Concrete Rose: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

Maverick can’t get Red out of his mind. At school, as he waits to meet with Mr. Clayton to discuss his “future,” he thinks about Red—and about the fact that his future will probably include summer school. Mr. Clayton interrupts Maverick’s thoughts and calls him into the office. As Maverick shakes the counselor’s hand, he thinks of Mr. Wyatt saying you can tell a lot about a man by his handshake. Mr. Clayton’s handshake is strong—he “don’t take no mess.” Maverick takes a seat and looks around at the framed portraits of “important-looking Black people,” like Malcolm X and Huey Newton. Pops introduced Maverick to those men, but Maverick has never heard them mentioned in history class.

Mr. Clayton pulls out a file folder and says he’s heard Maverick has experienced some “life-changing developments.” Maverick waits for Mr. Clayton to look at him like he’s “trash” like other adults do when they learn he has two kids. But Mr. Clayton says he’s here to help, not judge. Mr. Clayton notes that Maverick’s grades have suffered, and Maverick replies that he’s not dumb. Mr. Clayton asks why Maverick’s grades don’t reflect that and notes that some teen parents get good grades. He also says that this isn’t something Maverick can fix with summer school—he’s going to have to repeat 12th grade.

Maverick protests, but Mr. Clayton asks why he cares so much now, when he didn’t care the rest of the school year. Maverick decides he doesn’t care and stands up to leave, so Mr. Clayton says his other option is to get his GED. He passes Maverick a pamphlet about the GED program for adults—and Maverick realizes that he’s not a kid anymore. A diploma or GED, Mr. Clayton says, will help Maverick provide for his kids. Maverick accepts the pamphlet, but he decides this is all pointless. He throws it away on his way out the building. Diplomas or GEDs don’t seem to make life easier—Ma, for one, doesn’t make enough money even with a diploma. It’s time for him to focus on making money.

Maverick heads to King’s apartment, where Iesha answers his knock. She says that King went to get breakfast, and she rubs her belly—she’s pregnant, and this baby is actually King’s. Maverick asks if she’s trying to replace Seven, and Iesha retorts by asking if Maverick was trying to do the same thing when he got Lisa pregnant. She spits that she loves Seven and needs to see him more often.

King pulls into the drive, and Iesha huffs into the apartment. He greets Maverick, and when Maverick asks for more product to sell, King says he has a lot for him. King leads him inside and gives Iesha a McDonald’s bag. She heads to the bedroom to eat, and King shakes his head. Maverick doesn’t want to hear about how good King’s new product is and he insists that nothing is wrong; he just wants product so he can leave. The boys argue about Maverick’s behavior for a minute, and then King says that they’re friends and asks what’s wrong. Maverick realizes he has no one to talk to aside from King.

With a sigh, Maverick says he can’t graduate. King agrees that repeating 12th grade is a waste of time and counsels Maverick to focus on selling drugs—he’ll be able to make more money that way. Maverick already knows this, but he thinks he also wants to keep his promise to Dre—selling drugs is only temporary for him. King assures Maverick that he's not upset, and Maverick feels stupid for thinking he was. As King digs into his fries, he asks what else is bugging Maverick. Maverick tells King he saw Red wearing Dre’s watch, and that P-Nut didn’t care. King and Maverick make fun of P-Nut, and then King asks if Maverick knows what this means. Maverick does: he has to kill Red.