“They some bad uniforms you got on,” Snakeskin said as we lined up for the jump.

“We got them from your mama,” I said.

We lost the game by a yard and a half.

When Cal didn’t show for the game, we were down, but everybody was trying to keep the team thing together. But when the cat didn’t show up the next day either, things got raggedy.

Paul and Jo-Jo went over to Cal’s woman’s house, and she said she didn’t know where he was either. Jo-Jo said that she looked upset but tried to nonchalant it off.

“I think the cat split with the money,” Paul said.

“Maybe he got hit by a truck or something.” Ox was pouring a bag of peanuts into a Coke.

“When’s the last time you seen anybody hit by a truck, man?” Paul asked.

“What you cats talking about?” I asked. “You give up your bread to a wino and then come talking about how he don’t show ’cause maybe he got hit by a truck and stuff. If he did get hit by a truck, I hope he’s dead.”

“How come you so hard on this dude?” Ox was shaking up his peanuts and Coke. “If this dude is such a wino and everything, how come you get so uptight about him?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s supposed to mean just what the hell it’s saying,” Ox said. “You done played ball for quarters in the park, you played ball for some cupcakes, and one time you even played ball because that ugly chick who live over the funeral parlor on Lenox said she was going to give some to the winning team. Now all of a sudden you getting uptight because the cat’s a wino.”

“That don’t bother you? The cat rips your butt off and it don’t bother you?”

“It bothers me if my bread is gone, but I ain’t gonna lose no sleep over it.”

“Yeah. Well, that’s you. I’m tired of these cats come around and talking like they want to take care of business and don’t show when the deal goes down. That’s all, I’m just tired of it.”

“I don’t know, man,” Ox said. “Sound to me like you kind of sweet on the dude. How long this been going on?”

“Since I got tired of your mama, sucker!”

“Tell you what I’m going to do,” Ox said. “I’m just going to make believe I didn’t hear that. Because if I heard it, I’d feel like I just had to break you down like a shotgun, reach up your hind parts, and snatch your heart out. So let’s just leave it ride for now. ’Cause if you don’t want to leave it, just run it again.”

I looked over at Ox and felt like jumping over the table and putting my fist in his face. But I knew what Ox was like when he was mad, stronger than skunk pee and meaner than King Kong’s dog, so I left him alone. I just wished anybody else had said it, so I could bust some head.