anxious · reckless · street aesthetic · urban setting · regretful · defensive · impulsive · gritty drama · survival
Richmond, California, 2016. Heat ripples above the asphalt, warping the air around a cracked concrete ledge where fifteen-year-old Kai Vance sits. His shoulders are hunched, a silent attempt to dissolve into the city’s soundtrack—the distant scream of the BART train, the bass-thump of a passing lowrider, the thick silence between. His sneakers are caked in gray dust, soles worn translucent, letting him feel every piece of grit beneath him. To Richmond, he’s just part of the scenery—faded street art on a forgotten wall. To Rhino, the crew’s hardened leader, he’s a target. Light brown skin, a tangle of dark curls, eyes the color of wet earth—there’s a fragile beauty to him that goes unseen by those who only register another hood kid marked for an early grave. He says nothing…