Peering out of her window, a girl balanced her chin on her fist, gazing into the starless night. Lights flickered from tall buildings, which reflected in her eyes. She angled her head to one side, trying to ignore her parents fighting in the other room and listened to the sirens blare in the distance.

Muffled voices floated to her window from outside, breaking her concentration. “You damn fool! Who put it into your head to do something like that, huh?” One voice stabbed.

“Callin’ me out, man?” another voice shot. “If you wanna fight, I’ll fight.”

Right below, a gang of ten boys collected. The first boy stepped forward and grabbed the other’s shirt by the collar glaring at him. Lowering his voice, he said, “Just don’t ever pull a stunt like that again, or you’re out. You got that?” His eyes pierced the shadows in a wild frenzy, and he let go of the other boy’s collar pushing him into the brick wall before he stalked farther down the alleyway out of sight.

What was happening? The girl leaned out her window seizing the windowsill to steady herself. The sirens came closer. 

Below, the boys paced in circles, nervously. Some clutched at their hair; others bent forward struggling for breath; and some kicked the brick wall feverishly.

Her head turned to the right when another boy raced around the corner.

“BREAK, KIDS! BREAK! BREAK!”

After hearing this, the boys did not waste a second. They bolted down the alleyway.

In alarm, the girl sat back on her heels. She stared at her bedroom wall blankly with the sounds of sirens still echoing in her ears wondering why the boys needed to escape the cops.