Page 18 of Beyond The Stars

“Locker room!” Coach Daniels blew his whistle, ending the two-hour long practice.

As practice came to an end, Qamar felt a sense of accomplishment wash over him. He knew that every drop of sweat and every ounce of effort brought him closer to his dreams. He only wished that his family let him do his own thing without having to be under their watchful eye while breaking a generational curse that no longer existed.

“Aye, your night must’ve been good?” Drake asked as they made their way back into the locker room. “Out there playing better than ever.”

“Nigga, watch out.” Qamar dodged the dap Drake tried to give him. “I’m always that nigga on that field. Fuck out of here.”

“But was your night good?”

Sneakily, Qamar smiled. “How old are you, twelve?”

“Shit, if it means being in your business then hell yea.” Drake jerked his head forward like duh.

Qamar didn’t feed into him, instead he went to remove his practice uniform so that he could hit the showers and make his way to class. He hated when they had practice on a day he had an early morning class.

With his eyes closed, Qamar laid across his couch with thoughts of Siasia. He wanted to call her to see how her day had been, see if she’d been thinking about him as much as he’d been thinking about her.

Jarring him from thoughts of Siasia, his phone vibrated against his chest. It was a facetime call from one of his favorite people in the world. “French,” he answered with a big smile in the phone.

“Baby boy, what you on?” French inquired. From his background, Qamar could tell he was in one of his many shops.

French had a hard childhood, like the rest of them but overcame it all and was now a proud owner of The Jig Auto Shop. The name was symbolic to him. Born in and raised in The Jig, in Sapphire City was worn like a badge of honor especially when you found a way out. Qamar was also from The Jig. It was where he met French. French was one of Lunar’s best friends along with Javen, who was now married to Lunar’s fraternal twin sister, Luna.

Lunar, French, and Javen taught Qamar so much at a young age and when Lunar was tragically killed, French and Javen continued to be in his life. He loved them both but had a special bond with French. French was his brother but also the only father figure he’d ever had. French was also in a relationship with Qamar’s other big sister, Solar.

“Shit, tired as hell. What you on?” Qamar covered his mouth as he yawned.

“Uncle Qamar,” French and Solar’s oldest daughter, Aku, popped into the screen. She was never too far from her daddy.

“Hey, pretty girl. What you doing at the shop?”

“I’m working, duh.”

French laughed. “Get your non-working ass back,” he teased his baby girl before showering her with kisses. It didn’t matter to him that Aku was now ten and he had two other kids, she would always be his baby. “You looking like you lost your best friend.”

“Man, watch out. I’m just chillin’. Had practice and class earlier now I’m just in the crib with my feet kicked up. Which shop you at?”

“I’m in Sapphire City. Where your BM?” French asked about Janay. “She bout ready to drop that baby, huh?”

“She went back to her mama’s house.”

“Why you ain’t there with her?” French’s face scrunched, showing his disappointment in his first son.

Running his hand down his face, Qamar sighed. “I got practice and class and shit. I can’t just leave for the next few weeks. She knew that when she decided to keep the baby.”

“You sound like a little fuckin’ boy. You knew what would happen when you ran up in her raw.”

“I keep telling y’all I used a rubber.” Qamar was getting frustrated. He knew he fucked up when he made Esmeray but after that, he fully understood the consequences of not protecting himself. Since then, he’d never hit a girl without protection and he damn sure didn’t run up in Janay without one until she was already pregnant.

French blew his breath in dread as if he didn’t like what he was about to say. “This me and you, baby boy. You know you can keep shit real with me always… do you think the baby yours?”

The rate of his heart picked up because the thought had been on his mind since she first told him she was carrying his second baby. Qamar liked Janay but he had never loved her. If he was being honest, his care for her grew when she told him she was pregnant. Over the last eight months, he’d learned to respect her and had some love for her.

“Nah, not really but is it weird that I still want to take care of the baby? Like, I feel she mine in my heart but my mind know it’s a strong possibility that she ain’t,” Qamar confessed while he stared at the ceiling.

French’s voice held a smile. “I raised you right, baby boy. You a real ass nigga, and I swear I’m so proud of you. I would say still get the test just so your mind never has to wonder and do with that information as you want. Janay better not be on no crazy baby mama shit with you ‘cause you too real of a nigga for that.”

“Man, she already be on my head about other girls like we in a relationship.”

---