Chapter 1 Javonte
“Zea, why are we going to a children’s museum?” I glance over at my sister, my new sister that I just met midway through last season, as she sits behind the wheel of my very expensive car.
“I told you, we’re going to do some art.”
“I thought we were going to a studio. Somewhere legit. But this is not the kind of place I regularly attend.”
“Maybe you could find yourself a nice single mom to settle down with,” she says, as she revs a little too hard on the gas in my car.
“Slow down.”
“I’m doing the speed limit, and I’m trying to pass this car,” she argues.
“I don’t need to be on the news anymore. It’s the off-season, and I’m trying to keep a low profile.”
“You’re gonna be a big ass man up in this children’s museum painting with me, so low profile is out of the question.”
“I don’t know if I like you cussing like that,” I tell her.
“I’ve been cursing since I was eleven. My big NBA brother popping up out of the blue is not going to stop that.”
I glare at her and catch my reflection in the mirror. There’s no denying that she’s my sister.
She looks just like me. And she’s tall as fuck too.
“Why aren’t you out playing basketball today?”
“Because I like art. I like other things. We only need one star in the family, and that’s you, Javonte,” she says.
“Fair enough. I just don’t get why we gotta be at the children’s museum.”
“Because that’s where this painting experience is. Let it go.”
She pulls into a parking spot at the museum, and we get out. I’ve never even been to a children’s museum. There’s no point. I’m not a kid, and I don’t have any kids.
And I’d like to keep it that way. Hell, I don’t know if I want any in the future.
“We’re gonna paint teddy bears?”
She laughs and smacks my arm. “It’s an axolotl.”
“A what?”
“Oh, just come on,” she says. She grabs my arm and drags me into the entrance.
Inside, I can’t even act like I’m not a little in awe. This place is cool. There are little simulations of jobs. I’ve never been a cashier, but I kind of want to go ring something up right now with plastic food and those little baby shopping carts.
It’s a vibe. I’m feeling it.
Zea nudges me. “See? You lighten up like a little kid right here.”
I nudge her back, trying not to use all my strength and knock her down.
“Hey,” she yells.
“Hush. Don’t be acting like that.”
“You are so scared about your image.”
