A Sunny Day in Southern California
As I tie up my custom black and gold cleats with headphones on coach is goes over the game plan for the big game. Zoned out in my own world with my music playing but I snap back when coach snatches my headphones off my head. Looks up into his dark brown eyes of death as he yells “You’ll get your precious headphones after I’m done!! Understood?!” I try not to let myself get triggered from him in my face with my anger problem then answers, “Yes sir”. I watch him walk away back to the drawing board gripping onto my headphones as I sit back listening up for the new plays for the game.  I then get up to get my headphones. Once he hands them back I go to put them on, but he stops me before I can, saying “You’re lucky this is the big game and I can’t sit you out”.  I nod and put them on heading out the locker room. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before walking towards the tunnel to head out to the field to warm up while I have the chance. Fist bumping the security guard on the way out the back. At the same moment I start to hear a law mower but when I looks on the field nobody is out there except the other players. Take off my headphones and is hear it as it gets louder I look up in the sky, at the beautiful sky.  As soon as I look at the sun everything gets bright, so I close my eyes. When I open my eyes and look around I realize it was all a dream. Sit up rubbing my eyes as look around the room realizing I’m in sunny West Long Beach, CA where everyone looks out for each other, stores are right down the street, and it’s very peaceful. I get up and look in the mirror on the old dresser next to the small tv my great grandma used to watch when she was alive. Glance at the picture taped to it of me and her when I first came out to California at three years old.  A little a little smile comes across my face as I am wishing she was still here with me.  My grandma knocks on the door and says, “French toast is waiting on the table and don’t take long unless you want to be sharing with an army of ants”.  She surely wasn’t lying about an army of ants.  In California they not only come in groups but they’re fast to invade food.  They love open drinks especially glasses of water for some reason. Jump into some basketball shorts and a white tee along with my slippers hoping I get to my food before the ants do. Open my bedroom door to find my grandma’s mean looking gray tabby cat at the end of the hallway stopping me in my tracks like a red light or stop light. I get to the kitchen and find the plate in the counter with ants trying to climb on the table, so I quickly grab my food. Open the fridge grabbing a bottle of apple juice after putting syrup on the French toast, then I grab a fork with a knife. Heading out back to the back porch looking out on to the backyard garden with a rose bush, orange tree, grapefruit tree, lemons, green and yellow peppers, along with plenty more foods it looks like a fresh market or farm. I sit down at the table across from my grandma as she sips on the coffee reading the newspaper. Seeing the gardening crew cleaning up about to leave, I forgot that it was that time of the week.  They come weekly to do the things my grandma can’t do which explains the lawnmower sound from my dream. Before I even take a bite, she says “There goes my handsome grandson. I’m guessing you heard me about the French toast and got to them first. So, what does my little daredevil have up his sleeve for today?” I take a bite then responds, “Maybe I’ll go bike through highway traffic or skateboard on some private property.” It was just a joke, but she put the newspaper with a serious look. After finishing my breakfast, I get a shower before getting dressed in a custom Los Angeles black and white baseball jersey with matching shoes and shorts then grab my skateboard from the closet along with my house keys off the dresser. Right as I go to head out the front door past the kitchen at the same time as my grandma walking in the back door, so I stop when she says “T”.  That was is the same thing my great grandma called me so it’s the one name I can’t ignore when I hear it. She walks up making sure I have my phone and keys before handing me $20 saying “For food or whatever you decide to get out but make sure to leave room for dinner. I want you to be back before it gets too dark. Understood?”  I put the money away in my pocket then polite answer her “Yes ma’am” with a little smile. I hug her because I learned from my great grandma death embrace those you love every chance you get before it’s too late.  I shed a tear thinking about everything from the loses and my few wins in this lifetime. I quickly go out the door trying to stay tough and not let her see me cry because if she does then she might cry too. I hit the street skateboarding as there are no cars coming until I get up behind the plaza strip where its more open space with rare anything flying down it like back home.  I try to do a kick flip but fail almost landing on my butt but I catch myself. Right as I get back on my skateboard an all black Toyota truck with tinted windows goes by before I decide to just walk the rest out in the public instead of down alleys.  I stop at a lemonade stand being ran by two beautiful light skin little girls. I walk up to the lemonade stand “Hi I’ll take two cups cuties”.  I smile as they pour cups and take my money doing their math with the $20 bill.  I patiently wait for the change as they hand me the drinks politely saying “Thank you sir” making me smile leaving them a $5 tip. I finish them before throwing the plastic cups in their trash cans waving good bye, I continue down the street to the park. I reach the park after another block as it’s my favorite park since it has it everything I like including frisbee golf, a pool, a full basketball court, skate park, tennis court, football field, playground, baseball field, and even more things not to mention there’s even a library on the property. I plop on the closest bench was my calves are burning as it feels like it was farther than a few blocks, more like a 5k walk.  I take a breather mumbling to myself “I need to get back into shape again.”  I slowly get up before heading for the skate park where everyone hangs out even those that don’t do BMX or skateboard. I run into Dre from the alley.  He’s one of my first friends out here in California, as I used to spend hours playing basketball with him whenever I heard him on his basketball court.  It was set up hanging over his garage. We smile and do our old handshake before he asks “I thought that was you that I passed behind the plaza stores.  Haha! Please tell me you’ve finally moved out here for good homie.”  I laugh, then answer “Nope I’m here for the summer again.  Haha! Sorry, man”. I hang out with him having fun with him and his boys losing track of the time of day. Before I knew it, the sun was going down and he offered me a ride home since he didn’t want to leave me there alone.   I think about it for a second then shrugs saying “Might as well.  Haha!” with a smile like a little kid.  I follows them to the truck trying to get in the back of the truck as there’s more of us then there are seats in the truck but before I can get in Dre looks at me weird saying something along the lines of “Why are you getting in the back? Go get up front. They’ll get in the back.”  I quickly I get up front riding along as we dropped them all off before pulling up to the out back of my grandma’s house in the alley. We do our handshake before I get out with my skateboard reaching over the back gate to unlock it, so I could get in. I get in right as he pulls off to his house. I smile seeing my grandma in the kitchen window washing lettuce. I walk inside the house, I hug her again as she tells me to go wash my hands for dinner.  Smiling I wash my hand I’m feeling like today was a good day, just like Ice Cube would say.  I come back in to find a beautiful meal of cheeseburgers and fries all homemade. Grandma sets the dinner table for her and I before we sit down together having a family dinner feeling like great grandma was there with us. I do the dishes for her after dinner before joining her in the living room to watch baseball game. I’m slowly drifting off more and more as the innings go by.