"hey-hey!"
Nothing works as well as a gun. The two guys on the other side, who were just cursing, suddenly became cowardly, raised their hands, spread their five fingers on Tony to indicate that they had no intention of attacking, and shouted: "Calm down, calm down!"
Only the troublemaker remained defiant, taking deep breaths and staring at Tony while frequently glancing at his gun.
"Come on if you dare, n*ger."
Tony craned his neck and bared his teeth at the other man, deliberately sticking out his large belly. The gun hung loosely on his waist, making it closer to the other man's hand.
Everyone playing ball on the court noticed something was wrong. The sound of dribbling stopped, and silence suddenly descended. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7—for those seven seconds, time seemed to freeze.
"Forget it, forget it."
The two who had just backed down realized the danger and hurriedly grabbed their companion's shoulders and pulled him back. "Let's go, let's go." He resisted for a while, but finally gave in and was dragged back half-heartedly.
"You sissy, get out of here! Don't let me see you here again!"
At that moment, Lowry popped out from behind Tony and said something, while also giving the guy a hard shove on the head.
The guy was so angry that the veins on his forehead were throbbing, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a wild beast ready to devour people alive at any moment. His companions had to drag him away from everyone's sight with great difficulty.
"Thankfully, nothing unexpected happened..."
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. That scene was so tense. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if that guy had actually dared to pull the gun out of Tony's waist. "America is so exciting," he thought to himself.
Tony casually tossed his shirt down to shield the gun, then shouted to the onlookers, "It's all right! OK?"
The sound of the ball bouncing rang out again, and Little Lowry smiled at AK and said, "Have you recovered your stamina? If you are, let's continue."
After receiving AK's affirmative reply, he shouted to the others, "The number of people remains the same?"
"Unchanged, Alex…" Tony gestured toAlex.
"Still playing? What if they send people back to retaliate?" Alex was shocked. Staying to play ball? How could they be so careless?!
"Shut your beak," Tony approached, gritting his teeth and muttering under his breath.
"Alright then." Alex had no choice but to walk to the top of the arc, get into position, and face off against Little Lowry again.
There were far fewer people playing on the court than before. Alex noticed a few people packing up to leave. "They must have sensed the danger, right?" He felt a bit paranoid. A few figures suddenly appearing around the corner of the court, or the faint sound of police sirens coming from the street in the distance, could make his heart tighten.
"Hmm? Something's not right..."
He suddenly realized that something was wrong with Lowry too; his breakthroughs were gone, his fancy moves were gone, and his dribbling was clumsy and awkward.
No, it's that everyone is acting strangely.
Although everyone pretended to be indifferent, they became quieter and their movements stiffened . Silencer,' who was least able to hide his emotions, couldn't help but peek outside the barbed wire fence.
After a moment's thought, Alex grinned. Although the Black guys' sense of "saving face" was different from that of the Indian , there was something quite endearing about it when you looked into it.
They managed to hold on for another forty or fifty minutes on the court when a rather old-fashioned electronic bell suddenly rang out from under the basketball hoop.
"Feel sorry."
AK walked over and found a pager in the pile of clothes. After reading the message, he shouted to Little Lori, "The boss seems to have something urgent!"
"Okay." Lowry tossed the ball to Alex and said to Tony, "Looks like this is the end for today. We'll continue next time."
"Okay." Tony hugged him and punched the other man's vest with his fist.
"You know how to find me; I'm available anytime."
"Yeah, thanks for today." Little Lori, Silencer', and Alex also gave each other a big hug.
"Your business is our business," Tony said.
Little Lowry solemnly pounded his chest.
Everyone went their separate ways.
Once the silencer' started the car, Tony also hid the pistol under the seat, and Alex finally felt relieved.
"What's wrong with you?! This has already happened, and you're still standing there watching the show!"
Tony turned around and scolded, "If something like this happens again, you have to rush up to us immediately and act in unison with us, understand? Otherwise, you'll be isolated in the future."
So what if they isolate me? Alex never intended to join their gang after he transmigrated. "Why?" he retorted. "Why use a gun for such a small thing? What's the point of taking such a big risk? Is it worth it?"
Neither Tony nor Silencer answered. After a long while, Silencer' finally uttered a long sentence, "No scholarship, no college."
"We don't hang out with gangs, we don't do drugs, we've focused on playing basketball for so many years, what for?" Tony said. "Isn't it all to get into college, get a scholarship, and leave this damn place! Do you think we want to be fighting with people on the street like we were just now?"
"And in the end? No college teams wanted us, not even community colleges."
"If we don't go to university, what can we do after graduation? Work the night shift at KFC? Or clean toilets in the shopping district?"
"No, this is our best chance, we must seize it!"
"When his album is officially released, he'll need a lot of helpers, and he'll take us with him. He promised." A hint of anticipation appeared in Tony's eyes. "I've known him since we were kids. Once he's successful, it's no problem for him to treat us to a life of luxury…"
Alex was a little confused. "After you've said so much, Little Lori has agreed to give you a specific position?"
"Why the hell did I have such a stupid younger brother?!"
Tony yelled, "Did you really get an A+? Lowry and I are buddies! We'll stick together through thick and thin, and share our money..."
"WTF! Are you stupid or am I stupid!?"
Alex was shocked. Why should others share money with you?
Well, it turned out that Alex really did make a foolish mistake. After Tony explained it to him, he finally understood.
It turns out that there is indeed such a 'tradition' in the Black community. Since entertainment and sports stars are the fastest way for Black people in poor neighborhoods to rise in social class, singers and athletes become rich overnight, and they have a responsibility to bring along their relatives and good brothers who have suffered together to achieve the same level of success. The so-called sharing of money is a bit of an exaggeration, but if Lowry really becomes an overnight sensation and is willing to bring Tony and Silencer' along, their lives will indeed undergo a qualitative change.
Of course, going there doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing. You might act as a bodyguard, help order takeout, play video games together, be a wingman, or even, like today, put on a show and keep things under control. Hmm? When you think about it, there's quite a lot to do.
"Let me sort this out, let me sort this out."
Alex's Indian way of thinking slowly began to adjust. "So, if Little Lowry becomes famous, the jobs he can offer you two are... as his sidekicks?"
"It's a brother, Buddy," Tony corrected.
"To put it nicely, they're brothers; to put it bluntly, aren't they just lackeys, henchmen, or hangers-on?" Alex muttered to himself. "Right."
He considered several other possibilities: "What if Lowry doesn't become famous? What if he thinks your act of showing loyalty today was too impulsive and is afraid to keep you around? He listens to the music boss, right? What if his boss doesn't agree to him keeping you around?"
"Well..."
Tony and Silencer' exchanged a glance. "If that's really the case..." Tony murmured, "then we only have one option left: join a gang." Their expressions darkened.
"So in the end, it's impossible to work, right?" Alex finally understood and thought to himself.