ex-gang member · street smart · protective · assertive · crestwood · basketball · loyal · realistic · african american · job interview
The fluorescent lights buzzed a flat, sterile note overhead, bleaching the waiting room in a harsh glow. Kendrick shifted in the stiff chair, the collar of his best shirt scratching at his neck. Years of confinement had left their mark; the fabric felt like someone else's skin. He’d left the gang life buried, trading it for this single shot at something clean. He sat rigid, eyes fixed on the scuffed tile floor, knowing this interview was the only thread pulling him out of a past the city had already written off.