“Y ou know your mama gon’ beat your ass if you play ball in them nice ass designer sneakers,” Jevonte joked as we stood on the basketball court.

I was still in my white dress shirt, my white slacks, and my crisp pair of Gucci sneakers on my feet.

We’d just finished eighth grade graduation. I went out to eat with my family, and once it was over, I asked my mom if I could stay the night at Jevonte’s house. I’d been under her a lot these days, treating every day like it just might be her last with me. In a way, the shit was kind of depressing for me to watch my mom fight to stay alive, knowing she was doing that for me.

“You already know she going to trip. Man , I can’t believe we're about to go to high school,” I stated with the ball in my hand, and then I checked it to him.

He checked it right back, and from where I stood, I easily shot a three-pointer. I stood out there, fresh as hell, still having my medallions around my neck from the graduation. Damn near any kind of award that was available, I’d gotten either a trophy, medallion, or a certificate for it.

Sometimes I went to school and showed my ass by fighting, but my mama didn’t play that shit when it came to my grades. She made her dancers maintain a 2.5 GPA , but I had to have a 3.5 or higher, and my final GPA was a 4.2. I knew for a fact that if it wasn’t for the way my mama rode the fuck out of me all year, it wouldn’t have even been that high. She always used to tell me that one day I would appreciate her for the tough love she often showed me. I was already appreciative, especially when I saw all the awards that I’d gotten today. There was no way I would have had half of it if it wasn’t for her. My pops, too, because he didn’t play that shit, either. I had two parents with college degrees, who were both successful in life, so it was only right that I followed suit and did the same.

“Yep . I can’t wait. It’s going to be so many bitches out there,” he said, and I pounded him up in agreement.

“We gotta ball out all season. My pops said that even as freshmen, recruiters will be looking at us, so we gotta show them boys that we were made for this shit. I want my skills to open doors for me, man. I don’t want shit easy just because Dionte Reed Sr . is my granddad and Mr . Man is my pops. Don’t hand shit to me. Let me work my ass off, just like the next man,” I stated, then checked the ball to Jevonte , and he shot it.

Jevonte stood there, dressed in all white, just as I was, and he had just as many medallions around his neck as I had. It was just him and his older brother, Austin . His father was in prison for the rest of his life, serving time for a murder he’d committed when Jevonte was only two years old. His mom, Frances , worked in the nursing field, and being able to tell his mama to quit her job and that she didn’t have to bust her ass anymore was his goal.

Jevonte didn’t come from money like I did, but we shared the same love for ball, and that’s what made the two of us so close. He was my brother, and you couldn’t tell me any different. Between his skills and his brother’s, they would both go to the NBA , and Ms . Frances would be put up for life. She would be able to just sit back and kick her legs up. Austin had committed to Duke University , and I was proud of his decision because Duke was one of my favorite college basketball teams.

“That’s some real shit right there, Kari , because you know when people have money, or they have it a little easier than the rest of us, they feel like shit is supposed to be handed to them. I always liked that you were just a regular dude, even though you have legends in your family. You never treated me like you was better than me. Nigga , you could have been going to one of those expensive ass private schools, but your people put you right in ghetto ass public school with us, and that’s some real shit,” he said.

I laughed but still agreed with him.

As we played, I saw out the corner of my eye about five people heading our way. I stopped dribbling the ball, so I could look up and pay attention to who it was. That’s when my eyes focused, and I saw that it was Greg walking over. His big brother, Tabari , was right next to him, and there were three other dudes. All of them had on green. They gangbanged, but you couldn’t wear the flag that all of them had on unless you were in the gang. When I looked over at Greg and saw his black eye and the purplish bruise on his cheek, it let me know they’d jumped him, and now he was part of the gang, Kill -O -Man .

Them niggas were dangerous, and they ran a lot of shit in different hoods, which is why my mama didn’t like me going over to Jevonte’s house all the time. She sometimes would give in because she knew he was my best friend, and it was kind of wrong for me to have to tell him that my mama didn’t like me going over there because he lived in a bad area. Jevonte didn’t stay in the projects, but there had been shootouts over there, and sometimes, this was where a lot of the Kill -O -Man members would gather.

“That’s that nigga right there in the Gucci sneakers, right?” Greg’s brother, Tabari , asked.

I won’t lie; I was scared because I knew those were the kind of niggas who didn’t have anything to lose and would shoot me down like a damn dog. They wouldn’t care about having to spend the rest of their lives in prison for doing it, either. Tabari stood there without a shirt on, so I could see the many tattoos on his chest, stomach, and arms. He had more of a muscular build compared to his chunky ass brother, and they didn’t look shit alike, so they had to have different mothers or fathers. Greg was dark-skinned, while Tabari had light skin. There were tattoos on Tabari’s face, and each one of them symbolized the gang he repped. Those niggas standing alongside Greg were in their twenties, and I was thirteen, yet they were pulling up on me.

“Yeah . That’s that bitch ass nigga,” I heard Greg spit.

Tabari nodded, and before he could even make a move, about ten niggas came out of nowhere. Those niggas looked to have been in their twenties too. It wasn’t until I paid them more attention that I recognized the main nigga walking up. It was Brick . He was only twenty-six years old, but he was popular in Miami . He was a drug dealer, and when I looked out into the parking lot, I spotted the old-school black Camaro that belonged to him. Brick and his crew were in black flags, so I knew they banged too.

Jevonte and I looked at each other like we couldn’t believe what was going on, but we didn’t say shit. We kept quiet and let them niggas talk amongst themselves.

“Y’all niggas got a fuckin’ problem?” Brick asked Greg , his brother, and the rest of their crew. Those niggas pulled out guns, and I could tell that with one wrong move, they were ready to kill them.

Tabari reached for something, but his partner hit his hand, telling him to chill out.

“Don’t try to look tough in front of your fat ass little brother because before you even get that gun out, I’ll have already sent these slugs to your chest, and you and this whole bitch ass crew of yours will be stretched out on this pavement. I never respected y’all green wearing niggas because y’all some fuckin’ bullies. Y’all go around fuckin’ with people that you know isn’t a match for y’all. These some little ass fuckin’ kids, man. Them kids just graduated from fuckin’ middle school and are on they way to high school, so they can be ball players. This fat ass nigga could have been walking that stage with them but look where the fuck he at. I ain’t by no means a fuckin’ preacher because I live wrong too, but it’s kids getting shot the fuck down every day, and when you see two good ass kids out here, minding their fuckin’ business, doing what they love to do, y’all bully ass niggas trying to fuck with them. Get y’all lame asses the fuck on before I start shooting,” Brick threatened.

Tabari and his crew looked Brick and his crew up and down, mumbling stuff under their breath, but they backed down and walked away.

I honestly wasn’t even sure how this would end between the two gangs because everyone who had just witnessed what happened was smart enough to know it wasn’t over.

Brick ended up walking over to Jevonte and me, and our scary asses backed up a little. He laughed while shaking his head.

“I ain’t gon’ fuck with y’all niggas. My niece just graduated from y’all middle school. Her name is Deja . I was at the graduation earlier, and I saw y’all. Y’all some smart ass niggas, winning all them awards and shit. Niggas like bitch ass Tabari and that soft ass crew he runs with are some jealous ass niggas, and that’s why they over here fuckin’ with some fuckin’ kids. Fuck them niggas. Do y’all thing in high school and ball the fuck out. I be going to the games, and I bet on them too. It’s going to be money on y’all heads, so don’t disappoint me. A nigga like me didn’t go to college, but I have the utmost respect for anybody who goes. Do y’all big one, and when y’all get drafted, y’all gotta show out for Miami and put us on the map. Congrats to y’all, and much success to you both,” Brick concluded, then reached out and dapped Jevonte up before doing the same to me.

His crew came over and congratulated us on graduating, then gave us the most hood ass advice that I’d probably ever received, but the overall message was for us to keep going and don’t give up.

“Man , you wanna just sleep at my crib tonight?” I asked Jevonte once Brick and his crew had walked away.

He looked at me and laughed. “Scary ass nigga! We can go, though.”

“You was scared too. Don’t cap,” I shot.

He laughed and waved me off, which let me know he was scared, just like me. My pops was still in town and wasn’t leaving for a few days, so I hit him and asked if he could come and get us, so we could go back home. I wasn’t going to tell him shit about what happened because all that basketball shit would go out the window, and he would come down there and do far worse to Tabari and his crew than Brick had done. My dad didn’t play that shit when it came to me. I damn sure wouldn’t tell my mama either. Sick or not, she would get her ass up and defend me, and I didn’t need her going to war for me with them niggas.

It was handled, and a part of me felt like I wouldn’t have to deal with those niggas anymore.