Magic

Chapter 3

Magdalyn 'Magic' James

The first day of school is always hectic for me but that my own fault. I could have gone to school with all of my cousins and my sister, but destiny had other plans for me. I was in the 7th grade, playing basketball in the park with cam when this car drove up and this white woman got out. She was tall and real skinny, but not like model skinny she was built like an athlete and you could tell even through the expensive business suit she had on. At first we ignored her but when she sat down on a bench close by and continued watching us we knew she wanted to say something.

Cam stopped and turned to her. "Can we help you with something Ma'am?" he asked her.

She smiled. "I'm just watching that's all." she replied.

"Any real reason why?" Cam asked.

"Is it a bad thing, me being here?" she asked him.

"No offense lady, but you look a little lost. You in the middle of the hood watching us like you want to kidnap us." he replied.

She laughed. "Kidnap? no, but I do have a proposition for you." she pointed at me.

"Me?" I asked her.

"Yeah, is your mom anywhere around?" she asked.

We walked with the woman who told us that her name was Ms. Williams until we got back to my house. When we walked inside with her I could tell that my mama was scared. After all we did walk in the house with a random white lady but us being kids we thought nothing of it.

"How may I help you?" my mother asked.

We sat down at our kitchen table and Ms. Williams started telling us about this new school with the biggest and best of everything and how she was going to be the athletic director there. "I want to bring in the top athletes from around Atlanta. Take them when they're middle school aged like your daughter and really work with them to become all that they can be." She said.

"So you're cotton picking?" my mom asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"You're riding around these poor neighborhoods showing these little kids pictures of schools with brand new computers and all the best technology and promising them a better life if they go and play sports for you?" I could tell by my mama's tone that she wasn't happy.

"It's not just about the sport. It's about the children too. She'll be taught by some of the highest rated teachers in the country and held to a very strict academic standard in order to play. We aren't just out running an athlete mill. We're trying to create something for these kids to hope for." Ms. Williams said.

"Ma," I cut in for the first time since we'd sat down. "I wanna go. Can I?"

"And who do you think is going to get you there?" my mama asked. "It's all the way on the other side of the city."

"I'll take care of that. She can use my personal address to register her and I'll be here every morning to charter her to school myself." She said.

My mother snorted a little. "oh I see what you're doing now....this isn't a program offered by the school you're poaching kids before they even reach high school. "

"You're daughter has a gift; she a natural athlete and you don't see that often. It's actually kind of magical when you think about it, because I was just passing through the area trying to avoid traffic on my way home when I saw her and out of every young girl I've seen she's by far the most talented."

My mama sat back in her chair and looked at me. "You wanna go to that school." I shook my head and she turned her attention back to Ms. Williams. "If anything happens to my child while she's out there with you. It's gonna be your ass."