“Don’t you ever get tired?” Jade sat cross-legged on a picnic table, sipping an oversize Coke and listening to music. She never took her eyes off Mercedes shooting threes in the twilight.
Mercedes launched another nothing-but-net shot as her answer. Unlike parks in her old neighborhood, this court had a net. This park felt safe. She didn’t need to be always on guard.
“You were amazing the other night,” Jade said.
“You mean during the game or after?” Mercedes asked.
Jade laughed and almost shot Coke out of her nose. Jade’s laugh, more than her smile, figure, street smarts, or carefree personality, was what attracted Mercedes to her like a magnet.
“Watch this,” Mercedes said. “I’ll not only hit ten shots in a row, but I’ll do it so the ball bounces right back to me. You wanna bet?” Mercedes knew there was no way in the old playground courts, where her dad first taught her to play, that she could make such a bet. Like the streets around that park, there were too many hazards to send a ball, or a life, far off course.
Jade laughed again, but then turned her jeans pockets inside out. “I got nothing to bet.”
Mercedes kissed Jade, then whispered, “I’ll think of something.” Mercedes dribbled the ball onto the court, found the three-point line she’d marked off, and made the first shot.
“Nine more to go!” Jade clapped and started the countdown. Just as Mercedes had said, her shots sailed through the net, then bounced back to her. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four.
“Mercedes!” Mercedes turned toward the voice. Callie. Holding the ball so tight she thought she might crush it, Mercedes didn’t reply as her older sister came closer. Callie didn’t acknowledge Jade or introduce Mercedes to her entourage. “Lil sis, you still playing games?”
The sweat on Mercedes’s forehead chilled at her sister’s tone. Her blood froze solid when she saw Robert’s ring-filled hand clasp hard onto her sister’s shoulder. Not a touch between equals, more like an owner guiding his dog. “How you doing, Mercedes?” Robert asked. Mercedes shivered.
“What do you want?” Mercedes asked the pavement below, avoiding all eye contact, especially with the youngest-looking member of the group. It was Lincoln’s new friend, Joel.
“We were rollin’ by and saw you,” Callie said, sounding casual. Callie tried to engage Mercedes, asking about Christmas and such, but Mercedes wouldn’t speak to her. The more silent Mercedes became, the louder Callie got, finally shouting, “What’s wrong with you, girl?”
Mercedes clenched her fists until she felt Jade’s arms wrap around her waist, making her feel safe. “Whatever, we’re out,” Callie snorted. Callie retreated with Robert and the others as quickly as she had arrived. Mercedes watched as the group climbed back into a big black SUV.
“You okay?” Jade whispered into Mercedes’s left ear. Mercedes pulled away from Jade. She retrieved the ball and hurled it hard into the backboard. The ball bounced far out of Mercedes’s reach. Just like my sister, Mercedes thought.
“Let’s go,” Mercedes said. She jogged toward the loose ball. “We need to study.”
“Only way out of here,” Jade said. “Well, for me. For you—” Jade pointed at the ball.
Mercedes ignored the ball and touched Jade’s shoulders. “I don’t want to leave you, ever.”
Mercedes’s soft words were interrupted by a loud sound and lights. Sirens. The flashing lights triggered flashbacks to her old neighborhood. She knew what life might have been if she hadn’t found her passion for getting a game. Then there was her sister’s passion for The Game. Both had risks, both held rewards. On the court, Mercedes’s hands went high to gather a rebound. In the distance, Mercedes saw Callie’s hands held high over her head, then behind her back. As the police pushed Callie into the squad car, she turned her back, but Mercedes felt like she was the one turning her back on her sister. She’d get up and out because of her skills, while Callie’s choices could only leave her down and in jail, or worse, six feet in the ground.