𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐁𝐎𝐘. | jodeci.

chapter two. | her name is molly.

chapter two
HER NAME IS MOLLY

DeVante yawned, pulling the front door open and stepping outside. He shut it back and took a moment to himself, stretching out his arms and slowly easing out his sleepiness.

"De! Look!" Dalvin's voice yelled from down on the sidewalk below, waking his older brother the rest of the way up and pulling his gaze to him.

Down on the ground in front of the DeGrate and Hailey houses, Dalvin sat in a kneeling position with the biggest smile on his face as he ruffled up the shaggy white and grayish fur of a large sheepdog.

DeVante walked down the front steps, rubbing his eyes a few times and squinting at his young brother and the shaggy dog beside him. "Am I seeing double?"

Dalvin and the dog looked right back at him, both cocking their heads to the side in confusion before looking at each other. They looked back at DeVante again and the dog laid down on the sidewalk.

"It's a dog, silly," the younger boy said, standing up and dusting himself off some. He smiled even brighter as he walked over to DeVante and gestured toward the dog. "Isn't she cute?"

DeVante shrugged, looking at the fur-covered dog as she lie on the ground and panted heavily. "She looks hot."

Dalvin scrunched up his face. "That's a weird thing to say about a dog, De..."

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment before giggling and chatter from elsewhere filled their silence. The brothers looked in the direction of the laughter and spotted two relatively tall young women walking together; one, a white girl with shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair, and the other, a black girl with dark colored eyes and brown highlights in her dark hair.

DeVante gawked at the girl, admiring the way that her hips swayed from side to side with each step that she took. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and smirked just a little bit.

"I know," the poised young black woman said, "he looked at me like I had five heads once I said it too..." She gently tugged at the side of her skirt, strutting down the sidewalk and glancing at the DeGrate brothers and the dog in front of them.

Her Caucasian friend squeezed her eyes shut tightly and laughed, snorting and shaking her head. "You're too funny, Ange!" Her loud and awkward laughter made the black girl grimace and move away from her a little bit.

The black girl shook her head and looked into the hazel eyes that stare at her. She smiled softly, stopping her stroll in front of him and grabbing ahold of her friend's arm.

"Look, Maddison," she said, looking over at the white girl who stood beside her. "They have a dog."

Maddison opened her eyes. "A dog?" She looked down at the sidewalk and gasped at the sight of the living pile of fur in front of her. "A dog!" She got down on the ground and began petting it.

The black girl focused her attention on DeVante and flashed a playful smile. "Cute dog..." she commented, "Is she yours?"

Everything froze for a moment, including DeVante's brain and his ability to form English sentences. Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, he pinched himself through the fabric and forced a word or two to come out.