Malia & Khari III: The Kids

Scarlett Isabella Valentine

2:45 p.m.

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The bell had rung signaling that school was out, and I dashed out of my calculus class. Ryan and Ascaria in the group message was blowing my phone up. I placed the chat on mute before making my way to my car. I wanted to get home and get a good nap in before the game. Opening the door, I placed my bag in the backseat and almost got into the car when I heard KaNoah call my name.

   "Yes?" I looked at him.

"Damn, you ain't said shit to me in nearly three weeks. Everything good? You aight?" He adjusted his backpack on his back while looking at me.

  I nodded. "I'm fine, Noah. Just focused on school and basketball, you know how I am. This isn't anything new."

"And Roman." I heard him mumble.

  Smirking, I folded my arms and leaned my head to the side. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Noah. Plus, Roman and I really haven't been hanging out much. So, if you would please stop following my life it'll save you the heartache."

He smacked his lips, and shook his head. "Nobody jealous of that nigga, man. And I'm not worried about you either. I got other bitches on call every night. Don't play yaself." He moved towards his car, which was beside mine and I closed my door. I wasn't too happy with his choice of words or his tone.

  "So, I'm a bitch now?" I asked.

He threw his jacket and backpack in the backseat, and turned to look at me. "If the shoe fit, then wear that shit. Did I call you one? No."

  "You implied it, though. But, it's cool." I shrugged. "I know you like me, Noah. Ima just throw that out there and the feeling isn't mutual so you're a little hurt, it's okay. We don't always get what we want. But, what you not gonna do is disrespect me. If anything, we know each other way better than that regardless of the circumstance. Now, when you're ready to talk to me like you got some damn sense, you know where to find me."

I looked at him before getting into my car, and closing the door. I pressed the engine button then put on my seatbelt. I saw KaNoah just staring at my car making me shake my head and back out of the parking space. I drove out of the parking lot and headed into the direction of my home. I decided to ride in silence, to clear my mind. I put Noah and his actions on the back burner, for now.

  When I stopped at the light, I sent a quick text to Kamari to see how he was doing. I was still pretty bummed out about him going to rehab. That meant that it was bad, and that was hard to accept. He quickly sent me a picture of him bugging Farrah while she was doing her homework. I smiled, happy that he was slowly getting back to himself. The light turned green, and I put my phone down to finish the drive.

It didn't take me long to get to the house because it wasn't too far from the school. I noticed Mommy's car not in the driveway, but daddy's was. I shut off the engine, grabbed my things, and got out of the car. I typed in a code to get in the house and immediately heard daddy's music. I instantly snapped my fingers and sung along to Good Man by Raphael Saadiq. I placed my bag by the door before I went to find the old man.

   I figured that he was in his office so that's where I headed first. When I made it to the door, I knocked gently then pushed it open. He looked up, and smiled. "Hey baby girl, how was school?" He put the papers he had down in his hand, and got up to greet me.

"It was good." I was pulled into his embrace then he placed a kiss on my forehead and cheek. "How was your day?"

  "Much better since I've been blessed by your presence." He smiled at me before going back to his chair.