Throwing triple digits on the radar gun was nothing for one of my cousin’s best friends. A three sports star in high school and a model student, Ryan didn’t have to fight for anything at school. Beloved by teachers and fellow students alike, Ryan was the big man on campus. Being the guy that helped lead Wake Forest High back to another state championship in baseball, Ryan could do almost no wrong. The only thing he did remotely wrong were to pick his two best friends at an early age.
JB became Ryan’s friend when the two were in the sixth grade. JB was close to being the model citizen as Ryan, but he seemed to get in his own way. He was too smart for his own good. Often, he got into trouble because he was led astray by their other best friend that the two met the next year when his family moved to town. That other guy was my cousin, Dontrelle. Compared to Ryan, Dontrelle was the complete opposite. While Ryan didn’t make trouble, Dontrelle made trouble. Ryan was the student teachers wanted to see whereas Dontrelle remained the type of kid getting kicked out of class. Ryan was fire. Dontrelle was ice. JB happened to fall somewhere in between.
The three made my high school alma mater’s baseball team great again three years after I graduated. As juniors, the three proved to everyone how good of baseball players they were by carrying the team on their backs. Ryan, however, did most of the heavy lifting. As a pitcher throwing 100 miles per hour on the radar gun, Ryan had what it took to make it pro right out of high school. Where Dontrelle and JB were good division one prospects in baseball, Ryan had it all.
The three often hung out at my mother’s house with my brother Travis and a couple other kids from the neighborhood. Things got a little different around her house once I could give her some financial support following the success of my company. It led to Travis being the cool guy in the neighborhood. It was a far cry from when I lived in the same house with basically the same friends. While Travis may have been one of the youngest, Dontrelle always stirred up trouble amongst this group. Ryan often labeled Dontrelle as the shit starter.
During the trio’s entire senior year, Ryan readied himself to become a pro baseball player. Playing defensive back in football helped keep his speed up during the fall, while playing small forward in basketball kept him nimble with lightning fast reflexes in the winter. Ryan only wanted to make both his deceased father and his mentor, Billy Yoast, proud. Billy was a good friend of mine who played with me on all three state championship teams while we were in high school together. Ryan and Billy met before I moved to town in the late 1990s, and Billy quickly became his big brother as Ryan was leading a life of no good.
Reformed and trying to do the right things in life, Ryan had one goal: throw a pitch in the major leagues. JB and Dontrelle wanted to do similar things, but JB was completely focused on girls while Dontrelle enjoyed girls, weed, and fighting. Introduced to the wacky-tobacky by our cousin, Germaine, Dontrelle enjoyed indulging in the “fictional” gateway drug, marijuana. Sometimes I came around and I could smell both Dontrelle and Germaine before I saw them. Although I was never interested in the drug, I noticed vast differences in my cousins once they began their regiment of weed consumption. Dontrelle said that it helped him focus and sleep better than anything else.
The trio got into their latest mess two days after capturing their second straight baseball championship in high school athletics. With finals remaining in their high school curriculum, JB knew he needed to study to ensure that he maintained his 3.0 GPA. Dontrelle didn’t care too much to finish with a high GPA. His only concern was getting by with little effort. In fact, Dontrelle’s below 2.0 GPA stood good enough for him to graduate.
While at Warren’s arcade, the trio sat with Travis and his friend Greg at the snack bar. The group had just finished playing laser tag against another group before deciding to rest up for another round. “Guys, drinks on me,” Travis said while the crew sat together. “I’ll be back.”
“They’d better be on you, freshman,” JB said.
“JB, does Travis need to remind you he ran your monkey ass over in football practice? You’d better leave him alone,” Dontrelle said. “I ain’t messing with him.”
“Man, I wish I were there. Greg, tell your brother they gotta make a phone with a video camera on it,” Ryan said. “There got to be a way we can capture life without having a camera in your pocket.”
“Travis hit him with the Madden hit stick. It was amazing!” Dontrelle said.
“Shut yo’ ass up, Donnie,” JB said as Travis returned with cups so the teens could get their own drinks.
“Your brother must have given you some money,” Greg said. “Treating everyone to these drinks is awesome, Travis.”
“You know my brother. If you don’t work for him, you ain’t getting paid,” Travis said before passing out the cups to the crew.
“When’s the last time you hung out with your cousin, Dontrelle?” Ryan asked.
“I have no idea. He’s a busy dude,” Dontrelle said. “Hell, he doesn’t hang out with his little brother that often.”
“We need to pay him a visit,” JB said. “The last time I saw him, he promised me a free game. I want my game.”
“Listen, you need to worry about school this fall,” Ryan said.
“Not everybody can go to school off a scholarship like you, Ryan,” Dontrelle said.
“He’s mostly right,” Greg said. “JB, if you had focused more on baseball than hoes, you’d have gotten that scholarship.”
“Speaking of hoes, how’s your mom, Greg?” JB joked with Greg before he nudged him while he was trying to stand up from his seat.
“Hey, don’t mess with Greg or Travis. These guys are the future for our high school,” Ryan said.
“They’ve got a lot to live up to,” Dontrelle said. “I mean, just look at what I did. I led the school to another baseball state championship.”
“Negro, please! That was all Ryan Steele. You can’t throw a hundred miles an hour, Donnie,” JB said.
He was right. Ryan was a throwback to the mid to late 1990s when Wake Forest High ran off a string of seven consecutive baseball state championships. The others played on the team with Ryan, but it was obvious who the star of the team was for the school. As the crew of teens continued to hangout with each other, Ryan figured that it might be the last time that he’d hang with his best friends. He was a week from getting drafted by a baseball team.
Ryan was following in the footsteps of Jason Lee. I played with Jason in high school, and he was an amazing athlete. The fastest, strongest, and smartest guy on the field, Jason’s skill led him to getting drafted by the Cardinals. Less than a year in the minors, Jason became an Allstar centerfielder. Touted as a pitcher, Ryan recognized his overall skill set may have him be an outfielder like my friend. While the group played together, Ryan received the most attention by scouts. He knew his time was coming.
Shortly after clowning around in the snack bar, the group decided to play another round of laser tag versus another group of teens before Dontrelle lived up to his mantra, the shit starter. During the laser tag session, one of his opponents accidentally tripped him. Before the guy could apologize to him, Dontrelle pounced on him flailing his fist as quickly as he could. Travis, being bigger and stronger than Dontrelle, quickly defused the situation by grabbing Dontrelle and pulling him away from the guy he had jumped on.
Even though Travis pulled Dontrelle away, the fight wasn’t over. While the actual laser tag was still on, Travis pulling our cousin away from a fight was more crucial. With all the yelling and cursing coming from Dontrelle, the others realized they had to stop the game and get Dontrelle out of the room. Once Travis, and later JB, got Dontrelle out of the laser tag room, the guy that Dontrelle wailed on broke through the door and headed straight for him. Nineteen-years old and fully grown into his maximum height, Dontrelle only stood five-eight and weighed 150 pounds. He was not known as a strong guy. However, his adversary was much larger.
In Dontrelle’s eyes, he saw the Hulk coming at him and Travis. He was only a few inches taller than Dontrelle, but he outweighed my cousin by over fifty pounds. In actuality, the guy was the same size as Travis. As the guy marched toward the two, Greg and JB intervened, but to no avail. He shoved the two out of his way to continue way towards Dontrelle. Travis went from holding Dontrelle back to being the wall between the two. As the starting tight end on the varsity, my brother was a thrill to see on the football team.
I had only heard stories of Travis’ fights of the past, but this one wasn’t his fight. Before he could throw a punch, Ryan entered the scene and gave the guy a throat chop before shoving him into the wall. After the guy bounced off the wall, Ryan gave him a forearm shiver to the head and judo threw him to the ground. Before anyone could close in on the guy, Ryan immediately told the other four to get in JB’s car. The five guys scattered while discarding laser tag gear throughout the arcade.
A 1999 minivan, JB rode around in style. It was typically used as his makeout mobile. On this night, it was the getaway vehicle. With JB driving and Greg riding shotgun, the two panicked more than the other three. Dontrelle was still hyped up after his portion of the brawl whereas Ryan was disgusted. Ryan had been through all of Dontrelle’s fights in a matter of seconds, and he realized that Dontrelle did not care about the people around him. The group exited the arcade’s parking lot and drove down the road.
While driving away from the scene, Greg asked, “JB, do you think we will get in trouble for what happened?”
“In trouble? You’re lucky we don’t go to jail,” Ryan said. “Donnie, what the hell was that?”
“He tripped me!” Dontrelle replied. “I ain’t gonna let that slide, shorty. That fool’s got me messed up.”
“Did he trip you on purpose?” JB asked.
“What the hell! It doesn’t matter if he tripped him on purpose or not,” Ryan said. Ryan was sitting in the middle seat of the van. Travis and Dontrelle was sitting in the back of the van. “Please don’t tell me you shoved that guy because he tripped you.”
“No exactly,” Travis muttered before seeing several police cars zoomed past them on the road headed towards the arcade. “We need to lie low. JB, go to my brother’s house. I’ll text him to let us in the gate.”
“Roger that,” JB said.
“Donnie, what the hell happened in there?” Ryan asked.
“I did nothing you wouldn’t do,” Dontrelle said. Dontrelle was lying. He knew that Ryan would never attack anyone that was unprovoked.
“Dude, I’m serious. If I found out you started another fight and I had to come to your rescue again, I’m kicking your ass!” Ryan said.
“You ain’t gonna do shit!” Dontrelle yelled. Ryan turned to his friend and quickly punched him in the face. Again, Travis had to do his best to breakup the fight. However, this time it was much tougher as the van was a much too compact space for the fight to continue. Travis tussled Dontrelle and Ryan in the back of the van until JB park the vehicle in a parking lot at a gas station so he and Greg could help Travis separate the two.
The exchange between the two only lasted a few moments. The two were separated where Ryan was seated in the front and Dontrelle sat in the rear. Travis and Greg sat in the middle seat to serve as a barrier. The group of teenagers drove over to my house where I sat home with my three children. Because it was after nine that evening, the twins were in bed while Shawn was still wide awake and in my grasp.
When I answered the doorbell, my brother stood in front of his crew. He led them into the house while I held my nine-month-old son. “We need a place to lie low for a while,” Travis said after I examined him and his friends.
“Come on in. Y’all just can’t stand in the doorway like some lost puppies,” I said inviting the teens into my home. Both Ryan and Dontrelle looked as if they had been in a fight where Travis looked slightly disheveled as normal.
“Thanks for letting us stop by,” Ryan said as the crew piled into my foyer. “Can I borrow an ice pack?”
“Trav, get Ryan what he needs,” I said. “The rest of y’all can follow me.” I lead the boys through my home and into a den I used with the children. I had to apologize to the teens for the mess as my twins’ toys were all over the room.
“Walton, thanks for letting us stop by for a while,” Ryan said as I sat Shawn in his playpen. “I know it’s not cool to stop by so late.”
“Ryan, chill. This is the legendary Killa B. He knows how things get from time to time,” Dontrelle announced.
“My first question before Travis gets back in here, who’s been fighting?” I asked after I sat down in my trusty but relaxing recliner. The other scattered themselves around the room, finding their own places to sit amongst the clutter.
“Look, that’s not important,” Dontrelle began.
“It is important. Dontrelle, you guys show up to my house with ripped and blood-stained clothes looking for refuge and ice packs. Don’t play me for a fool,” I said.
“Listen, Walton, we didn’t come here just because we needed a place to hide out. I asked Dontrelle when was the last time you guys hung out, and he didn’t have a good answer,” JB said.
“George, Dontrelle doesn’t just hang out with me. We’re family. He’s welcome over here anytime,” I said.
“My name isn’t George, it’s…” JB began before I interrupted him.
“It doesn’t matter what you name is!” I yelled.
“Damn, this mug fell for that again,” Travis said while walking to the room with an ice pack for Ryan. “JB, I got your ass like that last year.”
“Look, your brother is the boss of Teletram. How was I supposed to know?” JB asked.
“You gotta remember that he’s one of us,” Greg said.
“Oh my God! I think I’m gonna be surrounded by idiots and assholes my entire life,” I muttered.
“You see, that’s what Travis says all the time,” Greg added.
“No, I don’t say it like that. I just call you fools idiots and assholes,” Travis joked.
“Yeah, it takes one to know one,” Dontrelle said.
“Whatever, man. Walt, where’s my sister-in-law?” Travis asked.
“Her sister Stephanie’s in town. They’re doing a girls night out,” I replied.
“So, you’re stuck home on a Saturday night with three kids. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, KB1,” Dontrelle said.
“Hey, if sitting in a six-million-dollar mansion with three times as much in the bank is the bottom, I’d love to see what it looks like on the top,” I told my cousin.
“I guess he just shitted on your head, Donnie,” Ryan said. “Hey, Walt, once I sign this big-league baseball contract, I’ll be living it up on the bottom just like you.”
“Hammer, don’t hurt these fools,” JB joked with Ryan.
“Hey, shut the hell up, Ryan. I’m still mad at you,” Dontrelle said lashing out at his friend.
“Okay, now he’s back in the room, I guess I’ll get the real news out of him. Travis, what happened tonight?” I asked my brother.
“Your dumbass cousin jumped on a dude at the arcade in the laser tag room, and me and Ryan had to handle it. Then Dontrelle got mouthy in the car, and Ryan had to handle that,” Travis explained. I should my head to look over at Ryan, who was icing his right hand.
“Did you break anything, Ryan?” I asked the pro baseball prospect.
“No, surprisingly,” Ryan said. “I’m just a little sore.”
“Aren’t you left-handed?” I asked.
“I am. Billy taught me to throw my haymakers with my non-pitching hand,” Ryan said.
“Dontrelle, stop starting shit and then bring your problems around me,” I told him. “Ryan, with friends like him, who needs enemies.”
Ryan and Dontrelle had been friends for years, but their relationship had reached a boiling point. After ninth grade, Ryan continued to grow physically while Dontrelle remained the same size. Dontrelle ended up being nearly a foot shorter than the six feet seven inches tall Ryan, but he had always been labeled the toughest because of this smaller stature. That night the teens came to my home was the night Ryan knew he had to make one of the toughest decisions in his life.
The guys visited with me for another hour before my wife returned home for the evening. Afterward, JB dropped Dontrelle, Travis and Greg off at their homes before he and Ryan drove back to his house. The two planned for Ryan to stay the night, as the two usually had done for years since kindergarten. Upon entering JB’s bedroom, Ryan asked his friend, “What happened tonight?”
“What do you mean?” JB asked in return while kicking his shoes off.
“JB, why are we always fighting?”
“Dude, you’re the fighter. I’m a lover.”
“Lover? You’re an idiot. I’m talking about there is always some shit started in the group where one of us has to be the voice of reason.”
“Ryan, just chill. It ain’t that big of a deal,” JB said while Ryan changed into his sleepwear.
“It is a big deal. If I get drafted next week, I can’t keep saving you and Dontrelle before I go off to play minor league ball,” Ryan said.
“Hey, I’m not one to start fights. You need to talk to your boy, Dontrelle.”
“I recognized a lot time ago Donnie starts a lot of shit, but what am I supposed to do?”
“What did his own cousin say? ‘Who needs enemies when you got friends like him?’” JB said while getting the statement I made wrong.
“That’s not exactly what he said, but I get the point. Donnie’s cool, but I can’t deal with his fighting all the time,” Ryan said.
“Well, tell him you can’t hang with him no more.”
“But where would that leave us?”
“You act like we’re dating or something. Ryan, we’d still be cool,” JB said.
But would the two still be friends after Ryan’s next move? Ryan couldn’t sleep that night, as JB’s top bunk he had outgrown three years earlier was utterly uncomfortable. The two friends stayed awake until midnight talking about girls and other things before JB fell asleep around midnight. Ryan’s mind raced as fast as the roadrunner running away from the coyote in the cartoons. The events of the night combined with other happenings from the years prior just got the better of him. Before he fell asleep around 4 that morning, Ryan knew what needed to be done.
The inevitable had to wait as Ryan became one of the hottest commodities in county behind me, Tommy, and the hockey team on its way to the championship. Billy got me and Tommy to donate funds for a draft party for Ryan so it could be held in a hotel ballroom in town. I had not understood how good of a player Ryan was until I stood in the room with Ryan, his family and friends, and all his teammates from school and AAU during the draft party. Ryan was drafted number three overall to the same team my brother-in-law played on the Braves.
Seeing this young man’s life change in front of our eyes was one thing. Having him change his life by himself was something different. While at his draft party, I didn’t see him interact with Dontrelle or JB. A bunch of Ryan’s attention was turned to his girlfriend and his cell phone. Drafted on Tuesday, Ryan had already accepted his offer before Friday that same week. His next stop was reporting for rookie ball before the end of June. Before he could do that, Ryan knew there was one thing he needed to get through.
On a scorching Sunday morning, Ryan drove over to Dontrelle’s house in his brand-new car he bought from his nearly one million dollar signing bonus. Ryan’s plans for the day were to meet up with his girlfriend and double date with JB and his girlfriend. Because it was his last week in Wake Forest for a while, Ryan decided that he needed to clear the air with Dontrelle. Knocking on the door, Ryan was almost at a loss of words before clearing his mind to tell his friend of over six years what was on his mind.
Dontrelle opened the door and noticed the dapper dressed Ryan. “Where are you going, and why didn’t I get the memo?” Dontrelle asked.
“Hey, man,” Ryan started after completely resetting his thoughts. “I just wanted to stop by and talk to you for a couple minutes.”
“You could have called me. If you’re going out, I can be ready to leave in fifteen minutes,” Dontrelle said.
“No, it’s not about that. Dontrelle, we have to talk about something serious,” Ryan said.
“Okay, well come on in.”
“No, Donnie, I’m not gonna be long,” Ryan replied.
“Okay, then. What?”
“Donnie, it hurts me to say the words I’m about to say, but they must be said,” Ryan muttered while the late June sun beamed down on him. Ryan was dressed so eloquently that he would be mistaken for a millionaire. Although his suit came from a local clothier that didn’t cost the kid too much, but his bank account would show several hundreds of thousands of dollars after signing his baseball contract.
“Ryan, where are you headed dressed like a fake Tommy Oliver?” Dontrelle asked.
“Listen, don’t worry about that. I need you to listen to me.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
“I can’t be friends with you anymore. I just stopped by to say goodbye,” Ryan said without hesitation.
“What do you mean?” Dontrelle asked.
“This is it. I can’t be friends with you anymore.”
“Oh, so you get rich and you forget where you come from. I see how you do things. That’s cold, Steele.”
“I haven’t forgotten where I’ve come from. I just can’t deal with your instability and craziness. With everything I have to lose, I can’t risk having you hurting my baseball career,” Ryan explained.
Dontrelle rolled his eyes and walked out the doorway onto the porch. He turned his back on Ryan and reached in his pocket for his cigarettes. Before lighting his menthol flavored cigarette, Dontrelle took a seat in a chair on the porch. “Where are you going next? To tell Kaitlin that she’s not good enough for you?” Dontrelle asked while not looking at his now former friend.
“Donnie, listen, I’m not here to argue or discuss anything to cause any problems. We’ve gone through a lot together, and because of some things, I’ve decided that I have to cut some things out of my life. Now, if you change how you do things, then maybe we can be friends again in the future,” Ryan explained.
“Oh, you think I’m just something you can put down and pick up at your convenience?” Dontrelle started. The smoky, stale ash of Dontrelle’s cigarette filled the air even though they were outdoors. Dontrelle had smoked cigarettes before his thirteenth birthday, and by the time he turned eighteen, he was an addicted. “If you think that, you got the game all messed up, Ryan.”
“Well, if you think that, I’m sorry. Donnie, I love you, bro, but this is how it has to be. I could have iced you out, but I do care for you.”
“If you cared for me, you’d let me join you on your rise,” Dontrelle said.
“Dontrelle, do you remember what your cousin said a couple weeks ago after you got into another fight where I had to save your ass, again?
“Dude, who the hell do you think you are? If you remember, I was there when Walton and Stephen should’ve stomped your ass out in the middle of the street because you were rolling with the Brotherhood way back in the day.”
“I understand that.”
“You’re worried about me fighting. Your ass was in a real gang! If it wasn’t for my cousin and Billy, you’d still be in that damn gang or dead!”
“Dontrelle, I’m not worried about that. What I’m worried about is the future. Unfortunately, I’ve got to let you go,” Ryan said before the foul smoke of Dontrelle’s cigarette invaded Ryan’s airways.
“It’s messed up, but you do you,” Dontrelle said as he continued to puff on his cigarette.
“Okay, I will,” Ryan said before turning around to leave.
“Of course you know, if we can’t be friends, you’ll have to stay away from my people,” Dontrelle said.
“Your people like who?”
“Germaine, Travis and Walton. My people.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ryan said after stopping his momentum from stepping off the porch. He turned and look at Dontrelle. “Listen, you and I are no longer friends. You can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with, Dontrelle. Now if you have a problem with that, we settle that shit right now.”
“Man, I ain’t trying to fight you, but if you’re gonna be like this, I have to be like that,” Dontrelle said.
“I’m out,” Ryan said before he walked off the porch and out of Dontrelle’s life.
That self-exile from his former friend’s life lasted for nearly ten years. While Ryan went on to eminence in playing pro baseball as a superstar pitcher, Dontrelle went to work and eventually found a home working in the NC Teletram plant. Ryan built his offseason home down the street from me and my family in 2012, and despite Dontrelle’s forbiddance, Ryan and I remained cordial for several years. When Ryan’s former catcher and my cousin, Germaine, passed away in 2016, Ryan was amongst many people who attended his funeral.
At the repast, I stood outside the convention center with several guys, including Dontrelle. I had known of the rift between Dontrelle and Ryan, but I didn’t realize what I was about to see when the two acknowledged one another. The reaction between the two seemed as if they hadn’t missed a beat in ten years. Ryan’s hug and apology appeared genuine, but the acceptance by Dontrelle truly showed my cousin’s growth despite the tough times we faced.
Dontrelle watched from afar as his former friend worked hard to make it to the major league and eventually become an Allstar. While Ryan worked only to become the best starting pitcher in pro baseball, Dontrelle worked only to get himself out of trouble. Jumping from job to job and getting in trouble with the law, Dontrelle’s life finally turned around after Germaine yelled at him after getting into another fight. He started his career at Teletram Enterprises the same day Ryan won his first championship alongside my high school teammate, Jason. To see Dontrelle and Ryan bury the hatchet and restart their lives together as friends.
I also learned a valuable lesson at the same time. Young people are very impressionable. Even though I was a father at the time, it wasn’t until Ryan later told me about the conversation the teens had with me at the time shaped the friendship. For Ryan, it was for the better. As for my cousin, it may not have been for the better to become a part of Ryan’s entourage, but it meant he had to forge his own path. Dontrelle needed to be a man on his own terms. For the two, it meant everything to be reunited. For me, it was another learning opportunity.
Be A Man Universe 