How It Went Down

Tyrell was Tariq’s best friend. The two made a pact when younger (a pact that included Sammy and Junior) to never join a gang. Tyrell used to always be protected by Tariq, which meant that he never had to worry about the peer pressure of joining a gang. Now that Tariq is dead, Tyrell is faced with the daunting task of being bullied by the 8-5 Kings to join. He’s a numbers person and loves math, and he hopes to leave Underhill to go to college, but he wonders if he will become yet another statistic and join the Kings. By the novel’s end, however, Tyrell realizes what Tariq would have wanted and finds the courage to say no to Brick and the 8-5 Kings. He helps Tina bury a knife that Tariq had and realizes that he just needs to be himself.

Jennica is the girlfriend of Noodle. She’s at the scene when Tariq is killed and rushes over to give him CPR. She’s unable to place her mouth on his, and is ultimately unable to save him, two things that haunt her for the rest of the narrative. Tariq’s death causes Jennica to reevaluate her life with the Kings. She grows tired of Noodle and always getting drunk and high. When she meets Kimberly, she finds that she wants to be strong and to seek out a better life for herself. She eventually stands up to Noodle and breaks up with him; by the novel’s end, she and Kimberly are on the road to becoming good friends.

Noodle is Brick’s second-in-command for the 8-5 Kings. Noodle never really liked Tariq, and Tariq’s death makes Noodle even angrier due to the overbearing shadow it casts on everyone for days after. His girlfriend, Jennica, is nearly inconsolable. Brick, who liked Tariq, wants Noodle to say positive things to the press about Tariq and even lie about some things. Noodle realizes that Jennica is too good for him, yet when she eventually breaks up, he refuses to let her go. He abuses her twice in the narrative, and when she finally leaves him, he seeks to take his anger out on Tyrell but is stopped by Brick. He tells everyone in the end that he left Jennica.

Brick is the leader of the 8-5 Kings. He was friends with Tariq. Both of their sisters have developmental issues and the two boys grew close due to taking care of their sisters. Brick wanted Tariq to be his second-in-command, and it’s hinted that he thought Tariq was finally about to step up to the task when he was killed. Brick doesn’t think Noodle has what it takes, but he does like Jennica and thinks that she is smarter than Noodle. Now that Tariq is dead, Brick wants Tyrell to join the Kings so that he can protect him. He believes that this is what Tariq would have wanted. He’s shocked at the end of the novel when Tyrell finally finds the strength to stand up and say no to him.

Tina is Tariq’s younger sister. She has a disability, and Tariq used to always look after her. Her points-of-view in the narrative are clipped and, at times, poetic, as she sees the world differently than most. Tina often imbues what is happening with the simple wisdom of a child. She finds Tariq’s knife in his room and hides it from the police. She then takes it away and, when Tyrell finds her, they bury it together at Tariq’s gravesite.

Reverend Sloan is a politician and a celebrity of sorts. Though initially not wanting to get involved with the Tariq Johnson case, he realizes that it will help him in the polls. In time, however, Reverend Sloan can’t help but feel a part of what’s going on in Underhill. He also struggles with his carnal nature, a fact made known from his own words, and also when he meets Kimberly. He struggles with his lust for her throughout the narrative. He helps the Johnson family and, eventually, returns to Washington.

Kimberly is a hairstylist in Underhill who isn’t that sad that Tariq is gone. He always bullied her, and she does not see him as others do. She falls for Reverend Sloan and begins helping him with his affairs in Underhill. She thinks that he likes her, which he does, yet isn’t sure why he doesn’t act on it. She knows he’s married, but she doesn’t mind being the other woman. She grows closer to Jennica during this time, and by novel’s end, both girls grow closer when Jennica leaves Noodle and Reverend Sloan leaves town suddenly.

Will is a graffiti artist who once lived in Underhill. His mother has married Steve Conners, a well-to-do man who tries to give Will his space. Will loves tagging, and he loves his old neighborhood. He paints a mural of Tariq to honor him. He eventually gets his stepfather to see how he views the Tariq incident (it could have easily been him) and his old neighborhood (his friends and memories are in Underhill), and the two go to a memorial march for Tariq together and bond.

Tom is a white man who has lived in Underhill for twenty years. He sees Jack Franklin pull out a gun and shoot Tariq. Tom, however, believes that Tariq was armed. He feels that Jack was in the right, though the more he watches the news and sees what’s happening in the streets that he’s a part of, he wonders what is fair and what is skewed in the situation. He agrees to shelter Jack Franklin, yet he wonders if he’s doing the right thing. He’s later accosted in his home by the Kings when they set out to injure Jack Franklin.