Hey everybody, this is an side-story of Teammates Forever - before the events of each individual high school student-athletes playing high school basketball at their schools.
Do you ever wonder how they became basketball players? Now you will know.
As usual from my fanfic Teammates Forever, this story is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Chapter 1
Thursday, October 15, 1998
Out in the streets of an nice suburban area of Duluth, Georgia (which is just outside of the city of Atlanta, Georgia), a grown man in his early 20's driving down the road in his 1992 Toyota Camry - trying to find an certain big building he is looking for. After minutes of searching (while driving safely of course), he found the big building as it's titled "Grandmaster Orphanage". The place he was looking for.
So what is he there for? Adopting a child or something? No, he's dropping off two little toddlers to the place he knows he can't take care of... As of now for him.
He gets out of his car out from the drivers' side of the seat and showed his appearance: having brown skin, black hair in short natural waves, and purple-colored eyes; his clothes are a plain white T-Shirt, black baggy jeans, and black and white high-top Nike Air Max sneakers. He turns to his left and open the backdoor to get the toddlers out of the backseat. He unbuckled the two seatbelts that was attached to the two baby carriers and carries it, along with the kids, to the front of the building of where the two brown wooden doors are at.
While he is walking to the front of the building, there were sad emotions kicking into him of having these babies sent to the orphanage, knowing it is the right thing to do. Why he must do that you may ask? The answer will be coming soon.
The young adult reaches the two brown wooden doors and respectively knocks on the door loud to know someone is at the front door. He later heard footsteps coming a little louder, recognizing someone has heard his knock, and a certain-someone opened the door. That certain-someone who opened the frontdoor, appears to be a female having peach skin who's age is in the early 40's, long red hair that stops underneath her shoulders, blue-colored eyes along wearing small thin glasses; wearing a blue dress and blue flats shoes.
Says the red-haired female with a soft voice, "How may I help you sir?"
Says a male with a deep voice, "Are you Floren-Ca Donaghy?"
"Yes I am," said Floren-Ca.
"My name is Luger Armondo. I have ...certain little ...kids with me... That I would like for you ...to look after while I'm gone." He said with sad emotions inside of him, knowing he doesn't want to do this but he has to.
Floren-Ca looked down at the two baby carriers and sees the two light brown skinned babies are currently sleeping. "Well I would like too Mr. Armondo, but me and my husband's job is to take care orphaned children. Not babysitting them," she said.
"I know, and please just call me Luger," he said, convincing her to call him by his first name. "What I can tell you, is an situation ...that I'm going to ...go through for a while."
"What situation are you going through, Luger?" Floren-Ca asks.
"Next week, ...I'm going to prison ..." Luger answered, then stops himself knowing he's going to shed a tear out of his eye. "For ten years of DUI Manslaughter," he later finished now with a sad facial expression as a tear ran through from his right eye, down to his right cheek.
"OOOOOH woooooow, I'm so sorry. But ...why couldn't you ask your relatives to take care of your children?" Floren-Ca asked.
"Because (*sniff*) I have no other ...relatives that don't know how to ...raise a child. And that's because (*sniff*) the guys I hang with are living in and rough, urban neighborhood on the other side of Atlanta. (*sniff*) That's why I came to you because ...you know how to raise kids."
"Woooow, that was a pretty smart idea you came up with. But what about their mothers?" Floren-Ca asked again.
"They, key word 'they' as in 'two', were killed ...in a drive-by shooting last week. From where I live." Luger answered in a sad tone. "So Floren-Ca I'm asking you, will you-"
"Say no more." Floren-Ca interrupted. "I'll do it. Me and my husband will take care of your kids," then answered.
Luger felt sparks of joy inside of him as Floren-Ca Donaghy will take care of his children. He ran into Floren-Ca and gave her a big, big, BIG hug (with Floren-Ca returning the favor) of her taking care of his kids.
"Thank you so much, Floren-Ca," Luger said, while he's still hugging her, with tears of joy.
"No, no, no. Thank you. For making the right decision for yourself and for your kids as well," she said. Floren-Ca has a point, he did the right thing of going to the right place at the right time. She later asks Luger, "Can you please give me the names of your kids please?"
"Alright," Luger said. "To let chu know, they are girls and they are Egyptian-American. ...There names are Lien-Damini Katima Avyanna - Lien-Da for short, and Julie-Suzie Kabira Avyanna - Julie-Su as her nickname. Both of 'em are half-sisters and Lien-Da is one year older than Julie-Su. Their mothers were from Egypt and I'm, of course, American."
Floren-Ca nods. Luger later told her their birthdates as he hands his daughters to Floren-Ca as she gave Luger the phone number to keep in-touch of his girls. Luger later bends his knees and leans forward to look at his two girls one last time, feeling his emotions getting the best of him. "You two girls behave while I'll be gone, okay?" The 3-month-old Julie-Su Avyanna (born on August 15, 1998) made baby babble sounds that made Luger giggled, and the 1-year-old Lien-Da Avyanna (born on June 15, 1997) still sleeping.
Luger later stood up facing Floren-Ca, "Please take care of my daughters, and please prevent them from getting adopted," he said.
"I will," said Floren-Ca. "And please, not to be a jerk or anything - do your time in prison while you can."
"I will. Thank you." said Luger.
Floren-Ca nodded.
Luger took one last look at his two daughters and later turns around, walking back into his car, turns on the ignition and droves off to his next destination. He can now smile and feel good for himself that his two little princesses, which are his daughters, are being taken care of (as well as being prevented from getting adopted) while he will be going to prison for 10 years of DUI Manslaughter. He will also call the orphanage to check on his two little princesses that means the world to him. Now that's what's up right there.
Floren-Ca, after seeing Luger drove off to his next destination, brings the Avyanna sisters inside the orphanage as Lien-Da (despite being an 1-year-old) sees the little kids and pre-teens doing activities to excite them. Floren-Ca later reached into her office where she sees a middle-aged man in his mid 40's (with a physical appearance of peach skin, red hair in dreadlocks that's tied into a ponytail that stops at his shoulders and blue colored eyes; wearing a all-white long-sleeved T-Shirt, black sweat pants with pockets along with it, and high-top all-black Nike Air Max sneakers) on his computer.
"Hey Simon honey. Look what we got," said Floren-Ca.
Simon Donaghy, Floren-Ca's husband - meaning they're married, looks and sees the two girls beside his wife.
"What are their names?" Simon asks.
"Lien-Damini Avyanna - Lien-Da for short, and Julie-Suzie Avyanna - Julie-Su as her nickname. They are half-sisters and their father wants us to take care of them while he goes away for ten years in prison."
"Wait? Their father ...wants us ...to take care of 'em?" Simon asks as Floren-Ca nodded. "Why, plus the fact that their father is going away for ten years?" Simon asked again.
"He has no other relatives, including their mothers - with an 's' attached into it, to look after them. And what's worse was the guys he knows, lives in a rough, urban neighborhood; fearing something may happen to his girls." Floren-Ca answered.
"Oh wow. For a father like him, going through scrutiny, who lived at an rough-urban neighborhood, and placing his two daughters in a perfect place where we can look after his daughters, that ...right there ...is what I call ...a man."
Floren-Ca smiled and agreed of what her husband said. Floren-Ca later told the Avyanna sisters to stay where they at (even though they're only toddlers) as she went to her file drawer to fill out some notes and information of the Avyanna sisters.
10 Years Later...
Lien-Da Avyanna (now at 11 years old) and Julie-Su Avyanna (now at 10 years old) are all now outside playing basketball on a clear, warm sunny day in the summertime of June. Basketball, to them, has became their favorite sport ever since Lien-Da and Julie-Su both turned 5 and 4 years old.
How that happened you may ask? It all started on Christmas Day - December 25, 2003, Lien-Da at 5 years old and Julie-Su at 4 years old, and all of the other kids in the orphanage were opening presents. For Floren-Ca and Simon however, they see the Avyanna sisters both unwrapped two big boxes and sees a Fisher Price basketball goal. Lien-Da and Julie-Su were both concerned of the present they opened as Simon, with his wife helping other kids open other presents, went to where the Avyanna sisters are at and helped the girls open the two boxes as the parts of the Fisher Price basketball goal were all brought out from the box as he, Lien-Da and Julie-Su put the pieces together of where they should be placed.
After it was finished, the two girls started to play on the Fisher Price basketball goals separately (because there's two of 'em) and ended up having fun doing it: by (with a small toy rubber basketball) shooting, dunking, dribbling, etcetera.
As the years went by with the Avyanna sisters getting older, the girls ended up having their own basketball to play with, whether going outside where the orphanage has a playground set and a half-divided basketball court with a standard outdoor basketball goal attached to the ground, or playing with it inside the house ...if they don't break anything. What was also amazing for them was when Lien-Da and Julie-Su were 10 and 9 years old, their foster parents signed them up to play for an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball team called "Dirty South Queens" of Atlanta, Georgia, and they still do.
Throughout the years that went by for the Avyanna sisters, life for them has been going well throughout their childhood, despite being orphans. These two sisters grew up pretty early not just because of basketball, it's because they grew up around kids and pre-teens which leads to them doing some clean-up around the orphanage and looking out for those little kids. When it comes to playing basketball, these two girls love it with a passion, whether they are on the same team, playing 1-on-1 against each other, or playing on separate teams, it doesn't matter.
That will change when a special-someone comes to the Grandmaster Orphanage.
While Lien-Da and Julie-Su were outside playing basketball, their foster mother, Floren-Ca Donaghy, called them out. "LIEN-DAAAA. JULIE-SUUUUU. COME INSIDE OOOKAAAAAYYY."
"OOOOOOOH WHYYYYYYYEEEEEE?" The Avyanna sisters whined.
Floren-Ca sighed from their whined of them not wanted to be interrupted when playing the sport they like the most. "Because ...there's a special-someone wanted to see y'all."
"Really?" said Lien-Da.
"YYYYYYYYep. Now hurry up. Don't make that special-someone wait too long," Floren-Ca told them and later closed the backdoor.
The Avyanna sisters looked at each other. Lien-Da asks, "Do you think it's about us getting adopted?"
"I don't know," Julie-Su answered. "'Cause Floren-Ca and Simon always prevent us being adopted."
Remember what Julie said, "'Cause Floren-Ca and Simon always prevent us being adopted."
The Avyanna sisters walked inside the orphanage to meet where Floren-Ca and Simon are at and the 'special-someone' who happens to be a middle-aged male in his 30's; having brown skin, black hair in short natural waves an purple-colored eyes; his clothes are a plain black T-Shirt, tan khaki baggy jeans, and black and white high-top Nike Air Max sneakers. That special-someone looks familiar, huh?
They arrive at the living room where they see their foster parents and the special-someone.
Floren-Ca speaks, "Lien-Da, Julie-Su. Say high to that 'special-someone' right there."
The girls waved to the special-someone, with that special-someone waving them back. "Are you gonna adopted us?" The girls asked.
The special-someone thought for a moment, "... Well, ...sort of," he answered with a smirk and a chuckle on his face.
"Sort of?" Julie-Su questioned.
The special-someone smiled and later spoke, "Well ...lets put it like this. Yes ...I'm here ...to adopt y'all." The Avyanna sisters all smiled. "BUT ...with a different reason." The girls all looked at him crazy.
Simon spoke, "Lien-Da, Julie. [*the girls turned around to Simon*] That man right there ...is y'all father. Luger Armondo."
That's right. Luger Armondo, the father of Lien-Da and Julie-Su Avyanna.
The girls all got confused with a 'What the heck is going on?' look. They looked back at that special-someone and said, "You're our dad?"
"Yes... I'm y'all dad," Luger answered.
The Avyanna sisters all smiled and felt the urge to cry and later ran into Luger and said, "DAAAAAADYYYYYYYY!"
The girls gave him a big, big, BIG hug on their father. For Damon Luger, he also shed a tear blessed that his daughters finally meet their father, as well as getting adopted.
There were many inquires from the Avyanna sisters of why they're father sent them to the orphanage instead of his other family members, until Luger and the Donaghy spouses told them the story of what was going on with Luger at that time. And it also lead to a part when their mothers were shot and killed in a drive-by shooting from where he was at.
"Woooow. That happened?" Julie-Su asked her dad.
"Mmm-hmm." Luger answered. "Your mothers were Mari-Su Atrades and Merin-Da Lucania; Julie you're related to Mari-Su and Lien-Da you're related to Merin-Da. It happened around 10 o'clock at night. I was inside the house, in my room, when I was feeding you [*pointing at Julie-Su*] while I was about to put you [*pointing at Lien-Da*] to sleep. When I heard gun shots fired loud, I immediately grabbed both of y'all and ducked down low to the floor. When it was over, I waited 'till the shooters drove away, but what I feared the most was y'all baby mothers. I immediately went outside praying to God that they're alright, but I was wrong."
He stops himself for a moment remembering that tragic scene he saw. "... I saw y'all mothers ...lying on the gr-gr-..."
Luger, including his daughters, shed a tear. And Luger now knowing what he's going to say, "ground...dead."
The Avyanna sisters had some tears shed from hearing that tragic story their father was telling of the murder of their mothers. They immediately hugged their father as they felt the pain he had suffered.
"Don't worry ...Daddy," Julie-Su said while hugging her father. "We're here for you now."
"Yeah," said Lien-Da. "You did the right thing protecting us. Right?"
Luger smiled and hugged his two daughters tightly. Words can't explained of what Luger Armondo did to get his daughters out from that rough, urban neighborhood, to get his two daughters to safety while he has to go to prison for ten years of the DUI Manslaughter he caused.
After their emotional, family-reunited moment ended, Luger told his daughters to pack-up their belongings as he's taking them to their new home.
"But wait," said Julie-Su. "What about Floren-Ca and Simon, Daddy?"
"Yeah?" Lien-Da also asked.
Floren-Ca, who smiled, answered, "Our work is here. Don't worry, your father has a very nice house that's FAR AWAY from where he used to live years ago. Give me a hug." The Avyanna sisters gave their foster mother and then their foster father a hug, knowing it will be the last time they will see their foster parents as they will go home with their father.
The girls later went upstairs into their room and packed their belongings, including their basketballs. After they were done packing, the girls ran back downstairs to meet up with their father. And what's a blessing, Luger didn't have to signed the adoption papers because Floren-Ca and Simon know it's his daughters. Heck why can't he not signed the papers.
The Avyanna sisters all waved their last goodbye's to their foster parents out the frontdoor, as they are walking to their father's car, the 2004 Toyota Camry. Luger unlocked his car and popped the trunk to where the girls will place their bags inside at. They later went inside the car with Lien-Da sitting on the frontseat on the passenger side and Julie-Su sitting on the backseat of where her half-sister is sitting. Luger turns on the ignition of his car, puts the handlebar on 'Drive' and drove off to his house where he will be reunited with his two daughters.
"So," Luger spoke while driving, "Floren-Ca told me y'all have been playing basketball."
"Yeah!" said the Avyanna sisters.
"That's good. I heard that y'all foster father signed y'all up playing for an AAU basketball team called 'Dirty South Queens'. Not only that, there's a place where I live has a park, some basketball courts, and a Rec. Center where I play ball at."
"What's the place called?" asked Lien-Da.
"Green Hill Park."
End of Chapter 1
There it is. The very first chapter is in the books.
This plot has been in my head for quite awhile when I was doing Teammates Forever. If you haven't read it, go ahead and be my guest.
But as a writer myself, I want to know to you readers out there, "Should I continue this story?", leave a review or Private Message (PM) and tell me what you think.
If you answered in a positive way, then okay. But on that positive note, the next chapter of this story will be Jet, Wave, and Storm.
Let me know, a'ight.
Until then, see y'all later.