He waved me off. “You’re trying to play teacher-student. I’m not doing all that,” he hissed as he pulled out a neat folding board.
When he opened it, my eyes lit up. “Damn Dio,” I found myself mumbling.
He had drawn the simulation out to the t. I was taken aback because the way it was all laid out, the way the formula was explained was fucking perfect. I slightly shook my head because I glanced at him and the board again. “Who did you pay to do this for you?”
He closed the board. “Listen, Phoebe Lavigne, Evanescence, punk rock, darker shade of brown, whatever you want to call yourself. I did this. Just because I look like this doesn’t mean I don’t know shit. Just as you don’t want to be judge don’t do it to me.”
I laughed as I threw both my hands up. “Ok, Kentrell, oh wait, maybe Lil Baby Dio, or—”
His eyes slowly rolled my way. “I get it, ha fucking ha,”
For the next thirty minutes, we went over his board. I watched him get so intrigued as he talked about elastic scattering, quantum simulations, neutrons, and protons. It was interesting. Dio was smart as hell, and it made me wonder if he was like this, how many other Black males on campus who looked like him were like this too. I couldn’t lie, hearing him go on and on, he may have been one of the school’s biggest reasons why the mission was Black excellence. As we were wrapping up our study session, he looked at me. “I know you hang with Samara and shit. Make sure my girl stays out of trouble.”
I smiled because the way he said it; I felt the love. I wanted to ask him about Xavier so badly, but I knew that, with him seeing Percy and me, it would only open the conversation to what he saw. He packed up his things and stood up. “I did judge you, and I’m still judging you, but you’re smart, Dark and Lovely. I hope the way you look at science is the way you look at life. Fucking with Zoo niggas isn’t easy, but know that we look out for each other, and that shit I saw wasn’t fucking cool. You be easy.”
XAVIER
It had been two weeks since I had seen Phoebe. The last time Isaw her was when she showed up at my door. I wasn’t expecting her to pop up because I truly thought she stood me up. Being with Apple wasn’t what either of them thought, but I also didn’t explain. Phoebe was on some other time, which let me know she had to be fucking with other niggas. Usually, I never tripped if a girl was with other guys because one: I kept my shit safe, and two: I wasn’t looking for anything. However, I was starting to like Phoebe.
I shifted my mind because today I had physical therapy, and the goal was to try to get back on the court before March Madness. Not only did I want to get back to what I loved, but I also decided to invest more time in my own work. Although my brother said he didn’t have a problem with helping me out by completing some of my assignments for me, I knew it was because he was loyal to me. Jalen honestly should have been here. Even with his speech impediment, the nigga was smart as shit. To me, my brother deserved to experience the same moments I had, but my and Mison’s selfishness kept him from what could have been a great thing for him.
I lay on the table waiting for the trainer to walk in. Although I wasn’t on my coach’s good side, he still recommended I come to the rehabilitationcenter, which was about a block away from the campus. I was praying for some good news because this shit was blowing me. While I waited, I thought of ways to convince Jalen to apply here at TSU and contemplated what kind of pull I would need to get him in. That was when it came to me, and I called up the one person who could possibly make that happen or use his gift of gab to make some shit shake. When he answered on the first ring, I felt nervous.
“Talk to me!”
“Uh, sup, Chev?”
“Streets, what’s the word? You don’t call me, so something has to be up.”
This nigga and his know-it-all mentality. “I want to know if you can do me a solid or try.”
“I’m not the magic man, but I’m listening.”
With hesitance I continued. “I know you don’t get along with your grandad and shit, but do you think you can, like, talk to the nigga to get Jalen in here? Before you ask, just know it’s a lot to explain, and I will fill you in during spring break.”
He heckled loudly. “The grouch nigga coming to me for help instead of helping himself. First, I don’t do a favor without knowing everything. Second, my wife is taking me on vacation during spring break, so I won’t be here. Pick the day and time, and I’ll drive up. Besides, I need to come see Samara.”
Man, fuck!The nigga was nosy as hell, and I should have known before calling. “You know what, Chev? Never mind. I got it.”
“What was that? You want me up there this weekend?”
“Chev, I didn’t—”
He hung up.
“Fuck!”I shouted.
I had been so caught up on the phone with Chevy that I hadn’t noticed anyone come into the room.
“Mr. Keyton, excuse me!” the male trainer shouted.
I slid the phone in my pocket. “My-my bad.”
For the next hour, my ankle was tortured. I tried walking withoutthe boot, and the pain wasn’t as bad, but it was still there. I asked whether I would be ready by March, if I kept this up, and the answer was simple. “No.”
Anything was possible in my eyes, and I knew one person who could help me. The only thing was the nigga and I didn’t get along. Percy. He was the only person I knew who had gone through something similar, so maybe if he did me this favor, I could do him one in return. I was going to ask him when I got back to my room, but in the meantime, I was going to the court.
When I got back to the school, I headed to the gym. I expected to see people in here, but it was empty.
