2) Showtime

Once I finally got to my hotel room, I was blown away. To an average person the room might've been like any other they've seen..but to me, from what I'm use to, it was like a fucking bridal suite. And Wendy paid for it all.

I threw my book bag on top of the bed. I noticed the phone that was placed next to it on the night stand, reminding me of how I had yet to call Tori. I took a deep breath and dialed Proof's home number.

"Hello?" A female's voice answered. I didn't sound like Tori.

"Sharonda?"

"Yep, it's me." She answered dryly.

"Oh, hey. It's Marshall."

"Toriiiii, your man's on the phone for you!" I laughed at how she knew what I wanted without even saying anything.

"Thanks."

"No problem Marshall," the next thing I know I hear Tori grab the phone.

"Hello? Marshall??" She seemed antsy and restless for my response.

"Hey baby girl." I smiled through the phone. "How are you? I miss you."

"I'm good, I miss you too." She quickly retorted. "You know, you never said goodbye to me this morning." Her voice grew cold.

"Babe, I know. It's jus', you looked so peaceful sleepin' and...I'm sorry, I jus' couldn't wake you up." I only heard her breath through the other line. "I placed that blanket over you though. Did you notice?" I tried adding that last part to sound cute in hopes of her forgiving me.

"I did notice, thanks." She said a little dry but I heard a breath of laughter as if she was fighting to stay mad.

"Tori, you know I did it for you. You couldn't sleep last night."

"I know but I would've rather said bye." She sounded disappointed. "But enough of that, how's LA? They treating you well?"

"Weather's nice." I replied simply. "And I got a nice hotel room. Might steal some shit." I joked, partially.

"That's great, well minus the stealing part." She replied gently. "What are the girls like?"

"What girls?" I answered on cue. I knew she was testing me.

"Good answer." I could tell she was smiling by the way she replied. "Well I hope you feel confident in what you're about to do. We're all rooting for you Marshall. And I can't wait till you come back home. Whether you win or not."

"Thanks baby." I said softly. "I appreciate that."

*****

This day was probably the most anxiety filled one I've ever had in my life. My heart was ready to explode out of my chest because it was beating so fast. Man, I was so nervous I couldn't even eat a thing. I forced some dinner down but I felt as if it could shoot back up any minute.

I was back stage at the Proud Bird nightclub, with Wendy and the rest of her team that she invited to compete. We all formed into a circle as she spoke some words of advice.

"Take a deep breath everyone. This is an experience of a lifetime, and you don't wanna miss it by hyperventilating and blacking out." We all laughed at her joke. "But seriously, I invited you all here to compete in the 1997 Rap Olympics because I know you got the talent. Every single one of you standing here has some sort of star quality to them. This is all about letting that out and showing your rap skills. That being said, I wish you all good luck!" We all broke apart while exchanging fist pumps and wishing one another good luck. *****

As the competition went on I had to think back about how far I've gotten. It was crazy. I survived the first two rounds and progressed to the quarter finals. I mean the moment I hit that stage, it was like an adrenalin rush took over me. I started taking down the competition one by one. I was on fire. My strategy was to just be a complete ass on stage and have great punch lines. I mean my thing is this, when you're just freestyling, you can say anything you want. But when you're battling, you have to have the personality of a fucking smartass, you just have to. So that's what I was doing. I was dissing my opponents like hell but also did the same to myself. That way, if someone tried to come at me for being white, they couldn't, because I already did. I was the dude that ran the show tonight. I was in charge. Success seemed within my grasp.

It was finally time for me to compete against the last rapper standing. MC Juice. And I was so fucking ready.

The emcee handed me the mic. My hands were so sweaty I felt like the mic was about to slip outta my hands. However, one thing I wasn't gonna let slip outta my hands was the chance of winning this match. I took a deep breath, looked out into the crowd of people, and looked back at Juice. I began busting my shit all over him.

"Ha ha ha haAight bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it..Aight,I'm bout to make this mic short circuitThis beat is wack as fuck, this shit fits you perfectI got so many ways to diss you that I'm playful with'ch youI'll let a razor slit you 'til they have to staple stitch youAnd everybody in this fuckin' place'll miss youIf you try to turn my facial tissue to a racial issueNobody's hearin' you, you're a wack liarDamn, all you white jokes just backfiredCause bitch you walkin' up the wrong streetNow go tell all your boys you was beat by a honkeyI don't give a fuck, I'll kill ya, bitchYou better recognize me like a look familiar"

"Aight, aight." The emcee said as he took my mic and handed it to Juice.

The crowd's applause took over my body and I knew anything this guy had left to say against me wasn't gonna be as good.

*****

We battled six rounds... Six tie breakers, but he finally got me. I mean it came down to the crowd being the deciding factor. And because there were no Detroit members in the audience, I guess Juice was the hometown favorite from California, so he won. I couldn't believe it. This was a battle I couldn't afford to lose. I was fucking pissed beyond belief.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion after watching him win. It was like a nightmare. I watched as the emcee and audience praised him. I scoffed to myself and turned around backstage.

My fists were clenched so tight but I shoved them in my pockets to prevent me from punching anything.

"Yo Eminem!" I heard some annoying dude yell. What the fuck did he want? I turned around abruptly, trying to hold my composure.

"Sup." I said a little ruder than intended.

"Hey man, I know you're all pissed off 'cause you didn't win. But I thought you were great out there."

"Thanks." I replied flatly while continuing to walk. The guy matched up his pace with mine.

"I was wonderin' if you could give me one of your demos. "

"Yeah, whateva.." I grunted under my breath. I quickly reached into my book bag and chucked the damn tape at him. I then continued walking like nothing ever happened.

****

"I didn't win." I said through the phone to Tori back at the hotel. Those words tasted like sour vinegar in my mouth. I hated saying it.

*Tori's POV*

"I didn't win." Was the first thing Marshall said once I picked up the phone. He was on speaker with Proof and I.

"What do ya mean you didn't win!?" Proof yelled through the phone.

"I didn't win." He repeated once more. "I got second place." Proof and I looked at each other and released a depressing sigh.

"Who the fuck was better than you?? Some cocksucking pussy I bet!" Proof was getting way too riled up. I pushed him away from the phone as an insinuation to calm down.

"It was some bitch named MC Juice. He's good, I'll give him that. But I don't think he was better than me. We battled six tie breakers. The audience was the deciding factor...he was the hometown favorite. I was the random white boy from Detorit.." The ending of his sentence broke off into a sigh.

"Awww honey.." I cooed. "It's ok." I didn't really know what else to say because I was very upset and frustrated too. Not at Marshall, but at life. This was suppose to save us from ending up on the streets. "Listen, you're a really talented guy Marshall. And this doesn't make me think any less of you or your ability to rap. If anything I'm more impressed. I mean you made second place. That's still amazing--"

"Well still amazing doesn't get you $500 now does it?" He grunted. "Listen I'm gonna go to bed now. I'll see ya in the morning."

"Alright Marshall, I understand. I love you." I said in an altruistic tone.

"Love you too." He let out all at once in a dragged mumble before hanging up. I turned to Proof with watery eyes.

"Aw, Tori.." He moaned desperately. "Don't do this.." He pleaded while placing a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head and began letting the tears out. "Come here." He said while offering me a hug.  "I know it's tough now but, Em and I got a pact. Between me him and the rest of our rap group, we got a promise to clique up after someone gets a deal. So whoever that is, will bring everyone with 'em. And if it's me, I'ma make sure I help you both out as much as possible." I wiped the remaining tears that were on my cheeks.

"Proof, you're so good to me." He gave a smile. "Me and Marshall." I added.

"Baby girl, you've been my best friend since high school. Of course I'm here for you." We embraced into another friendly hug. Once we broke apart I decided it was best if I head to bed too. I said goodnight to Proof and made my way downstairs, into the basement.