First Round Lottery Pick (10 page)

Graduation came and went so quickly, I didn't really believe it was going down. It was just like I thought it would be—a lot of people happy as hell they could move on with their lives, others crying and so confused to what was really going on, they could have used another year of classes.

Tori showed up though. She called me that morning after we sat up in her hospital room almost all night begging her to walk across the stage with us.

Jalen drove to the hospital. I walked inside, pulled out a wad of cash and paid all her bills, then rolled her right out of there and into Jalen's ride. We had talked about this day since freshman year, but we didn't expect to be paid and rolling in a brand-new, sparkling Escalade.

The Escalade was Jalen's. He took his piece of the cut from my shoe contract for being my handler and went out and bought a smoking black one with all the tricks, including the spinners, that put Toy's to shame. Plus, he got all of us cell phones, including my mom, that worked on the same network, so we could stay in touch at all times. He even had the nerve to be calling his business Black Ice Management Inc.

With the overseas draft coming up, I had things I needed to handle because, once the season started, there was no way I could concentrate on anything else. So, instead of letting my mother go out and find a house on her own, I went out and did it for her, to ease my mind and make sure she was okay while I was away.

 

 

“So, why are we standing up in this place?” She was looking around.

“'Cause, Ma, this is your house,” I said to her. “Now the question is, When you goin' to put some furniture up in here? 'Cause I need to rest my legs.”

“Boy, what're you talking about?”

I nudged my girl. “Tell her, Tori.”

Tori was smiling, but when she realized everyone was looking at her, she backed off. She was still working herself back to her groove.

I put Tori under my arm and walked over to the marble fireplace, and my girl got some confidence up in her with the quickness. “Well, since you were taking forever to find a house and won't move over to Easton like
L
wanted you to, he bought you this house, close but not too close to the hood.”

My mother stared at me speechless.

“And,” I added, “by being here, you can still know what goes down in The Vil with all your hood rat friends, 'cause you only ten minutes away.”

“You actually bought this house, boy?”

“Sure did.”

Mom was looking around, and her voice echoed. “This house probably cost seven hundred thousand dollars!”

“Mom, it's okay. You act like I'm broke or something. I have wanted you out The Vil as long as I remember, and you're moving up in here, tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Yup.”

“What about all my stuff?”

“What about it? Just leave it.”

“I'm not leaving all my furniture back there.”

Jalen walked out the kitchen on cue then flipped his cell off. “It'll be okay, Reecy. I'll make sure they keep the plastic on everything.”

That night was like no other I ever had. I had my mama, my girl, and my best friend all chilling up in the new house, and we didn't have a care in the world. The plasma TV was delivered along with a couple of new pieces that I bought at a furniture store. Later, that night when I went into the kitchen to get something to drink, Mom was standing looking around.

“So . . . you like it?”

“Boy, you know I do. I've always wanted one of these brownstones, ever since they started renovating them. See, these are nice, and they still are close enough to my people in The Vil. Thank you so much.” Mom gave me a hug.

“Well, this is just the start of it because, after I get drafted, you're going to have a place there too.”

“You sure you're not moving too fast, Langston? I don't want you to be like so many other athletes and entertainers who get some money then blow it. You have to be smart and build that money up and not just live rich.”

“Yeah, I know. I got it covered. The real estate agent said this was a great investment.”

“Good. Keep thinking businesslike. I like that.”

“Since your ex sent me that note to watch my money, I have been all on it. I still don't like what he's into, but it was good that he looked out.”

“He knows, Langston. I don't want you to think he has never cared about you. I have never told you that. He just wanted to do other things. I'm not faulting him anymore for anything we went through. It is what it is, almost like it was meant to be. We endured, and look, now my baby going to be a first-round pick.”

At this point, waiting was the hardest part. I couldn't even stand to watch
SportsCenter
or listen to sports on talk radio because everyone was speculating if my going pro overseas was going to spark some kind of mass rush for other high school players. There was also some talk that Barcelona would trade their pick for me if a team would offer them two first-round picks next year. I didn't think they would do it, but I knew it was business and didn't take it personal.

After being in the gym all morning, I went back to the new house for lunch, a nap then back out to do some cardio and weights. Mom was really feeling at home in her new place. I walked in the kitchen, and she and Tori were sitting at the breakfast bar.

I looked closer at Tori and noticed she was crying. “What's wrong?”

My mother touched Tori's hand then got up from the table and walked out.

I could spot some negative drama miles away, so I just took a deep breath and sat down next to Tori and waited for whatever was going on.

Tori didn't hesitate. “I'm pregnant,” she pushed out with so much anger.

“Pregnant?”

“From the rape.”

“What?”

“I missed my period,
L
, and I didn't think anything of it because as soon as I got to the hospital after you found me, they gave me one of those morning-after pills. But those fools raped me for three days, three days and now, I'm pregnant.”

Tori started bawling out of control. She had already been raped. Now she had to walk around knowing whatever happened to her was now inside of her.

My mother heard Tori crying and came back inside the kitchen and put her arm around her. I couldn't hang around this time. This was way too personal, even though she was my girl. I still needed to get out of there because I couldn't deal with hearing Tori cry and not being able to do a thing to make her stop. My body was on fire.

I went outside and started walking. Even though a lot of good things were happening, it didn't mean that the bad things that happened to Tori had been wiped away or were cool with me. I never complained to Tori because she had a lot to deal with, but she wasn't the same.

Jalen noticed it too. We knew we were going to give her some time, but we just didn't know how much she needed. The one and only time she tried to talk to me about what happened to her, I let her go as long as I could before telling her it was okay and that I couldn't take anymore. There was no way I wanted to hear about six or seven different fools taking turns with her for as long as they wanted no matter how much she begged them to let her go. Jalen told me that I should have gutted it out and listened, since she had to go through it, but I couldn't. Now, all of a sudden, she was pregnant.

When I stopped walking, I ended up on the exact corner where I tried slinging drugs when I was in the eighth grade. It only lasted for two days because my mother found out and put a stop to it, following me to school and back for months until she was sure I was back on track again.

Corners never change. It was still hard and dangerous with a bunch of dealers and users doing their thing to make money and get high. I stepped off the corner and across the street then looked back at the corner. Small kids were walking by, going into the nearby store to score some candy, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be the ones on the corner selling the same drugs to a different generation.

I looked at all the houses boarded up at the doors and windows, and the little scuffles and disagreements happening over things that didn't really matter. It was depressing. All the drama on the street that day got to me, and right then and there was when I decided I wanted to build my first court and a recreation center for the kids, not just to learn how to play ball, but to learn about this life in the hood and how to make it better.

Some scrawny-ass dude brought me out of my glaze of what I was dreaming for the hood. He was wearing a baseball hat, worn-out white sneakers, torn jeans, and a tee.

“Yo',
L
, that package is nice. Thanks for thinking 'bout us!”

“Man, say what?”

“This package you got out on the street, it's straight up the truth, man,” he said. “Smokers all over talking about how nice it is. Word on the street is, you pushing out on the big three—weed, coke, and the heroin. Like I say, good lookin'.”

What he was saying was twisted in my mind. Before he got away from the block I had to holla back at him. “Yo', where you say you cop again?”

“I didn't, but one of your soldiers on Champion, right across from The Vil, hooked me up.”

“Yeah, all right. But, listen, don't be putting my name on that package, you hear?”

The drug fiend looked back at me confused and smiled, showing the one rotten tooth left in his mouth, and walked away. “But we know it's you,
L
. It's smooth like you do on the court, baby. Yes, sir, it's you!”

Now I had two things pressing on my mind—Tori ,and now a package on the street with my name attached. I started walking one way then stopped to walk in another. I was mad as hell and losing my mind. I wanted to get over on Champion to see who was putting my name on blast.

When I got there, my homie, Bed-Stuy, was standing on the corner like he was known to do. It looked to me like his business was booming. Me and Bed-Stuy were cool. He balled when we were on the court and had a nice game. Originally from Brooklyn, when his family moved into The Vil, he told us he went by Bed-Stuy, and we respected that. It seemed like everyone from New York could ball. A pure left-handed shooter, he made his name crossing ballers up and breaking ankles.

I walked over to him after he finished a transaction. Of course, we were both looking on the street for the police because I wasn't trying to get caught up.

“What up, Bed-Stuy?”

“Oh, snap!
L
, boogie up in here. What can I do for you, son?”

I paused, still looking out in the streets. “Need that info.”

“On what? You been working out,
B
, getting ready for the pros, to show your shine or what?”

Two women who could have used some soap and water walked across the street and over to Bed-Stuy. He quickly brushed them away and pointed to one of his boys across the street who would give them what they needed.

“No doubt, I'm getting ready.”

“So what you need out here on the block,
L
? This ain't no place for you to be hanging. Strays been flyin' with death on them, yo.”

I looked around again at my surroundings. “Yo', my name on that package you moving?”

Bed-Stuy didn't answer back. He seemed uneasy, looking out in the street then back at me. He knew this was street business.

I pressed, “So?”

“Yeah, man. Got it last night, and selling like nothing before.” Bed-Stuy gave me a quick glance then his eyes were back on the street.

“Who you wit' now?”

Bed-Stuy paused a long time. He took a few deep brea-ths. He wasn't trying to break the rules by giving up his supply. He stared me down a few seconds, moved his NY ball cap to the side of his head, and softened. “You goin' to make a brother proud when you turn pro,
L
.”

“Bed-Stuy, when I cross a fool up with that move you taught me, I'm going to be sure to shout you out to the reporters.”

He kind of smiled. “Oh, word?”

“Bond, baby.”

“Murder One providing
L
package all day strong, and best believe, it's feeding the family. But you didn't hear it from me.”

I thanked Bed-Stuy for the information and stepped off the corner and around to the courts and hit Jalen on the cell. Out of all the people in the world to be blowing my name up on a package, it had to be Murder One. When I told J, he didn't seem surprised.

“I been meaning to tell you about that,” Jalen said right before he smashed on the gas and pulled off down the street after picking me up.

“Tell me what?”

Jalen looked over at me then back at the road.

“Look,
J
, I ain't feeling no games today.”

“Okay, look, man, I took a li'l bit of money I made with you and parlayed it on a package with Murder One.”

“What?”

“It was like a good-faith deal,
L
.”

“Fool, what are you talking about?”

Jalen smiled. I could see the excitement on his face.

“Murder One been seeing me floating the streets with the new wheels hard. They been hearing how people talking about how we coming up, and they stepped up and said they can triple some money if I was down.”

“So you went into the drug business? Fool, have you lost your mind?”

“Naah, man. When you goin' to get it in your head,
L
? I'm a businessman. And if nobody else know that, you sure as hell should.”

“
J
, you acting like you don't know?”

“Oh, I no.”

“Man, do you know who you fucking with? Murder One do not play,” I reminded him.

“They cool, man, all of them.” Jalen nodded his head, trying to get me to agree with him.

I wasn't paying attention to where Jalen was driving, but he stopped in a back alley and got out of the car and started walking up to the backyard of an old house off Nelson Road.

“Wait a minute. Where you goin'?”

“Got to show you something,
L
. While you been in the gym working out, on my free time I been putting this together.”

“Isn't this the house your aunt use to live in?”

“Now, you remember,” Jalen said.

“I thought she was dead.”

“She is. She gave this house to her sister. My aunt don't want it, so I'm using it.” Jalen opened the door.

“Use it? Use it for what?”

Jalen looked around to make sure we weren't being wat-ched. He led me into the house. We walked through the kitchen then the dining room then to the living room.

“It looks a little outta place right now,
L
, but check this out.”

Jalen opened a door to a side room in the hallway, and inside there was a large room about the length of the house that had nothing but recording equipment inside, with about ten people inside putting things together, hooking up tables and cables.

“It's a little crazy right now,
L
, but you have just walked into
J
's playhouse, baby.”

“Say what?”

“I'm starting a recording label.” Jalen didn't give me a chance to look around or respond because he was out the room and leading me to the basement of the house. “And down here”—He pulled back some curtains after we were in the basement, and I couldn't believe my eyes. “It's my movie shop.”

I had to squint my eyes to make sure what I was seeing was really happening. Three girls and a guy on a mattress were doing their freaky thing, while one guy held a camera and another held a long microphone under some huge lights. A member of Murder One was in the director's chair and watching the action go down.

I focused really close at one of the females on the mattress. I couldn't believe it was the nurse from the hospital that Jalen had met when we were trying to get in to see Tori.

Jalen looked up at me and smiled. “Pornos, baby. We already got twelve movies in the can. By this weekend, we going to have twelve more. Then we gonna package and wrap them up and get some ads out to
XXL
and
The Source
magazines, and we in bidness!” Jalen was all smiles and hit me on the arm. “
L
, who knew old girl from the hospital was such a freak?”

I grabbed Jalen by the back of his shirt and dragged him all the way up the stairs, through the kitchen and back outside to the back of the house, and stood him up as he yelled for me to let him go. “Fool, have you lost your mind?”

“
L
, get off me.” Jalen tried to smooth out his gear and put his cap back on.

“What's your problem? Out here trying to be the don of the East side . . .”

“Man, so what? I'm just trying to double mine the best way I know how.”

“By putting my name on a package?”

“That wasn't me. Murder One said they was going to try it, and when their product came back smashing and with your name ringing out at the same time, they twisted it together. It's that branding,
L
, that everybody is talking about. I read about it, and damn, it works like a mother.”

“But I don't want my name branding on any drugs. And you got girls in the basement freaking on video? What is your problem? You got to shut this down,
J
. We need to go to work on the things we talked about.”

“I can't shut it down. Murder One came back with my money. I made stacks,
L
, and I'm letting it ride again on another two shipments.”

“On my name?”

“
L
, look, what else we need to be doin' anyway?”

“I told your ass I wanted to put the courts up, do right on the streets. This here ain't going to work.”

“I can't. Got too much invested to just throw it away.”

“Jalen, you are not getting me fucked up with my contract, out here playing drug kingpin. You either drop this, take your losses, or we can't do this.”

Jalen looked at me hard then back at the house. “
L
, people in the hood don't want no courts. They want money, weed, rap, and some women.”

All I could do was stare Jalen in the eyes. It was plain as day that he had been overwhelmed by the quick money and had lost his mind off my success. During the last summer basketball camp I attended before my senior year, a few players in the league stood up and talked about, if you were lucky enough to make it as a pro, people that you know and love would start acting like your success was their own.

Jalen called me back the next day. He knew he had put my business in jeopardy and tried to make it right. He said he talked to Murder One about getting out of what they started, but they weren't hearing it. They told him the only way they wouldn't do business with him was if he came up with two million dollars cash. Murder One was a conglomerate of thugs who did business all over the city, just not the East side. They had the entire city on lock and had been doing it for years.

I remember when my mother told me about the police, in the same breath, she told me not to mess with Murder One. Their name explains it all. They would find themselves on trial for gruesome murders and never get convicted. Most people thought they even had the judges in the city bought off, but all I knew about them was to stay clear. But through association I was now connected.

I knew Murder One was playing Jalen, and they knew it too. It was what they did. They were trying to get into my pocket because he was my boy, but I wasn't going to let them faze me.

Murder One was Jalen's business, and I wanted no parts of it, and I was leaving it at that. They weren't getting any of my money.