THE REAL HER

Chapter 5

As promised Alicia accompanied me to dinner one night at my parents. Since me and Alicia have been friends almost all of our lives she was familiar with all of my family and they were all familiar with her. Dinner was going nicely and mainly Alicia was the topic of discussion but she didn't mind. Better her than me... 

"So how's school," my mom asked her.

"It's good. I just can't wait to graduate and be done already."

"Me either," Amari put in his two cents.

"You have one more year left," my mom reminded him.

"Not if my music career takes off," he told her.

"And if it doesn't it's off to college," my dad told him and Amari shook his head because he had no plans to go to college but my parents wanted him to start making plans as a backup just in case this music thing didn't work out.

"So how are you and Franklin," my mom asked Alicia and she couldn't hide her smile even if she wanted to.

"Were great. He's great," Alicia blushed.

My mom smiled at her, "I remember when I used to be like that when someone brought up August."

"What you mean used to," my dad asked her.

"You know what I mean," she gave him a look and then her eyes landed on me, "And how's your boo?"

"Great," I lied because I had no clue how Greg was doing because I still hadn't seen him and winter break was now halfway through.

"No one says boo no more ma," Amari shook his head at her.

"Boo, bae, baby, it all means the same thing," my mom told Amari as my phone beeped with a message. I checked it hoping it was Greg but instead it was Bishop telling me he loved my designs and asked if we could meet as soon as possible so we could finalize everything.

I texted him back to set up a meeting and put my phone away.

"Was that Greg," my dad asked me.

"No, it was my new client," I told them and filled them in on the new job that I was working on i just didn't tell them who I would be working for. My parents were both proud of me and I was happy to hear it because all I wanted was to make them proud.

F L A S H - B A C K

I laughed, "So what did you do?"

"I kicked him in his balls and cussed his ass out. I don't know where his filthy hands have been so the fact that he had the audacity to slap my ass. He was lucky that was all I did."

Me and Alicia were at my locker and she was telling me what happened at lunch yesterday with her and some guy that pretty much sexually assaulted her.

"Boys are immature, all of them. It's why I focus strictly on my grades."

"You act like you have a choice. If your dad finds out about you even talking to a boy he's going to-"

"KALIYAH!"

My name being yelled cut her off and made us both look in the direction of Laurel storming down the hall along with Olivia and Charlotte. It had been a week since I confronted Wayne in the library and I thought that maybe he wasn't going to run and tell Laurel but I guess I was wrong.

"I can't believe you."

"What?"

"Don't play stupid. You know exactly what you did."