Tight

“‘Focus on school,’ Ma always tells me. ‘There will be friends later. The wrong friends bring drama, and I don’t want them rubbing off on you.’”

Bryan’s mother, aware of the temptations of the street and the danger of bad influences, wants her son to hold true to a life of strong integrity and morals. She encourages him to build good scholastic habits and discourages him from making friends who could pull him in the wrong direction. “Drama,” a word used frequently in Maldonado’s book, refers to both trouble and conflict and represents a recurring problem for the family, mostly due to the violent tendencies of Bryan’s father. However, this tight control over Bryan’s social life is also a source of conflict with his mother, who is otherwise the most important, nurturing figure in his life.

“I know Mike. He gets good grades. When his mother brought in her paperwork, she showed me his report card. And it’s time to change from me telling you no friends because you’re getting older and you need friends. Good friends.”

Bryan’s mother, aware that her husband’s tumultuous life has been partly the result of shady acquaintances, does her best to choose a solid friend for Bryan: one whom she thinks will be a good influence on him because he gets “good grades” in school. The irony is that she does not “know Mike” at all. Many children lead a double life that they cleverly hide from adults, and Mike is especially good at this.

“‘Out of these superheroes’—Mike holds a bunch of comics in both hands the way magicians hold up cards when they ask someone to pick one—‘whose power you want?’”

Comic book superheroes are central to the fantasy lives of the novel’s preteen characters, and they even function as role models of a sort. Children feel drawn to superheroes (whether in comics or movies) partly because they feel a lack of power over their lives, and children in low-income neighborhoods may feel this more acutely than most. Mike, who has access to more comic books than Bryan, is compared to a “magician.” His power over Bryan’s fantasy life feels like a sort of magi, and binds the two of them closer together, priming Bryan to succumb to Mikes’ more harmful influences as the story progresses. 

“That makes me think of when I was little and Pa asked me, ‘Would you rather have people like you or be afraid of you?’ Back then, I said I didn’t know and Pa told me, ‘You want them afraid of you. If they’re afraid, they’ll respect you. Being respected is better than being liked.’”

In one of his rare efforts to advise his son, Bryan’s father sets himself at odds with Bryan’s mother, who believes that getting along with others, calming them down, and talking things out is key to having a “drama”-free life. Pa’s “drama”-filled life and his numerous brushes with the law suggest that he is not the best role model. This dynamic is intensified by the fact that Mike admires Bryan’s Pa for being a “gangster” with a prison record; such admiration serves as an early hint that Mike, despite his good grades, is not as “good” as Bryan’s mother believes him to be.

“He lifts the bag, taps the last chips left into his mouth, then talks all disgusting with his mouth full. ‘Not for you. I bought these for me. Plus, you picked the wrong fighter.’”

Mike, having bonded with Bryan over comics and his masquerade as a good student, now asserts his dominance with an act of selfishness and one-upmanship. This is the first sign that he does not consider Bryan to be an equal partner in their friendship; instead, he regards the protagonist as a follower to bully and push around. With this action, he is testing the limits of Bryan’s tolerance, and Bryan fails the test by not checking Mike’s behavior. After this moment, Mike realizes that he is free to coerce Bryan into misbehaving.

“The whole time we eat popcorn and talk, something is sweeter than the treats: this feeling of chillness, of no drama, of peace. It’s a peace I wish I could bring back to my projects and feel all the time.”

On the Promenade, Bryan and his mother enjoy some quiet time together. Like his mother (and unlike his father), Bryan is naturally drawn to “chillness”: a state of stillness and serenity in which he is free of the noise and tension of his neighborhood. The only “drama” that Bryan enjoys is in the action sequences of his superhero comic books, not in his actual life. Mike, however, will try to pull him into a world of real “drama” that threatens to derail his life and happiness.

“Then, through the side of my eye, I see Mike staring at me in a way I’ve never seen him stare at me before. Like Alex with that fake Steve Harvey smile we just saw him give Pa.”

Another sign that Mike is not a true friend occurs with the unguarded looks he gives Bryan: a “fake” smile covering his anger when he feels bested in some way. He wants to hold all the power in the relationship, and so he resents it whenever Bryan demonstrates superior skill at an activity, such as playing Ms. Pac-Man. Mike’s smarmy smile, compared in the text to that of the comedian Steve Harvey, connects him with Pa’s “snake”-like acquaintance Alex, who is an obvious troublemaker. This pattern gives Bryan another bad vibe, which he ignores, to his detriment.

“My grades don’t drop because I get excused and make up the work. I do extra good in school, so people don’t ever think I do stuff like this. See, it’s easy.”

Bryan has failed to push back against any of Mike’s various “tests,” so the latter feels comfortable enough to reveal how he frequently deceives adults. In this moment, Bryan learns that Mike’s good grades are just a disguise for his illicit and sometimes illegal behavior. As the days go by, he draws Bryan into his manipulations little by little, starting with relatively innocuous activities like playing hooky and proceeding steadily to more alarming and dangerous activities.

“‘You think Mike is cool peeps?’ I ask. […] She gurgles and spits. ‘You probably questioning him because you soft.’”

Bryan’s sister Ava enjoys teasing him, but she never means him any harm. Here, however, she unwittingly weakens his resistance to Mike’s corrupting influence by suggesting that her brother is too “soft” to have a “cool” friend like Mike. Like her mother, she is taken in by Mike’s show of good behavior. Her teasing words give voice to Bryan’s own inner fears that his bad vibes about Mike are rooted mostly in cowardice rather than in honesty or common sense.

“I come back with Ma’s notebook where she writes down recipes and my composition notebook. I start trying to copy her handwriting. […] Mike watches me, smiling. ‘It almost looks the same. You’ll be a pro in no time. Keep going.’”

Under Mike’s cynical tutelage, Bryan crosses an ethical line, forging his mother’s handwriting so that he can cut school. This is a betrayal of the most important person in his life—the one he most loves and identifies with—and he does it for a person who shows few signs of being a true friend. What especially complicates this decision is the reality that he has pursued this “friendship” largely to make his mother happy.

“It might sound silly, but I feel far away from who I am. […] He knows that I’ll follow him. Because I have to. I have no train money to ride home. Even if I did have money, I’ve never ridden the train before.”

Mike expertly exhibits his power over Bryan by making the boy dependent on himself to get home, suggesting that he has done this before to other “friends.” Now Bryan must follow Mike and do what he wants despite any misgivings he might have. It is also significant that whenever Mike pushes Bryan a little too far, he always makes it a point to give him a small reward: in this case, the “chill” of reading comics in Starbucks. Bryan, who was on the verge of pushing back and abandoning the friendship, is won over again and pulled more deeply into Mike’s manipulations.

“He stays competitive and the look on his face matches Reverse Flash on TV. His smile reminds me of when I waxed him in Ms. Pac-Man at the arcade. Back then, I wasn’t sure if he was fake-smiling, but right now, I’m sure he is.”

Mike, who sees himself as being the only “superhero” in their relationship, takes umbrage with Bryan’s use of the word “we” when comparing their “train-surfing” to the Flash. He bridles at any suggestion that Bryan is his equal (let alone his superior), and he also flashes the same hostile smile as when Bryan beats him in a video game. Mike tries to keep Bryan in a subservient role with repeated attacks on his self-esteem. Here, Bryan finally begins to see through Mike’s fake friendliness, although he is still not sure of the reasons for Mike’s cruel behavior.

“I watch him and his parents leave Ma’s job, and as soon as they are out the door, Mike says, ‘Y’all sounded mad giddy and kiddy.’ He mocks us, whining, ‘Okay, Human Torch.’ He lets out one fake laugh. ‘I felt like I was watching a chick flick and you two were breaking up.’”

Mike, worried that Bryan has found a new friend and is slipping out of his control, mocks him for his closeness with Kamau, a boy whom Bryan has just met at his mother’s office. Again, after Bryan challenges him, Mike apologizes, for he does not want to make Bryan angry enough to break away from him completely, especially since Bryan has shown that he can bond with other boys as well. Mike shows this same jealousy when he later sees Bryan talking to Big Will.

“When Mike cracks a joke, Little Kevin laughs like Mike is the funniest person alive. If Mike stands a certain way, Little Kev copycats him. It’s mad annoying and reminds me of when I first thought that Mike was the man.”

In this section of the story, Mike proves that he can have other “friends,” too—or at least, other admirers. Little Kevin is a small, probably friendless boy who hero-worships the boastful Mike. Likewise, Mike basks in the younger boy’s admiration but cares nothing about his welfare. It is significant that Bryan finds Little Kevin annoying because his worshipful manner reminds him of his own behavior before he lost some of his trust and respect for Mike. Seeing himself in this way, Bryan feels even more ashamed of having allowed Mike to push him around.

“He can’t hear me because of the outside sound, but Mike is grinning. His eyes look like I don’t expect—happy. The cops’ve got little Kevin, but Mike is just happy that he didn’t get caught.”

Mike feels absolutely no remorse for getting his new “friend” in trouble. Indeed, he is delighted, since it makes him feel more powerful. He has led someone else astray and gotten away with it himself. (For a certain type of personality, much of the fun of winning is seeing someone else lose.) Bryan, who has just recognized an earlier version of himself in the smaller boy, now wonders if Mike would be just as happy if Bryan were to be caught by the cops.

“I look at my kicks. I feel grimy. Me and Ma used to have the bomb relationship. I used to be able to tell her anything. Now, I lie to her left and right for Mike, who probably gives two craps about me.”

Bryan’s mother has found out about his skipping school and about the notes he forged in her hand. Still, Bryan continues to lie to her by choosing not to tell his mother about Mike’s role in his recent misbehavior. His closeness with his mother, his best friend in the world, is being compromised by his continued loyalty to a person who cares nothing at all for his well-being.

“There she goes again: Pa. She already threatened to leave me alone with Pa, so she doesn’t have to tell me twice to stay away from Mike. Done.”

Feeling that she has failed to reach her son through talking with him, Bryan’s mother threatens to leave him alone with his father, who often turns to violence when he is angry. She has never let Pa hurt him in the past, so this threat may be just a bluff. Still, he takes it very seriously. It is clear, from her reaction, that this is the worst thing he has ever done, and a serious breach of trust—and she does not even know the worst of it: the turnstile-jumping and “train-surfing.”

“I start walking away. ‘I guess I’ll be a nerd.’”

In this scene, Bryan demonstrates a new inner strength and self-awareness by resisting Mike’s peer pressure to meet up with him after school. Mike has tried to shame him into disobeying his mother, whom he calls “corny,” by suggesting that Bryan is a “nerd” if he does what she says. Bryan’s loyalty has shifted back to his mother and her values, and he turns his back on his two-faced friend.

“Okay, before I thought it was Big Will’s size that made dudes back down, but I know this isn’t the reason now.”

Big Will, a respected, easygoing boy his own age, makes Bryan question his father’s claim that the only way to earn respect is to inspire fear in people. Big Will does not threaten other kids or get into fights, and, as Bryan discovers, it is not his size that keeps him out of trouble but his calming, accommodating manner. Big Will makes others feel comfortable because he is comfortable with himself: he does not need to fight or threaten people like Bryan’s father does, nor does he put others down out of envy, as Mike is known to do. 

“The third reason I smile is I just now notice Melanie from school is five benches away talking with three of her girlfriends from school. As I think it’s cool that she likes it back here too, she looks over and waves for me and Big Will to come over.”

Melanie, a girl Bryan’s age, introduces a positive form of peer pressure to his life by making him wish to show her a better version of himself. Part of the reason that Bryan s so offended by Mike’s “foul” behavior in public (such as when he bullies James) is because Melanie saw it and looked at him as if he were an “idiot” for hanging out with Mike. Bryan clearly values Melanie’s opinion, and her disapproval feeds his own inner sense that Mike is not a good friend. Here, Bryan has partly redeemed himself in her eyes by hanging out with Big Will, whom she admires, and she encourages his new friendship with her own friendliness.

“I think how different me and Big Will’s friendship is from me and Mike’s. It’s just chill and fun and there’s no drama. He gets amped about Ms. Pac-Man the way I do. He wants me to get high scores in that game and doesn’t ever flash me weird, jealous looks. And he geeks out, for real. Not like Mike, who pretends to Ma that he likes school but is more hypnotized by dudes pushing fat whips with shiny dip rims.”

Big Will is a true friend in that he genuinely respects Bryan and enjoys his company, which includes enjoying his victories and strengths, even when Bryan beats him in a game. Mike, on the other hand, is only interested in dominating Bryan and making him feel inferior, as a way of boosting his own sense of self-importance. Big Will also values knowledge and learning, as opposed to the superficial status symbols (flashy cars with gaudy hubcaps) that “hypnotize” image-obsessed people like Mike.

“So, you see that you made choices, right? You chose not to talk first with him. You chose to follow him when he was making the wrong choices, and then you chose to explode on him.”

Bryan’s mother, who chooses Mike to be a potential friend for Bryan because he seems to be a good kid, nonetheless points out to Bryan that he has made some bad choices as well. Although he discovers fairly quickly that Mike is not a good person, he continues to hang out with him and even encourages his bad behavior, and Bryan’s mother takes her son to task for these poor choices. Additionally, she insists that Bryan take responsibility for his own choice to be goaded into a fight instead of trying to calm Mike down.

“When I fought Mike, I felt like Luke Cage. But what good did being stronger than Mike do? I wasn’t thinking. I was just swinging. That made things worse.”

In this passage, Bryan realizes that real life is more complex than a comic book, and that violence, though it can be satisfying on an immediate level (just like a flashy car), rarely solves life’s problems. His father’s multiple arrests and crime-filled life are proof of that.