Chapter 4
Darius was out of bed, showered and dressed before seven the next morning. This was partly due to nervous tension about the upcoming game waking him early, but also because he wanted to leave the house in case Gemini decided to turn up for the walk to college. The last thing he needed was to continue with the lie that he would show up at her home for the study session that evening, but he’d put himself in the position where it’s what he would have to do if he met his girlfriend.
It was a lot easier to just avoid her altogether, so he quickly made himself some breakfast then left the house after he finished eating. It was strange getting to college so early in the morning and the place was largely deserted when he arrived. That didn’t stop him worrying about bumping in to Gemini, so he quickly went to the lecture theater where his first class would be held to reduce the likelihood of that happening. The room was empty when he walked in and he moved to a seat in the corner to wait for the college day to start.
It was a while before anyone else showed up and he nervously turned each time the door opened, but it was simply classmates coming in for the lecture and there was no sign of his girlfriend. The room gradually filled and Darius was glad of the low buzz of conversation that replaced the quiet of the empty room he entered. The lecture finally got underway at nine and he tried his best to concentrate on it, as well as the classes that followed to make the hours until midday pass as fast as possible. He went along to see Coach Wilson when it got to just before twelve.
“Are you ready for this?” the older man asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” Darius replied.
“Just play your natural game,” Coach Wilson advised him. “It’s good enough to beat most players and should get you the attention of some of the watching NBA guys. Anything could happen from there.”
“Sure,” Darius agreed.
They chatted for a few minutes more before he left the office and made his way towards the rear entrance of the college. It allowed him to get out of the place without meeting anyone he knew and he quickly walked to a nearby bus stop. It was around fifteen minutes before the service he wanted showed up and he paid the fare when he got on. The cross-city trip was going to take around two hours and he settled down on an empty seat to get himself comfortable for it.
Staring out of the window was all there was to do on the journey, but the passing cityscape held little interest for him as he sat thinking about the game and what it could mean for him. The chance to impress the movers and shakers of the NBA was something he’d dreamed about since he was a young kid and he was now in a position where he could do it.
“Grab it with both hands,” he said and looked around when he realized how loud he said the words.
There was no one staring in his direction, so he guessed the people around him didn’t hear what he said. He returned his attention to looking out at the window and began concentrating on the scene outside when he got closer to his destination. It was a part of the city he was unfamiliar with, but he could see straight away that it was a world away from the rundown neighborhood he called home. Reaching in his pocket, he got out the map he’d drawn the night before and checked the name of the street he wanted. He got to his feet to move forward then waited for the bus to come to a halt at a stop before speaking to the driver.
“How much further is it to Charles Park Boulevard?”
The man was quiet for a few seconds before turning his head slightly to answer.
“It’s another five stops before we get there.”
“Thanks,” Darius replied.
He decided to just stay standing and watched the way ahead through the front windscreen as he counted off the stops.
“This is the one, right?” he said when the bus halted again.
“This is Charles Park,” the driver said without looking.
Darius waited for the doors to open then stepped down to the sidewalk with some of the other passengers and set off in the direction of the sports hall where the exhibition game was being held. There were a couple of wrong turns along the way, but he finally got to the place at well before three in the afternoon. The instructions given in the letter he received were to arrive by four and he wondered if he should go inside or just hang around outside the place for a while.
He spotted a small juice bar across the street and decided to waste some time by getting himself a drink. It enabled him to keep an eye on the door of the venue, but he didn’t see anyone going in that looked like a college basketball player while he sat watching. He made his drink last as long as he could, but when it was finished he decided to just go for it and crossed the street to walk inside the hall. He stopped to look around then walked over to the reception counter he saw.
“Can I help you?” the pretty girl behind it asked.
“I hope so,” Darius said. “I’m here for the basketball exhibition game.”
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Darius Darnell.”
She ran her finger down the sheet of paper in front of her and Darius guessed she’d found his name when the movement of her hand stopped.
“Put this on,” the girl said when she lifted a badge and held it out.
Darius clipped the badge to the collar of his jacket then raised his eyebrows.
“What now?” he asked.
“You’re kind of early,” the girl said with a smile. “Mr. Carmichael and the others aren’t here yet, so you’ll just need to wait.”
“Sure,” Darius agreed.
He walked away from the counter to a nearby bulletin board and read the notices to waste a few more minutes. It meant he didn’t hear the person coming up behind him until they spoke.
“It’s good to see you’re so keen.”
He spun around to see Noah Adams approaching.
“I thought I was just early,” Darius said with a grin.
“Come on, I’ll show you the court,” Noah went on.
Darius nodded his head and followed as the older man led the way over to a door. Noah opened it to let them through to the corridor beyond.
“That’s the locker rooms,” Noah pointed out when they passed them.
He kept going to the next door along and opened it to walk through. Darius looked around in amazement when he followed. He’d been expecting something similar to the small gym hall at the community college, but the basketball court he walked into appeared large enough to accommodate a crowd of a few thousand.
“Fucking hell,” he let out. “This is something else.”
“Surprised?” Noah asked when he turned.
“Just a bit,” Darius said and laughed. “I wasn’t expecting something this big. How many people will come to watch the game?”
“It’s a sell out,” Noah said. “Well, that’s probably not the right phrase considering the tickets are given out for free rather than sold. The place should be buzzing when six-thirty rolls around and the game gets underway.”
The smile grew wider on Darius’s face. He was used to playing in front of crowds of a few hundred college students, but this was going to be a major step up. He walked to the center of the court and looked around the place. It was where he wanted to be and his spine tingled as he slowly turned a full circle to take in the sporting theater he was about to play in.
“Are you ready for this?” Noah asked.
It was the same question Coach Wilson asked him only a few hours before and he was now even more certain that he was.
“Oh yeah,” he let out as he looked at Noah. “I’m going to make this evening mine.”
“Good to hear,” Noah replied. “Come on, we better return to the reception.”
Darius nodded his head as he walked across to the door and out of the court. He was looking forward to the game even more now and saw there were a few others hanging around the reception area when they got to it. The place filled up over the next fifteen minutes or so until all the players arrived and he found himself weighing them up as he looked around.
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“OK, listen up,” an older man started to bring the attention of everyone onto him. “We’ll take you through the preliminaries of what happens tonight in the locker room, so just make your way through there now.”
Darius joined the throng of people heading through the door to the corridor beyond the reception area and looked around when he got inside the locker room. He picked a spot to sit down and was doing so when the older man carried on talking.
“The first thing we’re going to do is split you into two teams, so when your name is called come forward and take your pick out of this.”
Darius saw the small black bag being held up and walked forward when his name was called. He dipped his hand in and picked out a blue disc with the number two on it. He then watched as the selection process went on until it was completed.
“OK,” the older man went on when it was finished. “You now know who you’re playing for. Team One will stay here and Team Two goes to the locker room next door.”
Darius grabbed his bag and joined the six others on his team as they walked out the door to make their way to the second locker room. They sat down as the coaching staff assigned to them started going through the plans for the game. Within thirty minutes the players were kitted out with uniforms and getting themselves ready for the chance of a lifetime.
“OK,” the coach said as hands of the clock approached six o’clock. “We’ll go through to the court and get you warmed up with some shooting and running drills.”
Darius could sense the tension taking hold in his guts and tried to hold it at bay. He’d been aware of the sound of what was obviously a growing crowd while in the locker room and it washed over him when he walked through the door to the court.
“Fucking hell,” one of the others commented.
Darius glanced around to see the nerves showing on the faces of his teammates, but getting in front of the watching people seemed to have the opposite effect on him. His trepidation drained away to make him as calm as he’d ever been walking on to a court before a game and a smile spread across his face as he took in the scene around him. The bright lights, the large crowd and the loud cheering was definitely a new experience, but it was one that was giving him energy and he was bursting to just get on the court.
The other team was there already and he watched them practicing as he moved courtside. They were big guys that looked comfortable and confident on a basketball court, but he wasn’t fazed by the prospect of facing up to them. The only thought in his mind was to destroy them and help his team come out on top. He turned his attention to the drills as he walked on the court and his confidence grew as he easily dropped his first shot through the hoop.
When the coach called them to the side of the court, he went through the starting lineup. Darius wasn’t included, but he already knew that he wouldn’t be playing for the entire game and was comfortable with the decision. It would provide a chance to study the opposition players in more detail, and that would enable him to assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Every seat in the house was taken out when it got to six-thirty and the rising anticipation of the crowd came through in the increasing noise. Darius glanced around the sidelines of the court at the men getting ready to watch the game and knew they were the ones that he needed to impress. It wasn’t as if he recognized any of them, but he knew they would be the college coaches and NBA scouts.
His gaze remained on them until the referee walked to the center of the court. Two players lined up on either side of the man in the black and white striped top and the opposition team won the jump off that started the game. The roar of the crowd was louder still when the first basket was scored and both teams traded points over the next few minutes as the game swung from end to end. It kept the scores close and Darius focused his attention on the way the opposition players were performing. A time out was called by the opposition coach after five minutes of the first quarter and the call came.
“Darnell, you’re up,” the coach told him. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Darius walked on the court when the short break in play ended and the adrenaline was pumping through his veins as he prepared himself. A glance around was enough to show him that he really was where he wanted to be and he moved into space to take the pass that got the game underway again. The rush of exhilaration grew stronger as he bounced the ball on the wooden floor and the world around him suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion. The way forward was obvious when he saw the opponent that approached him and an explosive burst of pace easily took him past the guy’s weaker left side. It opened up the court in front of him and he drew another opponent before making a pass to an open teammate.
Another burst of acceleration took him clear and he got the ball back just as he got to the three point line on the right hand side of the court. He faked to shoot and the defender bought it to let him duck past. It got his team a two on one and it was an easy decision for Darius. He waited for the last man to come to him and aimed his throw to leave the ball hanging over the hoop when his teammate jumped.
The easy slam dunk was greeted with a roar of approval from the crowd and a smile flashed across Darius’s face as he raced into a defensive position. His introduction to the game sparked a run of unopposed points for his team and he was the man controlling the action to keep them on top. Two three pointers by him in a row opened up the gap in points even more and made the opposition call another time out.
The seventh man in Team 2 was given the call to join the action, but the change made no difference to the way things were going and they continued to control the game as they dominated their opponents in the first and second quarters. It was Darius himself that ended the proceedings just before the half time interval with another driving run from just outside the three point line that took him easily between two static defenders and up to the hoop for another two points.
The ten minute break went by in a flash and Darius found himself taken out of the game as the third quarter got underway. It became clear in under a minute that the team was nowhere near as dominant without him on the court and the opposition started to assert some control to close the scores. This didn’t go unnoticed by the coach, who held off as long as he could to give the players on the court a chance to shine before he called for a break in play.
“You’re in, Darnell,” he said. “Go and finish them off.”
Darius took the words to heart and stepped over the sideline with the intention of reigning supreme. His blistering attacking play and shot making from all parts of the court was matched by his excellence in defense, and he continually blocked and stole possession from his opponents. It led to the outcome pretty much being decided by the end of the third quarter.
He remained on the court for the rest of the game and knew that he was unmatched as he continued to pull the strings that got his team point after point. He was still running the show as the clock ticked down towards the end of the fourth quarter and he easily ghosted past a couple of men, exchanged passes with one of his teammates and hammered the ball down through the hoop to slam dunk the final points. It got the crowd on their feet and making as much noise as he’d ever heard in a basketball arena. He was buzzing as they counted out the last few seconds and a massive cheer went up to celebrate the impressive victory that he was largely responsible for.
In seconds the court was jammed with people and plenty of them were swarming around him. He was the undoubted star attraction of the night and barely got the chance to catch his breath as he was surrounded. A strong hand slapped down on his shoulder and he turned to the sight of a handsome older man in a smart navy blue suit.
“You’re the one they’ll be looking for now,” the man said and a smile broke out on his face. “I’m Kent Carmichael.”
“Mr. Carmichael,” Darius replied and shook the hand offered to him. “Thanks for giving me the opportunity tonight.”
“You sure as hell took it, son,” Kent carried on. “Let’s talk.”
His arm went around Darius’s shoulder to lead him away from the court and they fought their way through the surrounding hordes to get to the door leading out to the hallway. There were a few people hanging around, but there was a bit more breathing space and the two of them came to a stop when they got to the locker room door.
“I meant what I said in there,” Kent said. “The scouts will come calling after a performance like that.”
“That’s fine by me,” Darius replied.
“I’m sure it is,” Kent carried on. “But you need someone on your side that understands the rules of the game to make sure you get the best deal.”
“You mean you,” Darius said.
“Damn right I do,” Kent said and a smile flashed across his face. “That’s why I stage these exhibition games. It puts the best college players in front of the right people and I can be the man that gets you the lucrative contract you want. What age are you?”
“Nineteen,” Darius replied.
“So, a young college guy with no experience of negotiating with scouts that will want the best deal for their team,” Kent pointed out. “That means you need someone looking out for your interests and I can do that for you.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Darius said. “I appreciate you taking an interest in me.”
Kent got a business card out of his pocket to hand it over.
“If any of the NBA teams do call on you in the next few days, you let me know straight away,” he said.
“Sure thing, Mr. Carmichael,” Darius replied.
“Even if they don’t, you come and see me at my office as soon as possible,” Kent told him. “You showed you have star quality out there tonight and I can help get your NBA career on track. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
“DARIUS!”
The sound of the shout came from behind them and they turned to see the pretty girl coming along the corridor from the direction of the reception area.
“Phaedra,” Darius said in a surprised voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to watch,” she said. “You were awesome out there.”
“How did you even know I was here?” Darius said.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“I have my ways of finding things out,” she said cryptically.
“You’re a lucky young man to have such a beautiful girlfriend,” Kent commented.
“No, she’s…” Darius started, but didn’t get the chance to finish when his girlfriend’s cousin butted in.
“It’s nice of you to say so. I’m Phaedra Walker.”
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you,” Kent said.
Darius just shook his head at the strange turn of events. He wanted to quiz Phaedra as to how she knew he was playing, but she was now engaged in conversation with Kent Carmichael and he decided to just leave them to it. He spun around to open the locker room door then walked inside.
“Don’t forget to come and see me, son,” Kent yelled after him. “I’ll look after you.”
Darius turned as the door closed and his last sight was of Kent handing over one of his business cards to Phaedra. Her appearance put a dampener on the evening, but he quickly shook it off as the other players and coaching staff appeared one by one in the locker room. The celebration went on for a short while and he saw that some of the other players were also holding business cards that he guessed were from Kent. He finally made his way to the adjoining bathroom area and stood under one of the large showerheads.
“You played some fucking game out there,” a voice said.
Darius glanced over his shoulder to see one of his teammates walking past towards another of the showerheads.
“You too,” he replied. “Hopefully the way we put those other guys to the sword will get some of those NBA boys showing an interest.”
‘That would be something, wouldn’t it?” the other guy said as he switched on the water and stepped under it.
Their conversation about the prospects of actually making it all the way to playing for a professional team went on sporadically as they showered, but Darius eventually made his way to the locker room to get dried and dressed. The thrill of the evening was still with him when he walked out to the corridor and along to the reception area. The sight of Phaedra brought him down again and he let out a quiet curse as she walked in his direction.
“What are you still doing here?” he complained.
“It’s late,” she said with a smirk. “I didn’t want to go home by myself, so I waited on you.”
“Fucking hell,” Darius let out.
He wanted to tell her to get lost, but knew he would be wasting his breath. She would likely stick to him like glue whatever he said and he resigned himself to a trip home with her. He again wondered just how she found out he was playing in the game, but suddenly remembered her going into Coach Wilson’s office on the evening he first met Noah Adams. It didn’t bear thinking about what she exchanged for the information, but he still couldn’t help himself asking.
“How the hell did you find out I was playing?”
Phaedra just smiled and seemed unconcerned by the question.
“Never mind how I found out,” she said as she linked arms with her. “You should just be glad someone took enough of an interest in your basketball to come and support you.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Shut up,” Phaedra said and laughed. “Let’s go.”
Darius shook his head as he let her lead him out of the building. He was a bit disappointed that none of the scouts or college coaches hung around after the game to talk to him but guessed that wasn’t the way they worked, and if they really were keen they would follow things up to get in touch. Kent Carmichael’s business card was in his pocket, with the promoter definitely showing an interest in representing him, and that was no bad thing as far as he was concerned.
“You were great tonight,” Phaedra said when they reached the bus stop.
“Thanks,” Darius replied. “It did feel good to be out there playing well.”
“The crowd was going wild for you by the end,” she went on and giggled. “That was especially true of the girls. I think any of them would have dropped their underwear for you by the end of the game.”
“I have a girlfriend,” Darius pointed out.
“Yeah, but what she doesn’t know won’t kill her,” Phaedra said. “I don’t think there’s a straight guy alive that wouldn’t take advantage of that situation. I mean, a pretty girl on her knees offering her mouth or maybe even more. A guy’s not going to resist that… even if he has a girlfriend.”
“Fucking hell,” Darius let out. “What are you like?”
“What?” Phaedra protested in an innocent voice. “You can pretend otherwise, but guys will be guys when a girl offers them some no-strings-attached fun. They’re not going to say no if they think they can get away with it.”
“Yeah, well some do,” Darius went on.
“That’s a shame,” Phaedra let out quietly.
Darius glanced to see the smirk on her face and knew what she was thinking, but he didn’t really want to play the teasing game she seemed to be enjoying. He said nothing in response as he glanced at his watch to see it was now almost nine. That meant they likely wouldn’t be home until around eleven o’clock.
His comment about having a girlfriend brought his thoughts to Gemini for the first time that evening. He knew she was going to be completely pissed off about him not coming to her study session and not even bothering to call to say he couldn’t make it. Excuses ran through his head of what he might say, but none of them sounded any good and he knew that smoothing things over wasn’t going to be easy. How he was going to tackle the situation continued to play on his mind until the bus arrived. When it did, he got on first to pay the fare and Phaedra did the same when she followed. He dropped down on the first empty seat he came to and slid across to stare out of the window as his mind remained on his girlfriend.
It was only after a few
seconds that he realized how close Phaedra was sitting to him. Their thighs were stuck together and he glanced down to see how high the hem of her skirt was sitting. It revealed a lot of smooth, brown skin and he tried not to stare. He shifted in his seat in an attempt to open up a gap between them, but he was already pressed right up to the window and their legs were still touching.
“Do you have to sit so close to me?” he complained.
“What?” Phaedra said in another show of what was obviously pretend innocence. “I never even noticed.” She shuffled slightly away. “Is that better for you?” she went on in a slightly sarcastic tone.
Darius just shook his head and resumed looking out at the passing scenery. The late evening traffic wasn’t heavy and it meant they made good time on the journey. It was around quarter to eleven when the bus approached the stop in their neighborhood.
“This is us,” Darius said and it was practically the first words he’d spoken since he complained about Phaedra sitting too close.
“I know,” she replied and shook her head. “I’m not stupid.”
She got to her feet and walked to the door, with Darius right behind her. His gaze dropped to how short her skirt was, but he glanced away before she turned and was aware of the slight guilt of having looked in the first place.
“I’ll see you,” he said when they got off.
“No goodnight kiss after our date then?” she teased him.
Darius was quiet for a few seconds as he stared at her, but the annoyance of her cheeky comment welled up and the words tumbled out of his mouth.
“What are you playing at?”
“Me?” she said with a smirk. “I’m not playing at anything.”
“Yeah, well let’s keep it that way,” he went on in a harsh tone. “Gemini would go off her fucking head if she found out about this evening.”
“And we wouldn’t want that now… would we?”
The teasing way the comment was said set off alarm bells in Darius’s head and his jaw tightened as he watched his girlfriend’s cousin turn to walk away from him.
“I’m warning you,” he shouted after her. “You better not say anything.”
All he got in response was quiet laughter. The alarm bells grew stronger and he knew there was a real danger that she would stir things up for him. It would make a bad situation even worse and he didn’t want to think about that.
“Shit,” he cursed as he started the walk home.
He was almost there when he saw the figure waiting at the garden gate and knew who it was straight away. The hope that he could spend the night coming up with an excuse was gone in an instant and he saw the angry expression on Gemini’s face as he approached her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked and immediately realized it was the wrong start to the conversation.
“Well, I thought I’d come and see what your pathetic excuse was for not turning up at my home this evening.”
Darius held in the sigh that threatened to come out as he lifted a hand to rub the nape of his neck. His gaze hit the ground and he couldn’t bring himself to look at his girlfriend.
“Oh yeah, about that…” he started then really didn’t know how to go on.
“Well?” Gemini demanded to break the ensuing silence.
“I was… I was…” Darius stammered.
“How about you were fucking playing in a basketball game?” she snapped. “Or has that slipped your memory already, like my study evening?”
The surprise showed on Darius’s face as he looked up.
“How do you…” he started.
“How do I know?” Gemini shouted to interrupt him. “Because I got a call from a friend to switch on the late evening news and when I did, what do you think I saw?”
“Fuck,” Darius cursed under his breath.
He didn’t see any cameras at the game and never expected that it would be reported on a local channel.
“Yeah, fuck is right,” Gemini went on in an angry tone. “You knew you would be playing tonight and yet you lied to me without a second thought about coming over to the study evening.”
“What was I supposed to do?” Darius protested.
“How about telling the truth?” Gemini yelled as she slapped hands on his chest to push him.
“And then what?” he said in a louder voice as his own anger ignited. “Endure yet another bloody smart-mouth lecture from you about how basketball isn’t everything or maybe you’d just tell me for the millionth time that I’m not good enough to make it and should stick to studying.”
“That’s not fair,” she said. “I’m only trying…”
“It might not be fair, but it’s true and I’m sick of hearing it,” Darius interrupted her. “All I ever get from you and my parents is study, study, study. If it was up to you, I would never touch a basketball again.”
“Well maybe that would be no bad thing,” she retorted dismissively. “At least it would get your head out of the clouds to try and achieve an education that might actually lead to a proper career.”
“Oh, so you think my basketball hopes will lead to what… absolutely nothing, I suppose,” Darius accused her.
“You said it,” she replied in a condescending fashion that infuriated him even more.
“Well, thank you very fucking much for the support,” he shouted and threw out his arms. “Maybe I should have more realistic ambitions like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A fucking lawyer,” he barked then let out a disdainful laugh. “Some chance of that ever happening for you. And you’ve got the nerve to say my head is in the clouds. If you want to see someone that’s destined to be a failure, you just need to look in a mirror.”
Gemini’s expression hardened as she stared at him. In a matter of a few seconds the argument had gone well beyond just her annoyance at Darius lying to her about the study evening. Their raw anger was making them spit bile at each other and she was unable to stop herself upping the ante.
“If we believe in each other so little,” she cried out in a furious voice. “Maybe we should just call it a fucking day then and not bother seeing each other any more.”
“Fine by me,” Darius answered. “I won’t miss your nagging, whining voice every day.”
“You’re such a fucking asshole,” she yelled at him.
“Yeah, well it takes one to know one,” he retorted.
They stared at each other, but their anger at the exchange of insults meant that neither was prepared to back down and apologize on this occasion and it was Gemini that brought an end to the furious encounter when she turned to stomp off into the darkness. Darius looked at his house to see if there were any lights on, but the place was quiet and he was amazed that the loud argument didn’t wake anyone. He was still reluctant to go inside and knew that his parents would more than likely give him some grief about the game he just played in as well.
“Who fucking needs it,” he cursed then took one last look in the direction Gemini walked off before turning to head the other way.