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Malik Carter and Mason Brooks

Malik Carter and Mason Brooks became friends through a Baltimore gifted academy and remained members of The Ride-or-Dies through high school and the friends’ move into college and early adult life.

Overview

Malik and Mason attended Edgewood High School with Logan and Jordan. Within the friend group, Malik often challenged an argument directly while Mason used deadpan humor to release tension. Both could cut through a friend’s pretense without leaving that friend alone with the problem. Their individual friendship is documented chiefly through this shared group history.

Foundation of the Friendship

Malik and Mason became friends with Logan and Jordan in second grade at a Baltimore gifted academy; James joined in third grade after moving from England. Malik was the first friend to report Logan’s bullying to administrators and later led the group’s decision to leave the academy after eighth grade. Mason also urged Logan to save threatening messages and reported the harassment to a teacher, who told Mason to stay out of it. They remained beside Logan through those school years and later joined the group’s commitment to support Jacob Keller after his seizure and cardiac arrest.

At Edgewood, Malik and Mason also participated in student council. When Mason was absent with an illness and had not completed his formal-venue assignment, Malik warned Logan about the missed deadline. Logan then took over the work.

Dynamics and Communication

At a senior-year lunch table, Malik interrupted one of Logan’s explanations of his sleep deprivation with “Okay, Logan. Plain English?” Mason made a different kind of intervention when Logan left his lunch untouched: “That’s not food. That’s an edible paperweight.” Malik’s question and Mason’s joke each registered concern in a form familiar to the group.

During a senior-year multiplayer game, Malik and Jordan argued about basketball statistics. Mason interrupted their “basketball nerd-off” with “I didn’t bring my graphing calculator for this shit.” Mason’s sustained sports arguments were usually aimed at Jordan, whom he enjoyed provoking into debate.

At the Weston family’s summer 2025 barbecue, Mason joked that his parents supported the electricity for his music but not his artistic vision. Malik reminded him that Janine and Bill had bought the equipment. Mason also called his basement SoundCloud work a music empire, prompting a separate deadpan exchange with Jordan. The friends could tease the small scale of the setup while understanding that Mason’s ambition was sincere.

Cultural Context

Malik was a Black student in predominantly White academic settings; Mason was one of two White members of the five-person group. Malik’s achievement did not spare him racist suspicion, including a teacher’s repeated assumption that he had cheated. Mason faced academic and social pressure without being judged through that same racial assumption. Their long friendship did not erase the difference in what a mistake or success could mean for each of them.

Malik confronted institutional unfairness directly, while Mason usually offered loyalty through reporting Logan’s harassment, staying close to friends, and using humor rather than a performance of allyship. Mason’s jokes about lunch or exhaustion could briefly give the group a subject that did not require a discussion of racism, without implying that he was unaware of what his Black friends faced. Their trust allowed both direct challenge and comic relief within the same circle.

During one tense police encounter, Logan felt Mason move closer and heard Malik stop laughing. Both recognized the danger, while Malik and Mason occupied different positions within it. Mason’s presence and concern did not make the risk to his White body equivalent to the risk faced by his Black friends.

Shared History and Milestones

Malik and Mason joined Logan, Jordan, and James on the Caribbean cruise for Logan’s sixteenth birthday from March 23 to April 1, 2024. They took part in the group’s games and running bets and helped give Logan time away from his usual demands. Both graduated from Edgewood in 2025 and attended the friends’ final summer gathering before Malik left for American University and Mason remained in Baltimore, Maryland.

Relationships Friendships Malik Carter Mason Brooks