After yesterday's practice, my body felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Fifteen catches and four touchdowns looked good on paper, but my ribs were sore from all the hits I'd taken in traffic. Nothing that wouldn't heal up, but definitely enough to make me want to chill for the evening.
I was lying on my bed scrolling through TikTok when Cameron knocked on my door.
"Yo, we're setting up 2K in Tyler's room. You coming?" he asked.
"Hell yeah, I'm coming," I said, sitting up. "Who's gonna be there?"
"Me, Tyler, Derek, Alex. Some of the freshmen too. Antonio's been talking mad shit about how he's the best 2K player on the team."
"That boy talks shit about everything," I laughed, getting up to grab some sweats. "Let me find out he can't back it up on the sticks."
I threw on some clothes and headed down the hall to Tyler's room. Dude had the biggest setup in the dorm - 65-inch TV, PS5, surround sound, the works. His parents had hooked him up when he first moved in.
When I walked in, the room was already packed. Tyler and Cameron were setting up controllers. Derek and Alex were arguing about which teams to use. And the freshmen were spread out on the floor and chairs, looking like they were trying to figure out the social dynamics.
Antonio was standing by the TV, of course checking himself out in the black screen reflection.
"Y'all about to witness greatness," he announced to the room. "I been playing 2K since I was five. My handles are clean in real life and on the sticks."
"We'll see about that, young bull," I said, grabbing a controller. "Talk is cheap."
Mason was sitting quietly in the corner, probably studying everyone like he was taking notes for later. Brady was next to him, looking like he was analyzing the room the same way he analyzed receivers. Joey was bouncing around, talking to anyone who would listen.
"Yo, do y'all play Call of Duty too?" Joey asked. "I got like a 2.5 K/D ratio. I'm nasty with the sniper."
"We play everything," Derek said. "But 2K brings out the real competitors."
Owen was, unsurprisingly, eating. Dude had a family-size bag of chips and was working through it like it was his job.
"Can we order pizza?" Owen asked between crunches. "All this competition's making me hungry."
"Bro, you literally just ate dinner," I said, laughing. "How you already hungry again?"
"Fast metabolism," Owen shrugged.
Latrell was sitting politely on the edge of the bed, looking like he didn't want to take up too much space.
"Um, excuse me," he said quietly to Tyler. "Are you sure it's okay that we're all in your room? I don't want to be a bother."
"You good, man," I said before Tyler could answer. "We do this shit all the time. Relax."
Tyler started setting up the tournament bracket on his phone. "Alright, we got twelve people, so we're doing a bracket. Winner gets to pick where we eat tomorrow after practice."
"I already know where we eating," Antonio said, flexing while he talked. "Y'all about to buy me dinner at that expensive ass steakhouse downtown."
"You gotta win first," Cameron said. "And I been playing 2K longer than you been alive, young bull."
"That's cap," Antonio shot back. "I was born to dominate everything I touch. 2K, football, looking good - it's all natural talent."
"Damn, you really said looking good is a talent," I said, shaking my head. "That's wild."
Derek pulled out his phone to record. "Y'all, this about to be content. Antonio talking all this shit, somebody bout to humble his ass."
The first matchup was Cameron versus Mason. Cameron was talking trash the whole time, but Mason was completely focused, not saying a word.
"You know what you doing with that controller, young bull?" Cameron asked.
Mason nodded quietly. "I've played before."
"That don't sound too confident," I said from the couch. "Mason, you sure you ready for this?"
The game started, and within two minutes, Mason was cooking. His dribble moves were clean, and he was hitting shots that had Cameron scrambling.
"GREEN BITCH!" Mason yelled after hitting a three-pointer, completely out of character.
"YOOOOO!" I jumped up from the couch. "Mason different! Who he feeling like I never seen him like this?"
"HEYYYYYYY!" everyone yelled as Mason threw down a poster dunk.
"Step up, pussy!" Mason said after another three. "You can't guard me!"
"He talking crazy," I said, dying laughing. "Kid's a whole different person with a controller."
Cameron ended up losing by 20, and he was tight.
"That was practice!" Cameron said. "Run it back!"
"Nah, take that L," I said, still laughing. "Young bull just cooked your ass on live TV."
Next up was Antonio versus Joey. This was the matchup everyone wanted to see.
"Joey, you seem like good people," Antonio said, still flexing. "So I'm gonna go easy on you for the first few minutes."
"Bet," Joey said, bouncing in his chair. "I'm about to show you what Florida speed looks like on these sticks."
"This should be good," I said, moving closer to watch. "Money mouth versus speedy."
The game started, and it was immediately chaos. Joey was playing like he was actually on the court - all speed, no strategy. Antonio was trying to play locked in, but he kept getting distracted by his own reflection.
"Hold up," Antonio said, pausing the game after five minutes. "My hair looks perfect right now. Somebody take a picture."
"BRO!" Joey yelled. "We in the middle of a fucking game!"
"Yo, this dude really just paused to look at himself," I said, recording with my phone. "That's content right there."
When they finally got back to playing, Joey had figured out Antonio's strategy. Every time Antonio got distracted, Joey would drive to the basket.
"BOOM!" Joey screamed after a dunk.
"ON HIS HEAD!" everyone yelled as Joey's player threw down a poster.
"Florida boy got some handle," I said, impressed. "That was clean."
By the end, Joey had won by 12.
"FLORIDA SPEED!" Joey yelled, doing some kind of victory dance. "Can't stop what you can't catch, bitch!"
Antonio was heated. "That wasn't fair. The lighting in here was making me look too good. It was distracting."
"This dude really blamed his looks for losing at 2K," I said, shaking my head. "That's a first."
The tournament continued. Brady demolished Tyler, playing with the same intensity he brought to football. Derek beat Alex in a close one. Owen somehow won while eating the entire time. And I got past Latrell, who turned out to be surprisingly good.
"Damn, Latrell," I said after he hit a tough shot. "You got game too. Where all this talent come from?"
"Sorry for that poster," Latrell said after dunking on my player. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"Bro, you don't apologize for posterizing somebody," I laughed. "That's the whole point."
The semifinals were me versus Mason, and Brady versus Joey. Mason was still playing calm and smart, but I'd figured out his patterns.
"You can't guard me, young bull," I said after hitting a step-back three.
"Green bitch!" Mason responded, immediately hitting one back.
"Okay, okay," I said, nodding. "I see you learning the trash talk."
I ended up winning in a close game. Mason took the loss respectfully but he was clearly heated.
"Good game, Jakari," Mason said. "You got me with those step-backs."
"You almost had me though," I said. "Your defense was solid."
Brady versus Joey was the opposite - all intensity versus all energy.
"The only person who can beat me is me," Brady said before the game started.
"Bro, quit saying that ,you say that shit too many times," Joey laughed.
"Let em vibe," I said, laughing. "Brady been watching too much anime."
Brady won easily, completely shutting down Joey's speed game.
So the finals were me versus Brady. The whole room gathered around to watch.
"This is about to be good as fuck," Tyler said, getting his phone ready to record.
"Y'all place your bets," I said, stretching my fingers. "I'm about to show this freshman what Chicago hoops looks like."
The game was intense from the start. Brady was playing perfect defense, and I was trying to find openings wherever I could.
"KOBE!" I yelled after hitting a contested three.
"Irish Spring Green Green!" Brady responded, immediately scoring on the other end.
"Im surprised I got comp can't lie," I said during a timeout. "I respect it."
By halftime, it was tied. The trash talk was getting heated.
"Y'all going at it for real," Owen said between handfuls of chips.
"This is just warm-up," I said, cracking my knuckles. "Second half is when I turn up."
The second half was back and forth. Every time one of us scored, the other would answer. With two minutes left, Brady was up by 3.
Then I started cooking. Hit three straight threes while Brady couldn't buy a bucket.
"GET THE FUCK OFF MY COURT!" I screamed after the game winner.
"HEYYYYYYY!" everyone yelled as my celebration played.
"That's how you close out games," I said, standing up. "Never folded a day of my life."
Brady took the loss exactly how you'd expect - just quiet.
"Good game," he said. "You still a bitch though run it back."
"You almost had me," I said, dapping him up. "And we can run it back anytime lil dude."
Derek switched to Madden for a few games. The trash talk changed immediately.
"That's a fucking dot!" Cameron yelled after throwing a perfect pass.
"SCRAMBLE YOU SLOW PIECE OF SHIT!" Tyler screamed when his quarterback was about to get sacked.
"You're a scrub, bro," Antonio said after intercepting a pass. "Straight garbage."
"Y'all really different on Madden," I said, watching the chaos. "This some toxic gaming right here."
As we were cleaning up, Tyler's phone buzzed with a text.
"Yo, check this out," he said. "Sarah Martinez is having a party tomorrow night. Says the whole schools invited."
"Sarah from chemistry?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's her," Tyler confirmed.
"Where at?" Derek asked.
"Her parents' house in Manhattan Beach. They're out of town for the weekend."
"That sounds like trouble," I said, grinning. "I'm definitely going."
Antonio immediately perked up. "A party? With girls? Y'all know I gotta be there. These California girls need to see what real excellence looks like."
Derek pulled up something on his phone. "Yo, speaking of California, check out these power rankings for the upcoming season."
California High School Football Power Rankings - 2021 Season:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) - Defending state champions, loaded with D1 talent
St. John Bosco (Bellflower) - Always in the mix, elite program
Serra (Gardena) - Our scrimmage opponents, consistently strong
De La Salle (Concord) - NorCal powerhouse, "The Streak" legacy
Folsom (Folsom) - Explosive offense, state contenders
Centennial (Corona) - SoCal power, college pipeline
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) - Consistent contender
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) - Strong coaching, disciplined
Liberty (Bakersfield) - Dark horse candidate
San Clemente (San Clemente) - Solid program, good coaching
Poly (Long Beach) - Traditional power, rebuilding**
Malibu Prep - Rising program, new talent
"Damn, we at twelve," I said, looking at the rankings. "That's kinda disrespectful."
"We should be way higher," Cameron said. "Wait till they see what we do this season."
"Facts," I agreed. "They sleeping on us heavy. We got more talent than half these teams."
"Serra's at three though," Tyler pointed out. "That scrimmage is gonna be real."
"Good," I said. "I want all the smoke. Time to show people we belong in the top five."
"Y'all freshmen coming to the party?" Tyler asked.
Mason nodded quietly. Brady shrugged like he didn't care either way. Joey was already hyped.
"Man, I been waiting for a party!" Joey said. "Time to show these California girls some Florida charm!"
"Joey and Antonio about to be a problem at this party," I said, laughing. "Y'all gonna compete for attention."
Owen looked up from his chips. "Will there be food?"
"Probably," Tyler said.
"Then I'm in."
"Owen really only cares about the snacks," I said. "Like cmon bro."
Latrell looked nervous. "Um, is it okay if I don't drink? I don't want to be rude, but—"
"Bro, you don't have to drink shit," I said. "Just come hang out and have fun. Nobody's gonna pressure you."
"Oh, okay. Thank you for being understanding."
"You good, man," I said. "We look out for each other on this team."
As everyone started heading back to their rooms, I was thinking about tomorrow night. Back in Chicago, parties were different - more dangerous, more unpredictable. Out here, it seemed more like just having fun.
"Aye, freshmen," I called out as they were leaving. "Tomorrow night, just be yourselves. Don't try to be somebody you're not. These California kids are cool, but y'all already cool too."
"Thanks, Jakari," Mason said quietly.
"We got you," Brady added.
"This gonna be fun as hell," Joey said, still bouncing.
Should be interesting seeing how the freshmen handle their first high school party. Especially this group.
Tomorrow was going to be fun