Oxymoron | ScHoolboy Q

Chapter 32

Weeks has passed since the day Quincey received prayer at church. Some believed in prayer, some didn't, but if Quincey didn't believe in it then, he certainly did now. He had every reason to be happy.

With motivation from Bre, he actually took time out to catch up on all his make-up work.

Bre told her mom small white lies to stay after school for clubs, but to really help him instead. They would hang out in the school library doing a little bit of work a day, then would later grab a bite to eat. This brought them back on good terms, and even closer than they were before.

He was blessed to have a girl like Bre in his life, and knew he couldn't play around any longer.

He went from barely passing grades to straight A's - with the help of her tutoring and patience. With it being his senior year and colleges having close eyes on him, he promised Bre and himself that he would keep his grades and GPA up at that rate.

A promise he promised to actually keep this time.

In addition, despite what the doctors said, his hand healed faster than normal. He was able to return to football just in time to prepare for their first home game, and tonight was the night. His mom and Bre promised to be in the stands to support, and he felt as if with all the good things happening lately, nothing could go wrong.

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Considering it was the first game of the season, Bre's mom let her have the night off to attend with Ashante. She made sure to wear the school colors, and even get Quincey's number painted on her cheek. She would wash it off before returning home of course, but she wanted to get into the spirit.

Ashante retrieved her cellphone from the pocket of her shorts as her and Bre moved up in line. The person in front of them were getting blue war stripes with gold glitter. She planned on getting the same. Once doing so, Bre got Quincey's number on her left cheek like she had planned.

She snapped a quick picture with Ashante, making sure to chose the right angle before uploading it to Instagram and tagging her. Luckily, she didn't have family on social media.

They then grabbed some food from the concession stand before heading towards the actual stadium. Bre decided to hang out by the fence that separated everyone from the field as Ashante went to find them a spot on the bleachers.

Bre hoped to grab Quincey's attention once warm-up was over to wish him a good luck.

They played the instrumental of 'Hard In the Paint' as she watched. Once they were out of time, the teams began to huddle up as they went to exit off the field for a grand entrance. Quincey just so happened to notice her standing on the side as a huge smile formed across his face.

"Waiting for someone?" he asked with a smirk as he approached.

"Yeah," she grinned, playing along with his clueless act. "Number 3."

She showed him her cheek as he smiled.

"I wonder who that is," he replied, pretending to think before looking down at his uniform. "Oh damn that's me!"

"You're so fucking stupid," she laughed hysterically.

He chuckled too with a shrug.

"Well, I just wanted to wish my baby a good luck, that's all," she stated with a smile. "Go get 'em tonight."

"I definitely will," he grinned. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They shared a quick, yet intimate kiss before it was time for him to leave and line up with the others. Bre then went to sit with Ashante who found a seat on the fifth bleacher up. The rest of the seats were beginning to fill as people rumbled the stands with cheers.

"I saw your lil fast ass," Ashante yelled over everyone's voices with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Bre laughed.

"Gabrielle Hanley?" she joked.

Bre rolled her eyes as she started to blush. It did have a ring to it. She could get use to that name one day.

"Have you seen his mom yet?" she questioned, changing the subject.

"Yeah, she's on the front row."

"I'll be back, I'm gonna go speak."

Bre made her way down the bleachers as she went to go see her. Meanwhile, the game was starting. Both teams began to run onto the field in a pack as the band played the song they always did. Everyone cheered, including Quincey's mom.

"That's my baby!" she screamed, pointing at the field.

Bre laughed as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Hey mom!"

"Hey baby!" she greeted her excitedly, returning the hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Excited to see Quincey play?"

"Yes! He's came so far with that hand I didn't think he would make it to see the first game."

"Welp, he did," Bre chuckled. "And I'm sure he's gonna bring the team a win."

"I sure hope so! Or then I'll really be upset."

Bre laughed before replying.

"Well I just wanted to say hi. I'm sitting up there on the fifth row with my friend if you need me."

"Alright sweetie!"

Bre then made her way back up the bleachers and next to Ashante to watch the game. Bre wasn't really into football, but she made sure to try and keep an eye on Quincey and cheer for him every now and then.

After a long and good game, they took home the win with a close score of 24-20. Unfortunately though, due to the constant coughing that Quincey's mom started to get again, she had to leave during the 3rd quarter and get home.

Once the game was over and he was back into his regular clothes, Bre and Ashante both congratulated him. He asked where his mom was, and Bre informed him that she had to get home right away for some reason. Not thinking too much of it, he brushed it off.

Bre decided she would head home and get some sleep since it was late, and Ashante decided to do the same. Quincey instead went to celebrate the first win and him being able to play, with the boys. Him, Donovan and Terrell decided on a bite of Steak N' Shake before eventually heading home.

It was around midnight when he returned, but he was still wide awake and hype. He was feeling good. The day went perfectly.

"Ma!" he yelled, once walking through the door. "Did you see the game?"

"Man we did so good tonight!" he added with a happy dance.

"Bre said y'all were in the stands cheering us on!"

He sat down his things by the door as he made his way into the kitchen. Although he had just ate, he could use something to drink. He opened the fridge as he grabbed a can of Pepsi. He leaned against the counter as he smiled.

Once popping open the can, he glanced over at the stacks of papers beside him. There were numerous opened and unopened pieces of mail, but one black piece of paper sticking out underneath caught his attention.

He knew how she felt about him peeking at her bills and how much she owed people, but it wouldn't hurt to see what the different and odd looking paper was.

Once pulling it out he noticed it was a brochure. In red bold letters it read, 'You are not alone'. Underneath it read the words 'Living With Lung Cancer'. There was a small business-like card paper-clipped to the brochure with her name on it, as if it was specifically for her.

Quincey's smile faded as he read the words again. He felt his heart drop as he angrily tossed the brochure back on the counter and discarded the Pepsi.

Did his mom have lung cancer?