When star athlete, DeAndre Parker clashes with a tough no-nonsense female classmate, he quickly learns that unlike basketball, there's no playin' hard in the game of love.
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She was the type of woman my father would try to smash. The interviewer dressed all nice and professional, but her beauty and coyness was what would set her on my father's radar. She sat across from us in our living room, occupying the chair by the grand fireplace. She was sitting with her legs crossed. They looked delicate in her pinstriped skirt, oiled to perfection and appearing smooth and toned. Her mocha skin complimented her beauty, that and the bun she had her hair pulled up in. She bore glasses, almost reminiscent of a naughty teacher. My father was definitely going to try to hook her.
He would be friendly with her and joke around during and after the interview. He would procure her number and call her in a few days, take her to a nice dinner and later to a hotel and fuck her, and just as quickly as he pursued her, he would send her off with a nice bracelet or necklace, the way only Darrel Parker could.
And she wouldn't even see it coming.
We sat like ducks in a row on the sofa. Darnel, Devonte and then me. Our father sat across from Susan, the interviewer, in the other chair, leaning back comfortably as he was dressed in an impeccable three-piece suit. Darnel wore a sweater and a stupid bow-tie and pressed pants. Devonte had on a designer t-shirt and jeans, and I went for a simple black tee and sweats. Besides my father's Dr. Martens, we all bore various athlete sneakers on our feet.
Susan had taken a moment and just stared at all four of us, jotting down notes like we were specimen in a lab or something.
I wasn't too excited about the interview. The only benefit was my father letting us all skip our morning run.
"So," Susan was saying as she settled back into her chair. "Did you all decide to play basketball on your own, or did dad just shove a ball into your little hands and you had no choice?"
I grew up watching my brothers play when I was a toddler and seeing my father teach them. It made me want to play too. He taught us how to play and we became good on our own. Or maybe it was just in our blood. I knew a lot of guys who knew how to play basketball, but sucked at playing. With us, our father taught us the rules and mechanics, but we made it our own when we stepped on the court.
"He definitely was an influence," Devonte said. "But as far as playing now, we became good at it and we like playing on our own."
"He gave us the ball and we just ran with it. It's definitely a family thing," Darnel added.
"Speaking of family," Susan began, "what's it like being Darrel Parker's sons?"
Darnel went first, saying, "There's definitely its perks. You're easily popular around here and people tend to gravitate towards you, but not just from relation, from the work you put in on the court too. There's a lot of attention being related to my father. Now, there's also the downside. There's a ton of pressure to be just as good as him and there's a lot of fake people that come with the notoriety. People who just wanna mooch off of our supposed 'wealth.' "
