more life / b.simmons (2)

10

6 years later

"you ready to play today?" ben asks adrian as he dribbles the ball in between his legs. they stand in the front of the house, waiting for amari and kyra to come outside.

adrian shrugs modestly. "yeah," he says. he always on go mode and always ready—just like his dad.

"good. we still need to work on your shot," ben says, lightly pushing his sons shoulder.

"i'm good," adrian says. ben crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at his son.

"how many free throws in a row can you make?"

"i don't know," adrian says honestly, tucking the ball underneath his arm. ben nods at his to follow him inside, and they walk in just as amari and kyra are walking out, kyra dressed in her warm ups.

"where are you going?" amari asks, keys in hand.

"give us 10," ben says. adrian walks ahead of him to their indoor basketball court, already knowing that the only reason they're inside is so that his dad can test his jumper.

amari rolls her eyes but says okay. ben meets adrian in their gym tells him to get on the free throw line. "if you can make 8 in a row, so 80% of your free throws, i'll leave you alone about your shot. if not, we're in the gym tomorrow," ben states. adrian nods and does his free throw routine and swishes the first one.

he makes six in a row before bricking the 7th. his hands slick with sweat and he wipes them on his jacket before doing his routine again. adrian shoots and makes it. "that's 7," ben states, tossing him the ball.

adrian shoots the next one, expecting it to fall, but it bounces in and out and he slumps his shoulders. "it's me and you tomorrow, son," ben says, grabbing the loose ball and bounce passing it to adrian. "a free throw is the easiest shot you can make, dre. it's free and it helps you work on your range." ben says. adrian nods and they walk out of the gym and and outside to the car.

adrian hops in the back of amaris porsche, putting his bag between him and his sister. kyra knees him and mouths 'whats wrong?'. adrian shakes his head and looks out the window as they drive. kyra huffs and places with the wristbands on her arm.

"rock paper scissors?" kyra asks, holding out a fist and a peace on top of it. adrian looks at her hands and smiles.

"you like to lose, huh?" he asks. kyra shrugs and they play and she beats him twice in a row. adrian bites the inside of his cheek as they play around round, and she wins the first and last one. "i don't want to play anymore." he mumbles. adrian is extremely competitive and hates being challenged and then losing.

"you're mad that i won?" kyra asks in disbelief.

"shut up," he mutters.

"wow, you're a sore loser," kyra says. amari looks at them in the rear view mirror and furrows her eyebrows.

"what are y'all fighting about back there?" she asks. ben turns around and look between the both of them. kyra and adrian sir facing away from each other with their arms crossed.

"adrian is acting like a baby because i beat him
in rock paper scissors," she says and glares at him. adrian rolls his eyes and pulls his hood over his head.

amari scoffs and shakes her head at them. "dre, baby, it's not that big of a deal," she says. adrian opens his mouth to say something but thinks better of it and closes his eyes. amari glances at ben and he shrugs at her. "what did you say to him?" she asks. ben sucks his teeth.

"i didn't say anything. he just hates to lose," ben says simply.

"just like someone else i know," amari mutters.