It’s a bit strange when you grow up. You have so many different ideas you want to do with your life but at the same time, you're never sure what exactly it is you want to do and dedicate your life to.
You go to school but because you are not sure what you want to do, it starts to feel like an annoying chore. But because there is a supposed benefit of going there and getting a diploma or degree, you continue to force yourself to go.
Because it starts to feel like a chore that then turns into an unbearable chore that really screws the mental mind, it is easy to see why so many young teens drop out of high school or college. Many would probably be surprised by how high that number is.
Spike, was never surprised by any of that.
Why would he? He was one of the many teenagers who dropped out of high school due to the fact the stress was just unbearable to him. Sure, he smoked his cigarettes, but even that started to wane down when other stress factors came into play and messed up his mentality to the point he just hated everything and dropped out without a second thought.
His mother was obviously extremely unhappy with him. His father was never much around, and when he was, Spike would show his displeasure.
Spike also didn’t have the greatest friends in the beginning. They would constantly skip classes, start fights, steal things and look up to the gangsters that lived in their neighbourhood. How couldn’t they? They came with their guns, expensive watches, cars and even nice suits. Because of this, it made Spike want to start getting into crime. The gangsters were all the proof he needed to start committing crimes.
The system in his home was destructive and not a system for a better life.
Spike walked down a road where there were cigarette butts on the ground and some alcohol bottles around, showing that it had been a crazy night for the people living in this part of Canterlot City.
The buildings looked old and worn-down from the lack of care from the city which didn’t surprise the young man. The city didn’t exactly care about how they lived in this part of the town, so why would they help them out? It would be a waste of money for them. So it isn’t surprising.
The smell of gasoline was prominent in the air and made it almost difficult to breathe but this wasn’t anything new for Spike. He was also wearing a grey-green winter jacket, black jeans and red-white sneakers.
In between his fingers, was a cigarette he had lit when the craving had kicked in. A filthy habit, definitively, but it helped calm him whenever the stress kicked in.
“It was 17 years (17 years in) the city where I grew up and so(Do you notice how fast it goes?) Do you notice?” Spike sang with a soft, quiet voice that echoed into the sunset that was setting over the horizon behind a large apartment building.
When he finished his smoke, he flicked it with his fingers, making it land on the ground a few feet away from him before suffocating it with his shoe and continuing to walk onwards, taking in the nostalgia when he grew up in this area.
His mother had tried to do everything to make him stay out of trouble, but just like any other teenager who grew up in a bad area, that was easier said than done. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t try at least a few times, but when he saw the money he could earn, it became very difficult to stay out, especially when he began to notice he had a good voice for singing.
With that, he began to rap and make good money out of it. Quickly, he began to become famous within the rapping world but it also made him earn a lot of enemies because, at one point, he had lost one of his friends to a rival rapper.
In return, Spike dissed the enemy and even uploaded to Instagram when he and a few of his boys drove to enemy territories using a specific verse in a song that he had done with his enemy once.
“I have taken lives,”
He sighed when he walked past a gas station where he would hang out often with a few of his boys. They would buy beer and cigarettes there and smoke in the back while causing trouble in the neighbourhood. There were a few small convenience stores that they had robbed because the clerks had been disrespectful towards them.
Spike hated what he had done. It honestly made him disgusted that he would do things like that, but back then, it was all he had. His father was useless and his mother did everything she could to keep him in school and he just… walked out on her.
After he had earned enough money, he bought a one-room apartment for himself. He didn’t leave a note or anything to let her know he was okay. He hated himself for that.
His mother called multiple times to ask if he was okay, but he would always hang up the phone, not even bothering to give her a response.
Spike hadn’t talked to her for about six years. Six years of cutting his ties and here he was, having nostalgia. He wasn’t just here to walk down memory lane, no, he was here to see his mother and he knew exactly where she was.
There was a restaurant they used to frequent when he grew up that had the best salads and steaks. His mother was obsessed with the salads and his father enjoyed the steaks.
Despite what he thought of his father, Spike could still appreciate him.
The restaurant wasn’t busy from what he could see in the distance. The outside was closed because it was winter but the inside was packed with people from all walks of life, enjoying a good dinner. He smiled. He knew his parents would be here because a friend of his, Bulk Biceps worked as the head chef of the restaurant and told him they’d be there.
Spike walked up a small stone staircase and opened the wooden door with a leaf-carved metal handle and entered the restaurant.
The inside of the restaurant was a wooden floor that echoed and had mats under the tables with multiple booths. There was a bar where a bartender looked busy and all the other patrons were simply enjoying their time at the place.
Spike clutched his Nike hat tightly and looked over and spotted his mother drinking some wine while speaking to his father whose back was turned to him.
He made his way over while slowly getting cold feet. He could always turn around and leave but he forced himself to continue. He wanted—needed to see his mother. His lovely mother who he had longed to hug again after so long.
When he was at the table he stopped in front of the table, adrenaline kicking in.
“Can I join you?” He asked and noticed his parents turn to look at him. His mother's eyes widened and quickly teared up before standing up and hugging him tightly, his father quickly doing the same.
“My baby, my baby!” His mother cried tears of joy and he felt a warm smile form on his face.
“I’m sorry, Mother for what I did all those years ago,” he apologised while wrapping his hands around her, returning the hug.
“It’s fine, sweetheart, all that matters is that you're here now.” His mother had beautiful rainbow-coloured hair and white skin while his father was a grey-skinned man with coal-black hair and scarlet red eyes. “Are you hungry?”
Spike smiled and nodded his head before joining them for dinner.