Lola took me by the hand and led me down the hall. I looked back at Blake, and he looked upset. To be honest, I could not figure out why he was acting that way. I stuck my neck in his business so he would not get a bullet in any part of his body. Now, when I needed him to rescue me, he wanted me far away. He was not the only one upset at that point.
My phone started ringing. I had it a little too loud, and I did not want it to disturb the Strongs. Quickly, I picked it up.
Responding like a friend, Landon yelled, “Man, you all right? You in the hospital? I’m on my way. Where you at?”
“I’m good, and I’m not in the hospital anymore,” I said. “How’d you find out?”
“Brenton called me and said Amir told him that you got rushed to the hospital. Word’s out you’ve been staying at the school. Is that true, man?”
“Look, I don’t want everyone in my business,” I said in a defensive tone.
“I’m just saying, man, you know I’m your brother. You could’ve stayed here with me. It ain’t even like my parents would know or that they would have had a problem with it.”
“You might be right, but the Axes are tripping, and I didn’t want to put a lead on your trail.”
“Oh, so you think being out there by yourself is the way to go?”
“I’m all right.”
“Today,” Landon emphasized. “We’re just gonna have to come up with a plan. I’ll talk to Blake—”
Cutting Landon off, I said, “Blake? Please, that punk ain’t gonna do nothing. He’s just worried about his own self.”
“Well, y’all gonna have to stick together because it’s both of y’all who they’re after.”
“How you seem to know so much about the Axes and what they want to do anyway?” Leo questioned. “You know they all on my jock. You don’t even need to be talking to them, Landon. They don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
The phone got silent. I knew he was taking in what I said. Why he wanted to be accepted at any cost was beyond me.
I scolded, “Think about what I said. We’ll talk about this later. I’m going to bed.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow, Mom,” Landon joked. “For real, glad you’re all right though, Le.”
“Right, right.”
Coach Strong told me to make myself at home. I was a little hungry. I felt so uncomfortable about going in their refrigerator, but I was starving. I had some pain pills that I needed water to take down. Thankfully, there was a light on in the kitchen. I was happy that Coach was probably in there. As I got closer, I heard a conversation that paralyzed me.
“Bradley, I don’t know if bringing this boy into our home is good. Getting into fights with a gang? Obviously, things are not over if the boys fled the scene. You have a teenage son who’s already a handful to raise. I just don’t know if this is a good idea,” Mrs. Strong said.
“I understand, honey, and I know we got a lot going on. I’m sorry to stress you. But of all the young men on my team, Leo’s had the roughest time. He’s tough, but he’s also a teddy bear. He’d give his right arm for you if you needed it. I didn’t know he was staying at the school and not eating. He needs somebody right now, and I just can’t turn my back. Please, baby, please say you’re okay with this.”
His wife did not respond, but they hugged. I thought it was interesting how they dealt with conflict. It certainly hurt that she did not want me here. I knew I was going to have to find somewhere else to stay to get out of her way. Until then, I just would not do anything to cause any problems.
“Oh, so everything Leo did for you, you forgot about? You gotta give him attitude when he comes to your house to live,” Landon went off on Blake. A group of football players stood around in the atrium, waiting for the bell to allow us to go to class.
Blake looked over at me, like I sold him out by talking too much. I just shrugged my shoulders and turned the other way. I did not ask Landon to confront Blake. I certainly was not expecting Blake to be a jerk about me staying at his place. Whatever backlash he got from some of our teammates was on him. I had wound up in a big mess defending Blake, and I sure was not going to do it again. Plus, I had doubts that Blake even appreciated my help.
“Step back, Landon. Get on out of my face,” Blake said, trying to walk away.
“Nah, nah, we’re going to deal with this,” Landon said. “The Axes left him for dead Wednesday night because of your tail.”
Blake shot me a sympathetic look this time. It was so late when we came in, his dad only gave him the basics of why I was staying. He did not tell him what happened to me. I did not want the world to know, but Amir told Brenton, and Brenton told Landon, which was why Landon called me. And if Landon knew, the whole school knew.
Brenton came over and said, “Leo, why are you even here today?”
“I spent all day yesterday in the Strong’s guest room. This is the last day of ISS. It’s just some bruises and a little gash with some stitches that’ll dissolve on their own. I’m all right. We’re defensive brothers. Come on, Brenton. You’d laugh at me if I stayed home because of a few cuts.”
“Right, right,” he said, giving me five. He still looked at me like I was crazy for coming to school after such a beating.
Landon continued yelling at Blake. “You so doggone selfish, man. We play so hard behind you, but if anybody else has a good game or a good practice and gets compliments from your dad, then you just don’t want to have nothing to do with them. You think you’re the only reason why we’re 3–0?”
Blake did not respond. Landon took two of his fingers and poked Blake in the chest. Blake shook his head like he was about to tackle Landon. The guys stepped in the way.
“Nah, y’all get out the way. Apparently, we need to do this. I’m tired of Blake Strong thinking he’s all that,” Landon yelled.
“What’s your skinny behind going to do?” Blake yelled back at the lean, tall receiver who didn’t have much meat on his bones but could fly.
Landon had been balling lately. He was doing his thing at practice, catching balls that Blake had thrown off course and gaining many yards after the catch. So focused on my own world, I did not even put two and two together. Blake was tripping when his dad gave Landon compliments. More shoving kept going on. Brenton held Blake and Amir held Landon, but a crowd was starting to gather.
Finally, I stepped in the middle of all of it and said, “Look, I got one more day in ISS, and I ain’t trying to have y’all join me. If y’all come in there, Dr. Sapp might give me more time just because.” I looked at Landon. “Go to class.”
“I’m trying to help you. Doc, what’s up?” Landon vented.
I whispered, “I ain’t ask you, man. At least for now, I have to live with that cat.”
Landon scolded, “No, you don’t. You can come stay with me.”
“Thanks, man.”
We slapped hands. “Real love, man,” Landon affirmed.
“Real love,” I responded back.
I went on to class, but Blake walked up beside me and said, “Look, if you think I was wrong to not be overly hospitable, I apologize. You didn’t have to go and tell Landon and get him all jacked about the situation. Last thing we want is our team divided.”
“Blake, if you’re going to apologize, that’s on you. You don’t have to. I don’t want to be at your house no longer than you want me to be there. Even though the room I’m staying in is clear across the other side of the house, it ain’t like you gotta see me tripping for real. Landon was right for calling you out. Shameek could have shot you a long time ago. I stopped that, and now my life is practically over with me being homeless and all, and you don’t wanna put yourself out to help me. What’s up? It ain’t like your mama gonna wanna tuck me in bed at night. I ain’t trying to take your place.”
Blake tried explaining, “We just have a lot going on at my house right now.”
“I know that, and I’m not trying to do anything to cause problems.”
“But you are c
ausing problems. It’s not right to be upset by the fact that you’re there, okay? I can’t explain it.”
Angry at his selfishness, I said, “Well, deal with it. It’s not my job to make you comfortable.”
Restraining from socking him, I walked to ISS. Blake had some nerve. He needed to realize we were on the same team. He could not be so uptight.
“Why are you here, Leo?” Ella said when I walked into the room.
“I’m doing okay, plus I wanted to see you,” I declared, not holding back with her any more.
Then, of course, Dr. Sapp came into the room and gave us one of his daily lectures, “Okay, so it’s just you two today. Carlen is done with his time in ISS and he’s out. I hope you guys learn something. It’s your last day, and I don’t want to have to see you guys any more.”
“We’ve caught up on our entire work, sir.”
“Well, you help him study today,” Dr. Sapp said to Ella. “I just want to tell you guys that you don’t always get second chances in this life. You two are juniors in high school. Before you know it, you’ll be out on your own making your mark in society. You mess up out there … you don’t get do overs. I know making dumb decisions is a part of growing up; consider yourselves experienced. Miss Ella, I hope you learned that standing up for people isn’t always worth it. Helping people cheat by saying they assisted you with an assignment when they didn’t is wrong.
I looked at Ella. She looked at me. We both knew we were busted about the work she said I’d done with her.
He continued, “Yeah, don’t look at me like that. I know he didn’t help you. If you want to help your peers, your sister, or some guy you think is cool, then really equip them to stand on their own two feet. And, Mr. Steele?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Come here. Let me see you in the hallway.”
Ella looked at me like, Ooh, you are in trouble. She sort of chuckled and her smile was beautiful.
When I stepped out into the hallway with Dr. Sapp, he said, “I told you messing with them Axes is crazy. You know I know what happened up here.”
“You gonna press charges on me, sir?”
“Nah, the school house is supposed to be a lot of things to people. It’s not meant to be your home, but occasionally that’s all we got. The little beat down you got … I guess that’s enough punishment.”
“Ha-ha-ha, sir.”
“I was just like you when I was young. I had a lot of potential, but I got a little off track because of my circumstances. I’m just telling you, I don’t want you trying to exact revenge. When people show you they are crazy, believe them. If you see them in the halls, go the other way. Trust me, I’m trying everything to get their tails out of my school for good. Until that happens, you know you’re at the top of their list. So just lay low. You got me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m going to go walk the halls and make sure everyone’s where they are supposed to be. Let the girl help you with some school work. She’s very smart, and I’ve seen the way you’ve been checking her out. Don’t just try to get in her pants. You better try to get in her mind.”
“Dr. Sapp, come on, man,” I cried, completely embarrassed.
“Don’t play with me. I was young. I’m still a man. I’m single and I know. However, get this; I didn’t become the principal of this large high school without knowledge. Knowledge is money, partner. You wanna go somewhere, you wanna be someone, then like the song says in Sister Act 2, you better wake up and pay attention.”
I replied, “I have never seen Sister Act 2.”
“Oh, well, that’s what y’all gonna watch today. Be right back,” he smiled and was gone.
I hated musicals, but maybe it could teach me something I did not know. Maybe … maybe not.
On Saturday, Coach wanted us to give back. We were hosting a football clinic for kids ages eight and under. There would be about one hundred or so little rug rats running around, and I would be in football hell.
As I recalled from the last time we gave back, some of those kids were real young. When you told them to run right, they ran left. You could not stand directly in front of them and show them drills because their coordination was not there yet. It was sweet, but I sure did not want to get out of the plush bed for that. I was relaxing when Coach got me and Blake up.
There were several stations, but I was a floater. Coach had me walking around making sure everything was going smoothly. When I got over to a group of kids who were teasing this one very little boy, I went off. I did not like anyone bullying anybody. I wanted to take the bad kids, put them over my knee, and spank them hard. Instead, I took the little boy who was targeted over to the side and calmed him down. He was okay, so I started teaching him drills.
“I got it. I know it,” the little man said after we played for about ten minutes.
“Tell me your name,” I said to him.
“I’m Evan.”
“Hey, Evan. I’m Leo. Evan, you can be a good football player. We’re going to play a little scrimmage game in a minute, and you’re going to get a touchdown, okay?”
I held out my hand, and he gave me a high-five. He was the cutest little joker. He had such spunk. Now he had confidence, and he was going to whup up on those guys who dissed him.
“You did a really good job with him, young man,” this guy said to me over my shoulder.
I turned around. The stranger was holding out his hand. I shook it.
“Daddy, watch me get a touchdown,” Evan screamed with excitement to the man.
“Oh, this is your son,” I said, not realizing the boy’s father was around watching. “Go run the long route, Evan.”
I put the ball in the little guy’s hands. He tucked it under. Little Evan ran all over the boys who had taunted him.
The gentleman said, “You’re impressive. What grade are you in?”
“I’m a junior.”
“Well, I’m an NFL agent. I’ll be watching you. What kind of grades do you have?”
It was a normal question. However, the words got to me. Thankfully, I did not have to answer when Evan ran back with Ella.
“Hey,” I said to her.
“Hey,” Evan’s father greeted Ella in a friendly tone like he knew her or something.
She had a weird look on her face. It was like everybody knew something but me. I was left out of the joke. Come to find out Evan was her little brother and this was her dad. Then I got really nervous. I had been with many girls. A brother did his thing. However, this was the first time I ever let one in. She did not even know that I had feelings for her, and being around her father made my palms sweat.
Ella sang my praises. Her dad was happy to know we were friends. I liked her even more at that point.
The next week flew by. I wanted to ask her out, but Coach Strong had us on a tight regimen. Staying with him, he knew my every move. Yeah, I could have called her at night, but it was so late. I did not want to bother her. While I had thought that Blake did not have to see me, we actually did everything together. We ate breakfast together. We ate dinner together. We had football practice together, and we had to study together. I was not in his way, but I was in his space.
I could not wait until Friday night. It was an away game. I was ready to show I could ball and get my aggression out the right way.
Brenton, Amir, and I had the defense jacked up. Our kicking game was the weakest. There were not many black kickers in the NFL or in D1 colleges, and it seemed as though that was probably a good thing because if they played like the one we had, then they would be poop. Now I knew brothers could do anything they wanted to, but for some reason kicking was not our thing. We wanted the hard-hitting jobs or the flashy positions. Kicking the ball through the uprights was a lot of pressure, but it was satisfying when executed well.
Knowing that our kicker was bad, we knew we really could not count on special teams. Offense and defense were going to have to show up. But Blake didn’t adhere to the plan. He threw two pick
s on our offensive possessions. He seemed rattled. We knew defense had to win the game. Therefore, I got a forced fumble and gave the ball back to offense on the other team’s ten yard line. We still could not score. Our kicker came out and could not get us three points.
While warming up to go back out on defense, Brenton said, “I hope ER gets eligible soon.”
“Who’s ER?” I asked.
“The new guy … you know who he is. His dad is working on his eligibility,” Brenton explained, though I still looked clueless.
“The white kid? Sheesh, you really did bump your head to miss him,” Amir said, pointing to the guy standing with our kicker, trying to give him pointers.
I asked, “Is he good?”
“Yeah, he made a bunch at practice from the fifty yard line,” Brenton said.
“And he’s better than what we got,” Amir remarked.
“True that, true that, but let’s go win this game because he isn’t playing now, and we’re on a mission.”
Three quarters later, we trounced the sorriest team in our division, 56–0, thanks to our defense scoring. On the bus ride back, normally the football players had to sit together, but since we won, Coach was more lenient. Some of the guys were paired up with cheerleaders and band girls.
I went over to Ella and said, “Is this seat taken?”
She batted her long eyelashes at me and said, “No.”
She went to sleep on my shoulder. There was so much I wanted to say to her. She needed to know I cared and that I was not oblivious to all the great things she had done to help me. I wanted to tell her that, truthfully, if it was not for her coming to my rescue, who’d know where I’d be. However, she did not give me the chance because she started snoring. Though it was just a little, I knew she was in too deep of a sleep to be bothered.
“Nudge her,” her sister said. “I don’t want her embarrassing me by snoring on this bus.”
Feeling protective, I said, “I got her. She’s cool. She ain’t bothering anybody on this bus. We all gonna be snoring in a minute.”
Yell Out / Do You Page 13
