Dribble

ISAAC → Best friends with LANDON, attends high school with him. Ambivert. Accustomed to excusing LANDON’s more wild takes. African American. Age 15-19.

LANDON → Best friends with ISAAC, attends high school with him. Confidently outspoken, brash. African American.  Bold, candid. Ages 15-19.

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LANDON: Game today was crazy though.

 

ISAAC: Damn straight.

 

LANDON: I mean you shot bucket after bucket nigga. You’re varsity this year on God.

 

ISAAC: You act like we didn’t just almost lose against Ty and Dumont.

 

LANDON: Okay, yeah, Ty might up you but ain’t no way Dumont gettin’ a spot.

 

ISAAC: He’s got better handles, he’s faster, his jumper’s better.

 

LANDON: Coach not gon’ let him on the team.

 

ISAAC: Because he’s a sophomore?

 

LANDON: Because that nigga fuck niggas. 

 

(pause)

 

ISAAC: What?

 

LANDON: How else you want me to say it? 

 

ISAAC: He gay? Who told you that?

 

LANDON: (shrugs) Q told me last week when we were playing 2k. Now I’m telling you.

 

ISAAC: So it’s not like…confirmed or nothin’.

 

LANDON: Q said ‘Mont would always stare at his dick in the changing room–

 

ISAAC: Everyone does that–

 

LANDON: And Q said Juno said he caught ‘Mont looking at his dick at the urinal.

 

(pause)

 

ISAAC: Oh.

 

LANDON: Yeah. All I know is that nigga not getting on the team wit’ me. (pause) You wanna run it back 1v1 before it gets dark–?

 

ISAAC: But Mont never said he was gay or anything, so he’s probably not like that.

 

LANDON: Nigga his actions speak for him. It’s (thinks) subliminal.

 

ISAAC: I just feel like we shouldn’t assume something like that. Especially since he couldn’t be on the team or something.

 

LANDON: I guess.

 

(pause) 

 

ISAAC: And it’s not like…like he would try and do something to us. If he were gay. He’d probably be chill.

 

LANDON: (bored) Maybe.

 

ISAAC: So it’s not like it really matters–

 

LANDON: Nigga why you care?

 

ISAAC: Mont got the best handles out of all of us. If we made varsity there's no way we wouldn’t make it to Suburban league. 

 

LANDON: (sucks teeth) Man we all got good handles.

 

ISAAC: Not like Mont.

 

LANDON: That shit don’t matter. If he wanna do that gay shit, do it on a gay team.

ISAAC: You know where the nearest gay team at? (faces him) ‘Cuz that would make you gay.

 

LANDON: Nigga you know I’m not gay.

 

ISAAC: And you don’t know if Mont gay.

 

LANDON: (irritated) Y’all in on something? 

 

ISAAC: (angrily stands) Fuck outta here.

 

LANDON: (digging) No really though. You out here defending the nigga like you know he not gay, and the only way you could know some shit like that is if you gay. (pause, accusingly) You gay?

ISAAC: (facing him, passionately angry and defensive) We known Mont since 5th grade. 5th grade. His dad grills the best ribs on the block. (pause) His mama paid for half of my suit for homecoming because I couldn’t afford it, even with my job, and I didn’t wanna tell my parents I needed the cash. Mont’s like a brother to me, and you’re pissing me the fuck off right now acting like him fucking another nigga means he won’t be on the team. (pause) Like…like you wouldn’t be his friend if he were. (sitting back down on the curb) Like that shit matters.