The Badboy, the Catfish & Me

Twenty-Two

I was dumping my stuff out of my locker when Valentino walked into the classroom. I couldn't pretend I hadn't seen him, so I greeted him with a small, uncomfortable smile.

"Hey, Valentino!" I said. "Congrats on winning against Morrison!"

Now that he was standing beside me, I inhaled sharply to see his hair was still a mess and there were slight dark circles around his eyes. I hadn't imagined them when he was playing yesterday's game.

"Is everything okay?" I added, feeling my heart sink at the sight of him like this.

"Oh, hey, Inaya. Thanks! And yeah, I'm fine. Why? Do I look that horrible?"

"Just a little." I let out a small laugh, but inside, I was anything but cheery. "Something the matter? You can trust me." I held back a sudden need to choke from saying those words.

"I'm good. Just didn't have enough sleep, I guess." He flashed a wide grin, trying to pull himself together. But he settled onto the locker between mine and his. I waited as he stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking up again. "Do you think I'm a good friend, Inaya?"

"Of course!" I replied, raising my eyebrows as I leaned forward a bit. "Why wouldn't you think so?"

"Well...someone doesn't think I am."

"Yeah?" I invited him to continue, gripping the metal edge of my locker door. I could see confusion and hurt in Valentino's eyes.

He turned away to open his locker and said, "Maybe some friendships aren't meant to last."

"You're a really, really good friend," I found myself saying. It was all I could say when I knew I was the cause.

Valentino glanced at me with lips slightly curled up. "You are, too."

My hands went cold, and I swallowed hard. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Mrs. Asaka standing from her desk to make her way to the front of the classroom and begin attendance.

"We should sit."

Valentino pulled a notebook out and shut his locker door. "Yeah."

It was a long day at school, and I couldn't stop thinking about my conversation with Valentino. I was torn. On one side, I wanted to stop playing so I wouldn't give him hope that we'd be more than just online friends. But on the other side, I wanted to keep playing because of how badly not playing was affecting him.

"Inaya," Mrs. Asaka called my name at homeroom at the end of the day. "Can I see you for a moment?"

"Yes?" I was suddenly plagued with worry. I waved my goodbyes to Salah and Ameena and approached Mrs. Asaka's desk.

She used a stylus to trail down the screen of the school tablet in her hands before looking up at me.

"Inaya, the final grades are being tallied up. We can confidently say that you will be our salutatorian this year."

"What?" My back snapped up straight.

Mrs. Asaka let out a chuckle. "Are you shocked? You've done an amazing job this year. You've earned it. You should know that as a salutatorian, you'll give a speech at graduation after the valedictorian gives hers. You should start preparing it now."

"Oh." I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling choked up.

I was salutatorian. Not valedictorian.

My teacher nodded in farewell, but I barely saw it, rushing out of the classroom. The halls were dotted with students leaving for home and others staying after school as I barreled my way to the nearest girl's bathroom. Nearly slamming the door open, I felt a crushing weight over my shoulders and emotion got the best of me for once.