Shabazz Muhammad sat sullenly in his posh Minneapolis condo. He was bored. He had already maxed out his NBA 2K14 MyPlayer, and he had no other games for his console. He hadn’t anticipated needing any others. The flat-screen TV had already been exhaustively searched for quality programming and was currently off. Hundreds upon hundreds of channels, yet not one entertaining show. What were the chances?
So he stared out the window, out at the cold, long Minnesota winter. He wasn’t used to this. It never snowed where he grew up. Even during the winter he could engage in any number of outdoor activities, or just stravage around town with his homies. But his homies were all back, well, home. Except for one…
His phone rang. With a roll of the eyes he answered.
“Hey Shabazz, it Alexey. You want maybe hang out, I was thinking…”
Shabazz cut him off. “Actually Alexey, I’m sort of super busy right now. No time to hang out. Maybe some other time, okay?”
He ended the call before Alexey had a chance to respond and sighed. Alexey always took that answer, never questioning. Shabazz figured he might get suspicious soon; several requests to hang out were denied per week. Eventually he’d have to tell him that he didn’t actually enjoy his company.
He resumed his window staring. Was this the NBA life? Sitting around with nothing to do? He had envisioned exclusive parties, sexy women and plentiful booze. Instead he got virtual basketball and a crazy Russian.