Alright chapter 2 is here! First off I want to thank DarkPhoniexSaga, DaveTheWordsmith, and MzMinni3 for the reviews. I'm glad you guys like the story so far, I'll try my best to keep the updates going.
Anyway, this chapter is gonna give a backstory to the stuff I introduced in chapter 1. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: The Boondocks belong to Aaron McGruder. Soooo yeah...
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Ch. 2: Makin' The Team
Huey and Jazmine, on their way to Jerome's party, quietly sat in the back of the 10:45 bus to Meadow Lark Lemon Park. Huey normally would take issue with sitting in the back of the bus (that's what he believed the white people wanted him to do), but people at the front of the bus recognized him from the game and pestered him with questions about his winning shot. Huey silenced his fans with an icy glare and decided to move to the back to avoid attention.
Huey really didn't want to take the bus, but Grandad's car Dorothy was padlocked in the garage to keep Riley from taking any more joyrides. But that didn't matter, the bus ride just gave Huey more time to focus on his objective.
Jazmine, meanwhile, was quietly studying the boy while twiddling her thumbs. She saw Huey had his eyes closed and arms crossed, like he always did when he was concentrating. But what was really odd about the revolutionary was that he was carrying a katana on his back.
"Huey?" Jazmine suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Yeah?" Huey answered without opening his eyes. Jazmine began to feel uncomfortable and grew silent again.
"Um, never mind." the mulatto said. She wanted to know why Huey had a martial arts weapon on him, but wasn't sure she wanted to know what he planned to do with it.
Hopefully he won't cut anybody, I don't want him to go to jail. Jazmine thought, remembering her father's lectures about jail and anal rape.
Another few minutes passed, and Jazmine was once again growing restless.
"I'm bored again Huey." she groaned.
"And?" Huey asked with one eye open.
"What do you mean and? This is boring, I thought this was gonna be fun."
Huey shrugged his shoulders, "I told you not to come."
This is when a young Mexican boy sitting nearby decided it was smart to but in to the conversation.
"Man forget this dude." the boy said smoothly as he combed his hair back. "You roll wit me girl, I'll make sure you neva bored."
"Aw, thanks. But I'm fine." Jazmine politely declined.
"Come on girl, you know you real cute..." the guy was persistent, which was starting to annoy a certain somebody.
"You do see that I have a sword right?" Huey interrupted icily.
The young man glared at Huey, who met his gaze with hard eyes. The boy then began to feel a bit nervous, and as the bus came to stop he got up and decided it may be best to not challenge the kid with a katana.
"T-this is my stop anyway." the boy shakily said, trying his best to hide his fear. After he exited the bus, Jazmine glanced outside the window and saw the boy running full speed down the street.
"Wow Huey, you really scared him." she noted.
"He shouldn't have been acting stupid." Huey responded simply.
Jazmine giggled, sometimes Huey's behavior really confused her, but it was entertaining nonetheless. That entertainment was short lived though, as the two teens once again sat in silenced. But before Jazmine became bored again, she suddenly renumbered something that had been bothering her for a while.
"Hey, I just realized something." Jazmine suddenly said.
"Good for you."
"You never told me anything about this basketball team you're on." the mulatto continued, ignoring the remark.
Huey glanced up and scratched his chin, "Huh, your right."
Jazmine looked at Huey expectantly, "Well?"
"Well what?" Huey asked, getting annoyed. "Jazmine I'm not a damn mind reader, you have to tell me what you want."
"Tell me the story."
The boy sighed, "Jazmine its really long, and I'm not in the mood."
"Huey Freeman, you can't expect people to get interested into what your doing right now without giving them a decent background story!" Jazmine said in a huff, her hands on her hips. Huey looked at her incredulously.
"So you want me to sit here and narrate the whole damn story of the Woodcrest Bucks? I'm Huey Freeman, not Morgan Freeman."
"Huey..." Jazmine begged, giving Huey her best puppy dog eyes. The boy shifted uncomfortably and tried to avoid her gaze, but it was useless.
"Fine..."
"Yay! Thanks Huey!" Jazmine celebrated as she jumped across the aisle to hug her friend. Huey strangely felt his face become hot.
Damn, why can't I say no to her? he thought, frustrated with himself. And why the hell do I feel so weird?
Huey just took a breath, pushed away his thoughts(and Jazmine, who was still hugging him), and began to explain the story.
"So, as you know Ed Wuncler is a huge gambling addict..."
"Yeah, I remember that time we when were ten and he bet all that money with the Chinese guy on that crazy kickball game." Jazmine said recalling the memory. "Daddy didn't walk right for weeks..."
Huey nodded, "Yeah well that guy came back, but this time he was hosting a basketball tournament."
"So, being the egotistical maniac he is, Wuncler constructed his own arena in Meadow Lark Lemon Park, using cheap foreign labor which he severely overworked and under pai..."
"Huey!" Jazmine yelled to get his attention. She wanted a story, not one of Huey Freeman's famous lectures on underprivileged workers. Huey seemed to get the message and continued.
"Anyway, Wuncler had a court built and bet all of the Woodcrest mortgages that his team, called the Bucks, would defeat the Chinese team. He hired Coach Simms, who agreed to coach if Wuncler donated money to his foundation to educate inner city kids."
"So that's why you were fine with joining!" Jazmine interrupted again, feeling proud she had already figured out why her friend was on the team. However, she realized she must be wrong because Huey looked more annoyed at her than impressed.
"Do not interrupt Jazmine, I'm getting to that part!" he snapped. Jazmine put her hands over mouth and nodded feebly. Huey took a breathe and went on...
"So Mr. Wuncler held an open tryout at his arena..."
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On the well lit court of the Meadow Lark Lemon Arena, Ed Wuncler and Coach Lionel Simms stood and watched as about twenty young men(almost all white) were doing layup drills and practicing jumpshots. All of them hoping to have a shot at playing for the Woodcrest Bucks.
"What do we have so far?" Wuncler asked his coach as they observed the players.
"Well I've got two players that are definitely cut out for the team." Coach Simms answered, first pointing to a 5'10 white guy with spiky black hair.
"Micheal Williams is the perfect point guard for the plays I want to run, and he also has the mentality of a great leader."
Wuncler nodded, his expression impassive. Simms than pointed to a skinny mixed kid with very short black hair, who was around 6'3 or 4. The boy was the only person of color at the the tryout, except for the very tall Indian kid he was giving advise to.
"Then we got Max Davis over there who did great in my defensive drills, and is very intelligent, the perfect guy for the small forward spot."
"Don't forget the ringer I brought you." Wuncler reminded the coach while jabbing a thumb at the 6'8 Indian boy with sleepy eyes and curly black hair Max was talking to. He had a sullen look on his face, but seemed like he was trying very hard to absorb what was being explained to him.
"Sabal Subedi's a little raw, but he has size and I can work with him." Simms acknowledged. "You never did say where you found him."
"Turns out his mother works in one of my...textile factories, hehe." Wuncler chuckled. "They're a poor family from Nepal and are having trouble paying their rent, so I promised to provide them with a free home in Woodcrest if Sabal plays for us. Of course that deal is revoked if we lose to the Chinese..."
"That boy's mother works her ass off in one of your sweatshops and you have the gall to reserve the right to revoke your promise of a house?" the coach exclaimed, glaring at Wuncler.
"Hey, she signed an air-tight contract." the billionaire shrugged. "Besides, if we lose I won't own any Woodcrest homes to give out."
Simms sighed and decided to change the subject, "Anyway, we got the foundation for a good team but its still missing something..."
"Of course its missing something, I can't believe you don't what it is." Wuncler snorted.
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"So what was it missing?" Jazmine asked, getting into the story.
"Black kids." Huey said simply.
"Black kids?"
"Wuncler, like a lot of white people, believes that you can't have a basketball team without black players." Huey explained as he rolled his eyes. "Ignorance triumphs once again."
"Oh." Jazmine said, not knowing how else to respond. "So where did he find them?"
"Coach Simms had heard rumors of a street ball legend named Ethan Jones, who played at a court downtown in one of the poorer neighborhoods."
"Oh, you mean that big guy on your team? He seems so scary when he plays, but Cindy told me she met him and he seemed really sweet..."
"Jazmine can I just tell the damn story?" Huey asked in a tired voice. Jazmine nodded and shut up.
"Anyway, that court also happened to be the place where Riley likes to play pick-up games..."
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Mr. Wuncler and Coach Simms stood and watched as their handpicked players did drills on the street court downtown. When the men arrived, Mr. Wuncler announced to everyone on the court that he was building a team, and the players he selected would get a chance to play in front of a crowd of thousands and achieve fame and glory.
This lead to several hours of rigorous five-on-five games, and the coach and Mr. Wuncler narrowing down the field until they had found the players they wanted. The selected players included the rumored "legend" Ethan Jones, a stocky black kid was was around 6'6 with a buzz cut, and he was living up to the rumors about him. Their was also Jerome Jackson, another black kid with a frohawk and big brown eyes, Carl McPhearson, (a pudgy white kid who was only picked because he was a cousin of female balla' Cindy) and young Riley Freeman. Huey, who had arrived with his brother, was sitting on the nearby bench and reading a book.
"See what did tell ya?" Wuncler scoffed. "These are the fine African specimens we needed."
"I don't agree with your logic, but these players are talented." Simms conceded, as he watched Ethan do a spin move and dunk the the ball with two hands. "Nice move Ethan."
Upon hearing his name Ethan jogged over to the two men, hoping to hear good news.
"Thanks, man." Ethan said, his voice anxious. "So did I make the team?"
Coach studied the boy and slowly nodded, "I think so, but first I'd like to know why you want to play for us."
"I just wanna make a name fo' myself on a bigger stage, maybe get a scholarship to go to a good college." Ethan explained, his eyes on the ground. "I'm sick of just bein' another nigga playing in the slums."
"That's what I like to hear." Simms responded with a smile. That's when Riley and Jerome came over, eager to prove they should be on the team as well.
"Ey! Coach nigga! What about us? You see me makin' jumpas. Young Reezy is a star in the makin'!" Riley bragged as he pounded his chest. "And you know J.J. ain't bad neither."
"Yeah, we a dynamic duo! You gotta let us on Coach!" J.J. added.
"Yes you both do posses certain...qualities I've been looking for." Wuncler said with a glint in his eye. "I say they're on, agreed?"
Coach Simms looked at the two boys, still uncomfortable with their lack of maturity and discipline, but it was undeniable they had talent and thats what he came here to find.
"Yes, though I better not here you call me Coach "nigga" again." said Simms as he shot a look at the youngest Freeman brother. Riley pumped his fist in the air.
"Yea! I got you nig-, I mean Coach."
Simms than sent the boys away to do more drills while he and Mr. Wuncler talk. Wuncler was practically salivating at the thought of his team beating the Chinese team.
"We've got it now," the older man said as he licked his chops. "Oh, I can almost taste all the money I'm going to win."
"No, we're not there yet. But we're very close." the coach said, hoping to curb Wuncler's enthusiasm. "I just need one more piece..."
That's when he noticed Huey sitting on the other side of the court reading. The revolutionary had caught his eye several times when he noticed how he was studying some of the five-on-five games during the few moments he wasn't occupied with his book. Their was something about the look Huey had is eye that intrigued Coach Simms. He needed to know more about him.
"Tell me, who's that over there?"
"Huh," Wuncler said as he snapped out of his day dream. "Ugh, him? That's Huey, Riley's older brother."
"Huey huh?" Simms mused. "What do you know about him?"
"Great kick ball player, nosy little fuck." he said flatly, remembering Huey's many attempts to expose his corrupt business dealings.
For some reason, the coach knew that this kid with the afro was the guy he was looking for. He just knew it.
That's when coach wordlessly made his way across the court to where the boy resided. When he got there, he stood there silently for a few seconds and tried to strike up a conversation.
"How you doing son?" Simms asked hoping to break the ice. Huey didn't look up, or even acknowledge Simms presence.
This is gonna be tough. Simms' thought. He's a pretty intense looking kid.
"I noticed you've been watching the guys play." Simms continued in a friendly tone. "Can I interest you in a game of three-on-three?"
"No thanks." the boy responded, still engaged in his novel.
"Come on, I really need your help." the coach pressed. "I want to see how your brother plays in a full game."
Huey put his book down and looked Coach Simms straight in the eye, trying to read him. The coach returned the gaze, hoping that looking Huey in the eye would allow them to establish some level of trust.
"Please." the coach pressed again. Huey suddenly placed his book down, stood up, and walked towards the court.
I got him! Simms thought excitedly. Now I just need to test him.
He then had an idea and called over one of the players from the arena tryout to come help him.
"Hey Sabal come over here!"
A few minutes later the Coach was standing in the middle of the court, and had assembled two teams of three to play each other in a halfcourt game. The first team included Riley, Ethan, and Jerome. While the second team had Huey, Sabal, and Carl McPhearson. The coach hoped that putting Huey with two more conservative players would allow him to see if the boy embodied that missing factor he needed to complete the team.
"Why Huey's nerd ass playin'?" Riley groaned. "He ain't no good."
"I needed a third player for this team, and I want to see how well you play guys play in a serious game." Simms answered, keeping everyone in the dark about his true plan.
The coach than moved to the top of the key with the basketball in his hands. He was preparing to begin a jumpball between Sabal and Ethan Jones.
"Game's to twenty-one. And I want to see a good, clean game."
Eveyone nodded and the coach tossed the ball in the air. Sabal was taller but clumsy and mistimed his jump, so Ethan won the jumpball and tipped it to Riley.
As Riley handled the ball he immediately called for his brother to guard him.
"C'mon Huey." he goaded, as dribbled between his legs in very loose manner. Huey wordlessly approached his brother and got into a defensive stance.
"I'm gonna cross yo bitch ass..."
As Riley began to make his move, Huey suddenly reached and swiped the ball out of his hands and dribbled to the top of the key. Riley stood in place for a few seconds, dumbfounded, but regained his senses and started complaining.
"Nigga that was a foul!"
Coach Simms shook his head and tried to hide a smile, "Clean pick, no complaining Riley!"
Perfect. he mentally noted Huey knows how to exploit other players when they get arrogant or careless.
Huey handled the ball, and saw that Riley was eager to redeem himself. As the younger Freeman charged at him Huey, knowing Riley plays poor defense, quickly broke to the right past him. Ethan tried to make up for Riley's mistake and went out to guard Huey himself. This left Sabal wide open, so Huey lobbed the ball to the big man who caught it, and dunked it in with two hands.
"Nice pass Huey!" Simms praised.
"Good move." Sabal quietly said as he walked away from the basket. Huey just nodded at his teammate and focused on the game.
As the game progressed, Huey continued his solid play. He held his brother scoreless, made several key shots, and continuously set up his teammates with open baskets. Eventually, Huey's team was victorious and he left everyone who had just watched him play totally speechless.
"Damn, Riley. Didn't you say yo bro was a book readin' nigga?" Jerome asked the wannabe gangsta after the game. But for the first time in a long while, Riley had nothing to say, he just looked away.
"Coach we gotta have this guy." Ethan urged Simms as he walked off the court.
Simms nodded and looked over at Mr. Wuncler. The billionaire gave him a slow nod, a smirk appearing on his face. Simms walked up to Huey, who was discreetly catching his breath, and made his request.
"How would you like to join the Woodcrest Bucks?"
"I have no interest in playing for a team run by Ed Wuncler." Huey responded, with no emotion in his voice.
"Hey I'm not crazy about you either kid." Wuncler growled. Coach Simms decided to take Huey aside and speak with him
"I'm not asking you to play for Wuncler, I'm asking you to play for me." he perusaded. "Look, I can see that your a very intelligent and complex young man. Your the kind of brotha who has the potential to change the world someday."
"But I can see you have a mind and passion for basketball. I want you to take that passion, and use it to help us win this tournament and save your neighborhood."
Huey looked the coach right in the eye, as he prepared to give the man his answer...
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"Well, what did you say!" Jazmine asked anxiously. She was on the edge of her seat.
Huey raised an eyebrow, "What kind of question is that? I said yes, damn Jazmine I thought that was obvious."
"Oh well yeah, but it just seems so unlike you." "You hate Mr. Wuncler, and you hate all that other stuff that comes with playing on a team."
"I know Jazmine..."
"I mean I've listened to you complain about the ridiculous food prices at the arena, how Mr. Wuncler cuts corners on employee health benefits for his workers there, how its stupid of him to bet all of our homes on a game, how much you hate the way Riley behaves on the court..."
"I know Jazmine!" Huey exclaimed, making Jazmine blink.
"Well, then why did you join?"
"I don't know."
Jazmine blinked again, "What?"
"I. Don't. Know." Huey repeated slowly.
Jazmine felt really confused. This wasn't the answer she expected from Huey. He always had a reason for his decisions. Huey Freeman was definitely not impulsive.
As she continued to ponder Huey's curious decision, Jazmine felt the bus slowly come to a stop again.
"We're here." Huey said quietly.
Jazmine decided the save her questions for later as she and Huey got off the bus. Once they were on the sidewalk, they immediately heard the sound of music being played nearby. Huey scanned the area saw the house where the music was coming from on the next block. There were several people standing in the front yard of the home.
"Well I guess that's the place right ther..." Huey began, but was cut off by Jazmine when she realized who one of the people standing outside was.
"Hey look its Cindy!" Jazmine exclaimed. "CINDY!"
Jazmine sped off towards her friend, Huey tried to stop her but it was too late.
"Jazmine hold on... Damnit."
Huey sighed and began to chase after Jazmine. It was time to crash the party.
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What did ya think? I think there was just a tiny bit too much focus on Ocs in this chapter. But hey, what can you do?
The next chapter's gonna be cool though. Cindy and Caesar are gonna be in it, Jazzy's gonna get into some trouble, and Huey's gonna leave a big impression at that party...
Next update should be within a few days, so look out for it!
Up next, Ch. 3: Party time!