ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐲𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞

🏀

Hampton University
Sun. Dec. 14th, 8:00am
"And That Was It"

"And his coach is telling me that recently he's been real negative. He's been arguing with his teammates. He even got into a fight with one of the players and told the entire team that he's above all of them. That doesn't sound like nothing." Susan spoke while she tied her hair back.

She leaned closer to the mirror and checked her pores. She needed to find a new facial cleanings to clear this up ASAP. She shook her head then turned the water on, ran her hands under it, and splashed her face. She did that two more times before turning the water off and cleaning her face clean.

"Oh!" She exclaimed once she thought of something else. "And his coach had the nerve to tell me that there's a possibility that Shai won't be playing for a few more games. Isn't that ridiculous? I mean I can understand not playing the first game but more? That's absurd."

"His coach is honestly an asshole for that. I know what Shai did was unacceptable, and I'll talk to him about that. I know Shai has all these riches and can flash money whenever he can, but you don't tell people without that type of luxury that you're above them. I did not raise him that way." She continued going on her rant.

"We didn't raise him like that." She added, looking for a response. When she didn't receive one, she sick her teeth and turned to face the shower.

William turned the water off then slide the door open. As he stepped out, he noticed the annoyed look Susan was giving him.

"What?" He questioned in a somewhat annoyed tone. He was not expecting his morning to start with Susan ranting and he damn sure was not trying to hear it any more. He rather talk about how hot the water was in this nice hotel.

"What's with the attitude?" Susan questioned, placing her hand on her hip.

William shrugged his shoulders, grabbing his towel and covering himself. "I don't have an attitude." He told her despite the tone of his voice still expressing annoyance.

"I can hear the attitude in your voice, William. I'm trying to talk about something serious and it doesn't seem like you're listening."

William sigh, "Well, it is early in the morning for the ranting. Secondly, the conversation you're trying to have is one I'm not quite interested in love." He kept it real with her.

"It's a conversation that needs to be held though and you know it."

William shrugged his shoulders then walked out the bathroom. He entered the room, the cold air hitting his body instantly. He took his towel from around his body and dried himself off completely. Susan exit the bathroom with the conversation still on her mind. She refused to just let it go without speaking about it.

"But, you can't lie, William." Susan continued while William get dressed. "Shai has been acting very different lately and I don't like it. He's acting like a new person and it's not a good thing at all."

"What do you expect? He's acting his age. You can't blame him for that." William kept it simple since he wasn't trying to have this conversation anymore. It was the same thing over and over again. It got him wondering when will they ever end it completely.

"Acting his age?" Susan shook her head. "Not at all. I've never acted that way when I was eighteen. I was nowhere near arrogant or telling people that I'm better than them. Not even Allison expressed that and she's the famous one." she told him.

William shrugged his shoulders, slipping his pants on. "You and everyone else at that matter need to understand that Shai is not a typical Carter."

He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed his phone, checking it. As usual, he had messages from his work group-chat. It seem like his boss and co-workers always fell apart when he wasn't there. He'd appreciate if he got paid more. A conversation he had yet to bring up to his boss. It was going to happen soon. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something hit the back of his head. Michael turned around to face Susan, a confused and annoyed look on his face.

"I was speaking to you and you were ignoring me." Susan explained her reason for throwing the pillow. "Listen."

William rolled his eyes, tossing his phone and standing to his feet. "What were you saying?" He asked in a annoyed tone.

"Thank you. Anyway, I asked what did you mean by that statement? Shai isn't a typical Carter?" Susan asked her question again.

William shrugged, picking up his shirt and fixing it. "Simple. He's not your typical Carter. When I look at Shai, I don't see a condescending rich boy who believe money grows on trees and can be thrown around like leaves. I also don't see a kid that takes advantage of his resources or brags about his upbringing either. Shai is not like the rest of his family." He answered in a straightforward tone. Whether it offended Susan or not, it was the truth.

Susan squinted her eyes at him then spoke, "So, you think the rest of his family are condescending pricks? Including me?" she pointed to herself.

"I didn't put a name on it-"

"But, you said the rest of his family and that includes me!" She cut him off, raising her voice. "I'm not a bitch, William. Are you forgetting that my sister is the one that have all the luxuries? She's the one that my parents paid more attention to, so how exactly am I apart of that bunch?"

"You do know you don't have to live a certain lifestyle in order to be an ass right? You're steady trying to be something you are not, Susan, and that's can be an issue." William remarked. He gave Susan a look in hopes that she understood. Though going in that direction was foul, it needed to be said in his opinion.

Once Susan got the hint, she scoffed and threw her arms up. William hummed knowing that she understood and continued getting himself together. It was the longest he ever spent getting dressed to go somewhere. But, that happens whenever Susan began her Shai rants. He wondered at times when will it ever end and when it does what will take over it spot?

"You know..." Susan paused, taking a deep breath. "I try my hardest, William, to be the best wife that I can be. I work, I clean, I cook, I cater, and so much more. So, for you to mention our issue is downright disrespectful. I treat Shai as my own because he doesn't have a mother. Allison doesn't do anything for him, so I took it upon myself to be a mother figure to him. You cannot judge me for that. I won't let you."

"Fine," was all William responded with. He figured if he end the conversation there and let Susan win that she'll leave it alone.

William walked back to the bathroom while Susan watched him. She tucked in her lips while debating if she should continue going. Once William shut the bathroom door, she knew that it was over with. One would say that she won the argument but it didn't feel like it to her. Surely, it would be brought back up sooner or later. Today, she was going to let it fly.

Susan shrugged, "I'm doing what's right."

🏀

William shut the passenger door once Susan was out. They had finally arrived at their destination, Elegance, a fancy like restaurant with delicious breakfast. And food in general. Susan wasted no time walking to the restaurant while William linger behind. They were already running late, so she didn't want to waste any more time. Once at the entrance, she saw Shai sitting on the brick wall and a huge smile grew on her face.

"My baby!" She exclaimed, making Shai look up. A small smile formed on his face as she approached him. He didn't make any movement until he saw his uncle walking up. Just the person he wanted and needed to see.

Shai stood up and instantly Susan threw her arms around him. Shai awkwardly hugged her back then let go quickly, turning to his uncle. The person he really wanted to see. He put his arms out, Michael looking him up and down since he knew what Shai was doing. Since this was his first time meeting the parents, Shai decided to dress up. And by dress up, he meant wearing a buttoned up white shirt, jeans, and a tie. Yes, a tie. He figured he'll go down the formal casual road. The only person he knew that could give him the best advice on his attire was Michael.

"You put your tie on wrong." William mentioned, stepping to him. Shai to look down at himself while his uncle undid the tie.

"You know since you're only meeting her dad, a tie isn't always necessary." William whispered to him, so Susan couldn't hear. She still didn't know the real reason why they were getting breakfast. Shai was waiting to say something since he knew how overly dramatic his aunt could get.

"I wanted to look nice and also presentable." Shai replied, William nodded his head.

"A clip-on is always better. No one will ever know the difference." He told him, patting Shai chest once he was finished. Shai smiled, nodding his head. A guaranteed purchase he indeed was going to make.

Clasping her hands together, Susan brought the attention on her. "Well then, we should head inside. I'm starving." She said, smiling at her two boys.

William tucked in his lips and stepped to the side, so Shai had the floor. He was not getting involved, he told himself that. He was expecting a peaceful breakfast but mixing that with an unexpected meet-up can and will cause problems. Especially, with Susan. Problems, that once again, he was not inserting himself into.

Shai scratched the back of his head, "Uhh, actually, we have to wait just for a minute or two." He told her. He glanced back at Michael who gave him a look to leave him out of it for the moment. Shai understood and turned back to aunt.

"Waiting for what?" Susan questioned, looking at Shai with a confused look on her face.

Shai sigh then spoke, "Someone that you will be meeting." he kept it at that, looking away from his aunt to avoid the fiery eyes that were staring at him.

Luckily enough from a distance, he was able to see Dess and her father walking next to her. The bright yellow dress she was wearing helped him out. A huge smile showed on his face as they began to approached. Still standing in the back, Michael watched as the two adults walked over to them. His attention shifted to Susan whose face expressed confusion and annoyance. She wanted so badly to ask why Shai was grinning so hard at the young lady in the bright yellow dress. Her questions had to wait though.

Dess stood in front of smiling Shai and smiled back. "Hello," Shai muttered while awkwardly waving at her.

"Hello." Dess responded with a giggle. She could read Shai well and knew he was nervous at the moment. If only she could assure him that they were alright and that he didn't have to worry about anything.

The two of them stared at each other with googly eyes. Both of their thoughts being the same. They wanted to greet one another with a passionate kiss. Hands touching and feeling on places. But, since they were around family, none of that could happen at the moment.

Stepping forward, William cleared his throat and whispered to Shai, "Greet her father."

"Oh! Right!" Shai exclaimed, coming out of his daze. He placed his attention on Dess father who stood beside her. The older dark skin man looked him up and down. Shai swallowed the huge lump in his throat, a sense of fear rising inside of him.

"Uhh...ehhh...hello, Mr. Young. It's nice to meet you." Shai said, putting his hand out for Dess father to shake.

Stephen hummed to himself, taking Shai's hand and shaking it. He had to remind himself of the conversation Dess had with him just before they arrived. She informed him to take it easy on Shai and refrain from being his usual self. Whatever that meant.

"I guess I can say it's nice to see you too." Stephen replied, Shai nodding his head. He didn't even bother to catch the disrespect since he didn't care that much.

Letting go of his hand, Shai nervously chuckled then placed his hands in his pockets. They all stood there awkwardly for a moment before Shai realized he had to introduce his aunt and uncle.

"Right. Anyway, Dess and Mr. Young, this is Susan and William Bell. My aunt and uncle." Shai introduced, pointing at William and Susan.

"Auntie, uncle...this is...Dess..." Shai paused, wondering if he should mention who she really was. He figured he'll wait until they were sitting down. "And her father Mr. Young." He continued introducing everyone to each other.

"You can just call me Stephen." Stephen told all of them.

"Nice to meet you both." William responded, placing his hand out and Stephen shaking it. Their hand shake was that of real men since their grips were both tight. They nodded their heads, getting everything they needed about one another in just a handshake. How simple men were needed to be studied.

Dess stepped in with the biggest smile, "Its nice to meet the two of you." She spoke to William first then turned to Susan. Dess caught the glare Susan was sending her way which made her look away. She already had a feeling that Shai's aunt was not a fan of her.

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same. Now, I believe I came for breakfast, so let's go and have that. Please." Susan remarked, side-eyeing both Shai and William. She sized Dess up and down before walking away and heading inside the restaurant. Shai tucked in his lips, not knowing what to say. It was already starting sadly.

"Well, the woman does have a point. Come on." Stephen mentioned, placing his hand on Dess arm and pushing her in front of him. If he was going inside then she was going with him too. Dess made sure to glance back at Shai before her and her dad headed to the place. Things didn't seem to be going the way she had imagined it to go so far.

Once alone, Shai nervously chuckled then shook his head. "Haha, I can't do this." He said in between his chuckles.

He turned to face his uncle then spoke again, "This is not going to go well. He does not like me-"

"You don't know that." William cut him off, holding his hand up to stop Shai and his nonsense.

"But-"

"You don't know that. This is nowhere near difficult son, so relax. Take a breather and calm yourself down before we go inside. I'll be by your side the entire time...trust me." William assured him, placing his hand on Shai's shoulder.

Shai took a deep breath. Taking his uncle advice and trying to calm himself down. As he continued taking small breaths, Shai followed behind his uncle to the front door. They entered the restaurant, seeing all the chandeliers and how crowded it was. William glanced back at Shai as they were guided by the hostess to their table. Everyone was already seated at the round table, looking at the menu. William took his seat that was beside Susan leaving Shai having to sit beside Stephen.

Unfortunately.

"Hello, I'm Xena. I'll be your waitress for today. Can I start you all with something to drink?" The young white woman asked the table, taking out her pad and pencil.

Everyone took a moment to order their drinks one by one. Once Xena left, an awkward silence surrounded the table. Everyone was waiting for someone to speak first. At least, start up a conversation or an interrogation of the two teens who set this entire meet up. Shai had thoughts of saying something but couldn't possibly conjure up the words. Dess was waiting for Shai to speak. Stephen was ready to start his interrogation of Shai already. Susan was trying to keep her anger in tact. She felt betrayed and disappointed that Shai lied to her. And as for William, well...

"This is awkward," William broke the silence. He let out a small sigh then placed his attention on Dess

"Hi," he greeted her again.

Dess smiled and replied, "Hi."

"I must admit...I was a little scared about this entire thing." William truthfully said. When he saw Dess face dropped, he knew he had to clear things up.

"No, no, no. It's nothing bad. I find you very beautiful." He complimented. "I was worried about that kid over there." He continued, pointing at Shai.

"He's..." William paused, tilting his head side to side as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. "...let's just say, Shai is unique in his own way. I would've never expected him to come out of his shell and actually talk to people. But, I am proud of him." He continued, sending a smile Shai way.

Shai smiled back then turned to face Dess. He was going to say something to her but caught the look Stephen was sending him. Slightly imitated by the dark skin man with hair long like a goddess that resembled his girlfriend all too well, Shai quickly turned his attention elsewhere to save any type of panic attack erupting.

"Yeah, well, Dess is a friendly individual. I tell her all the time that that's going to be the death of her some day. I don't know how I feel with the boyfriend status though. That may need to be changed." Stephen brought up, making Dess and Shai tuck in their lips. They were waiting to say it for themselves but now it was out.

"Boyfriend?" Susan finally said something, giving Shai a weird look.

If no one noticed already, Susan mood had shifted once Dess and Stephen walked up to them. Seeing the huge smile that showed on Shai face once that girl came was not a sight to see. She so badly wanted to smack that smile off his face. And no she wasn't jealous but had assured, several time at that, that Shai was supposed to come to school for two things. Basketball and education. Nothing more and nothing less. She would've been alright with this entire thing is Shai had mentioned it to her before, but this surprised and unwanted interaction was not the way to go.

Shai sigh, fixing his tie since it felt like it was tightening around his neck. He cleared his throat then placed his attention on his aunt. "Ehhh, so...Dess and I are dating. Each other. And umm..." Shai stammered over his words while scratching the back of his neck.

Dess could see how nervous he was getting and felt bad. This wasn't going so well. "And I was the one who suggested for all of us to meet." She jumped in the conversation. All heads turned to her. Her eyes landed on Shai which were thanking her. If he had the attention on him any longer, he was going to have an attack.

"My dad was staying out here until tomorrow and Shai mention that y'all were leaving that day too. So, I figured it'll be nice to meet-"

"I don't think that's something you have control over though." Susan interrupted Dess with an attitude. "Unfortunately, this wasn't in our plan when coming down to visit." she continued.

"Susan..." William called her name in a warning tone. He gave her a look that expressed for her to stop before even getting started. He refused for her jealousy to ruin breakfast. "There's no need for any of that."

Susan scoffed, "Oh please, Will. By the way you're handling this, I'm going to assume that you knew all along. Once again, I'm being left out of something concerning my nephew. Emphasis on my!" She raised her voice a little. A few heads seated at nearby tables turned their way with nasty looks on their faces. Shai swallowed the lump on his throat while slowly slouching in his chair. His tie becoming tighter.

"Those drinks sure are taking forever." William changed the subject, ignoring Susan comment. He could feel how uncomfortable the atmosphere was getting and refused to make it worse. He also wasn't going down that road with Susan either at the moment.

"I agree." Shai muttered, messing with his tie once again. It was either he take it off or struggle with breathing. He was slowly about to take the