This morning is different. There is silence in the house, just Eddy sitting at the kitchen table staring out of the window. When Dominicks father walked in the kitchen that's when the explosion happened.


What the hell am I supposed to do now!?
   Eddy what the fuck are you talking about, damn can't a nigga get breakfast in peace?
How long she staying here? I don't have time to chase her lil hot ass around the streets of Baltimore!
   Go head with that shit woman, she gonna be here, deal with it. I'm taking her up to the school today so that's that.

Dominick and Sam were upstairs preparing to go to school. Sam never acted like anything her stepmother said about her phased her. She had a hard exterior and she figured anything was better than living with six people in a New York brownstone while her real mother ran the streets. To Eddy Sam was a reminder of the trouble she had with her husband over the years. Sam was concieved during his marriage to Eddy and she felt like Sam was forced on her but at the time she wanted her marriage in tact for the sake of Dominick who was three years old at the time.

Sam, are you staying this time?
  Of course, I aint got nothin to go back to, so I'm here.

As they walked down the steps Eddy was standing at the end and greeted them with an illfated hug. Dominick and Sam left with their father to go to school.

Three buses to school in the morning, three buses home in the afternoon. It was all in preparation for Dominick's dreams to come true. Dominick attended Dunbar Highschool "Home of the Dunbar Poets". Most kids broke there necks to be a part of the elite highschool team and he worked hard with his fathers guidance to get there.


"I'm so tired, I'm ready to go home for the day."
   "Don't be no punk son! Get up off the bench and do what coach told you."
"DAD! I'm bout to die on them sprints!"
    "It's up to you, if you can't perform here you sure as hell can't be no professional, aint nobody gonna want no lazy ass player on there team."


Hey guys what's the problem? Coach said.
No problem, Dominick just having an outta body experience.

They all laughed and Dominick went back to the court with the rest of the team as his father watched from the bleachers. Whenever Dominick had an "outta body experience" his father was always there to reign him back in.

After practice they headed back home. When they got there they noticed that Sam was sitting on the front porch with all of her bags, Sam was Dominick's half sister. She lived with them on and off for years. Her mother lived in New York and never really wanted to be bothered with being a parent. Whenever Sam came town they knew something was wrong. This time her mother's boyfriend tried to rape her...

"Babygirl what's going on? How did you get down here?"
    "I caught the China Town bus. I can' t go back up there with momma. Her boyfriend aint shit! that nigga tried to fuck me and now she say I's trying to steal her man. "
"No worries you go on in the house Eddy should be home soon, we'll work it out. "

Eddy had a double standard when it came to Sam, she always wanted her to stay with them but she was jealous of the relationship between Sam and the men of the house.

Dreams to play in the NBA only came true for a few. Dominick was signed up for basketball camps and mentor programs since the age of 9. His father would often take him to Cloverleaf a court near Druid Hill Park in Baltimore to play with the older guys. He was so in to his game that he walked around with a basketball daring anybody to knock it out of his hands.

"Dad, when I go to the NBA I'm gonna buy you and mama a house!" he told his father as they walked to the corner store.

His dad was one of his biggest supporters. Even though his father wasn't the shining example set fourth by Bill Cosby he was a father, the kind of father that walked his son to school every morning and played one on one with him at the local recreation center. Growing up in a two parent household was not that common where Dominick was from but he was one of the lucky ones at least that is how it looked on the outside.