Life is Like a Basketball

It was lunchtime at Malrich High but Sineas had decided he was not hungry. He sat alone on the right side of the third step of the entrance into the school, near the very edge of the step. There were so many thoughts going through his head: The inspector, his mother, Clarissa.

He unconsciously rubbed his thumbs and turned his head to the left. Students were busy eating and conversing in the warmth of the sunlight. Most of the tables were already packed. He knew that people did not pay much attention to him but these days he felt more invisible than usual. Before, people would take one look at him and snarl, or scowl, but now, they never looked in his direction at all. Perhaps they were shifting their focus to the murders.

His eyes started searching within the colony of students. He could not spot Clarissa anywhere. Someone sat beside him, to his right.

'Wassup,' said Bubblegum girl rudely blowing a bubble the size of a tennis ball in his face. When it popped, it sounded eerily like a gunshot. Sineas shuddered a little. He nodded once at her then turned his attention back to the multitude of students. He decided he was not going to justify her greeting with a word, lest she drag him into her world of bad English.

'The lunch tables are that way,' she said pointing towards the lunch area.

She had pulled one of her bare legs towards her chest. One of the legs was left to dangle over the bottom steps. Sineas felt the uncontrollable urge just to take a peek. Just to find out if she was fully dressed or he would find something exposed between her legs. He decided to resist the temptation. He turned his face downwards. 'I'm not hungry,' he finally answered her.

She looked in front of her. 'What's on your mind, Murph?'

He began rubbing his other thumb. 'Life.'

'Life?' She smiled. She blew another bubble, this time the pop was a bit softer. 'Is it the girl or is it the moms?' she asked him.

He finally decided to look at her. He sighed. 'Both.'

'Then lemme give you some advice: Life is like a basketball- it don't bounce itself.'

'What?'

'What I mean, Murph, is that sitting here moping about life won't do you no good. It's up ta you ta make the change, ta keep it going. Pick it up, bounce it and aim for the net.'

He smiled. 'Wow, Bubble…I mean, V. That's smart.'

She continued to chew her gum but less aggressively. She smiled at him. 'I know. Justin gave me that same advice a few years ago.'

He noticed that her look had changed. It weighed more on the side of sadness but Sineas wasn't really sure because her face, to him, was really hard to read. 'You miss him, don't you?' he asked her.

She nodded. 'But I never cried for him though. I tried but the tears just wouldn't come.' She paused, then she looked at him. 'Does that make me a bad person?'

'I don't think so,' he replied. 'I heard that people grieve in different ways. Others could take months or even years before they shed any tears for a loved one. Maybe in your case, since you're more of a hard-core person, your tears may delay or might not even come just because of what you've wired yourself to be, or what society has programmed you to be. You may not show your grief but you can still feel it.'

She nodded thoughtfully. She said, 'You are one deep dude, Murph. You are one deep dude. How's your girl by the way?' she asked him.

He looked surprised. 'My girl?'

'Yes; your girl, your boo, bae, your whatever-sweet-name-you-call-her-by.'

He squinted. 'Are you talking about Clarissa? She's not my…'

Bubblegum girl laughed. 'Of course she's not! That's why she the only person you hang around with, right? The only one you give those puppy dog eyes, eh? Because she your friend?'

'She just…'

'Listen ta me, Murph. I prolly know more about this stuff than you do, that's why you can't fool me with the "she's just a friend" statement.'

Sineas turned his attention back to the lunch tables.

'Look,' she went on, 'I get why you fancy her. She seems pretty dope. If she the reason why you feel down right now then you gotta go and apologize for whatever it is you're fighting over.'

He frowned. 'I didn't do anything to her.'

Bubblegum girl laughed out loud, bopping her body back and forth and almost revealing the mystery between her legs. She said, 'Trust me, Murph; you did. That's how it is with dames. You guys are always wrong and if you don't catch on ta that quick, then I'm sorry ta be the one ta tell you this, my man but you'll never get your girl back.'

'Did you send my message to my mother?' he changed the subject.

Bubblegum girl grinned. 'She misses you a lot.'

'Why?'

'You should-a seen her face. It shone brighter than a firewall.'

'Shone brighter than..?'

'Bottom-line; she was happy.' She looked over her shoulder then descended two more steps until she was right beside him. 'She wants ta see you,' she whispered into his ear.

He almost jumped. 'Really? When? What time?'

She placed a finger on his mouth. 'Sssh! Calm down.' She looked over her shoulder again. 'You know the feds are still looking for her, right?'

He nodded.

'So we gotta play this like pros if we wanna keep her safe and out of harm's way.'

'Just tell me what to do,' he whispered impatiently.

'Your last meeting place; the park. She wants ta meet there. You still have her number, right?' she asked him.

He nodded quickly.

'Good. Cull her and give her a heads up. Ta be safe, the cull shouldn't last more than twenty seconds or the cops might track it, so it should just be a hie and where you're meeting.'

He nodded again.

'What will the two of you be wearing?' she asked him.

His face turned suspicious fast.

She sighed then said, 'Murph, my man. I gangster. In Breechwood they used ta cull me Virgin V… but not anymore. I'm a straight-up thug. I need ta know what ya'll be wearing coz I gotta gets ma crew the alert. They can keep their eye on you in case the pigs decide to stick their noses in, catch ma drift?'

He shook his head. 'But you're in contact with her as well, so why don't you call her, V?'

'Because that's even riskier, Murph,' she argued. 'What makes more sense; my aunty culling for a meeting with your moms or you, her son? Besides, it's also a risk for my aunty ta keep contacting your moms directly like that.'

'I guess.'

'Good.' She gave him a friendly pat on the back. 'Don't worry, I got you.' She looked towards the entrance of the building. 'Remember that advice I gave you earlier, about dames?' she asked him.

'Yeah, why?'

'You're about ta need it,' she said as she got to her feet. She winked at him then walked down the steps.

Sineas looked behind him. Clarissa was approaching the end of the hallway...