Brother

By Fabian Robinson

The south side of Billsview, Texas, is a part of the city that has a bad reputation of being called labels such as ghetto and hood. A lot of the city’s poverty, government aid, and crime occur in the south part of the city. David Williams is a former high school football All-American local legend who experienced a setback but rebounded in the US Army, which led to him being an Army Ranger who was awarded the Medal of Honor. After getting wounded and medically discharged against his will, he came back to his mother’s house to keep his younger siblings—RJ, Ashely, and Mya—in line and on the right path.
With a mother who does not seem to care about her children and a father who none of David’s siblings have seen before, David wants to please God while keeping his siblings away from the devil’s seductions of illegal activity, gangs, drugs, teenage pregnancy, and STDs. He wants them all to graduate high school, go to college, and make it out of the south side of town that he blames for ruining so many young lives as he blames it for almost ruining his own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796060201

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Fabian Robinson.

Library of Congress Control Number:     2019914473

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-7960-6022-5

                 Softcover         978-1-7960-6021-8

                 eBook               978-1-7960-6020-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/18/2019

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Contents

Chapter 1 The City of Billsview, Texas

Chapter 2 The Williams Family

Chapter 3 RJ

Chapter 4 Ashely

Chapter 5 Big Brother

Chapter 6 Curtis Mayland

Chapter 7 Church

Chapter 8 Darnel

Chapter 9 Jerris

Chapter 10 The Showdown of Billsview

Chapter 11 Latisha

Chapter 12 Playoff Time

Chapter 13 State Championship

Chapter 14 A New Life

Chapter 15 Summertime

Chapter 16 Ladanius

Chapter 17 A New Man in Town

Chapter 18 College Tour

Chapter 19 No Love in the City

Chapter 20 Look Who’s Back

Chapter 21 Deacon Millard, the Infamous One

Chapter 22 I Love My Mother

Chapter 23 Graduation

Chapter 24 I Love Being Me

Chapter 25 Cold Case

Chapter 26 Education

Chapter One

The City of Billsview, Texas

Billsview, Texas, is a town that is located one hour north of Dallas, Texas; and the city part has the east, west, south, north, and downtown areas. Downtown has the Billsview Convention Center, where special events are hosted. There is also the Billsview Stadium, where sporting events, as well as special events, are held. Downtown has business, restaurants, and tourism for people to have a nice time. During holidays or state football time, downtown is a special place. However, on the other side, downtown also has the homeless and crime, and can be a thing of that area.

The east and west parts of the city are predominantly Mexican American, but Immigration has a problem with many Mexican immigrants in the area. The south and north parts are predominantly African American and Mexican American with many Mexican immigrants that Immigration has a hard time with. The west, east, north, and south have a bad reputation in the city as being crime areas. The west and east are labeled as barrios, and the north and south are labeled as ghettos. People don’t think of the west, east, north, and south areas of town to be anything glamorous, or even pretty; and people feel like those are places that you want to stay away from.

The suburban areas of the city are predominantly Anglo-Saxon and are labeled as the good areas of town. Cate Springs is a suburb in the far north part of town, which is the most affluent part of Billsview. Cate Springs is stirckly upper middle class. The Carson area is in the south part of the town and has a huge African American and Mexican American population. The Carlton area is in the southeast part of town and has a huge African American and Mexican American population. The Ruby area is in the west part of town, the Rington area is in the east part of town, and the Jones area is located in the north part of the city.

The city mayor, Mayor Henderson, is a Republican Anglo-Saxon from Cate Springs. He played football for North Cate Springs, which is the most affluent school in the city. He was a wide receiver, and he earned a scholarship to Texas U, which is a Division I college in Austin, Texas, with a great football reputation. That was where he started ever since he was a junior, and he helped them win a national championship. His NFA (or National Football Association, which is the professional football league) dreams didn’t work out, so he went into the family business—politics. He has been the city’s mayor for the past four terms. His wife, Mrs. Henderson, is also from the Cate Springs and played volleyball for West Cate Springs and earned a scholarship to A&M Texas, which is also a Division I college in Houston Texas, and Texas U’s main rival. They both are famous for doing a Texas U vs Texas A&M rival commercial where they butt heads.

The chief of police is Chief Biggs, an African American who played football as outside linebacker for Robinson High School, located in South Billsview, which has a good football reputation. Chief Biggs is known to attend Robinson’s football and basketball games, especially during playoff games. His wife, Mrs. Biggs, went to Robinson High School as well and played basketball. Chief Biggs earned a football scholarship to Texas Southern U, which is an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) institution in Houston, Texas, with a good girls’ basketball and football reputation. Chief Biggs started ever since a junior, and after his NFA dreams didn’t work out, he joined the police force and worked his way from portal cop rookie to chief of police. His wife played basketball for Texas Southern U as small forward.

The city’s district attorney, Mr. Gonzales, is from West Billsview and played soccer at East Billsview High School, which is considered the worst high school in Billsview right now. He earned a scholarship to Christian Hope University, which is a Division II college in Killen, Texas. He went to law school afterward, where he met his future wife, who is from East Billsview as well. They both graduated from the same class, and Mr. Gonzales became a lawyer who would have a flawless record in the city of Billsview before he became the city’s DA. HE has a passion to destroy organized crime in his city, and organized crime and big drug dealers do not like him that much because he can’t be paid off, and he is aggressive in his campaign to put them in prison.

The City Legends are the East Cate Springs High School football team, who are currently ranked as the number 7 team in the nation. They are a 6A team, and the other teams in the city don’t like them because they are known to talk trash and are labeled as arrogant and cocky. They have a $75 million stadium, which is the best stadium in the city, and they have the most famous principal in the city, Mr. Bugs, who is known to be on the sidelines of every freshman, JV, and varsity football game to cheer his team on, and even pour sports drink in their mouths. Working as his head coach means you will be paid well, but you have no time to waste as far as winning, or else you can be fired. The current East Cate Springs head coach is Coach Dades, who has a salary of $65,000 a year.

Greg McCoy is the most famous football player in the city, as he is the quarterback for East Cate Springs. He has been starting for the football team ever since he was a freshman. He is a senior right now and is the fifth-ranked high school football player in the nation. He is recruited well, and he has won a state championship in his freshman and junior years. He is known for his 89-mile-an-hour fastball as the starting pitcher on the baseball team as well. He has started on the baseball team ever since he was a freshman, and he had led the baseball team to three state championships so far. Susan Whittlers, the starting center for West Ruby High’s girls’ basketball team, has given him the nickname the King of the Rings. Greg McCoy also has the highest batting average on the team, and he is recruited well. He is famous for his green Corvette; and his girlfriend, Amy Spoons, is the most popular girlfriend in the city because she is Greg McCoy’s girlfriend.

Susan Whittlers is from Ruby, and her high school that she attended is West Ruby High which is a 6A school with a good girls’ basketball reputation, and its team currently has a Division I recruit—African American senior Lakendra Larks—as the starting Point guard. Susan Whittlers has been the starting center ever since she was a freshman, and she led them to four state championships. She was an All-American who was the MVP of the All-American game with 14 points, 3 block shoots, and 5 assists with 5 rebounds. She signed her letter of intent to Texas U, where she started at power forward because there was a woman taller than her who the coaching staff felt should be on the same floor at the same time.

Susan Whittlers led Texas U to three national championships during her freshman, sophomore, and senior years. Her junior year, Texas U lost in overtime due to a controversial call. There wasn’t a WNBL (Women’s National Basketball League) at the time, but she earned her way to the US Women’s National Basketball Team at the Olympics. She earned her way to the starting lineup at power forward and was one of the best players on the team that had the best women players in the world. The US women’s team blew out the rest of the world’s best teams as if it was easy. Susan Whittlers played in two Olympic games and helped bring home two gold medals before the WNBL was formed where she earned her way to the starting lineup on the Oklahoma City Bobcats. She started at power forward and was the best power forward in the league and played against half of her Olympic teammates who proved to be some of the best players in the WNBL, as expected, including Cynthia Loops, an African American shooting guard who played for the Houston Stars and is considered to be the greatest WNBL player of all time. Susan Whittlers has led the WNBL in rebounds three times, led the WNBL in blocked shots once, led the WNBL in points two times, and has been a WNBL Most Valuable Player, and has won two WNBL championships.

Susan Whittlers retired as one of the greatest WNBL players of all time and is currently a Hall of Famer and considered the greatest power forward of all time. She is now the host of Sports Run, which is a high school sports segment on the Channel 4 News. She is also the CEO of Family Nights, an American-style restaurant chain with branches in every suburb, one downtown, one in Fort Worth, and one in Tyler. She had an income of $2 million last year, and she lives in a gated community in Cate Springs, in a five-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion with outdoor and indoor pools and a full indoor basketball court. She drives a white Range Rover and has two black male Lab dogs, who are friendly unless you mess with her.

She has a daughter, who is a sophomore at North Cate Springs and is the starting center on the girls’ basketball team and its best player. She drives a white BMW Jeep and her father, a retired small forward in the NBL (National Basketball league), is James Edwards, an Anglo-Saxon who played for the Seattle Rains.

Recently, there has been a new sheriff in town, and he has created animosity from East Cate Springs. Robinson High School’s football team has seen a new level of dominance for the past two years, and they currently have six players who are in the top 50 best football players in the nation. They have won the 4A State Championship for the past two years in a row, and the town is ready to see them face off with East Cate Springs High in an out-of-district game during the eighth week of the season.

Chapter Two

The Williams Family

In the south side of town, on Thirty-Third Street, is the Williams family, who lives in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom rent house. The head of the household is Tammie, who is on EBT which is a government debit style type card with a moutly balance that is for buying food for poor familys, Section 8 which is a cheack every mouth in the mail to help pay rent for poor familys. She has never had a job in her life, and she does not want one at all. She has a reputation for being sexually experienced, unfaithful, and a gold digger at times. Her oldest born, David, lives with her and works at an electronics plant in the Ruby area called Raytheon. David oversees logistics, and he earns a salary of $70,000 a year.

David is a former US soldier who served in the army as a logistics soldier for four years and served in one tour of Iraq. After his first term, he became a US Army Ranger, which is an Army Special Operations unit. David served in three rescue missions, a tour in Iraq, and two tours in Afghanistan in his six years as a Ranger before he left on a medical discharge. He receives a 100 percent medical disability check every month as he left as a sergeant. David drives a black Nissan Jeep that he has had ever since he was a logistics Soilder that is paid off.

Then there is RJ, Ronald Williams, who is David’s younger brother and the rising king in town according to Susan Whittlers. RJ has been the starting quarterback for the Robinson High Panthers ever since he was a freshman and led the team to two straight 4A State Championships. He is currently the eighth-ranked football player in the nation. He is known to brag about himself, and people consider him to be cocky or arrogant. He drives a used Honda Civic, and he has been an honors student since he was in eighth grade. He maintains his 4.0 GPA at Robinson, and he is the most famous person in South Billsview.

Ashely is David’s sister. She is in eighth grade at the Fremont Middle School and a 4.0 honors student. Lots of people feel that Ashley doesn’t have to worry about anything because RJ will make millions. She has peers who tell her that since she already knows how to read and write, there is no need for her to go to school if RJ will make millions. Ashely plans to go to an Ivy League school when she graduates from Robinson, even though she feels that she doesn’t have to go to college if RJ is going to be rich.

The youngest of David’s siblings is Mya, who is in third grade and who is an A student. She wants to be an astronaut when she grows up, and she often tells RJ to buy her a spaceship when he goes to the NFA. All of Mya’s teachers like her, as she’s well behaved and outperforms all her classmates just like Ashely and RJ do in their classes.

In the backyard are a male adult pit bull named Doom and an adult female named Girl, who are both nice unless you mess with the family. David sells pit bull puppies for one hundred dollars because he knows that no one will pay over two hundred dollars among poor people. People are still tyrig to lower the price.

David was on the couch talking to the first friend he made while in the army, who is an African American woman named Lameisha. Lameisha is from the Brooklyn section of New York. She was raised by her mother, who was on welfare, food stamps, and Section 8 housing. She has an older brother named Oden, an older brother named Ottis, an older sister named Kendra, a younger sister named Diana, and a younger brother named Edward. They were all raised in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house with a basement. In her neighborhood and around the corners, she has seen people selling narcotics and women prostituting themselves often and daily. Around the corner was a Bloods street gang, who at the time had a rivalry with the Latin Kings, who wore gold and were Puerto Rican and lived in the Puerto Rican section of Brooklyn not far from her area.

Oden started selling crack with his cousin Raymond when he was twelve years old, and his grades went from all As to all Fs and 0s. He stopped going to school when he was fourteen years old because he felt that school is boring and because of his teachers yelling at him. He also felt that he could make more money if he did not go to school, and that he had no hope of getting a job after high school or going to college. Ottis wanted to be like Oden, especially when they used to see Oden with cash on the kitchen table at times. Ottis stopped going to school when he was twelve because he felt that he would rather make money than sit in school all day. Ottis then started to sell crack with Oden.

Oden, Ottis, and Raymond graduated from selling crack cocaine to selling cocaine to supplying crack dealers in Brooklyn. Oden, Ottis, and Raymond ended up supplying crack dealers in Harlem; the Bronx; Newark, New Jersey; Camden, New Jersey; and Baltimore. When Lameisha was ten years old, she witnessed a narcotics task force raid her home, put her; her mother, Marsha; Kendra; Diane; and Edward on the floor and restrained them while they arrested Oden. They found three kilos of cocaine and $25,000 and sent him to jail. Oden was sentenced to fifty years in prison because an informant from Harlem got arrested for a felony gun charge and wanted to make a deal to get released out of jail.

Ottis and Raymond ended up making $200,000 to $300,000 in cocaine deals, but Raymond would one day be set up by his girlfriend over the man who she was cheating on him with. Raymond was murdered by his girlfriend’s other boyfriend, who had five of his friends with him in hopes of stealing cocaine or money from him, but they found nothing but a pack of condoms and $5,000 on him. Ottis laster would end up arrested for selling five kilos of cocaine to an undercover police officer and sentenced to sixty-six year by a judge who did not like African Americans or Hispanics. Eight years into his prison sentence, he was murdered by five Puerto Rican males who held him down and stabbed him to death during a racial fight in the dayroom.

Kendra graduated from King High School, which is a division 4A school, with a great basketball reputation. Their team is always in the national rankings and is currently ranked number 20 in the nation. After she graduated high school with a 2.3, she joined the army because she had seen so many army commercials on TV and decided to join the army over the air force, navy, or the Marines Lameisha was influenced to join the army because Kendra joined the army. She saw how Marsha bragged so much about Kendra, how people said that Kendra made it out of the hood, how Kendra came home on holidays with money, bought groceries, and had new cell phones every time Lameisha saw her. Kendra has served in Iraq three times in her career, and is currently a sergeant first class and a platoon sergeant. She got married last year to an African American Lawyer who is from the suburban area of Miami.

Diana graduated from King High School and joined the navy because she saw how Kendra and Lameisha joined the army, and the people in the neighborhood bragged about them a lot. She saw how Marsha bragged about them more, how Kendra had money, how Lameisha had money, how they both came back home with new cell phones and how they bought groceries for the house. Diana graduated from King High with a 2.0, and she joined the navy because she felt that it was cool to tour the seas, and is currently a petty officer second class and married to a petty officer first class. They have two sons together. Diana has served in Iraq once in her career.

Edward, the tallest in his family, has been playing basketball as a small forward since he was in seventh grade. Prior to that, he was a legend in the playground, where lots of males played pickup basketball games and made a name for themselves, and girls were always around to watch. Edward started on the varsity at King High School ever since he was a freshman as a small forward and was the best player of a great high school basketball team that had five other Division I recruits. Edward was recruited well and would end up being ranked as the twentieth high school basketball player in the nation, and an All-American during his senior year for the east team.

He signed his letter of intent to New York U, which also had Jamie WIllwards who was the best power forward in Harlem, and Mario Cooks who was the best point guard in Queens. Edward has started since he was a junior, and he graduated with 2.3 and a bachelor’s degree in computer science. His professional football dreams didn’t work out the way he wanted, but he ended up becoming a software programmer earning $100,000 a year and lives in the Plano suburb of Dallas with his wife and kids.

Lameisha is living in the Garland suburb of Dallas, Texas, working at Tobey’s, which is a nationwide grocery store and the number 1 leading grocery store in the nation, but the number 4 retail store in the nation, falls behind Shop and Drop, Bullseye, and Electro World. Lameisha is a backroom manager, who oversee the logistics part of the store. She earns $60,000 a year and works for one of the seven Tobey’s in the Garland suburb of Dallas. She lives in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom middle-class rent house in the Garland area; and she drives a silver BMW that she bought last year.

Meanwhile, Lameisha teased David like she always does, and then she said, Single still?

David said, Yes.

Why?

I don’t have time for a woman.

Why is that?

I don’t know.

You need to know, David. You can’t be single forever. So what is going on in your love life?

I don’t have one. The last boyfriend I had was a down-low homosexual who had a boyfriend named Miguel. My homegirl told me that she saw the two of them at the bowling alley.

A BIg Jity like Dallas and your friend still caught them two?

Yes. Don’t underestimate the power of friends, us homegirls can find anything out. You men can’t cheat.

Good for them.

Then my boyfriend, before him I caught in bed with another woman who had no idea who I was. He was an engineer too. David, a supervisor, made $80,000 a year. Money does not make a man faithful David.

That good advice is for someone else.

I’m not saying that you are gay, David. But then the boyfriend I had when I was active as a soldier cheated on me with plenty of women and stripper whores before I found out. He wanted to marry too, David, while he was cheating the whole time. So my love life sucks, David.

That’s good.

Good, huh? And you never had a girlfriend since you were, what, a kid?

I guess not, huh.

Because you wanted to be a whore and bang many girls, huh? When we were in the same platoon, you banged around with all the army hoes in our platoon and in other companies. God knows how many strippers and civilian hoes you banged.

Those were the times before I became saved.

I bet you was a freak in high school, Mr. All-American.

Yes, I was, but those were sin times.

You didn’t want a girlfriend?

I guess it was easy to just bang a lot of girls without having to lie to a girlfriend. I was free. I saw my friends get caught cheating, and the girlfriends wanted to beat them up. I didn’t want that drama.

Well, you weren’t a cheater, but you were a hoe.

A man can’t bang many women if women are not whores for us to bang.

You know what, I’ll agree with that. I’m too classy to be a whore.

Only with your boyfriend, huh?

What makes me a hoe just—because I have sex only with my boyfriend?

You are not married, right?

Right.

So you’ve never had sex in your life—you only fornicated. That makes you a whore if you fornicate a lot of times. So you are no different than me.

Well, I see your point. I agree, I guess. God did make husband and wife, not boyfriend and girlfriend. But I was a whore under the boyfriend-girlfriend clause at least. I knew if my fornication partner had an STD or not.

Until they cheat on you and you don’t know anymore.

I guess you’re right, David. So you are still living in the hood?

I guess.

You hate it but still live there?

I guess.

"We are getting older, not younger. We can’t guess anymore. We must know something. You know. I mean, you are supposed to be a man, but I’m the one who has my own house, my new BMW, and I don’t live with my mama in a low-income house. I live in a nice suburb with decent people, no pollution or else the cops will give a fine for it. No gunshots, no drugs, no niggas, but just black people. Mostly white people, a lot of Mexicans, some Asians, and a lot of black people for a suburb. Garland."

We are not N-words, I thought I taught you better. We are African Americans, or black people, or we are whatever we are called that we don’t know.

I agree, David. What did you eat for dinner?

You ask me that all of the time. Every day you ask me that.

I want to know.

Cajun Times Fried Chicken.

OK. I had some Burger World. I didn’t feel like cooking. Work makes you tired as we get older. I miss my twenties, David.

Yes, I noticed that myself, but a soldier has advantages. Just apply them in life, period.

You’re right.

You’re coming to my house to watch the game, right?

The Dallas Sheriffs game?

No, the New York Lions game, baby. No Dallas Sheriffs. These Dallas folks love their Sheriffs. Jesus. I get a hard time at work every day, and God forbid, if the Lions lose, I get roasted. But when those Sheriffs lose, then they hear my mouth.

I hope the Lions lose next time.

Shut up. But are you coming? I’ll cook homemade for you.

I’ll come. My homeboys want me to come to watch the game with them.

I’m number one. We have this thing going for us.

Our high school teammate is the best player on the Lions. It’s kind of like we have to watch the game together as brothers to see our brother play.

But I’m number one. You can watch your brother with me. Text your other brothers. You like to come to my house so that tells me something.

OK.

You don’t say no to me.

I want to stay close so when the Dallas Sheriffs win the Big Bowl, I can gloat.

Yeah right, but you can’t say no to me, can you? That tells you something.

I know. I’m proud to be a Dallas Sheriffs fan.

Whatever. But anyway, Oden will be released.

He will?

Yes. My mother and I prayed so much, and especially when you please God, he hears you.

I thought he had, like, fifty years, so I’m glad he can get out of that place.

I know. They let him serve only half of that sentence because of good behavior, but really, it was just God. See what happens when you have faith and when you believe?

Yes. I’m happy.

"My mother just would do anything for her sons whose she still thinks never did any wrong, so she agreed with the parole board that Oden can live with her. He is still her baby.

He has a mother who loves and cares about him. He is my big brother. I used to be a kid when he was the oldest, and I loved it when he was around. At one point, he started to disappear, and my mother couldn’t control him. I used to see my mother yell at him, but she couldn’t control him. He didn’t listen. Then it got to a point where Ottis started to disappear too. Mother couldn’t control him either. Men say that it’s a man’s world, but males are weak. All my mother’s daughters made it, but only her baby son made it. My two oldest brothers, who I loved, didn’t make it because they were weak.

They discussed the issue of big brothers for a while and ended their conversation with Dallas Sheriffs and New York Lions debating. Afterward, they ended their conversation with a good-bye, and David felt good. He felt that his day was made, but he missed her already. He started thinking about her for thirty more minutes until he realized that it was time for RJ, Ashley, and Mya to go to bed; so David summoned them for bedtime. RJ and Ashley hate bedtime, and it makes them want to grow up sooner, so they won’t have anyone to tell them to go to bed.

RJ ironed his clothes, said his prayers, and got in his bed with his cell phone so he could look at his social media pictures. Ashely and Mya later came home from being over at Aunt Emily’s house. Emily is Tammie’s older sister. Aunt Emily lives in a two-bed, one-bath house on Letts Street in which the Bloods gang called the Letts Street Bloods roam and have conflicts with the Skull and Bone Crips gang who are around the corner. Aunt Emily is a shift manager at Burger World, which is the most popular and highest-grossing fast-food franchise in the world. She earns ten dollars an hour, and she has never been on government assistance because she has too much pride. She has a son named Carl and a daughter named Vita.

Carl is the starting wide receiver for the Robinson High football team, and he is a junior. He has started on the football team ever since he was a freshman and has been the best receiver in the city since he was a freshman. Carl has also started at small forward on the varsity basketball team ever since he was a freshman and could dunk ever since he was in eighth grade; and he has been on the varsity track team ever since he was a freshman in the 100 meter dash, 100-meter hurdles dash, and the fourth leg on the 400-meter relay team. Carl has been the fastest on the track team ever since he was a freshman and one of the best players on the basketball team ever since he was a freshman as the second best scorer on the team. Carl has won blue ribbons at every track meet that he had participated in so far, and he made it to state for two years in a row, where he won bronze during his freshman year and silver during his sophomore year. The boys’ relay team has won bronze last year.

Carl is recruited well in football, basketball, and track; and he hasn’t signed his letter of intent for any school yet. Vita is in eighth grade and is a cheerleader at Olsen Middle School. Carl and Vita have the same father, whom they’ve been estranged since Carl was in sixth grade and Vita was in third grade. Today Carl resents his father while Vita misses him and wishes that he would come home.

Meanwhile, Ashely and Mya just came back from getting their hair done by Aunt Emily. Mya sat on David’s lap and hugged him. Ashely said, Can I have ten dollars?

David said, You can have bed.

Ashely then ironed her clothes, and Mya said, When is RJ gonna go pro?

David said, When are you going to be an astronaut?

She said, When I grow up.

And?

Make all As.

Good job. Get ready for bed.

Ashely ran Mya’s bath, and Mya took a bath and brushed her teeth and put her sleeping clothes on. She said her prayers and then went to bed. Ashely brushed her teeth and changed into sleeping clothes; then she said her prayers and joined the same bed as Mya. David sat on the couch and thought about Lameisha for the rest of the night with a smile on his face that he couldn’t help.

The next morning, David woke up, and he went to the kitchen and drank three glasses of water, and then he drove to Robinson High School to do his morning job at Panther Field around the track for a total of three miles. The same three women were power walking around the track, and when David finished, RJ arrived to do his morning two-mile jog around the track. RJ bragged about himself to David as usual, and David shook his head and went home, took a shower, got dressed for work. He went to the sibling’s room, and he woke Ashely up. I should not have to wake you up, Ashely. Don’t let this happen again.

Ashely woke Mya up, and Mya brushed her teeth and washed her face. Then Ashely got Mya dressed for school, and she made Mya a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal and cheese toasts with a glass of orange juice. Ashley then went to take her shower as Mya ate breakfast while singing elementary songs; and when she was done, David took her to Harrison Elementary, which is the same elementary that he, RJ, and Ashely went to. David walked Mya to her classroom. Her teacher is Miss Angie, who is an Asian American woman. Miss Angie said, Hi, Mya Williams.

Mya said, Hey, Miss Angie.

Mya hugged David and kissed him before she went in to the classroom to talk to her friends.

Miss Angie said, Mya is such an honorable girl. She is an A student. I can picture her doing well through high school.

If she gives you problems, please call me soon.

She won’t give me any problems at all. I remember when I used to teach Ashely and the man RJ. I’m so glad at what I’m hearing about how RJ picked up his grades. He used to slack with those Cs. He is a 4.0 student, I hear. And Ashely always made As all her life here in Harrison. She is in honors at Fremont and keeping her 4.0. I’m proud, and I know RJ will buy you a big house. Something for big brother.

"I want RJ to get his education and not mess up.’

He won’t. Do you know what he told me last week? He saw me at the gas station last week. He was pumping gas in his car as well.

What did he say?

He told me that since I had the pleasure of teaching him when he was in second grade, his autograph will be worth more than the city one day. He gave me his autograph, and I sure took it. I want to make money off it.

Well, I hope he keeps his mind up.

He will. Jesus wants us to succeed.

And the devil wants us not to, and that is why there is a war. If we are not awake, then the devil gets advantage.

You’re right, Mr. David Williams. I’m glad that you served us in the army. I salute you, Medal of Honor winner. I think that is so cool.

I do too.

She laughed, and David left and headed to his car and saw five girls, who were his former classmates and now were walking their kids to school as well. All five of them are single parents and have more than one kid. After they graduated high school, they never went to college, and one of them got a job working as an overnight stocker for Shop and Drop in the Carlton area while the rest have never had a job in their life. Meanwhile, David went home, to find Ashley was ready for school, while RJ was in the shower rapping rap songs

David yelled, You better be on time for school!

RJ yelled, I’m, RJ, baby!

David then took Ashely to pick up her friends Calita and Eva who all live on Thirty-Third Street, and David dropped them off at Fremont Middle School, which is the same middle school that RJ and David go to. David then went to work for another busy day. David went through the day feeling that he earned his salary, and he feels that all the employees under him, from supervisors to associates, want to make his salary, but they don’t want the responsibility. After David went to the leadership meeting where all the department managers met with the director of the plant, he was glad to be able to go home.

He saw that Lameisha texted him more than a few times, and when he answered once through text, it started a text conversation all the way to his friend Tommy Blackmon. David met him at his job, which is a Ford cdealership called Tommy’s Fords. Tommy owns five Tommy’s Fords—one in the Rington part of town, one in the Carlton suburb, in the Ruby suburb, and one each in Fort Worth and Tyler, Texas. Tommy earns a profit of four hundred thousand a year so far. He lives in the Rington area in a gated private community, in a house that was built from the ground up, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, three garage doors, an indoor home theater, an indoor hot tub and pool, and an outdoor pool, with two Great Dane males who are protective against strangers but love Tommy.

Tommy drives a black Mercedes-Benz with Dallas U bumper and window stickers, a black Lincoln Navigator, and a black Harley Davidson motorcycle with Dallas U stickers on them and green LED custom lights. Tommy has a girlfriend named Lavita, and they have been in a five-year relationship that has been full of Tommy lying, cheating, and arguing. Lisa and Tommy met at a mall when Tommy and David were shopping, and Tommy was captivated by Lavita. He and David followed her around for one hour until Tommy approached her and got her phone number within five minutes.

Tommy was raised by his mother who had too much pride for government aid, and she didn’t want her kids to be made fun of because they had a mother who was on government aid. Tommy’s mother worked as an overnight stocker at Shop and Drop in the Carson area, for which she had to take three buses back and forth. And then she worked as a cashier at the dollar store in the morning. Tommy has an older sister and two younger brothers. His sister had two sons and a daughter by the time Tommy was twelve years old. Tommy has been playing football, basketball, and baseball ever since he was in second grade, and he played for the Southside Tigers, which is a city Pop Warner league that plays throughout the city and even in New Orleans.

Tommy was always one of the best players on his teams, as he played linebacker and tight end in football, center in basketball, and center outfielder in baseball. Tommy played the same sports at Fremont High School and was David’s teammate in football to help Fremont win district when he was in the seventh and eighth grades. Tommy also led Fremont in basketball and Baseball to help win the district championship in the 7th and 8th grade. However, during his 8h grade baseball season, his youngest brother got caught stealing radios from cars and was sent to juvenile detention.

When Tommy made it to Robinson, he made the varsity football, basketball, and baseball team when he was a freshman, and he has been playing ever since. In football, he started at middle linebacker and was considered the best player on the defense. He would become a team captain his junior and senior years and would be ranked as the tenth football player in the nation and a blue-chip prospect who made the All-American West team as well, where he started. Tommy started on the basketball team at power forward since he was a power forward as a freshman, and he became the team captain when he was a junior. The basketball team has an All-American center who was one of three players on the team who started on the varsity as a freshman. The basketball team won two state championships—one in Tommy’s freshman year and another in Tommy’s junior year. Tommy started on the varsity baseball team as a freshman at middle outfielder, and he, along with the All-American third baseman who had the team’s best home run average, led the baseball team to two state championships during Tommy’s sophomore and senior years.

Tommy was recruited well in basketball, football, and baseball; and he signed his letter of intent to be on Sports Run to Dallas U. Tommy graduated high school with a 2.3, and he started at Dallas U at middle linebacker as a freshman, where he was the best player on the defense. He led the NCSA (National College Sports Association) in tackles during his sophomore and senior years. He was a runner-up for the NCSA MVP award in his freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years. He was an All-American for four years, and he helped Dallas U win four national championships in a row to help usher in what Dallas U called the Mustang Reign, which describes Dallas U’s four dominant years of national championships, which are considered to have one of the best Dallas U teams ever since the ’80s.

Tommy graduated Dallas U with a 2.2 and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and he joined the impressed people at the NFA Columbine and picked in the NFA draft. He was drafted in the first round by the Miami Stingrays, and he rose to power in his rookie year, becoming the best defensive player on the team to help a struggling defense become a good defense in the NFA to help out their good offense, and Miami made the playoffs for the first time in four years. Tommy was a runner-up for Rookie of the Year, but his friend Curtis Mayland won. However, Tommy won the Defense Rookie of the Year above two future NFA Hall of famers, and he made NFA the All-Star East team along with Curtis Mayland.

Tommy had two dominant seasons in the NFA and helped to keep Miami in the playoffs every year, becoming a Miami local hero and fan favorite; but during the off season after his third year as a pro football player, Tommy was in a motorcycle crash on the highway, and he was in a coma for five days, suffered broken legs, internal bleeding, a torn ACL and LCD. When Tommy awoke from his coma, the first thing he asked the nurse was, Did we win? Tommy rehabbed his way to a discharge, and he tried to continue his career; however he had lost coordination, quickness, and he wasn’t as sharp as he used to be. The general manager knew that in order to keep Tommy, he had to pay him, but ever since the aftermath of the accident, he just found out that he could get a good receiver in a three-man trade including Tommy and four draft picks. Tommy was traded to the Minnesota Spartans, where he played a full two years on the bench before he was cut.

Tommy gave up on his football dreams, and he moved back to Billsview, where, thanks to a Dallas U alum who worked at a bank, he was able to get a loan to start his first Tommy’s Fords dealership despite him having bad credit. Tommy still has respect for the Miami Stringrays organization, and the Minnesota Spartans organization as well.

Meanwhile, Tommy saw that David was being escorted to his office by his attractive and very curvy African American car salesman, and Tommy said, David! My nigga.

David said, We are not N-words, brother.

You are still on that Muslim twist, huh?

I am smart, man. You have to get the slave teachings out of your brain, brother.

Well, you are my quarterback, man. I know you are coming to my house, right, for Curtis’s game?

Yes, I will be there. What about Craig?

Craig’s slave-master wife may have him on lockdown. Craig says he will come, but I don’t know.

Craig and Tika love each other, man.

If that is what love is, then you know why I don’t want to marry Lisa, man. A lifetime of agony, man, no way. And I know that you think that my car salesman is fine, right?

Man, you have a girlfriend, man.

I bang that, man.

Her too?

Did you see how big her booty was? I know that you wanted to grab it.

I’m OK.

Big-booty Keisha.

You want to remind me of her.

You were the man in high school, man. Even Curtis gave you credit for that one, man. I was so proud that my nigga David lost his virginity as a freshman at the senior prom to the finest girl in the school.

Man, it was fake. If I wasn’t playing football, she wouldn’t like me. I was a poor kid, had no good clothes. Keisha had good clothes, smelt good. She went to college without a scholarship man.

She gave my nigga some because you were a mack, that’s why! Man, we all wished that we could be you for that night. Except for Craig. Tika had him in chains.

Tika and Craig were in love. He had real love, and we had groupies, man.

I had all the booty that a king could have in high school. College was better because I was with those white girls, man! Woooo! I mean, freaky times. I was so impressed! Then the NFA made it better. I mean, girls would be in my house, man. Now I’m still getting the booty, man. I’ma playa!

David and Tommy talked for a little bit until Tommy had to go to a meeting, so they both hugged, and David went to his childhood friend and football teammate Craig’s house. Craig White was raised by his mother in the Lattern Living Housing Projects, where the Housing Project Bloods roam. They are a street gang who focuses on making a lot of drug money. Craig lived with five older sisters who all had at least two kids by the time Craig was ten years old, and none of them ever graduated high school. Craig played football for Fremont in the seventh and eighth grade as the team’s starting cornerback, receiver, punt returner, and kick returner. He was one of the best players on the team and, along with David, Tommy, and Curtis, helped Fremont win district championships. In basketball, he started at small forward and could dunk ever since eighth grade to help Tommy win two district championships. Craig was also the fastest person on the track team as he ran the 100 meters, 200 meters, and was the fourth leg on the 400-meter relay team, high jump, and long jump. Craig won blue ribbons in all events and was all district in the seventh and eighth grade as the fastest person in the district.

Craig made the starting varsity in football as cornerback, kick returner, and punt returner and was the number fifteenth football blue-chip prospect in the nation as well as an All-American who started on the west team. He was also an All-American track runner and started on the varsity track team since he was a freshman and was the fastest person on the team. Craig started on the basketball team since he was a freshman, at small forward, and he helped Tommy win two state championships. He ran the 100 meters, 200 meters, the fourth leg on the relay team, long and high jumps. Craig never lost a race in the regular season; nor the relay team ever lose a race in the regular season. Craig lost only two regular-season high jump competitions and never lost a long jump match. He won the golds in state for all evens during his freshman and senior year seasons, and he won silver in all competitions during his sophomore and junior years.

Craig was recruited well in football, basketball, and track; and he signed his letter of intent to Dallas U as a father of Craig Jr. and Chris. He and Tika made Craig Jr. when they were freshmen, and Chris when they were seniors. After he graduated Robinson High School with a 2.3, Craig went to Dallas U and started on the football team ever since a freshman at cornerback and kick returner, where he was the best defensive back and kick returner on the team. He was an All-American in his junior year, and he graduated Dallas U with a 2.3. He impressed people at the NFA Columbine and was drafted by the New Orleans Gators in the third round.

Craig survived training camp, but he was cut in the second week of preseason. He practiced with the Atlanta Eagles and the Tampa Bay Pirates, but he was picked up by Tampa Bay, where he was a third stringer for two years. After his contract, he wasn’t signed by Tampa Bay or by any other team; and after two years as a free agent, Craig gave up on his NFA dreams and returned to Billsview. He would later become an electronics engineer in the Dallas area, where he would make supervisor fast, and he currently earns a salary of $8,000 a year. He lives in a two-story house in the Carlton area, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a backyard pool, and two-door garage. He drives a silver Lincoln Navigator. Tika graduated from Dallas U and works as a bank teller. They have four kids: Craig Jr. is a senior in high school, Chris is a sophomore, and their two daughters are Lexus and Mercedes

Meanwhile, when David arrived at Craig’s house in the Carlton area, he was proud to see how successful Craig was. Craig was outside watering his grass to keep it green, and Craig said, My quarterback!

David said, Hi, brother.

David stood by Craig, and Tika came outside and said, Hey, David. You ain’t been by lately.

David said, I’ve been here for, what, Mercedes’s birthday two weeks ago.

Tika said, Who wasn’t? I know what you been doing. You been with that Tommy, and you know the foul mess that he is doing. He is a bad influence on my Craig. You need to talk to ya friend.

David said, We are all family. We will be all right.

Tika said, Anyway, you know my baby wants to go to Texas U.

David said, That’s a good school.

Tika said, I want him at Dallas U, where he can be close to me, so I can see my baby more often. That’s where he finna go too. He can go to Dallas U just like his Daddy and his mama. Craig needs to talk to my baby.

Craig said, Craig Jr. is a man. He isn’t a boy anymore, baby. He has to make his own choices.

Tika said, Jesus. See, you men don’t care.

Craig said, Baby, he has to live his own life. I have told him that all of his life, and now it is no longer talk. It is real now. He is doing good, baby.

David said, Craig Jr. is the man, making a 4.0 in honors classes and is the best on his football team.

Tika said, Football, basketball, and track, baby. The fastest person at the school ever since he was a freshman, baby!

David said, My nephew, doing good.

Tika said, Like his daddy.

Craig said, No, not like me. He isn’t on my level—isn’t that right, David?

David said, RJ thinks that he is better than me, and I have to tell him, no way. No one will ever be as good as we were.

Craig said, Amen.

Tika said, I know someone can be better than y’all, and my baby Craig Jr. is better than y’all.

Craig and David said at the same time, Please!

Tika took up for Craig Jr. before her cell phone rang, and she wanted to gossip on the phone, so she told David to stay for dinner and not to lie, and then she went inside to the living room to watch reality TV and gossip.

Meanwhile, Craig said, RJ is doing good, man.

David said, Yes, I know.

You know that no one white thinks that RJ is better than Greg McCoy, but a lot of black folks think that he is, though.

RJ is, and if he wants to show it, he better, or else I will give him a hard time. If he wants to be better than us, he has to beat East Cate Springs first.

He will. But he won’t be better than us.

"No way."

Craig Jr. wants to go to Texas, huh?

Yes, he made up his mind last night. He told me and Tika. Tika wants him to go to Dallas U, but he must be his own man. Besides, if we make him go to Dallas U, then he will resent us. He may go to Dallas and start messing up, man. You can’t do that. You can’t let young men feel like you are forcing them in your own direction, man. Tika and I have been back and forth on this one, but I tell her that we raised him right. He is a good boy, and he isn’t letting his bad peers turn him to the dark side. We have succeeded with him. Now he has to make his own path.

Craig Jr. knows what he is doing.

I know, man. Time goes by, man, I remember when Tika gave birth to Craig Jr. Projects, man. I was nervous because I was having a baby as a freshman. I thought that I would lose all of my scholarships, man.

It worked out, man.

Yes, man. Craig Jr. makes me proud, man. He was a kid, and now he is a man, dawg.

"He is doing good in grades, man. I told RJ that he has to use his mind as much as his body. He thinks that he knows it all. He sees only the things in his own world which isn’t wide enough."

RJ will be OK. Craig Jr. was the same way, man. Tika and I had to mold him over the years.

Craig Jr. is handling his business right. RJ is slacking. He hasn’t taken the SAT or ACT yet, but he has all of these plans.

Craig Jr. hasn’t taken his SAT until this year. RJ is a junior. He has time, man.

He better not mess up, man. It takes one time to ruin your life.

He won’t. My nephew won’t let me down, man. Don’t worry, man.

It happened to me. I had it all and lost it in moments.

"You rebounded, though, didn’t you? You handled business, man, so don’t worry about RJ. You and I