The Game Of Love by Ilee Coleman (good books for high schoolers txt) 📕

“Yo! Who you coming to see

?”

Lolly chose to pick up the pace of his walk.

“Yo! You hear me talking to you

!”

Lolly knew he’d better keep walking because if he stops to

answer the question he would be emitting signals of

vulnerability. Much like predators zeroing in on wounded

prey, the hungry pack of neighborhood wolves can pick up

your scent a mile away. If you keep moving and say nothing

they may or may not see it as a sign of disrespect but

you’d have a fifty-fifty chance of making it to your

destination. It is a tough place to visit and certainly you

wouldn’t want to live here but for some people there is no

other alternative.

But what do you do when the one you love lives here? You

know her. The beautiful one with the natural curves that

feels so good when you caress her. She says all the right

things at the right time and is there for you when everyone

else turns their back. Would you go through hell to get to

her?

Of course you would.

You know deep down inside that you were meant to be

together despite what others think. For hours upon hours

you spend talking, rehearsing and trying to better your

relationship with her until the two of you become “one”.

Occasionally you see her conversating with others and in

your mind she is fraternizing with the enemy - especially

when you are monogamous.

Lolly is infatuated with her. He eats, sleeps and

breathes her. He knows that even if he has to take a

beating now in order to see her one more time it is well

worth the cost of band aids. Deep down he knows she loves

him too. She just has a funny way of showing it. See, she

is a lot older than Lolly and she has been around the block

a few times.

BeBe is what everyone calls her. Sometimes she uses other

aliases when dealing with strangers but for the most part

she is widely recognized as such. Is Lolly too enamored

with BeBe? Is she leading him astray? Remember, BeBe tells

him what he wants to hear – especially when they are alone.

His buddies sure think he’s wasting his time and they make

it a point to tell him often but it always falls on deaf

ears.

Lolly keeps moving. He hears voices getting closer. He

knows that the chances of making it to BeBe without a

scuffle are dwindling fast. Using his peripheral vision he

can see that the wolf pack has grown. He reaches down for

his weapon in his shorts but he has no pockets. He

increases to a slight jog but the race is a marathon not a

sprint. His heart rate is now up to 88 beats per minute.

Some folks sitting quietly on the bench stare at Lolly as

he passes by. Do they know what is about to occur? Would

someone please dial 911 he thinks to himself.

In the distance he can faintly hear BeBe’s voice. He

knows he’s close. He begins to run towards her. The thought

of them together fluttered his soul and strengthened his

legs. The gust of wind from the sudden sprint removes the

hood from over his head. He is sweating profusely and his

heart is racing like that of a thief with cops in pursuit.

He notices a bright light ahead and takes a peak backward

to see if the pack is still chasing. They closing in and

running at full speed now and it seems their numbers have

doubled.

As the light gets brighter and brighter to his eyes, he

realizes that BeBe is entertaining others. Could she

be “loose” while he’s away? He runs faster. Is she two-

timing him with another? Faster! He catapaults himself over

the park bench. The route to BeBe is direct. As his feet

make contact with the ground he is surrounded by the mob.

He is completely out of breath and surrenders as this

particular beating would have to happen in front of an

audience. Suddenly, he feels a hand touch his shoulder. He

raises his head and sees BeBe waiting to greet him.

“He’s here

!” shouts someone from the

crowd. “Everybody has been waiting for

you

.” The buzzer has just sounded to begin the

championship game. Lolly notices his coach and

teammates. “Hurry Lolly!

Check in at

the scorer’s table. Here is your jersey. Take a couple

shots so you can catch your rhythm. You already worked up a

sweat.”

At that very moment he got a chance to reunite with BeBe.

He touched her ever so gently and caressed her round black

and orange body. He turned his hand over and she hit the

ground. She was evidently happy to see him too because she

returned to sit in his hand again.

Swish! All net.

Lolly had made it to the game on time. The mob was

sitting in the stands rooting for the home team. What he

thought were gangsters and thugs were really fans trying to

make it to the court in time to see the game. As the game

began he notices a change in BeBe’s behavior. She wasn’t

going through the hoop as they had previously rehearsed.

She was acting weird tonight. She was acting like the other

basketballs in the neighborhood.

The beating Lolly was bracing for did occur that evening,

not from a mob but from the play of the home team. And as

for BeBe, she left the park without Lolly because she

became fond of another player. His name … Mister Game MVP

.

Publication Date: 08-24-2011

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