First Round Lottery Pick by Franklin White Page A

rest of y’all punks wait until I get back.”
    I could hear Jalen and them calling her my pimp and laughing. I’m not going to lie. Right at the moment, I felt like she was. Leo not only took me downstairs in the red lights where everybody was partying, she got me on the dance floor and was humping me like a dog for three straight songs. Then she whispered to me that she wasn’t wearing panties.
    I finally talked her into letting my boys in, but she made me promise to slow-dance with her as soon as the DJ slowed it down.
    I went to let my boys in the party then told them to stand around me. “Look, y’all keep Leo the hell away from me the rest of the night.”
    â€œMan, if I see her, I’m goin’ to bust her in the mouth for making me stand outside so long,” Granger said. We knew he was joking. At least, we hoped he was.
    I finally had a chance to kick back and see who was in the party. I noticed mostly a bunch of ol’ heads up in there, but it was cool, because the get-together had a mixture of ages, and enough food, drink, and smoke for whoever wanted to get down. Jalen made sure I stayed away from the weed and drink but made sure I went to work on the food, while Granger and Maddox did their thing.
    I felt a hand tug at the back pocket of my Sean John jeans.
    â€œWhat’s up, big baller? Why didn’t you tell me you was coming out this way?” Katrina was wearing black shorts that showed off all her curves.
    I let her know that we were just bouncing around, and the party was where we ended up.
    Katrina was high and wasn’t even trying to hide it. She went and got me a beer, and after Jalen took it from me while I sat on a stool, she backed up against me like some kind of experienced stripper in the club.
    After a while I couldn’t take anymore and decided I wanted to break her off for the very last time, because of Tori. I grabbed her by the hand, and we were moving out toward Jalen’s car, where we had done some things before.
    But the music stopped, and I heard someone calling me out.
    â€œI hear the number one high school basketball player and future pro ballplayer is up in here! I said, I heard the number one player in the nation is here!”
    Katrina stopped and looked up at me as I looked back and saw Toy standing in the middle of the party holding a drink.
    â€œI want y’all to know something, and it’s good that Langston is up in here, so he can’t say I’m going behind his back talking trash about him. I want y’all to know, so you can make sure this bit of news travels as quick as the news, that the young’un is going to play ball overseas then on to the NBA.”
    The lights in the basement had been turned on, and it became extra quiet. Jalen moved away from the girl he had his arm around and in no time was standing next to me, just in case something was about to jump off.
    Toy was buzzing off something, but nobody in the party cared because most of them were high too.
    â€œNow ask him if I’m lying. I offered my services to the young buck, to be his agent and help him take on all this celebrity he’s about to endure, but the truth of the matter is, L don’t want nobody from the hood making deals for him and getting him as much money as he could possibly get.”
    It felt like more eyes were on me than at the state championship when I hit the winning basket at the buzzer.
    â€œSo when you out and about and his name come up like I know it will, ’cause we ain’t had a player so good around since I came out of school, just run and tell that for me. Run and tell.”
    There was no way I was going to let Toy loud-talk me. That was something I didn’t let happen anywhere.
    â€œLook, man, if this how you get down, Toy, I’m cool with it. It still don’t change things. I ain’t messing with you, man, a’ight.”
    Then Jalen stepped in. “’Cause, you foul