June 6, 2001

  Tyree is a dark skinned kid out of Cleveland, Ohio. He's ten years of age and has had a tough life for that his dad passed when he was three from cancer and his mom and him have been struggling with finances. His mother works three jobs. Two of the jobs are part time and are on weekends and the other is a factory job which is full time through the week. Tyree and his father used to play basketball for hours upon hours and since his passing he has made an oath, an oath to devote his life to basketball- for his father.
Tyree has always been the most talented at basketball for his age. He’s 5’7 and weighs one hundred-forty pounds and with a vertical of three and a half feet. He dominates the court with a passion. He was recruited to the Ohio Heat with heavy stats. He averages thirty-seven points , thirteen assists, and twenty-six rebounds per game.     
   Jerome, Tyree's best friend since birth, has always been right by Tyree’s side. Coming in at 5’1 and weighing one hundred-four pounds, he puts in a lot of work. He averages twenty-eight points, eighteen assists, and ten rebounds per game.
Jerome and Tyree have always been together, inseparable some might say. They are called the perfect duo for that they were born on the same day, both have black wavy hair that shines with intensity, both are built for perfection, and have been playing ball since born.
June 7, 2001- Jerome
Jerome wakes up to the sound of sirens and red and blue lights, flickering in such a sequence. His legs were sore from the countless hours of yesterday's basketball practice. He jumped out of bed and slowly pulled back the soft and transparent curtains. Police cars were everywhere, at least twenty of them. They were surrounding Tyree’s house as an ambulance came speeding in. He hurried and put on shorts and sprinted down the stairs which were hard on his soft feet and threw the front door open. Jerome couldn't believe his eyes. Shards of glass spread like thorns at the bottom of Tyree’s window. Five holes spread across, like a octagon. He sprinted as if he were a cheetah for the door. A police officer tackled him with such a force that it made him fall.  
The officer screamed with such power, “Sir, Stop please! This family is being held hostage!”
Jerome Yelled back while frantically squirming, “ Get off of me! My friend is in there!” He broke down into tears uncontrollably and broke free from the officer
“NO!” the officer screamed but Jerome was already on a dead sprint towards the window. The glass started to shred his shoes like a razor. The window shattered with a such force and exploded open. The shards ripped at his skin as the blood flowed down his skin. Everything went wack as he heard the gun cock back. The world around him slowed down and he saw the man aiming while his finger was relaxed on the trigger. The man looked like he was in his mid forties, bald, and was wearing khakis with a blue striped shirt. He was chewing gum and seemed chill with what was happening, even like he had done this before. He closed his left eye and started pulling the trigger. Jerome’s thoughts were going wild.
Who is this guy? Why is he doing this? Why is this happening to me? Is he going to shoot me? What is going on? Jerome heard the blast of the gun. The bullet came out of the chamber and another from behind him. Jerome watched the guy holding his friend hostage fall back. Pain was building up in his stomach and he tried to get up. The pain was so much and the lights started to blur. The last thing he saw was Tyree’s face hovering over and everything went black.
June 8, 2001- Tyree
Tyree hovered over Jerome as he watched his eyes close. He looked down and he saw dark red gushing out of his shirt. He took off his shirt and proceeded to tie it tightly around his waist. His mother called for the amalance and they rushed in. They picked him up and hurried to the vehicle. The sirens wailing and everything felt so frantic as they sped off down the street.
“Tyree come on!” Tyree’s mother yelled waving him over. They hopped into their car and sped after them. Time slowed down and Tyree sent out a prayer of hope.
Dear Lord, I need you now please. I need you to answer this blessing. I ask that you leave Jerome in good condition and let him recover. Please Lord. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
He came back to reality as they sped down the street and took a left. The hospital was in sight. They ran into the hospital and looked frantically. They ran up ten flights of stairs and were panting at the top. To the left they saw a bunch of surgeons running down the hall. The place was nice. There were white walls with transparent colored windows and the walkway was over the city. They sprinted to down the hall to room 209 and looked through the door. The Surgeons were yelling and it looked like a madhouse. Tyree looked at the X-Ray screen and couldn't believe his eyes.
The surgeon came out of the room and had an awkward frown on his face. “I have bad news,” he said trying not to burst out with emotions, “Jerome has a bullet stuck in his spine and currently is in a coma. We are trying to do our best to remove it without doing anymore damage,” He paused and continued on, “ I’m sorry to say but there is going to be some damage, possibly even permanent.”
Just then, the surgeons started to yell something and they all ran in.
Jerome was blinking rapidly and yelling but would not move anything else.
“I think the bullet is pinching his nerves!” one of the surgeons yelled.
The surgeons finally pulled the bullet out and everyone gasped as Jerome passed out again. Tyree looked over at his friend and sat down.
Tyree whispered in Jeromes ear, “Thank you so much Jerome. You saved our lives and almost took your own. You are my hero and I need you please!”
The surgeon looked up from his clipboard and replied in a frantic tone, “ Jerome is expected to make a full recovery! We are going to need no one to visit for now, im sorry but you will have to leave.”
Tyree and his mother got up and slowly walked to the door. Right before he left he turned around to look at his friend once more.
Thank you Lord for that today you have made a great day. A day of recovery and freedom. A day of liberty and justice. All I can say is thank you and I ask say this in Jesus name. Amen. And he left.

July 16, 2001- Jerome

Jerome finally woke up. He flung up and started moving his hands up and down his stomach. He felt fine other than a few pains in his stomach. He looked around and the room was vacant except for a table with some tools on it. He tried to get up but couldn’t. He tried to move his legs but they wouldn’t budge. In frustration, he proceeded to pull all the wires off of him and started to squirm around in his chair. An alarm started going off and lights started to flicker. A group of surgeons and doctors hurried in and proceeded to push him against the chair calming him down. A doctor with an eyepatch came into the room last. He had a scar going diagonal through the eyepatch. He was wearing a black t-shirt under his white “doctor” coat Jerome always called it. He had shoes that seemed like bricks and white pants that sagged.
“Why, your away. Good…,” He said in a creepy voice, “So how are you feeling?”
Im fine other than I can’t move my legs!” Jerome said in a frantic voice, “ Will I be able to walk again doc?”
“I am sorry to say Jerome, we do not know. Time will tell but until then…,” A doctor rolled a wheelchair in to the now cramped room, “ it's time for you to get home!”
Two doctors picked Jerome by his armpits and put in the wheelchair.

July 22, 2001

It was game day for Tyree but he was having second thoughts. He had never played a game without his best friend. Jerome sat on the sideline and watched as the team did there daily warm ups. The gym was huge, filled with a tennis court, volleyball court, and a basketball court.
Coach came up behind Jerome and yelled out to the team, “ I think we are ready!”
The game started up and Tyree tipped it to his teammate which then tossed it up for Tyree to get an easy dunk. The other team came down and shot a three, no good. This turned into a two on three and Tyree got the ball and pulled up from half court. The shot flew through the air in slow motion. As soon as he had released it, he turned and winked at Jerome who was watching the ball go straight through the net. The other team came down again, and Tyree stole the ball, went down and did a three-sixty dunk with ease.  The Ohio Heat were up five to zero with four to go in the first half. The other team called a much needed time out and they all hustled to their benches.
Just then coach came up and patted Jerome on the back and proceeded to say, “ Nice job out there boys! Keep up the good work!”
Coach patted Jerome on the back once more and Jerome felt something he hadn’t felt in over a month. He felt a chill go up his spine. A chill that he used to get when basketball was around. He felt that chill hit his brain and with that he hopped out of his wheelchair. He couldn’t believe it, he was actually walking again! Everyone stared in awe and started applauding.
“That's my Boy!” yelled his mom from the stands.
Tyree came running over and hugged him with all his will. “ Lets go!”He screamed shedding a tear.
Coach came up and said” Well, how about basketball? You ready to play the sport you were born to play?”
There were no words to say. Jerome hustled to the table and checked in. The game started up and jerome stole the ball and had a fast break. He threw it off the backboard and proceeded to windmill dunk the ball so hard that the backboard crashed down. The glass spread out across the floor making a light show. The crowd went wild and Jerome was cheered by his teammates. The game ended with just that. The other team forfeited and did not want a rematch. 
Jerome walked home that day. He finally could feel his legs. He heard footsteps hustling after him.
Tyree came to his side gasping. “Good game champ! I never really got to properly say thank you for saving my life. I have been having feelings that this was all my fault and when you hopped off that wheelchair I honestly couldn’t believe it! All I really want to say is thank you for everything.” Tyree was in tears at this point. His feelings were going berserk. “ You have always been there for me and I can’t believe that I have a friend that would literally take a bullet for me!”
The wind picked and the grass swayed in an orderly fashion. The sky was dark but tinted with orange. Not a single crack in the sidewalk.
Jerome thought for a moment of what to say. He was honestly speechless. “Why wouldn’t I take a bullet. You have been my best friend since birth. You have always been there for me and I always have your back. I will always be there for you!”
They both went into their houses and Jerome took a look out his window for the first time since the incident. He stared at Tyrese house for while and fell to his bed.
June 6, 2016
Jerome and Tyree both carried on to the NBA and are still called the perfect duo. They both average a triple-double and life has been going good. They are still both friends and play for Cleveland Cavaliers. They will go on to win eight championships and go down into the hall of fame.