Page 20 of Love & Streetball

Slim let out a dramatic breath of air as if I was annoying her. “What question?”

“What college?”

“I did! I said anywhere far away from Love Grove with a full ride. I don’t care where. As long as the scouts can find me and know my name. I still have one more year of high school so…” I nodded. “What about you? Your parents probably want you to attend a prestigious college. They can probably pay your college off in one semester. You won’t even need to worry about financial aid. You have it made.”

“You don’t know all the pressure they put on me, though,” I said with a snort.

“To be perfect?” Slim quizzed. She turned her head to look at me at the same time I glanced at her. We stared at one another for a couple of seconds before she turned her head, and I focused back on the road.

“Yeah…to be perfect. But I’m not, Slim. I’m not perfect, and I don’t want to be,” I admitted. I bit down on my lip.

“Then don’t. Make mistakes.”

I chuckled. “That’s your advice? Make mistakes?”

Slim nodded with a serious expression. “Yeah.”

“What kind of mistakes do you recommend?” I questioned with a hint of curiosity.

She shrugged for the millionth time she’d been with me. “I don’t know. Whatever you want to do. Go spray paint a building.”

My eyes ballooned. “Oh, you want me in jail.”

Slim laughed, and for the first time tonight, I felt her walls crumbling down.

7

Ididn’t talk on the way home from the game. I felt like no one should after we lost. The bus should be quiet. Instead, it was filled with defeated chatter. Girls were laughing, already over it, but me? I was pissed. I thought about what went wrong and what could’ve gone better. Losing wasn’t something I just got over.

I stared out the window, watching the bright lights of the city. My phone vibrated in my lap.

Unknown: You played good tonight, but you forced a few shots. Slow it down.

I still hadn’t added him to my contacts, but I knew exactly who this was. I frowned, my fingers hovering over the screen. They must’ve streamed the game. Now, everyone saw how horrible we played.

Unknown: I know you’re in a sour mood, so let me come hang out and put a smile on your face.

My frown deepened. What the hell did Kane think this was?

Me: I’m not in the mood.

For the rest of the ride back to the high school, I ignored the vibration of my phone, and my mind went back to the L we took.

Mama was off today, which was rare. Because our car was really on its last leg, I knew she wouldn’t drive to Crest Grove for my game. The way we played, I was glad she didn’t. Vani was there at the school to walk me home, and then he left with his homeboys. I made sure to tell him to be safe and to watch his surroundings. Vani didn’t have much, but still, that didn’t stop niggas from being envious of him. Vani got bitches. I saw that with my own eyes, and he didn’t care if she was already taken. Hell, she didn’t care if she was already taken. The hoes loved Vani. He’d been in plenty of fights in the past behind them, too. Reason one million and twenty- five why Mama didn’t want me hanging with Vani like that. She didn’t want me caught up in his bullshit.

“How was the game? I listened to it on the radio,” Mama said when I entered the apartment. She’d been cleaning. It smelled like bleach, Pine Sol, and Windex.

Well, if you listened, then you know it was horrible, I wanted to say. I shut the door and locked it.

“We lost,” I mumbled instead.

Mama released a long sigh. I knew the bullshit was coming.

“It’s just a game, Scottie. You win some and lose some.”

Now, I thought about taking Kane on that offer. Mama would go on all night because I’ll be in my feelings all night. That’s just how I was when I lost. At least Kane would understand.

“Can I go out for a while after I shower?” I spun on my heels and asked her, my backpack hanging from my hand.