Richard’s oldest friend. Richard and Cherie grow up in the same neighborhood and have known each other all their lives. Cherie supports Richard, even after he is arrested for Sasha’s assault, and she is deeply affected by his actions and legal difficulties. Cherie has a special relationship with Kaprice Wilson, and she benefits greatly from her truancy program at Oakland High School.
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The timeline below shows where the character Cherie appears in The 57 Bus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2: An Old Friend
Richard’s childhood friend Cherie talks about Richard’s first day at Oakland High. He didn’t attend the school until their...
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“[Richard] gets on my nerves but I love him to death,” Cherie says. “He is my friend. I don’t know what I would do without him.” Richard...
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Cherie also points out that Richard is shy around those he doesn’t know. He falls to...
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Part 2: Miss Kaprice
During the first month of Richard’s time at O High, Cherie gets into a fight and is sent home. She texts Richard in the middle of...
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When Cherie gets to the bus stop, however, she is with Kaprice Wilson, O High’s truancy coordinator....
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Part 2: The Best Mother Ever
Kaprice is the “surrogate mom” to many kids at Oakland High. Cherie even calls her “Mom,” like many other students do, and they all keep Kaprice updated...
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Part 2: How It Was Before
Cherie remembers back in 2012, when she and Richard were freshmen, they used to “cut school...
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Part 2: Fighting
One day back in 2012, Cherie and Richard skipped school with a group of friends, including their old friend, Skeet. They...
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Part 2: Arrested
“We were just young,” Cherie says. “We didn’t even think we could go to jail for it. Honestly, we didn’t...
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Each of them was sentenced and “went their separate ways.” Cherie was sentenced to probation and made to wear a “GPS monitor on her ankle,” but...
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Part 2: If
Skeet’s death “killed Richard,” Cherie says. Skeet started to hang out with some pretty bad kids after he ran away...
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Part 2: Murder
...and a sixteen-month-old boy.” Death, unfortunately, is commonplace in Oakland. “Every year we lose somebody,” Cherie says. “It’s just like, who’s next? I’m scared for myself because bullets don’t have no...
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Part 2: Stripped
Later that fall, Richard is held at gunpoint and robbed while walking to Cherie’s house. “In Oakland it’s called getting stripped,” and they take Richard’s wallet, shoes, phone, money,...
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Part 3: Y’All Don’t Know
...the school, and the principal keeps reminding everyone to treat people with “compassion and tolerance.” Cherie is also hurt. Richard’s true friends don’t believe that he “intentionally” burned Sasha. “Like, ‘Oh...
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Part 4: Look Where His People Went
...trouble, and some even get killed like Skeet. “I’m not saying jail is for everybody,” Cherie says, “but it probably could save his life because look where his people went.”
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Part 4: How It Ended Up
Cherie reflects on her group of friends from Oakland High. So many have gotten into trouble...
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