Sucker MC

The Plan - Trey's Crib

        The smack was so loud, Trey almost dropped his Red Bull. He instinctively reached for the back of his neck before a howl of pain erupted next to him.

        "Damn, Ms. Taylor!" Romeo cried.

        Marvella Taylor reloaded for another shot as Romeo covered the back of his neck. "Don't you curse in my house, Romelo. I've told you about that same as I told you about puttin' your damn feet on my couch. Negro you don't live here."

        Romeo lowered his feet to the floor but kept his hands in place. "Sorry, Ms. Taylor - my fault."

        "Dang, Mama. You didn't have to pop him like that," Trey said.

        "I'm a get to poppin' you too if you don't get your friends in check. All this?" she said gesturing around the room. "My house and if your grown, twenty-six year old ass don't like it, don't let the door knob hit ya."

        Marvella disappeared back into the kitchen as quickly as she had appeared, but it was a full minute before Romeo felt safe enough to lower his hands away from his neck.

        "Man, Trey. Your moms be trippin'.

        "So you see why I need my own spot."   

        Romeo tapped his can of Red Bull against Trey's.

        "Hell yeah. Stick around here much longer and your neck's gonna look like one of those red monkey asses down at the zoo - which really ain't too hard for a light bright brother like you," Romelo snickered.

        "Whatever," Trey said turning back to the game - a back and forth affair between the Heat and the Thunder.

        Romeo went back to his arm chair coaching. "Westbrook needs to work his off hand more when he penetrates. Anybody can check that weak shit when he's at the top of the key."

        Trey rolled his eyes. He and Romeo had been friends since grade school - back when Romeo was simply skinny ass Romelo Dawkins. Like most little homies on the block, Romelo spent all of his after school time on the basketball court. Small for his age, most of his court time was spent reapplying duct tape to the milk crates they used for hoops. Everytime someone got a LeBron James hoop dream and threw down a dunk, Romelo would get called off the bench to tape the crate back to the backboard. That was the price he paid for being light enough in the ass to sit on anyone's shoulders. Then the growth spurt hit - one that literally gave him growing pains.

        A year later, 'Duct Tape' Dawkins had grown a full six inches and put on fifteen pounds which he claimed came from daily pushups. His boys claimed otherwise saying his well developed arms came from all the jacking off he was doing to his neighbor's daughter, Nikki Monroe, who regularly showered with the window open. Whatever the cause, Romelo's new physique elevated him to playground First Team where he spent most of his time throwing down 'Brons and calling on the new duct tape boy.

        The playground led to AAU basketball , which led to a high school varsity starting slot - the first freshman at Garrett A. Morgan High to ever earn the distinction. Trey knew plenty of brothers in his Clyde Park neighborhood who claimed that they 'coulda gone pro', but Romeo was the only one he knew who really could have. An out of control, showboat dunk attempt on Kyle Partridge ended all that ruckus.

        Romeo and Partridge were cross town rivals - Romeo from Morgan and Partridge from Dunbar. Both were epic showboaters and trash talkers that made Muhammed Ali appear shy by comparision. Before the public school finals, with a trip to down state on the line, Romeo guaranteed a victory and a triple double. With the game well in hand, thirty points, twelve assists and nine rebounds in the books, Romeo drove on Partridge with a plan to bounce the ball off the backboard, get his tenth rebound and finish with a LeBron Thunder Dunk. Midway between the free throw line and the hoop, Partridge planted himself and covered his nuts. Morgan ended up going down state and losing the state championship. Romeo ended up in the hospital with a torn ACL, a shredded MCL and his NBA dreams shattered on Morgan's homecourt. Trey could still remember Partridge laughing as they carried Romeo off the court. L'il Bitch, Trey thought.

        Trey's phone buzzed on the coffee table. "What's the word Donut?"

        "It's all good for you," Donut said. "We got some extra passes to Sweat tonight so I'm checking if you want to go."

        "Sweat? That new techno joint? Damn son, who you know to get passes to that spot? Nobody can get in there."

        "Nobody you know. You meet a lot of personalities down here at the parole office and you know how these folk can get creative. One of my cases is the brother of the 10 to 4 door bouncer. You in?

        "Hell yeah!" He looked toward the other end of the couch. "Can Rome come too?"

        "Yeah, that ninja can come. I got him covered but a brother gets tired of that fool draining the pool of all the sexy shorties."

        "That's me you're thinking about."

        "I know who I'm thinking 'bout, fool. Just be up there at 9:30 and it's all good, baby, baaa-by."

         "Cool. Good lookin' out , Donut."