Phillis Wheatley High School, Principal's Office
Fifth Ward
Malcolm takes a long, critical look at each of the police officers. And they would why there's a gang problem, with law enforcement like this. . .what if Jeffrey were dead back there, would they still assume that we were smoking weed, probably think that we killed him, Malcolm thinks as the anger builds in him.
"So . . . is it standard police procedure to assume the victims are the criminals, or do you always get calls from weed smoking teens about gang violence and gun play?" Did I just say that out loud . . . Crap! Malcolm thinks.
"I'm sorry, officer, that was uncalled for. This was very tramatic and no small amount of risk from us and I guess I just got upset because I thought you weren't taking it seriously. You officers look very hard working and I can't imagine the risks you take to keep us safe. So to answer your question - no, we not smoking any weed, nor have we smoked any weed - ever."