A Peek Into Joe Washington's Life

His roommate had left for class long ago, and Joe had no lady friend to wake him on time.

At 8:45, Joe Washington hurriedly prepares for a 9:00 class in solitude.

The short walk to class is an endless journey, as Joe feels the isolation of an outlaw.

Weighing on his mood is a losing investment in Cisco Systems. In March, Joe bet on the tech bell-weather. But by November, the price had dropped by 30 points, and his faith in the networking company evaporated. Joe sold out and ate a big loss.

He passes a group of freshmen. Sadly, Joe realizes that many of these new faces never will realize their potential in a world of negativity.

Upon crossing Raleigh Street, Joe runs into Montego Gray. The two men cross paths without exchanging a word.

To some, Montego has it all: He is popular, dresses in designer clothing, drives an impressive Ford Expedition and always has stacks of green (bills and leaves).

Joe is oblivious to Montego's status. He knows that Montego is weak.

As Joe enters Hamilton Hall, he bumps into Montego's girlfriend, Goldie.

He feels the tension as she rubs against him on her way out.

Most think that Goldie has it going on. Her hair, nails and skin are flawless; she has a seductive hourglass figure to go with her beautiful face; she never wears the same outfit twice; she can light up a room with her engaging personality.

Again, Joe isn't fooled. He knows from first-hand experience about Goldie's shadiness.

Joe is too exhausted to pay attention in Drama 16. Upon leaving Hamilton 100, Joe can't repeat one word that Professor Mitchell uttered during the lecture.

En route to his room, he receives a page with the number 914-9760-69.

The red-light special.

Joe returns the page and hears a familiar voice on the other end.

"What's up, Joe?"

"Hey, Goldie."

"What are you doin' right now? Is your roommate home?"

"I'm just chillin'. My roomie's out. He went to close a deal on a car."

"I'll be right over."

Two hours later, Joe had been put to sleep after his rendez-vous with Goldie. He awakens to a knock at his door and finds Goldie missing.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Iris."

Joe frantically scans his room for evidence.

"Alright, come in."

"When did you start listening to Al Green? And what's that smell?"

"Nothing."

"Have you been messing with Goldie again? You better leave that girl alone. She's trouble, and her boyfriend's crazy. He'll do anything to prove that he's a thug."

"Whatever, Iris. You have a great imagination. I don't even talk to that girl."

Although friends, Iris Brown and Joe Washington have feelings for each other. Joe loves Iris' innocence. Her beauty and sparkling personality are his inspiration.

Iris loves Joe's ambition. Through sheer will, Joe had destroyed all barriers standing in his way.

At the age of 20, Joe's future was bright.

Not to mention he was a cutie.

After some chill time, Iris makes a stop at The Circus Room on her way back to Cobb.

There, Goldie is purchasing some Lemonheads while grittin' on her nemesis. She leaves the establishment to scan Carolina's Directory. She spots the name Brown, Iris. She dials the number and leaves this message: "You better stop looking at Montego like that. Are you %!2*&$%^ him? I bet you are; just like how you give it up to Joe. You little freak. I told my girls about you, and now everybody knows about your schemes!"

Iris hears the message and laughs - she knows the deal. She has no plots to steal Montego, and she never is going to get involved with Joe while he has relations with Goldie.

Nobody would believe Goldie. Last week, the news leaked that she had a man in Durham, a man back home in Greensboro and Montego, plus Joe on the side. Goldie had lost credibility in the UNC bubble.

Thursday rolls around and The Treehouse is the spot.

Goldie sashays through the club in an all-black skintight outfit. Without question, the girl is sexy, and she loves all the attention thrown at her.

She spots Iris wrapped around Joe in the corner and begins her usual act. Her tipsiness from the Remy makes it even easier for her to operate. Normally, Joe would have ditched Iris for the instant satisfaction of Goldie, but this time is different.

Joe's outlook had changed.

After the party, Joe does not want the night to end. He invites Iris over to spend some more time together.

Iris is ready tonight. She plans to finally let herself go. She knows she will spend the night with Joe.

As the two stroll down the walkway to Joe's dorm, a black Expedition rolls up smelling of weed smoke.

Montego jumps out of the SUV and draws a .22 on Joe. He pulls the trigger and Iris' scream is the only frequency to pierce the air.

The gun has jammed.

Joe sees his opportunity and begins to wrestle with Montego for control. The weapon falls to the ground and Joe picks it up to pull the trigger with no remorse.

This time the gun fires, and Joe Washington blasts Montego Gray mercilessly, sending him to the grave with six holes in his corpse.

Montego has been annihilated by the .22.

Philosophy .22 was only meant to

support the positive. Reach Kofi at bofah26@email.unc.edu.