Chapter Seven
Up in Here
Jalen wasn't bumping his system on the way home. All we could hear was the tires rolling on the pavement. With a cigarette dangling from his lip and one eye squinted to keep the smoke out, Jalen tried to keep his other eye on the road. Tori was sitting in between us in the front seat. I could tell she was trying not to cry. She always hated drama. Most of the way home I just looked out the window. I couldn't wait to get away. The man that made me was just that. I decided it was probably the last conversation I would ever have with him.
When Jalen pulled up in front of my unit, I couldn't believe Toy's car was parked in front. We stepped inside, and there was Slick Willy sitting on our couch, talking to my mom.
“What you doin' here, man?”
Toy looked at my mother with a fake smile then back at me. “Congrats on your decision to turn pro. I see you finally decided to take my advice.”
“Man, what are you talking about?”
He looked at my mother again, trying to draw her in. “I was just telling Reecy how I've been talking to you on and off about this very subject.”
Mom was sharp and to the point. “And I was just telling you, Toy, my son has told me all about you and your advice.”
Toy looked at me then back at my mother. “Oh, is that right?”
I nodded at him.
“Well, good. Then you know what kind of a future I think
L
has.”
“Yes, I know he has a very bright future, Toy. He's worked very hard for everything he's gotten so far.”
“And that's why I decided to come here, Reecy . . . when I heard he took my advice.”
“You didn't have a thing to do with it, Toy,” Jalen told him. “Stop trying to get in, man.”
Toy tried to brush Jalen off. “Like I said, when I heard he was going pro, I wanted to come over and let your mother know everything she will be up against.”
I didn't notice until then, but our phone had been ringing off the hook since I walked back in the house.
“Mom, aren't you going to get that?”
“Baby, that phone has been ringing like that since you left.”
“Why?”
“I don't know. I just called a few people, told them about your decision, and ever since, it won't stop ringing.”
“Reecy, you want me to get it?” Tori asked.
“Reecy?” Jalen looked at my mom, waiting for her to blow, but it never happened.
“Tori, take a message for me, baby, okay.”
Tori looked at Jalen and smiled then walked into the kitchen to get the phone.
“Like I was saying, I think it's time you sit down and start to look at things from a business perspective.”
My mother asked, “Like what, Toy?”
“And what makes you think I wanna sit down with you?” I asked him next.
“That's what I'm saying,” Jalen added.
“Because you should, young brother. I'm from the hood. I understand your needs, and I'm qualified to tell you the odds and ends of marketing on the pro level that will enable you to maximize your profits.”
“Oh, the money. Now we're getting down to it,” I told him
“But you're not saying anything, Toy. What do you want from my son?”
“Reecy, you know I only want the best for him and, of course, you. I want to represent
L
. I want to be his agent and get him the most money from the team that drafts him, and endorsements that are sure to follow. Look at the boy! Tell me he couldn't sell anything you put in his hands.”
Tori walked back in and gave my mother a written message from the phone call. Then the phone started to ring again, and she went back to it.
My mother asked him, “So when do you want us to sign?”
“The sooner the better. It's time to get on the phone now.”
“And you care about my son?”
“Look, I still remember him getting in the way on the courts when I was trying to ball,” Toy told her.
“Well, if you cared anything about him, Toy, you wouldn't be here trying to get him to sign. You know just as well as I do, if something happens where he doesn't get picked up in the draft or gets hurt beforehand and signs with an agent he won't be able to go to college.”
Toy laughed from embarrassment after the words he was searching for couldn't come out. “But, look, he's a sure thing.”
Moms told him, “Good-bye, Toy.”
“Butâ”
I opened the door for him. “You heard her. Later.” I sat down on the couch, already tired of the drama.
Tori came back in with another message, and Jalen sat on the floor next to the front door.
My mother started to read the messages.
“Can you believe people asking me for a loan? They want to know, when you get your contract, can I loan them some money. I tell you, people are a trip.” She looked over at me. “So what did your father have to say?”
“Forget him. I ain't trying to talk about what he saying. I don't even know why I went over there in the first place.”
“That was my fault, man. I thought he might want to hear about it, you know. I guess I was thinking about my pops and how he hates to hear what I'm doing out in these streets by somebody other than me,” Jalen said.
“Tell me what he said,” Mom pushed.
“It wasn't really his father,” Tori let her know. “It was Kenny.”
“Kenny?”
I sank farther down on the couch. I knew it was coming.
“Oh, is that the name of his friend?”
“I guess,” I told her.
“What did
he
have to say?”
“Just forget about it, okay.”
“Boy, you want your last beat-down before you go overseas to be in front of your friends? Tell me what he said.”
“Mom, whatever. He just said something like, of course you want me to go pro.”
“Wait a minute. Do I even know him?”
“Naah, you don't know him.”
“And he put my name in his mouth?”
“Sure did. Like y'all used to dance at the club or something,” Jalen said.
“And he don't know me?” My mother grabbed her bag and went to the door. “Look, I will be back, okay.”
“Mom, where are you going?”
“Where do you think I'm going? I raised you all by myself for eighteen years, and ain't nobody going to say a word about anything that's concerning what you want to do with your life, or what I think about it.”
I didn't get to say another word because, after she told Jalen to get his ass from in front of the door, she was gone.
Tori turned the television, equipped with bootleg cable, to MTV then sat down on the couch next to me. Jalen sat back on the floor in front of the TV.
“So, what's up now,
L
?” Jalen asked.
“I ain't trippin', believe that.”
“Don't worry about all that drama,
L
. You already made up your mind. You just have to do you.” Tori started rubbing my hand.
I got up from the couch. “I'm not worrying about it. I'm trying to celebrate.” I went back to the hall closet and came out with one of my shoeboxes and sat back down next to Tori. “We're goin' to have a party.” I opened the box and showed them all the money inside.
Jalen jumped up. “See, that's what I'm talking about!”
“Dang, baby! Where you get all that from?”
“From him. He started sending me money like two years ago like water, but I never wanted it. I just started putting it in here.”
“It has to be at least six gees, man.” Jalen put his hand in the box, pulled some out, and made it rain.
“Maybe. I never counted it.” I pulled some money out and gave to Tori. “Here, go get some gear for this party, okay. Get your nails and hair done if you want. And, Jalen, buy you some sneakers, man, and then set this party up.” I took another handful of money and put it on the table. “That's for Reecy. So, y'all ready to party or what?”
Chapter Eight
Ride with Me
Jalen was ghost once he got a pocket full of money. He walked out the door claiming he was going to get the tightest shoes on the racks and put together a party like The Vil had never seen. Tori was just happy he was gone because she had been waiting to talk to me alone all day.
“So what you think your mother doing?” She smiled.
“Oh, you know what she's doing. She's over there ripping up the place.”
“So you really don't like your father,
L
?”
“C'mon, girl, I barely know him, and what I do know about him, I don't like.”
“At least you know he's alive. I don't even know the name of my father.”
“You ever asked about him?”
“A few times, but I never get an answer.”
“What you mean by that?”
“When I ask about him, my mother never gives me an answer. I have caught her in so many lies about who he is and what he does, I just got frustrated and stopped asking. She makes me think that she doesn't even know who he is . . . old ho.” Tori laughed a bit.
“So all you know is that he's black?”
“That's it.”
“Well, he must have tore your mother up when he made you.”
“Boy, what are you talking about?”
“I'm just saying . . . 'cause you so fine. He must have bust a special one.”
Tori hit me on the leg and showed me that smile again. Then she took my arm, wrapped it around her shoulders, and sat underneath me.
“You know,
L
, it's a trip because I sit around and listen to my grandmother always talk about how things and families used to be, compared to the way things are around here. It's just so hard to believe some of the things she tells me that used to happen that people don't do these days.”
I knew exactly what she was saying. “Like how people would whup somebody else's child when they saw them doing wrong?”
“Yup, and how families used to stick together, no matter what. I just can't believe that 'cause families around this joint fight every damn night until the police gotta come out and take somebody away.”
“Ain't no love. Everybody out for self.”
“Well, I'm not trying to live like that. If I tell a man that I'm going to be with him, then that's what the hell I'm goin' to do forever, so my kids can see the love.”
“So who are you talking about?”
“What you mean?”
“The man you going to be with?”
“I'm just saying.”
“What if it was me? How you know it won't be me?”
“Maybe. I mean, if you goin' to be him, then I would put my word on it that it would be forever and always straight love, boy.”
“Umm, I likes that. Maybe we should get married.”
“Boy, shut up!”
“I'm serious.”
“No, you're not. How you goin' to marry me anyway?”
“What you mean, how?”
“You're going to be leaving soon.”
“So?”
“And you're going to be playing ball overseas.”
“And?”
“Shut up, Langston. This ain't nothing to be playing around with.”
“Who's playing? Look, why don't we get married? I mean, you love me, don't you?”
“Fo' sho.”
“And you know how I feel about you?”
“I guess I do.”
“What you mean by that?”
“Say it. Tell me you love me.”
“Girl, you know I love you. And we need to get married because I'm going to need somebody I can trust to watch my back when I go pro. I mean, we practically have seen and talked to each other every day since sixth grade, right? I'm not leaving you here and not be able to continue to see you every day.”
Tori had this glazed look on her face and then smiled. “Yeah.”
“Well, let's get married. I won't be right out there any other way.”
“Are you sure?”
“C'mon, girl, ride with me.”
Chapter Nine
If You Must
On Saturday morning I chilled in the bed until noon watching
SportsCenter
and the story that ran hour after hour confirming that I was going to go overseas to play ball. I didn't know who broke the story, but I did like hearing the sound of my name and seeing some highlights of some of my games over and over again.
I was so hyped over the news, I went outside in the hot sun and ran more than six miles on one of my routes through The Vil, up, down, and through the units, like I had done so many times before. This time, though, I was taking the atmosphere in and loving every second of where I grew up, instead of keeping my head straight down at the ground, blocking out the sights and sounds of people who had been there for years and probably their families who would be there for years to come.
After my run, I used my key to the gym at school that Coach gave to me and was inside working hard, still remembering the sound of my name on national television.
I yelled over to Jalen. “How many is that?” I knew I was close to a hundred and fifty jumpers. My plan was to do two hundred.
“Damn! Why you asking me? You're the one shooting,” Jalen yelled. “What? I have to count and run after the rebounds too?” Jalen cussed at me then ran down to the other end of the court to get a ball that came off the back rim.
I couldn't help but laugh at the fool because he was sweating just as hard as I was. I took another shot. We were drilling with three balls. “C'mon,
J
, you're going to have to keep up. I got to get my shot smooth like butter. You ever see how Jim Jackson used to keep his stroke on point when he got hot? I want my shot just like that, baby!”
Jalen threw a hard pass to me. “It's already butter. What done got into you,
L
?”
“They put my name on blast this morning on ESPN, baby!”
“For real?”
“On the real. You should be keeping up with that.”
“How am I going to keep track with that and get this party together? Why didn't you call me?”
I caught another pass then shot. “Moms was on the phone talking about the drama over the man's house who got her pregnant with me.”
“What happened?”
“You know she went over there and cussed his ass out.”
“Man, yo' mama a trip. She don't let anybody mess with you, not even yo' daddy.”
“That's my girl.”
I asked Jalen how many more shots to go, and when he couldn't tell me, I decided to take twenty. “You gotta keep up with me, Jalen.”
“Look, I have been doing this since you been able to touch the nets. Shut up and shoot.”
I took my last shot then collapsed down to the floor. My eyes went up to all the banners that my team had received since my ninth grade yearâthree state championships and one state runner-up, which happened my sophomore year. And we would have won that game if I hadn't missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Jalen took a ball and sat down on it. “So you ready or what?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Forget that,
L
! How you going to be thinking at a time like this? You either know, or you don't. We talking professional basketball.”
I knew Jalen was right. And I liked the fact that he was able to be straight up with me and keep things real. He'd always been that way. “Yeah, man. I'm ready.”
“Okay, then that's what I'm talking 'bout.”
“What about you?”
Jalen said, “What you mean, me?”
“Are
you
ready?”
“Ready for what?”
“Ready for the pros.”
“You're the one going to be playing, not me.”
“But you're going with me, right?”
Jalen looked up from the floor and looked at me and smiled.
“You think I was going to let my boy stay here while I'm in another country all by my damn self?”
“Don't play,
L
. You know how I hate how you be playing so much.”
“Word is bond,
B
. I want everybody who's been down since day one with me when I leave this place. I already thought about it. You're going to be my personal assistant and take care of my day-to-day business.”
“What? Personal assistant?”
“Yeah.”
“No way, man. It sounds gay.”
“Shut the hell up, Jalen. I want you to stay close to me, man. You know how people get when someone plays pro sports. With everybody pulling and pushing to get next to the players, I'm going to need somebody I know who can handle all that for me, so I can concentrate on playing ball.”
“You serious?”
“Why not? You've been doing it all this time.”
“You sayin' I been your bitch,
L
?”
“No, you dumb-ass fool. You've been my friend.”
“Well, I'll do it, but you ain't gonna be calling me your damn personal assistant though. That's not happening.”
“All right. Think of something else to call it. But there's one catch. You have to go to school, man.”
“School?”
“You heard me.”
“For what?”
“So you can learn, man. Keep learning all about those endorsements and business deals you always throwing around. I want you to learn the business through whatever agency we hire to take care of everything, until you can handle it on your own. Plus, we only going overseas for a year or two. Then it's the NBA, baby!”
J's eyes bugged out his head. “Get outta here,
L
. You want me to run it?”
“That's right. Why shouldn't my boy get something out of this? Plus, I've been watching a few players in the league, and they keep their boys close. You don't throw your friends away.”
“So, you want endorsements like that big-head li'l dude on those Sprite commercials?”
“I want those and then some.”
“Ahh, man! I'm already getting enough loving from the ladies just by knowing you. Do you know how much that multiplies when we turn pro and I tell them I'm your handler?”
“Handler?”
“Yeah, I make it happen for you. That's what I do.”
“A'ight, cool. Whatever you call it. Just bring your game every day.”
“Don't worry, I always do. Ahh! Damn! Do you know how many females I'm goin' to get? It's going to be like I'm in the league too, but an executive or something.”
“Are females the only thing you think about,
J
?”
“No, but I think about it more than you 'cause you don't have to think about them because they always around.”
“Well, pretty soon that's going to be in the past.”
“What you mean?”
I stood to my feet and started pounding the ball through my legs and around my back. “'Cause I'm getting married.”
Jalen began to laugh. “You talking about going pro and getting married? You have lost your mind. If you didn't know, let me tell you something, mister all-American. Pro players play ball hard, and play the ladies even harder. Nothing but groupies all day long! I heard those players just give them a look like this and pucker their lips like this, and after the game, it's on!” Jalen had the nerve to pucker his lips and squint his eyes, pretending to nod at groupies.
“You look straight stupid,
J
.”
“I'm telling you,
L
. It's like
Bam
! All you want for the taking. Then you go to the next city. Now who's going to give all that up?”
“I am. That's who.”
“For who? For what?”
“For Tori . . . 'cause I Iove her.”
“What you mean, in a couple of years or something?”
“No, as soon as we get overseas.”
Jalen stood up and started dribbling then he took a shot and he didn't care if it went in or not. “So you're serious?”
“Man, I don't have time to play games. Tori's been down with me for the longest.”
“And she a virgin,” Jalen said with a silly-ass tone. “I mean, that's special enough, 'cause the last virgin was Mary, and Jesus hit that.”
“You have problemsâAnd that's not the only reason.”
Jalen looked at me.
“Okay, it's a very good reason, but she's my girl, man. I have talked to her every day since forever, and she is part of me. Y'all like brother and sister anyway, so stop stressing.”
“Yeah, you know she's my girl. You are dead serious about this, aren't you?”
I took a jumper, and it went straight down through the nets. “Yup, I'm doing it.”
“A'ight, family . . . if you must.”