his surroundings. He realized they had been standing there for a long time and he wanted to see if anyone was being nosy. As his eyes screened the top of the lot, he saw four nurses coming out of the old market. One of them caught his attention.
He speed walked across Paca Street dodging traffic. Cho didn’t usually chase after women, but this girl really had his eye. She was tall and dark-skinned with chinky eyes, and had the perfect shape. She reminded him of Keisha off of Belly. He had to get her. The band of women noticed him coming towards them but they kept on walking. He crossed their path right in front of Lexaco.
“How are you ladies doing?” They all looked at him, but only one of them spoke. It’s always the ugly one, he thought.
“Damn! I was just saying hi.”
“Hi,” they said in unison.
“What’s your name?” he asked the one he had his eyes on. “Can you slow down for a minute?” She turned and smiled. “My name is Cho.” He extended his hand. She shook it.
Her friends stopped as well but continued to have their own conversation, not paying Cho and their co-worker any attention. The unattractive one felt some type of way that Cho didn’t want to talk to her. She sucked her teeth and spoke loudly for her friend to hurry.
“My name is Dale,” she replied. She looked to the left with a slight giggle. She knew what her co-worker was doing. That bitch always hatin’. Then she looked back at Cho quickly, observing him from head to toe. He is a handsome dude, she thought to herself.
Cho smiled. “Dale…” Damn, I never met a Dale before. I definitely won’t forget that. “I don’t want to hold you and your friends. I just wanted to know your name. Hopefully I’ll see you again.” He grinned some more.
“OK,” she replied. She knew he wanted her phone number, so she was surprised when he didn’t ask for it.
“You ladies have a nice day.” He turned and walked back towards his car.
She paused to watch him cross the street.
“Girl, come on! What you still standing there for? Damn!” The ugly one said.
Dale walked towards her co-workers, her head fucked up that he just walked away. Cho knew that this particular pick-up always worked. He didn’t want to seem too pressed, so he would just introduce himself, get the girl’s name and let her go about her business. Nine times out of 10, she would see him again and remember who he was. Then he would get her. He figured she worked in University Hospital or one of the nursing homes in the area, and came to the market to eat or for parking. He did the same thing, so he knew he would cross her path again. He got in his car and pulled off.
Cho decided to go and check on Randy, so he headed east. During the drive, he thought about what Pimp said. It was about time he bought something nice for himself. He would still drive the Accord every day, but he wanted something that he could stunt out with on occasions.
He liked the Range Rover, but he also liked the big body Benz. It was just a thought. It seemed like he had been stacking forever. He hadn’t spent a large sum of money since he had left that bitch. Damn, he thought. He didn’t want to think about her and fuck his day up.
He called Randy to let him know he was on his way. Before he could hang up, one of his other phones began to ring. He kept three phones, a two way and a beeper. One phone he had for Ol’ Head and Radi — no one else called on that line. He had a phone for his family, and the other phone was for everyone else.
All of his phone numbers would change at the drop of a dime. He couldn’t mix his business communication with pleasure, so he put them each on their own line. As he hung up with Randy, he answered the other phone. It was Ol’ Head.
“What’s up, shorty?”
“Ain’t shit. Wassup wit chu?” Cho replied.
“Chillin’. Where you at?”
“Just came from eatin’. How ‘bout you?”
“I’m floatin’ right now. Meet me down Mo’s later on.”
“Like what time?”
“Man, I don’t know. Just go down there later.”
“Cool.” They hung up, and Cho continued his drive in silence. He started thinking about Swervo. He wondered if he had actually enjoyed his life. Damn! Why did God take him so soon? Everything was going fine. What the fuck was them niggas’ problem? Swervo was my brother! I’ma kill them niggas!
“All them niggas gonna die,” he growled out loud. “I put that on everything I love!”
He grabbed the steering wheel tighter. Why did that shit go down like that? All that kept flashing in his head was the sight of a bright spark piercing Swervo’s temple and his brains coming out of the other side while the shooter looked on — smiling. Whenever Cho was alone, the event replayed in his mind. The shit still didn’t seem real. He thought back to that dreadful day in June.
• • // • •
It was a nice summer evening. The sun had finally set and a soft, mellow breeze accompanied the rising moon. The scene was live. Cars were bumper-to-bumper with their systems boomin’. There were no parking spaces for blocks, so the streets were jammed packed with people.
The Midnight Madness Basketball Tournament always attracted a crowd. It was played at the Dome, an enclosed basketball court located in the heart of East Baltimore. NBA players like Sam Cassell, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Francis and Juan Dixon played alongside college ballers, and so did other hoop stars from the surrounding areas.
It was championship time, so the who’s who in the city was in attendance. Women were dressed like they were going to the club. It didn’t seem much like people were coming to actually watch a basketball game. It was more like a block party.
Pimp’s team had made the championship. They were playing against Steve Francis’ team from DC. The Baltimore/DC rivalry was intense. Even though Baltimore and DC were just 45 minutes apart, there wasn’t much love between the two cities. Each had to prove its dominance over its counterpart in every way imaginable, and today’s stage was the basketball court.
The game had begun and it was a battle early on. Steve Francis seemed to dominate. Pimp had a few flashy dunks but by halftime, DC was up by 8 points.
DJ Nelly Nell rocked the crowd during halftime. Cho and Swervo went out to mingle and meet some new faces. As they walked through the crowd speaking to familiar people and shaking hands, they came across Leroy, a short, slick-talking dude from Monument Street with a mouth full of gold teeth and a lisp that made him spit when he talked.
“A yo, what sup wit’ chall nigguz?” he asked, giving them both a pound.
“Ain’t nuttin, just checkin out the whores,” Swervo replied.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of bitches out tonight. You should see these two I just got. I’ma have me a long night, you hear me!” Leroy said, grinning ear to ear. “But I’m about to hit this dice game so I’ma get up wit’chall later.”
“Dice game… where?” Swervo loved to shoot dice. He felt like it was his calling. He swore that his stroke was
