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It was a calm Saturday night in West Palm beach, Florida. This was also a rare night in the small Kijani household. Both Dembe and Nabulungi were home for dinner with their son Erik. The first time this month.

Erik was setting the table and helping her mother cook while Dembe was cleaning the house. Once he was finished making the living room neat, he called out to Erik.

"Erik!" Yelled Dembe. "Hey! Go get the vacuum from the garage!"

"But Baba, I'm busy now!" Erik yelled back.

"Busy? Nilikuiteni sasa Erik. Nahitaji kuwa utupu sasa. Hatuna muda mwingi!" Said Dembe.

"Mimi busy kusaidia mama na chakula cha jioni. Siwezi kupata wakati mimi nina kufanyika!" Said Erik.

"Ugh, stop fighting, both of you." Said Nabulungi. "Erik, you can go. I can handle it from here, motto."

Erik sighed then walked out of the kitchen to get the vacuum.

"Your son has a thick head, Nabu." Said Dembe.

"He's your son too, Dembe."

They both laughed a little, then Erik came back with the vacuum. He tried to hide his attitude from his father as he gave him the vacuum.

"What are you doing?" Said Dembe.

"I'm giving you the vacuum." Said Erik.

No, no, no, no. I need you to vacuum and I will be in the shower."

"Baba?!" Erik complained.

"Hey. I'm getting old Erik. I can't reach behind the furniture like you and there is only one floor in this house. It should not take long." Dembe then patted his son's shoulder and said. "Do a good job, Okay? Our guest will be here in an hour."

Then, Dembe walked out of the living room and Erik set up the vacuum.

"Who is this...Shandra Stewart, mama?" Asked Erik

"A nice person." Said Nabulungi. "And she wants to help you with the FBA. So, I wanted to invite her to dinner."

"Well, your food always makes people happy mama."

"Oh, I know. You don't have to tell me that." Nabulungi said while laughing a little. Erik then started the vacuum and worked on cleaning the living room.

An hour had past and finally, the meal was ready, the table was set, the house was clean, and everyone was dressed. Now, all they were waiting for was Shandra. The three of them were sitting and waiting for some sign of Shandra. After waiting a few minutes, muffled music could be heard and car lights beamed through the windows for a second. Nabulungi stood up from the table excited and flicking her tail back and forth.

"She's here!" She said.

Erik and Dembe got up from their seats and followed Nabulungi to the door.

"Okay, smile mtoto. Make sure you look nice, okay?" Said Nabulungi as she was fixing Erik's shirt.

Then there was a knock on the door. Nabulungi smiled even more and went to go open the door. Although, when she opened it, all the three leopards could see was a tall figure in a dark brown suit. Then, a loud but friendly voice came from the towering figure.

"Nabu!" It said.

"Hahaaaa! Hey Shandra!" Answered Nabulungi.

Finally the tall figure bent down and walked through the doorway. It was a female hyena with long braided black hair and light brown fur.

"Get ova here with ya short self!" She said.

The hyena then bent over more and hugged Nabulungi. Erik was still surprised to see the towering hyena hug his 5-foot tall mother. It also didn't help that Erik and Dembe were both 5'10". Finally the two finished their hug and Nabulungi spoke again.

"Okay, Shandra, this is my husband, Dembe, and this is my son Erik." She said.

Both Erik and Dembe just waved awkwardly, but that didn't stop Shandra from walking over to shake Dembe's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet ya." She said. Dembe shook her hand back. Then she went over to Erik and said:

"Ah, and we got de spotted blur right here, mista Erik Kijani himself." Erik smiled a little bit, feeling a little more comfortable. She had a really thick Jamaican accent, but the way she spoke made everyone feel happy for some reason.

"I done seen ya play boy. Ya got heart, I'll give ya that." She said.

"Thank you." Said Erik. "It's very nice to meet you too."

"Well, now that you are here, we can eat." Said Nabulungi.

"Alright, whatcha make for dinner?" Said Shandra as she walked towards the table, her mid heel shoes clanking across the floor. She had a very forceful and confident walk to her.

"You will see soon." Said Nabulungi as she walked to the kitchen.

Everyone sat down at the table. Shandra typed on her phone a little bit more then put it away in her pocket. Then she took off her large suit jacket and placed it on the back of her chair. Erik was just sitting next to her still shocked to see her. Shandra soon took notice.

"What's wrong boy?" She said with a smile. "Ya look like you done seen a ghost."

"Oh, no, sorry. I'm fine." Said Erik.

"Ain't no trouble man. I bet ya see players even taller than me. Go on then, I'll give ya one guess at me height."

Erik thought for a while, and then finally came up with an answer.

"7 foot?" Said Erik.

"Close." Said Shandra as she playfully patted Erik's shoulder. "Last time I check, it was 6 feet 11 inches."

Erik smiled along with Shandra. Finally, Nabulungi brought out everyone's plate. It was white rice with chicken and a mix of vegetables.

"I hope you like it." Said Nabulungi. "I added the spice and herbs on the chicken just like you like it."

"Ha, Nabu, if ya cooking de meal then ya know I be eatin' it." Said Shandra as she wagged her tail.

Nabulungi smiled then sat down at the table.

"Okay everyone. Let us pray." She said. Everyone bowed their heads. Then Nabulungi spoke again. "Mungu ni mwema, mungu ni kubwa, asante kea leo chakula chetu, katika Jina la Yesu tunaomba."

"Amina." Said Erik and Dembe.

"Amen." Said Shandra. Then they all began to eat.

"So, Shandra?" Said Erik, starting conversation at the table. "How did you meet my mother?"

Shandra quickly swallowed a piece of chicken and said:

"Oh, its a good story. I think it was a month ago...no, a bit longer....anyway, it was definitely one of me worst weeks. I done just got of de plane from Jamaica, I was all mad and tired, oh boy, I was in such a mood, but then your mother made me a special dinner dat night. Mmmmm, I remember it now, it was ox tails with dirty rice. I neva been so surprised in me life. A chef in the states dat cooked real good Jamaican food, ha. Once I finished me plate, I marched right up to that kitchen to thank de chef personally. And dat be how we became good friends."

"We go shopping sometimes when I am on break." Said Nabulungi.

"Yea, ya mother here really likes de color purple." Said Shandra.

Everyone laughed a little. Dembe continued to question Shandra.

"What do you do for money, Miss Stewart?" He said.

"Well, I started as a singer." Began Shandra. "De two things I loved when I was a young pup, music and basketball. I used to play for de school team, but I done broke me back or something and stopped playing. So, after all dat mess, I took singing lessons and became a singer and I wrote a few songs. Dey called me de soul mama, haha. Anyway, once me name was spread around in Jamaica, I made a choice to own me own record label and when I moved it to de states then business was booming'. Now, I made me money and I want to start something new."

"Like what?" Asked Dembe.

"Being his agent." Said Shandra as she pointed to Erik. "I believe de boy can make it. He got de talent, but ya about to enter a whole new world."

Erik looked puzzled.

"I have been through a lot in my life. I will learn while I play."

"Oh, ya think that at first." Said Shandra. "But then dat feeling changes. Ya pride is broken down with de money, de fame, de gold diggas, ha!. Believe me, I know."

Erik was silent. He quickly recalled his "interview" with Hildegard. He wasn't really prepared for that whole exchange. He then started to rethink what he just said. Shandra swallowed another bite of the chicken.

"I can help ya Erik. I can lead ya through this career. Help ya reach your full potential....and all ya got to do is play ya game." She said.

Erik smiled as he thought of it. He was always inspired to play in the FBA, having someone willing to help him inspired him even more.

After some good food and some good laughs, Shandra said her goodbyes.

"Nice seeing ya again Nabu." She said as she gave the short leopard a tight hug. "Next time we be going to de mall. I done saw this new dress that will make ya look fabulous."

Nabulungi laughed and hugged back. Then Shandra went over to Erik and said.

"Alright now boy, I got to get an answer?" She then held her arms up on both sides, smiled and said: "Ya gonna let Shandra make ya a star?"

Erik thought for a while. After his meeting with Hildegard, he began to feel a little less confident in how prepared he was for the FBA. Shandra was the only one to give him a chance and she already knows what it's like to be famous and have a lot of money. Finally, Erik smiled big and said:

"We have a deal."

Shandra made a happy little scream and hugged Erik tight. Erik was startled at first, but eventually hugged back. The two together looked like polar opposites, but it also seemed like the beginning of a crazy friendship.