Free First Round Lottery Pick by Franklin White Page B

will work out for the better. You have to believe that, son. Dig in and do what we’ve seen you do in the state championships and on tape in your all-star summer league games. I want you to have a good workout, so I can go back and tell my people that you’ll be worth all the money you’ll be paid.”
    I stood there looking at Coach and the scout, along with the side exit to the streets, with the ball up under my arm. I had major thoughts running through my head. Should I tell this baldheaded Dick Vitale look-alike to kiss the bottom of my shoes and come back another day, or should I stay on the court like a piece of meat and let him evaluate my skills like he came to do in the first place? I don’t know why, but I didn’t like the way Coach and the scout were looking at me while I stood there. It made me feel like a slave on the block getting ready to get sold or something. I took a deep breath and gutted it out though. I just let their looks and stares motivate me and gave them what they wanted to see.
    Afterward, the scout was all smiles. He shook my hand like a groupie then told me he would be in touch later that night.
    Jalen walked in about five minutes later. “How’d it go?” he asked, his voice echoing throughout the gym.
    â€œA’ight. Said he was gonna call me tonight.”
    Jalen put three or four balls back on the rack, grabbed my towel then threw it to me.
    I knew right away something wasn’t right with him. It was written all over his face. “What? What’s wrong? They find Tori?”
    He dropped his head and took a deep breath.
    â€œWhat is it, Jalen? What’s wrong?” I walked over to him. “Talk, J .”
    â€œToy just stopped me in The Vil.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œHe say he can get Tori back.”
    â€œWhat you mean, get her back?”
    â€œThat’s what he sayin’.”
    â€œThat means she ain’t dead, right?”
    â€œHe just say he can get her back. Didn’t say if she was dead or not.”
    My mind just wanted to explode. “C’mon, Jalen, tell me what you’re talking about!”
    â€œToy made it clear he didn’t have anything to do with her getting snatched up, but he can get her back to us, if you sign with him.”
    â€œSign?”
    Jalen nodded.
    â€œHe said that? Oh, hell no. That scandalous bastard.” With the quickness, I started to think about a way to hurt Toy and get Tori back.
    â€œC’mon, L , don’t even think about it. Toy said he knew you, L . Said you go to the police talking smack, and he’ll deny saying a word. Then he say, if you get a gang of peeps to come after him, he’s not going to say a word, and we may never see her again.”
    â€œSo what he want then?”
    â€œYou to sign. Make him your agent for three years and he has full control of your career.”
    â€œHe said that?”
    â€œEvery word.”
    What could I do? If Toy knew where Tori was, I wanted to know too. It didn’t matter to me if we found her dead or alive. Of course, I wanted little mama alive because that was my baby, but if we found her dead, at least we knew. It was a terrible-ass way to think, but I wanted to know. I needed to know.
    â€œSo when he wanna do this?”
    â€œYou’re going to do it?”
    â€œWhat else can I do? Man, forget Toy! I’ll sign with him and get Tori back then fire him.”
    â€œSaid he wants to meet tonight, eleven thirty on the court in The Vil.”
    Eleven thirty couldn’t come fast enough for me. I wanted Tori back, and I didn’t tell a soul what I was up to because those were Toy’s instructions that came out of Jalen’s mouth. All I wanted to do was get Tori back to her mother and take good care of her.
    Jalen came by to pick me up. He was focused. We both were. We went out to The Vil about an hour before things were going to go down to talk about what we were going to do once we