My Friend, My Hero: The Hero Book Series 1

By Jerald LeVon Hoover

Bennett Wilson has the world at his fingertips. One of the top basketball players in New York State, he is destined to lead Mount Vernon High to the state championship for the first time. Many of the nation's top colleges are already reaching out, eager to sign him to their roster. Scholarships are guaranteed. Still young, Bennett is seduced by

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jerald L. Hoover Productions, LLC
• Release date: Jun 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781737518006

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

It was a warm mid-August day. The sun was shedding its three o’clock brightness over 4th Street Playground. Kirby sat, clad in his three-piece suit, white shirt, and yellow tie, watching his two sons, eight-year-old Junior and seven-year-old Bennie, nearly have a Cain and Abel situation while playing hoops. Knock it off, you two. Play fair!

Yes, Daddy, Junior answered. We’re sorry.

Sensing the ease in tension, Kirby sat back to relax, only to be interrupted by his old high school buddy, Dexter.

How’ve you been, Kirb? Haven’t seen you in…in like forever.

Oh, I’ve been takin’ it easy.

Took the afternoon off?

Yeah, it’s the weekend, wanted to get an early start. Besides, Kirby said with a laugh, Kathy needed a break.

Aw, she loves it, Dex said. Say, man. When you gonna shave that stuff off your face?

Shave! It took me twenty-eight years to grow this. You remember how I was back then? I wasn’t but a buck fifty soaking wet, had that bowl haircut, and wore those ugly, goofy-lookin’ glasses. I’ve got to replace that image, man. Every time I see those old pictures, I cringe.

I hear that!

So Mr. Brick Mason, how soon before that building on Columbus Avenue is finished?

I don’t know, Dex said, with a trace of frustration in his voice. Every time we get to the point of finalizing, we get heavy rains.

And when are you finishing school, so you can start teaching?

Man, Dexter said changing the subject. These projects sure ain’t been the same since we lived in them.

I know. You know something else? Kirby said, his voice sounding a bit sorrowful. Monday will be ten years.

Dex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Yeah, I know, ‘73. Seems like only yesterday.

I can’t believe Bennett’s gone.

I can’t, either. Dex said with another sigh.

I remember that awful day like a book. I’ll never get that waiting room out of my mind, Kirby murmured, trying to hold back the tears. Two drunks arguing over who had the most money, and neither looked to have more than a dime. That clock on that paint-chipped wall was twenty minutes slow, and the cushioned chairs had holes the size of my fist.

Kirb, you really remember all that, too?

I bet if we were to go back there, we’d see those same two drunks, that same clock ticking too slow, and those same raggedy chairs.

Don’t forget the ugly receptionist, Dex said.

With the deep voice! The two yelled.

"It was just like the Twilight Zone, Kirby continued. I can still remember that feeling of forgetfulness, a feeling of where-am-I, what-am-I-doing-here, sitting between the girls, Kathy and Tara."

Daddy! Look at this shot! Bennie shouted.

Very good, son, Kirby called, clapping his hands. He settled back onto the bench and thought.

Bennett, I wish you were still here. Boy, do I miss you. The times we had in this park. I wish you could see my boys, how they’re growing. Every day they do something that reminds me of us. Wow! What a friendship we had! We fought together. We fought with one another, and we learned so much from each other. More importantly, we were always there for each other. What a time we had at those basketball games!

November 1972

They both played for Mt. Vernon High. Bennett was the star player. Kirby warmed the bench. As a matter of fact, if it hadn’t been for Bennett talking to Coach Dee, Kirby wouldn’t have made the team.

At six-foot-six, Bennett stood eight inches over Kirby. Bennett was handsome, brown-eyed, lean, and wiry. He had long arms that seemed to dangle endlessly. His legs were that of a thoroughbred racehorse, and his massive hands allowed him to grip a basketball with just his thumb and pinky. He’d get this weird look on his face whenever he touched a basketball. It was so fierce it could’ve scared off a man-eating tiger. Coach Dee called it his game face.

Their first game together was at home, against archrival New Rochelle High School. Bennett was his usual awesome self. The Mt. Vernon High soldout crowd was thrilled by his magical passing, twenty-foot jump shooting with either hand and of course, his strong defense that resulted in tons of blocked shots.

There were quite a few college and professional scouts in the stands. The seesaw game ended with Mt. Vernon winning 85-84. Bennett would play the entire game and easily drop forty points.

Kirby usually got playing time in the final minutes, whenever there was a huge lead. He’d always manage to get into the scoring column by notching two points. But if he had a really good game, he’d score eight points. Kirby didn’t mind the bench because he had a real ball acting puckish with the other players.

It was a pleasure just watching Bennett perform, especially when the crowd got heated, chanting, BEN–nett, BEN–nett, BEN–nett! Whenever that happened, the opposition always seemed to self-destruct. After a while, the chants would turn into loud cheers, hoots, and hollers because Bennett would come up with something spectacular. His favorite shot however was the Tomahawk Dunk, but he could not perform it during games as dunking was outlawed in high school and college at that