PANEL 1
Young Roberto walks and kicks his soccer ball. Up ahead, a group of older black TEENS, far taller than Roberto, stand in a pack. They smoke cigarettes.
TEEN 1
(to Roberto)
Hey, yo.
PANEL 2
Young Roberto stands before them, frozen. His face remains stoic. All the teens have turned towards him.
TEEN 1
Why’d you kick that basketball? Don’t you know that’s disrespect to the game?
PANEL 3
Teen 1 leans in close to Young Roberto’s face. Roberto remains motionless and somehow neither afraid nor unafraid.
TEEN 1
You unner-stand English? Een-gleesh.
PANEL 4
Teen 1 holds up the soccer ball in the center of his friends. Teen 2 stubs his cigarette out in the ball. TEEN 1 We don’t want no more goddamn soccer balls in the Ragbox.
TEEN 2
Yeah. Ha ha!
PANEL 5
Close up of the soccer ball, as everybody else joins in to put their cigarettes out on it.
TEEN 1
(off panel)
Burn it!
TEEN 2
(off panel)
Pop it! Pop it!
PANEL 6
Teen 1 still holds the ball outstretched, but the group has lost their spirit. The ball remains resolutely solid.
TEEN 1
Aghh! This isn’t working.