Dance Central: The Beginning

MacCoy- Grandson at Heart

MacCoy had lost the DJ battle at the club, being rejected by the people he had loved most. They had chosen Angel- something he failed to see before hand. At least his grandma would be proud of him for trying... he shook his head to try to clear the negative thoughts, but his mind insisted to continue thinking. I don't know why I lost. I was so much better than Angel, and we played the genre of tunes. Maybe they like a more modern twist, he contemplated. He kicked at the water puddles caused by the thunderstorm last night. It splashed on his goggles, and he took them off to wipe them thoroughly with his shirt. He saw a group of people gathered up ahead, clustered in one group. They were looking at something... then he realized was it was. It was a dancer. He was dressed in a stiped, teal hoodie, with green pants and red socks. He was dancing to "Bust A Move", and MacCoy soon began to bop along with the distant tune. He ran, hoping to catch a closer glimpse of the dancer before the song ended. "'Scuse me, sorry, coming through," he apologized, shoving most of the people as he creeped to front row. He couldn't see the man's eyes or the rest of his face very well, but he saw the dancer had light, milk chocolate colored skin. After the man finished, he back-flipped into the air and made a somewhat rude, proud and haughty comment. He picked up the boombox next to him. It was made of gleaming gold and glistened in the sun. The stars matched the color of the stereo and pulsed. MacCoy dropped his jaw; it was absolutely astounding. Everytime MacCoy danced in the streets, he never had that many people grouped to watch him. After majority of the people left, the dancer decided to leave and got on his skateboard. However, the man left a couple of cards on the pavement, and MacCoy noticed. He ran to pick it up. "Wait! Your cards!," he yelled. The man turned around to face MacCoy. 

"Aw, don't worry 'bout those," the dancer assured. "Those cards are for everyone. Believe me, I've got plenty more." He dug a stack of the same cards out of his pocket. "See?"

"Ohhh... I didn't know," MacCoy said. "I'm MacCoy," he reached out to shake the dancer's hand.

"Mo," the man abruptly replied. He took MacCoy's hand and shook his hand.

"I gotta go," Mo told him. "I have work. See ya around sometime." He sped past MacCoy's range of vision on his skateboard, golden boombox in hand. Puzzled and amazed by the events that just happened, he didn't even remember why he was so disappointed in the first place. MacCoy glanced at his watch. 6:19. Dinner was at 6:35. He had been so enamored with the dancer's performance, he hadn't kept track of the time.

" Darn! Oh no, I have to get home to Grandma, she's gonna be furious," he panicked. "I have to find a quicker way home!" He pulled out his phone, and tapped on Giggle, his favorite browser. "Quickest way home to Grandma's house," he read out loud as he typed. A single result pulled up. "San D'Angelo Subway Station. Only two blocks away!" He exclaimed. MacCoy sprinted to the Subway Center in less than 10 minutes flat. His goggles goofily slipped off his eyes as he ran and arrived in the station. 

"Next Train, Train D, heading towards Sunset View Public Housing Community, boarding in less than one minute," the female speaker announced.

"That's me!" MacCoy squealed, and made a hectic dash for the subway. Once inside, he repeatedly tapped his feet impatiently on the subway floor. "Ooh, please come on, please come on," he murmured. Grandma was very strict and orderly, and if he were to show up at dinner even a minute late, she would just nag at him for needing to manage his time better. The train started, and MacCoy sighed a breath of relief, even though he knew this wasn't over yet. "Five more minutes..."

About half-way through the ride, outside, a thud pounded of the roof of the train. MacCoy, curious opened one of the subway's doors. He recognized the backdrop of the city. A flurry of the same cards that Mo had held earlier were raining down all around him He caught one of cards. He fixed his goggles and peered at it. A sleek, smooth black card with a pink 'R' logo printed on it. He moved the car, and saw that Mo was jumping from building to building, spreading cards. Eventually, Mo stopped to spray paint the logo on the card on the walls. When Mo said he had to go to work... was this the work he was talking about? MacCoy snapped out of his fantasy. "Two minutes!" He flexed on the bars until the car screeched to a stop outside of his community. When the doors, opened, he ran directly out of the subway and continued to run to his house. He reached the door, panting. 6:35. Just in time. He opened the door. Tired and sore, he limped into the house. The house was dainty, with a humble but moderate three bedrooms. After all, she never needed a large house; it was only her and MacCoy. One was for Grandma, one was for MacCoy, and the other room was for MacCoy's DJ equipment. A floral couch was the focal point of the living room, along with hanging pictures of her and beloved grandson. A plaid red and green lamp stood to the side, with Grandma's rocking chair to the other side. Knitting needles and a spool of yarn laid ontop the chair. A tiny bistro table with two chairs, one where Grandma was sitting was set up against the far end wall. Why did MacCoy live with his grandma? Well... his parents just didn't pay attention to him they way they should've. And one day, his angry grandma decided to intervene and offered to take care of her four-year old grandson instead. His parents agreed, and that was that. MacCoy didn't want to know his parents, and his parents didn't want to know him. But now Grandma was "getting up there in years" as she put it, and now MacCoy felt it was his turn to take care of her. She'd loved him all of those years as her own, and he'd loved her as much as one would his or her parents. 

"I'm here, Grandma. You wouldn't believe what just happened."

"Aw, how's my sonny boy doing today?" "And why was he almost late!?" she screamed, instantly changing tone. "You were on time, almost late! You had me worried sick, and almost gave me a heart attack!!! I don't need heart attacks at my age! I thought you were dead, kidnapped, or- YEAH!" she screeched.

"I'm sorry, Grandma. Um, so long story short,  G'ma-"

"Grandma," she stiffly corrected, still angry.

"Grandma, uh, I got into a DJ battle with another DJ and I lost  to him at that nightclub that I do gigs at. And I can't go back and DJ there anymore," he explained.

"WHO"S THIS DJ!? I WILL FIND WHERE HE LIVES AND TELL HIM TO TELL YOU THAT HE'S SORRY AND TO GIVE YOUR JOB BACK!"

"Please don't do that," MacCoy pleaded. "So, after that, there was a dancer who was dancing, and I watched him, and then I realized it was almost dinnertime-"

" I HOPE IT WASN'T UNWHOLESOME MUSIC! I DON'T ALLOW YOU TO LISTEN TO UNWHOLESOME MUSIC, YOUNG MAN," Grandma interrupted.

"It was wholesome, Grandma," MacCoy lied.  "I then ran to the subway, and when I was on the subway, I heard a noise, and I saw these cards raining down." He showed the card to his grandma.

"That looks like the sign of a cult," she whispered. "They better not be trying to induct my snugglemuffin into a cult."

"Nooo," MacCoy half-whined and half-grumbled. "Anyway, I heard this sound of the roof, and I opened the door to the subway, and the dancer I saw earlier were leaving these behind."

"Excuse you, talking to your old, helpless granny like that, and I still think it's a cult. Also, there's a back to that card. You never learned to check the back of anything when you were five, especially your school worksheets. I tried."

"There is? Oh... thanks Grandma.  It says, 'Come to the Sweet Seventeen Delux Nightclub on the 4th at 7:00 p.m., don't bring any friends," MacCoy read.

"Cult," Grandma muttered. "My sweet, precious grandson is not going to that meeting," MacCoy's grandma warned.

"Okay Grandma, if you don't want me to, I won't." But MacCoy knew he was going to, anyway, regardless of his grandma or not.