadness. Lisa helps Mav change Seven’s diaper. She tells Mav that he is a great father, then asks if they can talk. They sit down on Mav’s couch as Lisa nervously hugs herself. With tears in her eyes, she tells Mav that she thinks she is pregnant.

Mav sits stunned, processing the news that Lisa may be pregnant with his child. He offers to buy her a pregnancy test and promises that no matter what, they’ll figure things out together. He’s almost broke, so he’ll have to get the test from Mr. Wyatt. Mav walks to Wyatt’s Grocery, where Mr. Wyatt and Mr. Lewis, the local barber, are chatting at the register. Mr. Lewis makes a snarky comment when Mav approaches the checkout with two pregnancy tests, but Mr. Wyatt just looks disappointed. He lets Mav take the pregnancy tests out of his next paycheck and sends him on his way home.

Lisa takes the tests into the bathroom. As they wait for the results, she and Mav make nervous small talk about school, hair, and prom. The timer beeps, bringing with it the news that both tests are positive. Shocked, Lisa and Mav sit on the couch, waiting for Ma to get home. Lisa can’t stop crying, and Mav doesn’t know what to do. There is an adoption clinic in the city, but it’s expensive. Abortion is also an option. Mav reiterates his promise to support Lisa no matter what but is privately sure that abortion is “the only option that makes sense” for both of their lives (189). When Ma gets home, Lisa runs to the bathroom to throw up, leaving Mav to break the news that his second child is on the way. Ma can’t even look at Mav. When Seven starts to cry, she disappears into Mav’s room.

Mav settles Lisa on the couch and heads to his room to get her a pillow. He finds Ma standing over Seven’s crib, crying. Ma asks if she has failed Mav as a parent, because as hard as she tried, he is in a gang and has two babies at 17. Mav promises to do better, but when she asks him how, he has no response. Ma wipes her face and tells Mav that it’s time for him to go visit his father again.