Just Shoot

[0] Malakai

EXCERPT

"Mal!"

I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes scanning the span of the cafeteria in search of the owner of the voice. It took a few moments for my gaze to settle on Ashani - her expression one of utter determination - as she walked over to where Kaiya and I were standing. Swallowing nervously, I shifted my position and watched Ashani's slow approach. Knowing just the kind of girl she was, Ashani only came up to people when she either: wanted something, had dirt to deal, or shit to start; and judging from the smirk on her face, I knew she was about to give me one helluva problem.

Kaiya squeezed my hand from beside me, obviously sensing my body beginning to tense up. I smiled down at her, trying to reassure her with my eyes that I was all right. I knew Ashani had some serious beef with her and the fact that we were doing our lil' thing now, most definitely, did not help their situation.

As soon as Ashani was within a foot of us, she came to an abrupt stop. If this exact occurrence was going down a few months back, I would have eagerly checked her out before I even acknowledged her presence, but at this very moment, I couldn't be bothered with what she was wearing.

"Ashani?" I asked wearily.

She flashed her signature smile, crossing her arms. "How are you guys?"

I stared her dead in the eyes. She didn't give a fuck. "What do you want?"

An eye roll was her initial response. "Chill, Mal. Ain't nobody tryna get into it with you right now. I'm talkin' to Kaiya, and that ain't your name, is it?"

I bit my tongue, trying to stifle the words that I desperately wanted to say to her. It was ridiculous how much Ashani and her slick mouth annoyed me.

After a pause, she continued. "Kaiya, how are you doing with your math class? I heard them math people tryna recruit you to their club or whatever."

Looking down at Kaiya, I noticed that she had sort of shrunk into my side. Ashani straight up freaked her out. "Well, uh, I'm doing fine. Mr. Peterson is really helping me out and I think I'm going to really consider joining the Mathletes."

This being news to me, I arched my eyebrows.

Ashani nodded, acting like she even understood how to spell Mathletes. "And how about your weekend? I don't think I saw you at Z's party."

My blood ran ice cold at the mention of Z's party which Kaiya had, thankfully, missed out on. I knew Ashani played games, but this, this was just crazy. The fact that she was even opening her mouth about what we had sworn to never bring up just three nights ago made me realize just how much she was trippin' right now.

I stared at Kaiya, watching as she mentally tried to piece together the purpose of Ashani's questions. The longer she stalled, the stronger my anxiety grew.

"Ashani, we boutta bounce. Maybe Kaiya can check you later?" I cut in.

She grinned, obviously understanding that I had finally caught on to her little game.

"Kaiya?" she pushed, waiting for a response.

Kaiya, completely oblivious to what was about to go down, cleared her throat. "Yeah, I had a church retreat so I couldn't go. Mal did, though. He said it was pretty fun."

Ashani couldn't help herself and laughed. "Lots."

"Excuse me?" Kaiya looked downright lost.

"Aren't you getting hungry?" I interrupted, addressing Kaiya. "I thought we was gonna get some food and go study in the library?"

She blushed at my blunt attempt at excusing us from this conversation and jabbed me in the side of my body.

Ashani, who seemed to be growing impatient with the diversion, sucked her teeth and continued.

"Didn't Mal tell you? I mean, Z's parties are known to be legendary."

"Tell me what?" Kaiya asked, scrutinizing both Ashani and my face.

"Mal, would you like me to do the honors?" Ashani asked, her eyes widening innocently.

"Ashani, don't do this," I begged quietly.

She shook her head, the grin fading and a frown replacing it. "Don't even try to spin this around on me. You did this to ya' damn self when you dropped me for her."

I turned to Kaiya, trying to ignore the pang in my chest as I watched her eyes fill with dread. There was so much I wanted to say and do to prove just how ridiculous Ashani was being right now, but I knew Kaiya and knew she wouldn't put up with this bullshit regardless of what I had to say.

"Tell her, Mal," Ashani said loudly, gaining the attention of some of the nosy onlookers in the cafeteria. "Tell her about Z's party and what we did."

My heartbeat sped up. I was in way over my head.

"Ashani, could you please just-"

She cut me off without a second thought. "I just want your new girl to know what she's getting into; so tell her Mal, or I will."

God knows I didn't want to call Ashani on her bluff.

"Kaiya I-"

"We screwed, lil' Kaiya. Mal and I screwed at his best friend's party."

Kaiya stared at Ashani. Her expression was completely blank.

"Mal and I had sex while you was probably up in your house tryna catch a clue and boy, does he do the damn thang. It was lots of fun, as he told you."

Kaiya jerked her hand out of mine and stumbled backwards, the force was so sudden it seemed to catch everyone off guard. Though no tears had fallen, they were going to real soon. I took a step towards her, wanting so badly to make things right.

"Mal?"

She was waiting for me to deny Ashani's words. She was waiting for me to tell her that I hadn't slept with someone else. She was waiting for me to stand up for her and our feelings towards one another.

Kaiya waited.

Ashani waited.

The entire student body waited, watching curiously.

Kaiya, however, didn't wait much longer. Before I could even attempt to clean my mess up, she was gone.

-

A/N:

Hello! If anyone is reading this, thank you so very much for even going as far to click on this. I hope you stick around for what's to come!

• This was just an excerpt, meaning its just a scene that I took from one of the future chapters that will be a part of this story. This is not the beginning. Don't get it twisted!

• Please be aware of the fact that this story will be told from the alternating points-of-views of Kaiya Johnson and Malakai Brown. Both are African-American teenagers and there will be a ton of colloquial language in this. If that's not your thing, then this may not be the book for you!

• I also encourage y'all to listen to the songs I put up with every chapter, it's what I listen to while writing and will be the story's playlist. Picture that comes along with the chapter is how I view Mal, by the way!

• This is dedicated to @QueenJames because she loves basketball just as much as I do (as I've noticed) and her stories are downright perfection.

Feedback is wanted and appreciated.

xo