Chapter Three

MayMay hated the heat, but living in the outskirts of Chicago waves of heat randomly rolled through. Now, standing outside in the heat of Chicago as she watched her friends toss the ball, she began to hate it more. The unruly sun beat down on her back as she stood on the driveway, wishing she could be in the air conditioning while she listened to the loud voices that arose in the road.

"Pass the ball to dwatt!" Max yelled as he charged at the tall black boy. Max gripped onto Anthony's arm like a koala as he pulled with the little mass he had.

"Get off of me, would ya?" The dark skinned boy snapped back at the smaller Mexican. "Why do you always got to have the ball, huh?" Anthony pushed Max forcefully as anger browed between them.

"Guys!" Brandon yelled, catching the two boys' attention. "Stop acting like babies and start acting like a team." Brandon brushed his sweaty hand through his glistening black hair as he sighed in defeat, playing with Max and Anthony for two years and listening to their bickering took a large toll after a while.

"Relax, Brandon," Max stepped away from Anthony, gleaming up into his almost pure black eyes. "He couldn't even bicker right if he tried." Max snickered out. An inhuman sound came from Anthony as he dropped the basketball and lunged at the boy who was a couple inches smaller than him.

"Your dead, white boy." Snapped Anthony.

"Actually," Max bolted. "I'm Mexican!"

Everyone knew they had no real beef, but since the first time they met, hate brewed from their relationship. Even as the best two working together, with Max's speed and Anthony's ability to jump like no human before, no one really knew how such a great team could hate one another.

MayMay just sighed, pressing her fingers to her temple as a small headache formed. "Maybe if you both did couples therapy we could get something done." MayMay softly said. Brandon laughed at his sister's comment as Max and Anthony separated faster than divorce parents.

"This is supposed to be fun," White said next to MayMay as he sat on the pavement, wiping his glasses with his shirt. "I have done more sitting than my depressed mom." He sighed, no hint of a joke anywhere near.

"She's still sad, dawg?" Anthony asked as he came closer to white. "Ain't she got happy pills our somethin'?"

"They're called Prozac, and they aren't working." White stood as he placed his glasses back on his eyes before pushing his curly red hair away from his forehead. "Now can we play or should I just walk home?" White questioned without remorse. Him being taller then Max but smaller then Anthony made him the perfect wall to stop them from fist fights. But logically, he was the worst peace maker, rather he was a young sociopath in their midst.

"Don't get to ansty, White." Max said as he grabbed the ball from the ground, dribbling it to the side. "We all have problems, but me and Anthony aren't one of them."

Moments like these conflicted MayMay of Max and Anthony relationship, whether it was actually built on hate or just the sort of hate of brotherhood. Suddenly, a black Van turned the corner and started to head their way, MayMay was tossed the ball as everyone cleared the road for the van. The van slowly drove the group as a very young lady smiled and raised her and in thanks before driving away. MayMay stared closer, two figures in the back. The closest one had his head pressed to the window as he stared down MayMay as the car moved.

"Well that was weird, ay?" Max said from right next to MayMay as she watched the car pull into a driveway further down the road. "I didn't know kids lived there." Max brushed his blonde hair up before tying it into a small bun, revealing the nicely clean cut on the underside.

"Kids don't live there," MayMay murmured. "But I think that's about to change." MayMay let the ball drop as she watched the van door open, revealing a teen boy with a backpack. He seemed to have been talking to someone in the car, maybe the other boy that had been staring at MayMay while driving by. The boy slightly turned around, glancing towards MayMay's way as the boy's around her were consumed by the game once more. "How peculiar." MayMay tilted her head as she raised her hand and waved slightly. The boy seemed frozen, almost shocked. He raised his hand and gave a short wave back before quickly turning away.

"Making friends already?" Brendon asked as he stepped from behind her.

"Not currently," MayMay sighed. "I believe I have made an interesting impact though." MayMay turned to face her brother once more, realizing he too stared at the new neighbor.

"Looks like trouble to me," Brendon sniped.

"You look like trouble," MayMay replied back as she stepped past him. "But mom still kept you after all this time."

"Your humor is still ever glowing." Laughed Brendon as he turned away from his younger sister. "I hope one day they realize that I am their secret favorite child."

"Keep dreaming, isn't it lovely." MayMay replied as she sat down at the bottom of the car to hide away from the evening bugs.

"Now who's bickering, ay?" Max threw the ball at Brendon who then jumped up and threw it into the hoop. His feet landed with a thud before he stood up straight. "Nice shot, Mate!" Max exclaimed, almost shocked that he made it from this angle.

"Kid's!" A thick voice rang from the door. "It's time to start heading out." A large man appeared from the side of the park SUV in the driveway. A police officer uniform catching MayMay's eyes as the 6'2 man placed his hands above his waist as he stared at the boys.

"But Coach," Anthony wined. "It's only been a few hours." Anthony tossed the ball into the makeshift hoop that was at the end of the driveway, facing the road for games.

"It's dinner time, if you want to text your parents so you can stay, you better hurry." Coach barked as he side hugged MayMay, planting a kiss on her forehead. "How is it going, dear?" He murmured quietly. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," MayMay grumbled as she leaned on him. "I think neighbors got accepted to foster and got their first kid." MayMay rested her head on her father's chest as she clung to him like a weight on paper. She had been clingy since birth but oddly enough more to her father then mother. After the divorce they were given the option of which parent, both picking the father. Ever since then, Physical touch was her way to show her emotions rather than expressing normally.

"That's great!" Laughed Couch as he rubbed his daughter back, lightly. Pushing away her long braided black hair as he rubbed in circles, giving his daughter comfort. "Bet I will be getting a call about that from Charlie's soon." A smile crossed his face, happy that the brother got what they wanted to do since they too were in foster care.

"Mom doesn't care if I stay." White said as he walked closer towards the couch. "What's for dinner?"

"I have to go," Sighed Max, grabbing his bike from the lawn before lifting it. "I forgot to do the dishes, probably gonna get yelled at for it." Max laughed as he stepped onto his bike pedal and began to ride. "See y'all tomorrow!" He shouted before he was swallowed into the darkness.

"Are we gonna ignore how Max is treated by his dad?" Anthony said as he watched his enemy ride away into the night.

"Well," White stepped next to Anthony. "He does show all the signs of a neglected kid. I would know after all, I am one." White placed his hands into his pockets as Anthony glanced at his ghostly friend.

"One day, you finna get shot for the crap that comes out of your mouth." Anthony stepped away from white as he slowly started to walk towards the house.

"One day, you'll see the truth, and regret not seeing it sooner." MayMay heard their conversation as White soon followed behind Anthony like they never had that conversation.

"I wonder why this town produces such messed up homes." Coach squeezed MayMay closer to him. "Now I realize it's just the parents."

"It's okay, the world has people like you and Charlie." MayMay smiled as she stepped into with her father, making their way to the house.

"And soon they will have you, and no one will stop you." Coach smiled back at his daughter. "Besides, the whole basketball team has grown since they met each other. All thanks to you."

"Yeah, they pretty messed up without basketball."

"The world is messed up, it's our job to fix it."

"One meal at a time?"

"One meal at a time."

MayMay stepped inside the house to already see White and Anthony munching on Pizza at the table. "You guys are getting too comfortable in my house." Brendon sighed as he too sat down with a plate of pizza.

"You mean our house." White sipped on his water as he picked a chill fight. "Your dad loves us so much, sometimes he thinks of replacing you with one of us." The room roared with laughter as Coach smiled widely.

"White, he doesn't need to know that!" Coach joked.

"Dad!" Exclaimed Brendon.

The room once again filled with laughter and smiles, a bunch of messed up kids eating messed up pizza with a police officer. Life couldn't get better for MayMay, not yet at least.