𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐧. 𝐣𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬
𝙽𝙾𝚅𝙴𝙼𝙱𝙴𝚁 || 𝙱𝙰𝚃𝙾𝙽 𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙴, 𝙻𝙰.
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"The season starts in three days so is it possible we could work something out with my schedule? I still want to work here but with practices, games, and shit.." I mopped the floors while talking to my boss, Capri.
"What days you think you could do?" She asked.
"If I send you the schedule can we like build me one around it?" I laughed and she just glared at me.
I guess not.
"Nobody around here gets personalized schedules. I think you cool, but you should just quit now and come back in the summer." Capri shrugged and I just nodded as she walked off.
The job I was working right now was one of the most legit jobs I have ever had. Most of the jobs I had in the past weren't on the up and up, but I realized I was getting older and didn't want to end up in a cell for money laundering.
So, I got a job at the local rec center. I liked it because it was poppin' all year round not just in the summer time.
It was always some sort of event going on. Tomorrow it was a middle school basketball game. Saturday, it was a throwback skating party for some old heads who rented it out. It was a cool lil' place to work.
"You ready to be back hoopin?" Woo came and punched me in the shoulder, scaring the fuck out of me.
"My last run, I guess so." I laughed.
Woo was one of my homeboys since I was a kid. We went to the same school up until high school when he moved neighborhoods. We still stayed close and shit by working together now, meeting up to play ball in the park, and he still came over now and again.
"When ya'll first game? Our shit Saturday." Woo sat on a table as I rang out the mop, placing it back in the bucket.
"Our shit Friday night," I smiled. "I think we play ya'll sometime in the season too—"
"We play each other next month. You my brother and all but on that day, I swear to God ion know you at all." He laughed.
"It's like that?"
"Hell yea it's like that. Our two hoods playing each other you know it's finna be all bad bitches out. I'll be surprised if it's not a couple of fights. We haven't played each other in years."
"Type shit." I put the mop in the corner where it always stayed, checking the time seeing that I was now off the clock. "My shift over, gang."
"I'll see you." We dapped each other up.
I grabbed my things and started my walk all the way back to McKinley. I had agreed to meet up with Kacie for my chemistry session. In all honesty, this chapter wasn't that hard to me I just wanted to take up her time.
Once I got to school I walked into the random classroom that we always were in, seeing her sitting there looking deeply in the books.
I slowly walked in and wrapped my arms around her neck, feeling her body relax. "You look hella focused, you good?"
"Not gonna lie, I didn't prepare for this very well and none of this makes sense. This is too much math. I don't even remember doing this.."
"Really?" I sat next to her and frowned, acting fake hurt.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for wasting your time. If you wanna go home, I'll stay here and try to understand it better and stuff—"
"Kacie, I understand it." I laughed. "It's okay. You so hard on yourself, you know that?"
Her face relaxed and she just laughed before looking away, "If you understand then why the hell—"
"Just wanted to understand it better." I cut her off with a kiss, watching her roll her eyes as we pulled away from it.
This girl is so cute. I don't know what it is.
Is it too soon to ask her to be my girlfriend?
Ight, calm down.
"What you been up to today?" She asked as she closed the book.
"Work."
"Where you work?"
"The rec center down the street. Although, I did just get fired basically. Well not fired, but I quit. I don't know." I shrugged.
"Why you quit?"
"The season starts Friday and I know I won't be having no time to work with games on top of practices so. I quit."
"Well that sucks.."
"It's cool," I wrapped my arm around her. "You coming to my game, right?"
"Why should I?" She raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk and I could just tell that she was just messing with me.
"Because it would make me play really well if I look up and see yo' pretty ass in the stands." I said, watching her face light up. "And it'll be fun. The first game a lot of people always there and shit. And we playing a good ass school so it'll be competitive.."
"I'll think about it." She smiled before shrugging.
She know her ass gone be up there in the stands.
"You want that shirt made?"
"No, Emanuel. I am not wearing a shirt that says I'm your biggest supporter." She chuckled, rolling her eyes afterward.
"And why not? You saying you not my biggest supporter?"
"Nope. Not yet, at least."
"You will be, so I ain't even trippin." I laughed cockily before getting up from the seat. "I'll see you tomorrow, think about the game for real."
"I will." She smiled.
...
"Can you make another one of those shirts that you usually make? But this one I want it to have my number and last name on the back."
"What special lady is it for this time?" My cousin, Jaz, smirked at me.
This time.. she making it sound like I do this for everybody.
"Fuck you mean this time?"
"I make one of these every season. Last season it was for Brooklyn and Tamari. Then the season before that I made a different kind of one for Alyssa, then—"
"Okay, okay. Not my fault everybody love me," I rolled my eyes before handing her a fifty dollar bill. "This the last one and this one real special, so please."
"Same as last time just with your jersey on the back?"
"Pretty much." I smiled.
Jaz was very talented and was working on creating her own clothing brand. She would do a lot of custom shirts, shoes, dresses, whatever you could think of. She would even make some of the girl's prom dresses at my school.
For me she would always do the customs I wanted. Or she would spruce up my shoes and make them look different whenever I was too broke to get new ones.
She was a real one.
"How much time I got to make it? You know I work fast but I still like to know in advance."
"Three days." I cringed.
"Neno! You know I like a week in advance notices."
"I can pay you extra."
"Don't even worry about it. I'll have it ready for you by then." She huffed. "Now you never answered my question. What special lady is it for this time?"
"Her name is Kacie. She not my girl but she will be."
"I know that's right, cousin. How ya'll meet?"
"School. She tutoring me in Chemistry ironically." I laughed.
"Cliche ass. Falling in love wit' yo tutor and shit. That is some shit straight out a cheesy ass white romcom."
"Aye man it's not my fault she fine as hell." I laughed.
The word fine not even enough to describe Kacie. She fucking beautiful, outstanding, breathtaking, delightful, heavenly, stunning.
I can go on and on, but the word fine don't even do her enough justice.
"Well keep this one." She pushed my shoulder.
"You making it sound like I be in the wrong in my relationships. You can't keep a whore that don't wanna be kept." I shrugged, throwing shots at my ex.
"Some things were you being childish. Not everyone was your fault I'm just saying that if you feel like this one is special then keep her. You getting old anyway, settle down and shit."
"You acting like I'm old. I got plenty of time to settle down it's you that doesn't, old lady." I stated causing her to gasp dramatically.
She held her hand over her chest, "I'm only twenty three."
"Old."
"Whatever, Neno. Get the fuck out so I can start working on this shit. You should come back and pick it up before school on Friday."
"Thank you, Jazzy." I smiled and gave her a hug before leaving out of her room.
I left out and starting my walk home which was only a few minutes. It felt like I had done fifty million things in a day and all I wanted to do was go home and lay down.
But when I approached the front porch to my house I saw something that immediately ruined my whole day and all of sudden I wasn't even tired anymore.
My mother.