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It was November in the hood, and things were as normal as ever. Kids were going to school, looking forward to the extra days off for Thanksgiving. Leaves falling off of the oak and maple trees in the park, providing a great surface for sliding after a good running start. The orange and gold colors of the leaves actually made the place look like something out of a postcard.
Terrance was sitting on the small bleachers near the baseball field, Deep in thought. he was plotting a scheme. Terrance was one of the few white kids that lived in the hood, but he was down as far as everyone was concerned. T was one of the kids that were color blind in the mind, and he was as much of a hip hop head as anyone.
Actually, this was what had him deep in thought. P Diddy and the Family were on tour, and coming to the nearby New Jersey Performing Arts center next month, and T was desperate to go. He called ticketron, and was crushed to hear that tickets were a pop. So he sat here depressed.
Rashaan and Enrique walked up to him.
"T, whassup money?" said Rashaan.
"Nothin, man. I'm just thinking. I'm, like, tryin to come up with a sceme to score some P Diddy tickets. I just don't have the funds, and moms is trippin. She looked at me like I had three eyes when I asked her for the bones for the show." said T.
"I feel you there, cuz." Said Rashaan "I wanted to go too, but Pops is hittin me with the same static. Come up with anything?"
"Naw, dog. Maybe y'all can help me" said T
"What if we picked up jobs or something, man? Or got paper routs or something"said Enrique.
"Man, with my grades, moms is not about to let a brother work. Plus, I tried to get a joint last summer, but you have to be at least, like 16 or something." said Rashaan.
"Plus," added T "all of the good routes are taken. I checked."
"Well, I'll think about it" said Rashaan. "We'll see you later."

Rashaan and Enrique headed to the Stop & Go, a local grocery store. They hoped to score some candy with the change that Rashaan found in his pocket this morning. That's one cool thing about being best friends. Neither Rashaan nor Enrique had a problem sharing what they had. Both had known times when they didn't have anything. Rashaan's family went through a time when his father was laid off from work, and things were tight. They couldn't spend money on extra things. They had the cable cut off, and his mom had to repair torn clothes by sowing up things with patches, instead of going over to JC Penny's or Sears and buying new gear. Luckily, things were only bad for a month or 2. But Rashaan learned to appreciate the things that he had.

At the Stop & Go, the kids bought some Starbursts and hung out outside the store. The corner location for the store was a great spot for seeing what was going on in the hood. In the park down the street, they could see a touch football game going on. Mrs. Walker was raking leaves in her small front yard. Kids were jumping into piles of leaves in the backyard of the Davis'.
In the empty lot next to the shop, Enrique noticed Mr. Gutierrez, the shop owner, shoveling out some trash into a trashcan. This old spot has been a mess since everyone could remember. Filled with old shopping carts and papers, chunks of concrete, and wrappers from candy bars, the place was really a mess.
"Hola, Mr. Gutierrez!" said Enrique "What's going on?"
"Well, I'm trying to get this lot in shape. I'm ready to get rid of it." said Mr. Gutierrez.
"You own this lot?" said Rashaan. "It's a mess, man!" he said jokingly.
I know, but with having to run the shop, and people dumping their garbage here at night, I just don't have the time to keep in clean. It's an eyesore to the neighborhood, and I want to sell it to the city. Maybe they can put a neighborhood center here or something." Said Mr. Gutierrez
At that moment, Rashaan and Enrique looked at each other. It was obvious they were thinking the same thing.
"Mr. G, what if we cleaned this up for you? Would you be willing to pay us?" said Rashaan.
"How much are we talking?" said Mr. Gutierrez.
"Well, there would be 3 of us, and we'd want 40 each. We could have this done in a couple of weeks." said Rashaan, the expert negotiator. He was thinking that the extra could be used for food, or souvenirs or whatever.
"Will it be you two? Who's the third?" Said Mr. Gutierrez.
"My boy Terrance. Terrance Blanchard. You know him."said Rashaan.
"Boys, tell you what. If you clean this for me, I will pay you a total of 200 for the whole job when I sell it. How's that sound?" Said Mr. Gutierrez.
"Mr. G." Said Rashaan, barely able to hold back his excitement "You have a deal! We'll start tomorrow!

The next day came, and the boys were at the lot at 9 A.M. with shovels and shopping carts to haul the trash. It was a bright, chilly Saturday. The place smelled. Terrance's mom gave them gloves to work with, and Rashaan's dad supplied the shovels. Enrique's mom hooked them up with lunch, and Enrique brought out his boom box for some working music.
"Man I am hyped! I can't wait to get this done and buy the tickets." said Terrance.
"Yo," said Rashaan "This junk stinks. This better be a good show. I'm going through mad trouble to see this show. P Diddy better bring it. Know what I'm sayin?"
"I feel you, man. You know it's worth it." said Enrique. He starts to rap
"P Diddy,
The one who's got the keys to your city"
They all start to laugh.
"Man you got, like, no skills, E. Stick to baseball." said Rashaan, joking.

Two weeks passed, and the lot was almost done. All of the trash had been hauled away. The fellas hauled the old shopping carts back to the supermarkets that they belonged to. It was Terrance's idea to rake the dirt and grass, so the lot would look better, and then it would be easier for Mr. Gutierrez to sell.
The P Diddy show was one week away.
The boys had worked hard, and Mr. Gutierrez gave them free sodas and chips while they worked. He really appreciated the boy's hard work. He was surprised at what a good job they had done.
"Well boys, time to settle up. You boys have done an excellent job. I am very impressed. I was going to wait to pay you until I sold the lot, but I decided to give you the money now, since you are trying to go to that concert next week. Here you go."
Mr. Gutierrez gave it to them in 20 dollar bills, so it would be easier for them to divide. He went to the bank, and asked for new bills, just for the boys. As he held the crisp, green bills in his hand, the boys stared in amazement. It's the most money they had ever seen.
"Thanks, Mr. G!" said Rashaan.
"Thank you boys!"
The kids ran to Rashaan's house. He begged his mother to take him to the ticketron box office so they could buy the tickets for the show. The box office was in the back of a department store in the nearby mall. They all piled into Rashaan's mother's car, and drove off. The boys looked goofy, each with a dumb smile on his face.
Once they reached the mall, the boys ran into the store, up the escalator, almost knocking over an old lady, and back to the box office. They waited in line, impatiently. These places are so boring. The walls are white, with almost nothing on them, and there's that wack music!
They finally reached the window.
"Can I help you" said the clerk, with an attitude.
"Yes, three tickets to next week's P Diddy show please." said Rashaan.
At first, each boy wanted to buy his own ticket, but then they were in line, they decided to get it all done together.
"Did you say P Diddy, son?" said the clerk.
"Yes. Next week. In Newark" said Rashaan, nervously.
"Sorry son. That show has been sold out for months. Where you been? Uh...next please."

The boys were crushed. They worked hard, out in the cold, with that nasty stankin' garbage, all for nothing! Enrique was cussing in Spanish, and Terrance looked like he wanted to cry, but didn't want to seem like a punk in front of his boys.
They headed back to the hood, dejected. Rashaan didn't even want to hold his share of the loot anymore, so he had his mother hold it for him. Rashaan's mom saw the hurt look in the boys' eyes, and she felt as bad as they did. She knew how hard they worked, and it seemed like it was all for nothing.
She dropped the boys off at her house, and drove over to the lot. It was spotless. Some of the girls in the neighborhood had planted flowers there when they saw what the boys had done. It was at that moment that Rashaan' mother had an idea. She picked up her cel phone, and dialed a number.

Well, it's a week later, the day of the big show. The boys sat on the steps to the back porch of Rashaan' house, still dejected. It had been a whole week since the bad news, yet they still felt the same. Especially today, the day they dreamed of, the day they worked so hard for. They felt empty.
"Boys, can you come here please?" said Rashaan's mother. "I need you to see something."
"What now, ma? You had us clean the house, and rake the front and back yards. You acting like someone's coming over." said a frustrated and depressed Rashaan.
"Boys just come in here!" yelled Rashaan's mother.
The boys ran inside, only to stop in their tracks. It was him! P Diddy was in their house! They boy were stunned.
"Boys, I'd like you to meet Sean. Sean, this is Terrance, Enrique, and my son Rashaan."said Rashaan's mother.
"Whas up fellas?" said P Diddy, as he gave each boy dap. "Your moms was telling me how you cleaned up in your neighbor hood to go to my show. I wanted to hook y'all up with some tickets. I heard it's been sold out for a while."
P Diddy handed each boy a ticket and a P Diddy t-shirt. P wore a Black t-shirt, with loose blue Jeans and Timberland boots. Around his neck was a chain with a giant 'PD' in it with diamnds on it. His hair was tight. So were the shades he was wearing.
"Thanks" they all said in unison.
"Mom, how did you?" said a stunned Rashaan "Well, Sean and I go way back. I used to be one of his Sunday school teachers in church over in Harlem. So I gave the old pastor a call and told him your story, and he gave a call to Sean. You boys did honest, hard work to go to that show. And we all wanted you to go, even Sean"
"So y'all ready to bounce? My limo's waiting outside." said P Diddy
"Oh my god" said Terrance, stunned.
"Boys, I've already called your parents. It's okay I'll pick you up tonight after the show. Go have a great time" said Rashaan's mom.
The boys jumped up and gave her a hug. Then they ran outside. The whole neighborhood was watching, as they climbed into the limo with P diddy and sped off down the street.

Thoughts¦
Hard work is always rewarded. If you look at anyone who is successful in life, it's because they were willing to work harder than the next guy. P Diddy, Kobe Bryant, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, all of these people put in the extra time to make their dreams come true. Sean Combs works night and day to bring the Bad Boy Empire to the heights that it has been able to reach.
The boys in the story chose to work hard to get what they wanted. The choice they made was to do it honestly, and it paid off. Mr. Gutierrez noticed their hard work and paid them early, and Rahsaan’s mom and Sean also decided to reward their hard work.

Copyright 2001