Devine, Kuhn, Nunez 1

Joshua Devine, Charlotte Kuhn, Gabriel Nunez

Prof. McGriff

Comp 1

02/03/2020

Rumpelstiltskiez

What sacrifices would you make in order to make someone you love happy? For

Devante, the aspiration to play music was the center of his existence. While basketball was at the

core of Devante's’ fathers’ attention, Devante knew that wasn’t the life for him because of his

needed music like he needed to breathe. This filled him with much sorrow because the last thing

he wanted was his father’s disappointment. He always tried to force some sort of love for

basketball for his dad’s sake, but no matter what he did, his efforts fell short. His father

constantly pushed him to be better and Devante genuinely gave it his all. He would practice

every day and would try and watch all the instructional videos he could find. Though Devantes’

progression was lackluster, his father blind to his sons’ inabilities, would brag throughout the

town about his sons’ “skills” on the court. One day while his father was touting his amazing son,

he sparked up a conversation with the local high school basketball coach. “If you play my son,

he will no doubt be the star of your team and the talk of the town”. “bring him in,” the coach

says “we have tryouts in a week, let’s see what he can do.” Later after his dad came home and

told him about the news dread instantly took control over Devantes body, throwing his mind into

a panic. A chaotic surge of unintelligible thoughts rushed through his head. A week came and

went. Devante sitting in the locker room alone trying to expel the feeling of disdain. He knew

that today would be the day he finally opens his fathers’ eyes to the shame that will wash away

the false sense of pride he has grown so accustomed to. As he felt the first tear guide it's way
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down his cheek he spoke aloud to himself “I would give up everything I have if I could just for

this moment shine on the court and make my dad proud”. Then at that moment, Devante hears a

cough coming from a shadowy corner. Devante shocked, turns to face the direction of the sound.

Out of the darkness walks a tall slender man in a slick jet-black suit, he smelled of sulfur and the

skin on his face was pulled back tight revealing a menacing smile. He looks into Devantes eyes

and asks “How would you like to be the best player at tryouts today?”

Devante still alarmed stared blankly into the mans’ unusually dark eyes. “I’m sorry if I

surprised you but I couldn’t help but overhear that you are a bit troubled. Maybe there’s

something I can do to help”. The tall man walked closer to Devante and took a seat next to him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled a card and gave it to Devante. It was a bone-white card

with the name “Meph & Stopheles Industries inc” on it in dark red ink. “how could you help me?

I’m horrible at basketball and my tryout is later today. There isn’t anything anyone can do for

me” Devante sighed. The man just stared at Devante smiling waiting for the outburst to end. He

put his arm around Devantes’ shoulder and took a deep breath. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I

can help you be the best man on the court today. All you have to do is ask”. “What do you mean?

Can you really help me?” Devante asked desperately. “Of course, I can help you. I can make you

a star! You just have to say the word, but there is just one”. Devante interrupted him with his

answer. “YES, HELP ME PLEASE!” The man’s grin widened as he reached into his coat to pull

out a small rolled up piece of paper and handed it to Devante. “Sign on the dotted line and

consider it done. Now, all we have to talk about is the payment for my services.” Devante froze.

He should have known there was a catch. “How much is it?” “Not much my boy.” He said. “I see

that nice
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class ring you have on. Just give me that and I will consider the debt paid”, Dante looked down

at the ring. He hears the intercom call out the tryouts start in 15 mins. Without a second thought,

Devante signed the paper and removed the ring and handed it to the man. The man takes the ring

and slides it into his pocket. “Nice doing business with you.” Said the tall dark man with a smile

and starts to walk out the door. Devante waits for the man to come back with this miracle he

promised but the man never came back. Feeling cheated Devante moped to the court ready to be

the failure he knows he is. As he takes his first step on the court his body is filled with energy.

His feet feel light as feathers and his heart starts to pound. The tryouts begin and Devante is

unstoppable. He makes every shot he attempts. He is profoundly faster than everyone else.

Devante can’t believe it. This has to be the best he has ever played in his life! The final whistle

blows and the coach pulls everyone in. After he lets everyone know where and when the roster

will be posted he looks at Devante and says. “Stay around after everyone leaves”, Devante

surprised waited in the back of the court for the coach. The coach approached him and tells him

that His talent would only be waisted playing for a high school team. He lets him know that he

has a friend who is doing tryouts for the city’s premier basketball team and that Devante should

try out. Devante is floored by the news. The coach thanks him for his time and walks him out of

the gym. Devante’s dad who was at the tryouts overrun with joy sprints to Devante and hugs him

tight lifting him of the ground “You’re amazing son! To have the coach refer you to the premier

league. That’s my boy! You have a week before your next tryout. Let’s get you home so you can

rest up and start getting ready for the next tryout.”

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The car ride home was surreal. Devante had no idea how it happened but the tall man had

kept his word. “All that talent and ability for a stupid class ring. I didn’t even like it that much.”

Devante’s dad would not stop talking about how happy he was for him. He knew deep down that

it wasn’t really him. A few days go by and the city tryouts are coming fast. Without the help of

the man in black, he would again be the loser he knows he is and that his dad would be

heartbroken. As time moves forward the dread weighs more and more. Devante in his

desperation starts to think of ways of getting out of the tryouts. Maybe he will pretend to be sick

or say that he hurt his ankle and wouldn’t be able to play. It didn’t help that his dad reminded

him every day that the tryouts were soon and how happy he was for him. His head spun in circles

and his heart was breaking because he knew that his dad would be brokenhearted when he found

out the truth. The only thing that seemed to help was his music. Devante grabbed his headphones

and left his home to clear his head. He drove downtown to a local park and started to walk

around. The sun was warm on his face and kids were playing tag around the trees in the grass.

He finally started to relax. For the first time in what seemed like ages, he was able to breathe and

clear his head. Devante started to approach the other side of the park when he noticed the man in

black exit a building about a block down. He was yelling at someone on his phone. His cool

demeanor gone and his pale face flushed with anger. Devante decided to try and sneak closer and

see what had made the man in black so angry. He crossed the street with a group of people and

hid behind an SUV when he was within earshot. The man in black suddenly yelled “Don’t think

you can get out of this! Do you know who I am? I will ruin you!” Devante smiled. Whoever is

on the other side of that line is really getting an earful. “You’re gone, pal. Done! Or else my

name isn’t Rumpelstiltskin!” The man in black hung up the phone and stormed back inside the

building. “Rumpelstiltskin? What kind of weird name is that? Maybe it's like when rappers
 Devine, Kuhn, Nunez 5

change their name like Post Malone or Tekashi69.” Devante thought about it as he walked back

to his car. “Oh well, there are more important things to think about like the tryouts” and drove

home. Devante woke up in a cold sweat on the day of the tryouts. He couldn’t sleep at all that

night. He could only think of how he wouldn’t be able to perform.

His dad drove him to the tryouts. He gave him tips and told Devante he would wait in the

car so he could focus on the tryouts and do his best. Devante found himself in the same

predicament he was in like the first time. Alone with his thoughts, he began to wonder what he

was going to do. How was he going to break the news to his dad that he was a failure? He hung

his head down and said: “what am I going to do.” A familiar voice called out “Hey kid long time

no see.” Devante looked up and saw the man in black entering the locker room. Devante jumped

up and yelled “You have to help me! I need to be good again! Please!” the man in black smiled.

“Sure, I can do that for you again. It won’t be a problem.” The man in black reaches into his

breast pocket and pulled another small rolled up piece of paper and handed it to Devante. He

snatching the paper out of the man’s hand and opened it. It was blank. Devante stood frozen.

“Why? Why is it blank?!” The man’s smile widened. “We haven’t talked about payment yet”

Devante should have known. “What do you want?” The man took back the contract. “A silly

class ring wouldn’t be enough this time. I need more…” Devante began to feel his stomach turn.

Suddenly the silence broke because the intercom announced tryouts start in 15 mins. Devante

started to panic. “What do you want?” “Give me your car and I can make you great again” “my

car?” Devante thought about the 1990 Honda Civic his dad helped him buy. The faded paint, the

oil leaks, the fact it didn’t like to run when it was cold outside. It was his only way to get around.

He can’t give up his car, can he? The intercom went off again. 5 mins until tryouts start. Devante
 Devine, Kuhn, Nunez 6

started to pace. Is his car worth making his dad sad? No way. Nothing is more important than his

dad’s happiness. “It’s a deal! The car is yours.” The man in black handed back the sheet of

paper. The contract was now on it. Devante signed it without a second thought and rushed out of

the locker room. The coach came out and started tryouts. As he takes his first step on the court

his body again is filled with energy. The adrinalen starts pumping threw him. The power in him

that was profoundly greater than the first tryouts. He felt incredible, the star of the show. His

speed was unmatched and no one could stop him. The coach stood there in awe at what he was

witnessing Devante do. The final whistle blows and the coach tells everyone he will post the

results later that day. The coach motioned Devante to come over. “Son I have never seen anyone

play like that. You have a special gift and I can’t keep you. It wouldn’t be right. I have a friend

who is the head coach of the minor league team here in town. Go to his tryout next week. I will

let him know you’re coming.” Devante’s jaw dropped. Minor leagues? Me? It was bittersweet.

He knew it wasn’t really him that was doing these amazing things. Devante walked outside and

told his dad the good news. Dad was on cloud 9. He hugged Devante with tears of joy in his

eyes. “Son I'm so proud of you!” the car ride home was strange. Dad was going on and on about

Devante’s future but he felt terrible. What is he going to do?

The week flew by and before he knew it was the night before the tryouDevante tossed

and turned throughout the night barely getting any sleep again before the tryouts. He kept

thinking about how he had played so well in the last two tryouts and desperately hoping the man

would show up again before the tryouts because without the man’s contracts Devante stunk at

basketball. Devante suddenly jumped out of bed realizing he had nothing of value left to give the

man. He started pillaging through his room to find anything at all that would be of value to give
 Devine, Kuhn, Nunez 7

to the man. Devonte came up empty-handed, then began to panic. What was he to do if the man

showed up and he had nothing to offer him? Now with only an hour left before tryouts, Devante

frantically put on his gym close ran downstairs and gulped down a bowl of Wheaties and jumped

in the truck with his father and headed for the minor league tryouts. By the time they arrived, it

was almost time for the tryouts to start. Devante was in the locker room starting to feel defeated.

The man that helped him the last two tryouts had normally shown up by now. Devonte was about

to give up hope when suddenly he smelled a distinct odor of sulfur, he then turned around to see

the man. He still had the same sinister smile and wore the same slick black suit. Devante already

knew the drill, but still, the man asked: "what seems to be ailing you today boy?". “I need to

outshine everyone on the court today, I need to be even better than the last two tryouts”. "I can

do that for you, but the question is do you want it?” the man asked. Devante shook his head

vigorously up and down and said: “I want it more than anything I have ever wanted in this

world”. But then a frown came upon his face. The man looked Devante in the eyes and said: “do

not worry I have the contract right here for you to sign.” Devonte looked up at the man and said,

“but I have nothing more to offer you”. The man smiled his wicked smile and said: "yes you do".

“I will gladly make you the best player the minor league team has ever seen and all I ask in

return for payment is for you to give me your musical talent.” Devonte was not sure if he wanted

to give up his musical talent. He knew it was the only true talent he possessed. But Devonte

thought about how happy it made his father knowing he played basketball. So, after a few short

minutes passed he looked at the man and said: “I will take your deal”. Devante signed the

contract and the deal was done. Instantly he felt his musical talent wash away from his soul.

Feeling the now empty void in his inner being he immediately realized that living a life without

music would be to not live at all. Just before the man walks out the door Devante yelled:
 Devine, Kuhn, Nunez 8

“WAIT!”. The man turns around and looks at Devante with a confused stare. “I don’t care about

basketball anymore, I just want my musical talent back,” Devante says with agony in his voice.

The man takes a second to think and his cheeks slowly peel back into a grin. “I will be willing to

change that deal,” the man says. The feeling of relief in Devante was interrupted by the man who

added: “But there is one condition”. “I Will give you the fifteen minutes before tryouts to guess

my name, if you guess correctly I will give you your musical talent back, but I will strip away all

the basketball talent”. A wide grin spread across Devonte’s face. The man said, “why are you

smiling boy?” Devonte said “I will not need fifteen minutes to guess. I already know your name.

It’s Rumpelstiltskin.” The man said in shock “I can’t believe it but you are correct. No one has

ever guessed my name.” He snapped his fingers and poof up into a black cloud of smoke he was

gone.

Devante rushes onto the court speeding past his coach, avoiding any eye contact with his

father as he hurries out the door leading to the parking lot. He stops in the middle of the parking

lot and with an outpour of emotion he begins to cry convulsively. His dad then bursts out of the

door behind him and in seeing his son in such a state he runs up to him and hugs Devante tight to

his body. “What’s the matter son?” his father says. Devante then begins to confess and tell his

father about everything that has happened over the past few weeks. His father could hardly

believe what he was hearing but the trust he had for his son outweighed any doubt he had. He

grabs his son's shoulders and moves Devante in front of his so he can look into his eyes and says

“Son I hope you never feel like I am not proud of you. You have always made me proud and

nothing on earth, not even basketball will ever change that. If its music you love then it is the

music I will support. You see son it is not the activities or the material that makes me proud, it’s
 Devine, Kuhn, Nunez 9

the happiness on your face that fuels my pride”. Devante squeezes his dad tight and with tears

running down his face says “I love you dad”. His dad responds “I love you too son, more than

you could ever imagine”.