“There it is,” Arnessa said aloud, her thoughts returning to the present as she finally got the dope situated comfortably inside of her. Arnessa adjusted her clothes and exited the restroom.

Brisk, cold air smacked Arnessa in the face as she stepped out onto the stoop of her building. At 8:00 AM, Harlem was already alive and running. Parents were walking their kids to school; good citizens were going to work; construction workers hammered away; and fiends were searching for their next hit. Arnessa walked down to the corner bodega where Super Dave was waiting for her.

At six feet five, Super Dave’s lanky body towered over Arnessa’s five-foot-four frame. Twelve years earlier Dave had been a living legend. He had been the king of the Rucker. Dave had a crossover that would smash Allen Iverson’s famous cross. To see him take off from the baseline and slam the ball into the basket was a thing of beauty. Dave was such a great player that he was encouraged by many to enter the NBA draft straight out of high school. Instead of going pro, he opted to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the hundreds of colleges that had been recruiting him.

After completing his freshmen year, Dave returned to New York for summer break. As usual he wowed the crowds in the park who’d come to see him play. One night after a game, Dave’s closest friend introduced him to a high that he would never be able to shake. The high was Southeast Asian heroin, the most potent type of heroin. That fall when Dave returned to school, he was unable to get the monkey off his back. After failing to pass several NCAA-issued drug tests and flunking all of his classes, Dave lost his scholarship. He returned to Harlem, no longer a legend of Holcombe Rucker Park, now just a legendary fiend.

He was one of few dope addicts whom Arnessa employed to move crack in certain areas where young block boys would be too obvious. Arnessa approached Dave, who was waiting on the corner, and quickly embraced him, slipping him the six eight balls. “That was six that I just gave you. Give two to Monica and two to Robin.”

“Wh-wh-why that’s all we gettin? I need to make my rent money.”

“Yeah right, Dave, cut it out. Your girl get section eight man. I’m going out of town. When y’all finish, hit Tash so she can get that money.”

Dave nodded his head, “Okay.”

“Yo, Dave, I’m serious. Get that money to Tash. Don’t play wit’ me, or it’s going to be problems. I’m being nice letting y’all eat while I’m away.”

With that, Arnessa walked on down the block where she spotted her homeboy Ugie and a few dudes fully enthralled in a game of c-lo. “You niggas got problems.” Arnessa said, laughing as she stopped behind the circle of gamblers.

“Yo, what up, Nessa?” the guys said almost in unison.