G-Force Chapter 1: Adoption
Written by Rock Kitaro at the age of 15
It was August 31st 1997. Chris and I were in the same fifth grade class when a woman named Elle May stopped by.
“Good morning! You probably already know me but my name is Ms. May. I work for the 21st Century Fox casting crew.”
The class suddenly quieted down.
“That means they’re going to do a movie down here?” asked a girl.
“No! That means they’re going to do a movie down here!” Chris said sarcastically.
“You know, that’s just the kind of talent we need for this movie. If you’re interested, raise your hand.” Ms. May said, cutting off the class’s snickering.
Ms. May handed everyone an application and told them what the movie was about and who was going to be in it. “Auditions will be held tomorrow in the gym. Good luck.” And with that, Ms. May left.
“So what do you think about the movie?” Chris asked as we walked home.
“Do you really think you have a chance?” I asked.
“Of course, Majestic! You didn’t hear her? In her own words she said that I was the kind of talent she needs. Plus! In the application, it says they are looking for someone who can sing, dance, and fight. Who can do that better than us?”
“I can’t fight.” I told him.
…
That night, mom and dad came home unusually late. They brought pizza home for dinner, so I didn’t mind.
“So what’s this movie about?” Mom asked.
“Oh! It’s about a sweet little princess who mysteriously falls asleep and a prince has to come wake her up.” Chris answered.
“So what’s this movie about?” Mom asked, specifically looking at me.
“It’s about a group of friends who move to a new school, which so happens to be where a group of girls who they hate, also go to school. It’s stupid. I told her.
“It’s not stupid!” Chris shouted. “It’s better than that lame ass CD we did.”
Mom popped Chris in the lips. “Watch your mouth! Now who’s in this movie?”
I tried not to laugh as I answered, “Some boys named Ken and Ryu.”
“Ken and Ryu!” Mom said astonished. “Ken and Ryu are two of the most famous kids in America.”
“Yeah? Well, you should get out more.” Chris muttered.
Dad and I started to laugh.
That night, Chris and I stood up late practicing for the auditions tomorrow. “Do you think we’ll make it?” Chris asked.
“You’re my inspiration, Chris. If you don’t think we’ll make it, then why the hell are we even trying?” I said before doing a spin.
We laid down in the warm green grass and relax when Chris said, “This could be the only chance we get to leave this ghost town.”
“Augusta’s not so bad.”
“Yeah, if you’re a redneck.” Said Chris.
I ignored that remark.
“Call me crazy, Majestic, but for some reason I think there’s something out there waiting for me.”
“Chris…you’re crazy.”
I couldn’t sleep that night. Some of it was about the auditions, but mostly it was because of what Chris told me. In a way, I kinda knew what Chris was talking about. I personally couldn’t believe why anyone would want to shoot a movie in Augusta. But ever since I turned eleven, which was a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been having a dream and a nightmare in the same night.
I would be dreaming of fighting someone. I couldn’t make out their face. But, while I’m fighting with this guy, there was a girl watching as if we were fighting for her. The first dream would be on a clear night and the second would be on a dark and stormy night. The odd thing is, the fight on the clear night would be the nightmare. And the night on the dark stormy night would be a sweet dream. The only person I told that to was Chris. And Chris told me not to believe in it. Because I didn’t know how to fight.
…
The next morning, I woke up at about 7:25, both nervous and excited. Chris woke me up by screaming “GET UP” in my ear as he did every day. I wore a black Nike shirt with some baggy blue jean shorts. Chris wore a yellow Tasmanian Devil shirt with khaki shorts.
“Good morning boys!” mom said.
“Good morning.” We said in unison.
By that time, dad had already left. He worked for the local cable company while mom was a 6th grade teacher. Every day, Chris and I caught the bus, which would take us to Goshen Elementary before eight. When we arrived, we’d mosey on over to the parking lot. We were the outcasts at our schools because people didn’t understand the dynamics of us being brothers of different races. Chris being blue-eyed and blond. Myself, black with a sheer fade.
“What time do we have to be at the gym?” Chris asked.
“At nine. You nervous?”
Before Chris could answer, we heard the screeching tires of a jet-black limo pulling into the parking lot. Chris and I ran to a corner to hide. When the limo stopped, a short penguin looking man ran to the back door. Out stepped an impressive reddish-brown haired boy wearing a red Coca-Cola shirt and some brown cargo pants. Next, stepped out a lean Japanese-American kid with hair as black as the limo, wearing a white Nike shirt and a pair of blue jean shorts.
“Do you think you can handle it from here?” Asked the driver.
The boys looked at each other for a moment. “I think we’ll manage.” The red-head said.
With that, the driver ran back in the car and drove off.
They looked around like a couple of lost boys for a minute. Then Chris and I walked over.
“What’s up? My name is Majestic and this is my little brother, Chris.”
They looked at each other with bewilderment and started to chuckle. “I’m sorry. My name is Ken. This is my adopted brother, Ryu.” The red-head told us.
Right away, a couple of questions erupted in my head. Could this be the Ken and Ryu mom was talking about? Are they a part of the casting crew? And what did adopted mean?
“You guys look lost. Can we help you?” Chris asked.
“Yeah. We need to get to your gym.” Said Ken.
“No problem. Follow us.” Chris told them.
Right away, I didn’t like Ryu. It was the look he gave me when Chris asked if they need help. He gave us a look as if our sole purpose on Earth was to serve him. Ken seemed cool. I couldn’t recognize his accent, but in a way, I wish I had it.
“So what grade you guys in?” Ken asked.
“Fifth.” Chris answered.
“And? Are you guys auditioning for the movie?” Ken asked.
“Yeah! We’re going to rock that casting crew!” Chris blurted out.
“Well here’s the gym. We got to go.” I told them.
“Appreciate it! Catch you guys later. And good luck.” Ken told us.
We watched as they entered the gym before heading to class.
“Was that the Ken and Ryu mom was talking about?” Chris asked.
“I dunno.”
“Do you think they’re part of the casting crew?”
“I dunno.”
“One last question, Majestic. What does adopted mean?”
“It probably means the same thing as step-brothers. Anyways. What did you think about Ken and Ryu?”
“I don’t like Ryu. Something in his eyes tells me he’s stuck up. Ken seems cool. I wish I had his accent.”
I put my arm around his neck. “You know, Chris. There’s no doubt in my mind. We are real brothers.”
…
In class, I could hardly pay attention. Beside the fact of that fine girl sitting on the other side of class, I actually felt like I was about to vomit. My palms were sweaty. And Chris kept flicking rubber bands at me. Chris worried me. He didn’t seem nervous at all. As if there was nothing about to happen.
At 8:30, an announcement came on telling everyone who had a signed application to go to the gym.
“That’s us!” Chris shouted, full of enthusiasm.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, hoping he would back down.
He frowned at me and growled, “Let’s go.”
My knees began to shake as I was walking down the hallway. With every step, I felt like I was going to break like an ant under a mountain. Luckily, with an audition line of about thirty before us, I had a chance to pull myself together.
It seemed the movie would be called, “The New Kids on the Block.” Chris started to loosen himself up.
“Alright, Majestic. Do you remember the moves I taught you?”
“Yeah.” I said, feeling like I had a block of ice in my throat.
And what made it worst was the fact that a girl just ran by crying. Chris had the nerve to laugh at her as she was passing by. But I knew…rejection would be brutal.
“NEXT!” Yelled Ms. May.
“Alright, Majestic. This is it. You ready?” Chris asked.
“Yeah.” I said.
“Good. Now lets go kick some ass.” Chris said.
On our way to hand our applications to Ms. May, we saw Ken and Ryu.
“Well, if it isn’t our little class clown.” Said Ms. May. “Let’s see if you can put that talent to good use.”
“State your name and what you are doing.” Said one of the casting crew.
“My name is Majestic and this is my little brother Chris. We’re going to perform ‘Every Little Thing I Do’ by Soul for Real.”
I started to loosen up when the music started playing. The strange thing is, when the music came on I felt energized. I couldn’t think of anything else except performing. It was awesome. I was nailing every note and dancing every step. It looked so cool how me and Chris were performing. Our voices were together and our dance steps were in sync. In the end, when Chris hit this high note, we slowly took a spin and crossed our arms like we were all that.
Everyone was impressed by our performance and gave us a standing ovation. Our beaming faces could never express how proud we were of ourselves. But it seemed that one face out there was not that pleased.
As Ken and Ryu came forward from the small crew, Ryu blurted out, “You guys are a joke. If you call that talent you should be shot.”
Those were the first words the honorable, brave, and loyal Ryu had ever said to me. And quite frankly, it pissed me off.
At that point, Chris and I couldn’t care less about the movie anymore. All we could think about was beating the hell out of that self-centered, arrogant, Ryu. We started to walk over until Ken stepped in.
“Forget with Ryu said. You guys were awesome. I just finished talking to Ms. May and she said you guys got the part.”
“We did? We did!!!” Chris shouted.
“Wait, we didn’t get to do our fight?” I said.
“You don’t need to. You guys got the lead roles.” Ken said.
“What’s up with your boy, Ryu? He almost got his ass beat.” I said.
“Ryu is just jealous. Majestic, you guys have a talent we’ve never seen before. I hope you guys aren’t dropping out because of Ryu. You guys are, well I think, are made for this business. And if you are serious, you got to learn not to let things get to you.”
…
Through the rest of the day, I kept thinking about what Ken said. For a movie star, he seemed pretty wise.
Before Chris and I went home, we rode a limo to Ken and Ryu’s hotel room. And before we got there, Ken and Ryu were just getting relaxed and turned on the TV.
“Why did you say that to them?” Ken asked Ryu.
“Do you know when Amy and the girls are flying in?” Ryu asked.
Ken gave him a grim look.
Ryu sighed. “I guess I was a little jealous. It’s no big deal.”
“Majestic said he was about to beat yo ass.” Ken smirked.
Ryu snorted. “Majestic the black kid?”
Ken nodded.
“Judging from the way he was dancing, he apparently doesn’t know how to fight. You might have to teach him.”
Ken took off his shoes and laid back on his bed. “Yeah, that’s what I’m planning to do.”
“Just don’t show him your special moves.” Ryu warned.
“What do you take me for?” Ken said.
“Ken.” Ryu said bluntly. “I take you for Ken.”
…
At about 3:30, Chris and I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel. It was the most elaborate hotel I’ve ever been in. Of course, I was only eleven at the time. Chris knocked on the door. Ryu answer it.
“Hey.” He said bluntly.
I looked at Chris, who was already starting to get irritated. “What’s up?” I greeted.
We walked in seeing Ken playing Madden 97. “What’s up you guys! So you ready to get started?”
Chris, who was still eye-balling Ryu nodded sure.
“Here are the scripts!” Ken said, tossing a thick pamphlet our way.
“So what’s this movie about?” I asked.
Ryu answered, “It’s about four boys, the part we’ll be playing. Moving from a school where a group of girls used to beat up on us. The thing is, before we moved, they moved. And it just so happens that we moved to the same school they moved to.”
“We get beat up by a bunch of girls?” Chris asked.
Ken and Ryu nodded. Chris and I busted out laughing. We were laughing so hard that my stomach began to hurt. And of course when Chris fell to the floor laughing. Ken and Ryu started to giggle too.
“What’s the use of knowing how to fight if we’re going to get beat up!?” Chris said, wheezing with laughter.
“Oh! That reminds me. Majestic, do you know how to scrap?” Ken asked.
“No.” I answered pulling myself together.
“Yo when’s a good time we can go to your house to teach you?” Ken asked.
“We can go right now. We have to be home by six and my mom seems to be a big fan of you guys.” I told him.
Ken looked at Ryu, who was starting to warm up to us. Ryu nodded. “Let’s go.”
We were wild. Running through the halls, laughing and screaming and of course Chris had to break a couple of things. By time we got to the parking lot, there was a small crowd of girls chasing us. We jumped in the car and sped off.
“YEAH! Now that was fun. Let’s do that again.” Chris shouted.
We all started laughing.
“You know, you guys are alright.” Ryu told Chris and I.
“Back atcha!” Chris said with a beaming smile.
That day, we gained two new friends.
When we pulled in the driveway, Dad was cutting the front yard. But of course, as any normal person would do, he stopped to see who was in the limo.
“Hey, what’s up Dad?” Chris said, jumping out of the limo.
“What’s a limousine doing in our driveway?” Dad asked.
“We have company.” I told him. “Dad, I want you to meet our new friends. Ken and Ryu. We made it!”
I could tell by the look on Dad’s face that he couldn’t believe it. Ken and Ryu shook Dad’s hand. Then we all went into the backyard to help dad put away the mower and lawn equipment. Ryu told dad details about the movie while Ken and Chris started throwing a football around. Then Dad and I went inside.
“So you guys got any fine girls around here?” Ken asked Chris.
“You know. If Serena heard you say that, she’d probably slap the teeth out of your mouth right about now.” Ryu said, throwing the ball at Chris.
“Man please! Serena don’t tell me what to do? I tell her what to do! Wait till she gets down here. I’mma talk about every fine honey I see.” Ken bragged.
“Yeah, well. That’s gonna be hard since there aren’t many fine hunnies around.” Chris said.
Ken caught the football and kicked it to the sky. The ball got so high that Chris lost sight of it. Finally, the ball bounced and landed on top of the chimney.
“Aww man. There’s goes three…”
Before Chris could finish, Ken jumped at twenty feet to reach the top of the chimney and retrieved the football. Chris’s jaw dropped. “How…” he said in disbelief.
Ken and Ryu laughed a little and went inside the house.
…
Inside, I was telling Mom and Dad about how Chris and I made the auditions, got the lead parts, and made two new friends. When Ken and Ryu entered, mom went hysterical. The boys shook Mom’s hand and agreed to stay for dinner. Mom even had them take a picture with us. It was all very surreal. Very pleasant. Unforgettable.
At about six, Ken and Ryu were watching the news with dad while Chris and I were cleaning our rooms.
“Majestic, man. You are not gonna believe what I’m about to tell you.” Chris told me with whispery excitement.
I paid attention.
“Alright, we were throwing the football around and having a good tie, until Ken kicks the football way up in the sky. Man, he kicked so hard I couldn’t even see it.”
“That’s not impossible.” I said bluntly.
“No! The strange thing was that it landed on the roof. And Ken jumped to the top of the roof and got it.”
I stared at him for a moment.
“That’s a bunch of BS, Chris”.
“Dog, how high can you jump? About ten feet right? Just enough to reach the rim. Well, this guy jumped, I’ll say at least thirty.”
“He’s right. I did jump to the top of the house.” Ken said as he and Ryu stood in the door way.
“How did you do that?!” Chris asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you guys the knowledge of energy.” Ken said.
“What does energy have to do with it?” I asked.
Before he could answer, mom called us to come and eat.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Ken assured me with that amused smirk on his face.
…
“So what we havin?” Chris said as he did every night.
“We’re having steak, mashed potatoes, and corn on a cob. You guys do eat that?” Mom asked Ken and Ryu.
They nodded. For a woman who usually gripes over the burden of cooking, she was for some reason proud today.
“So guys, tell me about yourselves.” Mom encouraged them.
“Well, my name is Ken Masters. I was born on Halloween, 1986 up in Seattle. My dad’s the famous producer Ben Masters who’s currently in Los Angeles signing papers for this here movie. Um…I lived my life in Seattle until I was about four. My dad was visiting a cousin in Japan and brought me to a martial arts instructor. That’s where I met Ryu who became my sparring partner. When I was seven, my dad adopted Ryu to live with us in Los Angeles. There, I went on to win two consecutive junior martial arts championships. Oh! And I also have a girlfriend named Serena.”
“My name is Ryu. I was born in Japan. My mother’s name is Rose and I have a little sister who lives with her name Sakura. I visit them every other four weeks or so. Ken’s dad adopted me so we could continue to be sparring partners and make music. At eight, Ken and I formed a pop duo called Savage Garden.”
“Oh yeah! That’s right!” Ken said, interrupting Ryu.
“And as Ken said, we were training since we were four years old. We fly to Japan and Thailand routinely to continue our tutelage. I make straight A’s and can speak six different languages. I also have a girlfriend. Her name is Amy.”
After dinner, Ken and Ryu thanked our parents for their hospitality.
“Well, we have to go. Our managers said we have to check in at the hotel by eight.” Ken said.
“That must suck.” Said Chris.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. So what do you guys have planned?” I asked them.
“We’re going to meet the girls at the airport in Atlanta. Want to come?” Ken invited.
Chris and I asked mom.
“What girls do you have to pick up?” Mom asked.
“The girls in the movie.” Ken said as if there was no other way to describe them.
“Ask you dad,” Mom said.
We easily persuaded Dad to say yes. Ryu told us to be ready by nine a.m.
…
That night, while Chris and I were watching Spongebob Squarepants, I kept thinking about the word, “adoption.” I eventually went into Mom and Dad’s room while they were in bed and just straight up asked them. She turned off the TV.
“What do you mean?” Mom asked.
“Well, Ken said that Ryu was his adopted brother. Is Chris my adopted brother?”
I could tell they were taken aback. Mom told me to go get Chris. We came back and sat down in their room, preparing ourselves for something that would shake me to the very core.
“Boys, what were are about to tell you won’t change anything. In 1988, your dad and I went to an orphanage to adopt two boys. I wasn’t able to reproduce because I got my tubes tied. The boys we adopted were black and white. We named them Majestic and Chris.”
At that point, I tuned out of the conversation. It was too much for me to handle. Given my age, I couldn’t understand most of the things she was saying. But I did understand the fact that I was adopted and Chris wasn’t my real brother. At the end of the talk, I didn’t know how to feel. I guess a little was frustration. But most was anger. I was angry because I didn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want me. Why did my real parents put me in an orphanage? I wished I could remember them.
…
The next day was unusual. I woke up without Chris screaming in my ear. It was about seven o’clock when I checked the top bunk to find Chris was missing. I looked throughout the house and couldn’t find him. On a Saturday morning, I would usually see Chris eating Fruity Pebbles and watching “Hey Arnold”.
Finally, I peered outside to find Chris fighting an imaginary person. It was a very hazy morning. The sun was just creeping over the horizon. I couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears on Chris’s face. Either way, I was concerned.
I stepped out into the backyard and called his name. “Chris!”
“Don’t talk to me. I don’t know you.” Chris responded.
“Chris, what are you talking about? I knew you my whole life.”
“WHAT LIFE!?” Chris shouted, now running towards me.
“Chris!” I called out.
I didn’t know what to do. I saw the intense rage in his eyes. He punched me hard in the stomach. I fell to my knees and blood started to drizzle from my nose. That couldn’t be good. He was ridiculously strong and it took me some time for me to even bear the pain of stretching my abs to look up at him.
“Chris, who we are doesn’t change what we are. We’re brothers. We’ll always be brothers.” I said, still cringing, straining from the pain.
Almost immediately, he dropped to his knees and started crying. “I’m sorry man. You will always be my best friend.” He said.
Last night’s talk seemed to have a huge effect on Chris. He still wanted to go to Atlanta, though. We didn’t tell Mom about our confrontation in the backyard because she might have canceled our trip to talk more about the adoption. I really didn’t want to hear that word ever again.
Stage In The Sky 