Melanie walked briskly down the sidewalk. She hugged her large jacket to her body, hoping to keep warm. Her theethe chattered as the wind blew over her face and through her dark hair. She neared a small café and decided to go in and get something to drink before the night’s game. Melanie walked in slowly and the coffee aroma tickled her senses. As she made her way to the counter, she noticed a familiar curly, mop of hair. Melanie narrowed her eyes at Justin even though he didn’t notice. He looked to be doing homework, but she noticed he looked like he was already dressed for the game. Melanie made her way over to him. She plopped down in the booth and sat across from him.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Melanie snapped quietly.
Justin dropped his pen and gave her all of his attention, “Whoa…whoa!” he shook his head, “Who do you think you are coming at me like that?”
“I can come at you however I damn well please.” She shot back.
“Oh really?” he challenged and brought his head closer to hers.
“Yeah…I don’t appreciate that shit you pulled earlier today at school. You came in between me and Victoria and then you had the nerve to accept you award like you had something shoved uo your ass. Do you know how disrespectful that looked?” she ranted.
“I don’t care how I look,” He shook his head.
She scoffed, “That’s a damn lie, Justin. If you didn’t care how other people perceived you, you wouldn’t be so ashamed of playing basketball with a whole bunch of black kids! You wouldn’t be trying to keep stuff from yo girlfriend just so that you could look ‘cool’. You can’t even tell your own mother that you play basketball. Even though she told you not to play, you can’t even be man enough to stand up to her and tell her that playin’ ball is what you wanna do with the rest of your life!”
Justin turned his pleasant face into a look of disgust, “How dare you say something like that to me! Melanie, you can’t even sneeze without checking to see if someone is gonna say something! Don’t tell me I care too much about what people think, when you’re the one treating me like shit when just a few hours ago…you were acting like we were friends. Second of all, don’t think just because we talked all night gives you right to bring my family into things. You have no clue as to why I keep the things I keep from them. I have a reason for that…and that reason is none of your got-damned business! Oh and about the whole ‘looking cool in front of my girlfriend’ shit, take a look at your relationship with Damien. I won’t even break it down because I don’t have a freakin’ year. You’re just as ‘bad’ as I am, so before you start tryin’ to say shit to me…fix yours.”
Justin then began to pack his things as she watched him silently. What he had said had some truth to it, she had to admit. He stood now, but before leaving, he said “You did good today, but maybe if you used you talent for more good things instead of trying to get back at people, do something good with it and go somewhere. Don’t let other people’s stupidity bring you down to their level,” With his encouraging words, he left.
***
What the hell is Victoria’s car doing in my damn driveway? I pulled up behind her and put my truck in ‘park’. Something’s about to go down, and it ain’t gonna be me. I got out of the car and hurriedly went to the door, which was, for some reason, already open. I walked in the door quietly and heard Victoria and my mother talking in the kitchen.
What the hell is going on?
All of a sudden, Steven came running up to me. “Get out!” he whispered and pointed to the door.
Is this another one of his little antics? I crouched down to his level, “What are you talking about, Steven?”
“Mom’s in there talking to Victoria about where you go every night,” He said in a frantic whisper.
“Oh shit.” I said…oh shit!
“You can say that again…and if you don’t get out of here, you’re gonna be in a lot of it,” Steven said and looked over his shoulder to see if mom was coming.
I sighed and looked at the distant doorway to the kitchen. I saw my mom sitting at the table and her lips moving. She didn’t look mad, but then again I can’t exactly hear what they’re saying either.
“Justin, go,” Steven urged.
I guess my brother did have a heart in there somewhere. I stood to my feet and quickly went out the way I came in. I got it my car, started it up and was on my way.
**
Justin walked into Wellington Park, a park he now knew pretty well, and sat down on a chair. Jerome, who was sitting next to him looked at him and turned his head back to the people in charge, walking into the gates. The game probably wouldn’t start for about another half an hour, so Jerome went over to the courts.
“Come on, man let’s practice.” Jerome called to Justin as he stood face him with the ball in his hand. “If we win this, we only have one more game to play…the final one. We win that one…champions, baby.”
Justin looked at him and wondered if he should blow him off. After all, he did publicize his ‘nickname’. “Alright,” Justin said and stood up.
He walked over to Jerome and held out his hands for the ball. Justin stood at the free-throw line and shot the ball. It bounced off the rim, and Justin looked in disbelief.
“Come on, man that’s your money shot.” Jerome said and shot one, making it in.
Justin looked around at the people setting up and sighed. Jerome passed him the ball and Justin moved to another part of the court. He attempted a different shot, and it hit the backboard with a thud. Justin shook his head disapprovingly, and rebounded his shot.
Jerome caught the ball that was passed to him and bounced it a couple times, “Yo, J. You feelin’ alright kid?”
“Y-yeah man…I’m good. Just a little stiff that’s all. I’ll be fine,” Justin reassured.
‘Little’ was an understatement. Justin could hardly concentrate with all the thoughts running through his head at once. Everything from his mom, his grades, California, Victoria, and his reputation plagued his brain. He thought about what Melanie had said the most, though.
Just as the thought past, the steppers walked in through the gates, Melanie bringing in the rear. The look on her face was distant, and Justin had trouble reading it, but he quickly averted his eyes before she caught him looking.
Damien walked in after they did, with the same cocky saunter. He plopped his things down on a chair, and Justin assumed he rode with Melanie. In the distance, he heard the steppers practicing, and Melanie and Chasity yelling. He noticed Melanie didn’t yell as much though. Maybe she was just as tired as he was.
Damien walked over to Jerome and Justin, “Pass me the ball,” He said and held out his hand. He found a spot just above the three- point line, and shot the ball, gracefully allowing it to drop in the net. He ‘popped’ his collar playfully and collected his change (he got to shoot again). Damien shot the ball once more from a different spot on the court, but it hit the rim and landed on the floor.
Justin got the rebound and tried shooting once more, missing once again. He winced with humiliation and took a seat on the chairs.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Damien said, it didn’t come out as ‘concerned’ as he hoped it would be.
Justin looked up at him from where he was seated, but didn’t say anything, so Damien continued, “What’s wrong? Milk Man don’t got any milk to deliver?” he laughed at his joke.
Jerome interrupted after shooting, “He’s probably just stressed, man. Leave him alone…let him cool off.”
“Yeah, well you better cool off real quick…we don’t need you screwing things up. If we loose this, we don’t get the title,” Damien addressed Justin and took the ball from Jerome’s hands.
Justin got up after taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly. He clenched his fists together, not tightly, and walked past the steppers, keeping his head down.
Melanie looked at Justin out the corner of her eye, while she was marking a dance with her team. But, she quickly moved her attention back to her team.
**
He was bent over, eyes staring at the ball bouncing in front of him. The ball bounced up and down, as did his stomach. Perspiration seeped through the pores on his face and dripped onto the cement court. He pulled up his large mesh shorts a little and sniffled through his nose. Concentrating was harder than it had ever been for him.
Music blared through the speakers, girls chanting and dancing on the sidelines, and people in the stands cheering. The MC narrated his every move, which made it even worse, since he wasn’t doing that good. His peers looked down on him, and a certain person boring holes into the side of his head sat in the crowd. He knew the look on her face was anything but exciting, which made it harder for him to play well. Knowing that someone was already judging him before he got on the court and began to play.
Now, near the end of the second quarter, his game was worse than it had ever been. His opponent with the bouncing ball charged in front of him to get to the hoop, knocking Justin over in the process. The shrill, annoying sound of about two whistles progressed and the players moved to the key.
“Foul for the Titans. Justin will go to the free-throw line. Let’s see if the milk-man will deliver this time around. He hasn’t been doing good all night with only 9 points.”
Justin took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before standing over the line of the key. The looks on his teammates face were that of desperation, as they stood next to their challengers. Justin looked up at the red rimmed net and held the ball up in his hands. With a bending of the knees, he let the ball sail through the air and dropped his arms heavily when the ball bounced off the back of the rim and straight into the air.
Justin closed his eyes tightly and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the end of his shirt. He still had to shoot one more. The referee bounced the ball to him and Justin shot again, this time making it in. The crowd cheered as the boys ran down the court.
The buzzer for halftime sounded and Justin sorrowfully walked to his seat on the bench and sat down just the same. He slouched in his seat and shook his head when Jerome sat down next to him.
“I thought you said you were just a little stiff, man.” Jerome said perplexed.
Justin said nothing, only sighed and sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. He held his green Gatorade in his hands and circled it in his fingers.
“Justin, what’s going on, man? You have to help us make shots too. We’re down by ten! I’m not saying it’s your fault, but it would help if you helped. Talk to me, man…you need to say something to somebody cause Damien’s ready to come over here and light your ass up.”
Justin looked across the way and saw his Mother and two brothers, along with Victoria and the rest of his friends sitting in the stands. “I can only perform decent under a certain amount of pressure.” He said quietly.
“Well you won’t make it in the NBA with that kinda attitude,” Jerome said concretely. “There’s a whole lotta pressure there.”
“Nah, man…it’s easy when they’re paying you shit-loads of money,” Justin shook his head and chuckled.
“Well what’s wrong, man?”
Justin pointed in the area were there was a large crowd of white people. “All of them looking at me. They’re just here so they can make fun of me tomorrow.”
Jerome clicked his tongue and shook his head with disbelief, “Man, bump them! You need to prove them wrong! Show them that you can play ball! Show the people sitting here that are black and stil hating that you can play ball! You can’t give up, man. When you give up, they win. They want you to bad so you can look bad, and they can rub it in your face.”
*
Melanie sighed sadly after walking back to the sidelines. They had just performed well, like always, but she didn’t feel well. She looked over to Justin and saw Jerome yelling at him. She was sure that she added to Justin’s stress. It was bad enough that Victoria and all her friends decided to show up. She didn’t even find that much pleasure in performing in front of Victoria for a second time and making her look bad again because she’d thought about what Justin had told her before the game.
The MC came to the mic, “OK, y’all. We’re back in action and ready to start the second half. Hopefully, the Calumet Indians can get back in the game. They’re trailing 45 to 55.”
Mike put the ball into play by passing it to Justin. Justin took it, dribbled past his opponent and went to the hoop with a pick-n-roll lay up. The crowded cheered as Justin made the first point of the second half.
*
Calumet ended up winning the game 83 to 80. Justin walked out the gates, still a little angry with himself, but he felt he did better in the second half, overall scoring 19 points. He quickly walked through the parking lot, trying to get out as quickly as possible. He wanted to avoid most people as much as he could.
“Justin,” He stopped where he was just as he was about to open his car door. Justin turned around at his little brother’s voice and crouched down low.
John ran into his arms and hugged his older brother’s neck. “You played really good, brother,” He said and pulled away from Justin. The little boy smiled, only half of his teeth in his mouth.
Justin ruffled his hair and grinned, “I usually play better, but thank you, John. That means a lot.”
“W-when I grow up, I’m gonna be a baske’ball player,” The five year old said excitedly.
“Is that so?” Justin said and picked up his brother while he stood to his feet.
John nodded his head enthusiastically, “MMmhhM…”
“Can you even play?” Justin asked.
“Yep. Like Shaq.”
Justin widened his eyes and gasped loudly. “I better watch out then, huh?” Justin humored him.
Justin opened his car door and threw his bags in the back seat. John tapped his shoulder.
“What is it?” Justin asked and turned his attention to his brother.
“Brother, when are we going back to LA? Isn’t that where we lived?” John didn’t quite remember.
“I don’t know, man. You have to ask mommy.”
“I havta ask mommy?” he asked and tilted his head to the side. “But I don’t wanna ask mommy.”
“Ask mommy what?” Lynn asked as she walked up behind her sons. She held out her hands for John, and his skinny frame plopped into her arms.
Steven climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck and pretended he was driving. “Look, Justin! I’m like you, only I make this truck look good,” He cockily ran his hand through his hair and looked at himself in the side mirror. Lynn laughed and Justin shook his head.
When she sobered up, she addressed Justin, “Justin-”
“Mom, I already know what you’re gonna say…so just don’t say anything. I know, I’m grounded forever and I can’t use the car anymore,” Justin said tiredly.
“Actually I wasn’t going to say that, Justin. You played good today, and from what I understand, that wasn’t even your best…or close to it. I’m a little dissapointed that you lied to me, but I can understand sort of, why you did. I’ll make you a deal…bring me some grade checks home and if your grades have improved, I’ll let you try out for the basketball team. I’ll pay for your uniforms, shoes, bags, trips…whatever you need.”
Justin’s jaw draw dropped, “Really?”
“Really. But…”
Justin rolled his eyes, “There’s always a but.”
“Tomorrow after school, come straight home. And this weekend, you don’t get to go anywhere…you have to stay home, clean the house, clean your attitude, and be my slave.” She smiled widely and turned up her lip at her last statement.
He hesitated, but it was a pretty good deal, “Alright. You got yourself a deal, lady.”
The two shook hands, “Now, take us home.” Lynn ordered, “if I have to sit in the same car with that girlfriend of yours, I’ll die.”
Justin laughed, “That bad huh?” He said, kicked Steven out the seat and got in.
Lynn rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, “You don’t even know half of it. What is so attractive to you about her?”
“I see a side of her that no one sees, except for maybe her family. She’s really nice, she just puts on a front, but when she’s with me, she’s different.” Justin said and backed out of his parking space.
Immediately, Melanie popped into his head.
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