Life in the Atmosphere by Anthony Wilson Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Life
in the Atmosphere
by
Anthony Wilson
Genre:
YA, Coming of Age
Jahlil
Adams is just a regular teenager. In fact, you could say that he is
“super regular” with his glasses, comic books, and cheap fashion
sense. He doesn’t want popularity. He doesn’t want a pretty
girlfriend. He wants to just be who he is. Well that and not to be
bullied by Max Maniac.
Yet,
everything changes once Mr. Malachi gave Jahlil a necklace that he
didn’t even want.
After
that, everything was not the same. In fact, Jahlil began to realize
that there was much more to who he was. There was much more to who
Mr. Malachi was. There was much more to his existence. The lid of
limitations was lifted from Jahlil’s life.
Now,
all that mattered was the limitations that the sky had to offer.
Finally,
the elevator made it to the third floor. As soon as the door opened,
I
swiftly
took myself to room 308 to see my best friend. What I saw had me in a
minor
form
of ease. She was alive. She also had her head wrapped and her leg
extended in the
air.
It must have been broken. Both of her parents were present, which was
also a relief
for
me.
Mrs.
Thompson was a professionally stunning looking woman. Since she did
work
in Chicago in a high-rise building, that much did not come off as a
surprise. Mr.
Thompson
was a pretty tall and charming man that was an executive for the
city. He was
also
clean cut and well managed. I saw why Trisha was so upbeat and
graceful: she got it
from
her parents.
"Hey,
Jahlil! Glad you made it. These are my parents."
"Hello,
Mr. Adams. We've heard so much about you," Mr. Thompson said as
he
extended
his hand like any gentleman should. I shook his hand and noticed the
firmness
of
his grip. I exchanged greetings with him. Her mom, however, gave me a
big hug. I
guess
they were both impressed with me for some apparent reason.
"Well,
I made it. How are you doing, Trisha? What did the doctor say?"
"He
said that I was going to be okay. My leg is broken, though. This
sucks. I
planned
on going to the Valentine's Day dance. Now I can't go."
I
looked at her perplexed and said "Sure, you can go. If you are
in a wheelchair,
I'll
just push you around and spin you like a top."
Being
amused by my smug comments, Trisha laughed and said, "Boy, must
you
always
be silly?"
"You
need to smile, girl. You are still alive after being hit by a car.
Your survival is
a
blessing within itself. Now, you can worry about being dolled up for
the Valentine's
Day
Dance."
Her
mom, feeling the need to say something, stated that "Personally,
I think she
should
still go. She needs to have fun and relax. She needs to be around her
friends like
you
and Khadija. You know Khadija, don't you?"
"How
can I not?" I noted with a hint of sarcasm. "She is forever
making the most
hilarious
statements ever."
"Yeah,
that little girl gets it from her momma. Her mom is the same way:
intellectually
sassy. That's why I like her so much."
"I
know one thing, my good people," Mr. Thompson noted, "I am
hungry. We are
about
to go get something to eat. You want me to bring any of you all
anything?"
"No,
I'm not hungry. Are you hungry, Mr. Malachi?"
"No,
sir," Mr. Malachi said. "I ate a healthy lunch today. I'll
be good until later on
tonight."
"Well,
you all keep an eye on my daughter while we are gone. You know she is
liable
to do anything," Mr. Thompson said with a smile.
"Daddy,
you know I'm not like that! I am a good girl. I stay out of trouble
and do
my
work. Like you taught me."
"This
is true. Well, you all, we will be right back. Take care of her,
now." And just
like
that, The Thompsons were out the door.
Meanwhile,
I pulled up a chair and sat next to Trisha while she was laid up
looking
all broken up. I played with her hair and saw that she had a scar on
the top of
her
head. "Does this hurt up here?"
"Not
like it used to earlier today. It felt much worse then. But don't
touch it. I
don't
want it to hurt again."
Laughing,
I said, "I'll make sure I won't".
In
the meantime, Mr. Malachi was rubbing his hands together while he
looked
out
the window. I had no clue as to what he was looking at, or why he was
looking for
that
matter. But I did notice a glow emanating from his palms. It was
similar to that
same
glow that I would always see coming from this crazy necklace. I could
not be sure if
I
was seeing this or having another Bushwick Bill moment. But I did
understand that I
was
going to have to ask him about this later on.
Only
problem was this: the end of the weirdness I would bear witness to
did not
come
with a definite time.
"Jahlil.
Promise me you won't say anything about what's going to happen right
now?"
Mr. Malachi whispered as he gave me a look of refined seriousness
that I became
used
to from him.
"Yeah.
Sure. Whatever you say." I just kept looking at him. I was
beginning to
wonder
why Trisha hadn't said anything about the glow coming from his hands.
She was
just
relaxing. And why didn't I see his lips move? Okay, this situation
was becoming
more
outlandish by the moment.
"Trisha,
I want to say a prayer for your better healing and living, if that is
alright
with
you," Mr. Malachi said.
Trisha,
in her positive, yet weak condition, just mustered up with saying
"Yeah.
Prayer
is okay with me. Whatever can help me."
He
walked toward Trisha, holding his left hand up and putting his right
hand on
her
head. As soon as he started his prayer, I could see the energy
transfer from his hands
to
her body. At some point, Trisha became engorged in the energy that
Mr. Malachi was
giving
to her. It only lasted a minute, but once it was done, I was left
with my mouth
dropped
open.
Not
truly understanding what was going on, I walked toward Trisha and saw
that
her
head wasn't scared anymore. Did Mr. Malachi just heal her of her
wounds?
"Trisha,
how do you feel?" I asked.
"I
don't know why, but I feel a whole lot better. Thank you, Mr.
Malachi. I guess
it's
true that prayer do work wonders."
Mr.
Malachi, with a smile that could break storm clouds, said "It
was nothing. It
is
just what I was born to do for my people."
Alright,
now I was officially consumed with bewilderment. First, it was this
crucifix
that was given to me for "protection". Then, it was the
fight in the lunchroom
where
I did the unthinkable. Now? I just witnessed a man lay hands on
someone and
heal
them like a firebrand evangelist. This was becoming too much.
"Ready
to go, Young Blood?" Mr. Malachi questioned me as I still stood
in
amazement.
"Yeah,
sure. Trisha, you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah,
Jahlil. I'm so glad that you came to see me. Drive safe and make it
home in
one
piece. No accidents." Trisha chuckled a little bit and smiled,
knowing everything was
going
to be okay. I walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Rubbing her
hand
and looking into her eyes, I knew that she was healed. That alone was
both exciting
and
scary all in one fell swoop.
As
Mr. Malachi and I made it to the elevator, I wanted to wait until it
closed
before
I started my interrogation. As soon as those doors closed, it was
time for me to
get
into private eye mode.
"Okay,
what just happened in there?" I inquired with all due
seriousness and lack
of
understanding.
"It
was a prayer for her healing."
"Okay.
And why do I have to keep it a secret?"
Mr.
Malachi, with a look of deep discontent, said "Because people
cannot know or
find
out what I can do. I will explain this more when the time comes.
Trust me." And
just
like that, the elevator opened.
Trust
him? Really? How was I supposed to do this when he is either keeping
secrets
or making supernatural stuff happen out of thin air? It would be more
reasonable
to explain to me what was going on. Now, he had me in suspense and I
was
finding
this quite irritating. I was getting tired of the strange occurrences
and secrets.
"But
what if I don't trust you?" I said in the most flippant tone as
we walked
outside
to the car.
"You
don't have to, to be honest. But do know one thing, Young Blood:
situations
will
make themselves become known. All questions will be answered in due
time. I know
you
are confused right now. That makes sense. But, you can't force the
truth to occur.
Sometimes,
all you can do is wait. Once it happens, everything else falls into
proper
place
and perspective." And with that said, Mr. Malachi turned on the
radio to listen to
the
rest of A Tribe Called Quest.
I
just sat there and looked out the window. I didn't have any idea as
to what to say
to
all the things he said. I did know that sooner or later, I was going
to get to the bottom
of
this. I wanted the truth. In fact, I deserved the truth because I
could handle it.
Well,
at least that was what I thought.
Anthony
Wilson is a new author that hails from the Midwest. Being that this
is his first book, he took the extra care of creating a 1st person
perspective from the realities of teenage living in the year 2000.
Being that Anthony Wilson is an educator, he wanted to create stories
that students in middle (and even high) school could relate to. Also,
he wanted to create stories that his teenage daughter would be proud
of. When he isn't being a husband, teaching, or writing, Anthony
Wilson also maintains his health through physical activity.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
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