The faint glow of the moon glisten through the drapes over his tanned skin, daring me to awaken all the forbidden desires I kept buried in my thoughts.
"Use me," He whimpers as my knees stoop to the floor,
❝... I am rightfully and solely yours, Aa...
Questions that were asked off-guard were one of my worst fears. It was not like I couldn't answer them, but it seemed like my anxiety slowed my brain from communicating to my vocal cords to speak. Then, I would unwillingly stutter.
Thankfully Zoya answered before me, "The name's Zoya, refer to me as she and her, and I absolutely despise people who wear socks with sandals." The last bit makes Mr. Jax shake his head humorously, and his eyes turn to me.
"I'm Aaliyah, often go by she and her, and- um can recite all the lines from the Breakfast Club?" I say the last part embarrassingly, my mind instantly calling me an idiot for saying it. But, it makes Mr. Jax softly laugh, as it seems like he rarely laughs, and said we can take a seat.
I can already tell this will be my favorite class.
More students came and answered the same set of questions, then the bell rang twice, indicating that class is now in session. Mr. Jax went to close the door, but a shoe got caught in the door. He opens it ajar, and a tall figure comes through.
I could only make out their long black pants to the back of their navy uniform blazer, and how their wavy black hair stopped above their ears. They pass a slip toward Mr. Jax in disregard to his ordered questions and turn to sit down.
Oh my god.
It is him.
It was the asshole from yesterday that took my favorite chocolates for himself. I was so caught up in my anger that I didn't realize how good-looking he was. He had this timely beauty that took up all your attention, no matter how irritating it may be. His waves were styled neatly, but an imperfect strand of hair was loosely on his forehead. You could tell from afar that tiny brown freckles were sprinkled on the bridge of his nose with childish adoration. He was beautifully annoying.
His green eyes bore into mine, and it felt like time permitted us to sink each other in selfishly. I wondered what he was thinking at this very moment: is he as annoyed by me as I am by him? We broke contact as he sat in the seat across from me, taking up the space as his own.
"Nice to see you, Tate," Zoya says sarcastically to the boy in front of me, and then it clicked. Valerie would speak of someone by the nickname, T, and how ridiculously talented they were but failed to put themselves out there. I thought it was a girl that she was close with, but yet, it was him.
He shrugs in her direction, not saying a word. "Who pissed in your cereal?" You can hint at the slight hurt in Zoya's voice, but she conceals it quickly and falls back into her seat.
"Today, we will just do a warm-up topic, so you guys can get a feel of what we do in the class," Mr. Jax begins. "Is religion saving our environment, or causing harm? Would anyone like to start us off?"
Debate was one of my favorite things to do as it welcomes a space of different minds with opposing mindsets on a particular question.
I raise my hand, and he nods in confirmation that I may speak. "Ultimately, I do not resonate with any religion. However, I believe that in some form, religion saves our environment by giving others a sense of hope and security in their life and even in death. Is it real? Did Jesus die on the cross to forsake our sins? I do not believe in it, but I know for some that can be their last unit of faith."
"Good point Ms-," Mr. Jax says but is interrupted by Tate's light snickers. "What is funny, Mr. Tate?" The boy with taunting green eyes turns in his seat to look at me mockingly,
"Yes, religion can be used as a safety net but that doesn't excuse the harm it causes as a whole. Faith is a fallacy that humans constructed into religions that mistakes itself for control. Have you ever asked yourself, 'If we didn't have religion embedded into our society, what would the world look like?' The answer is uncontrollable chaos. The government instills fear into the unknown, also called death, to ensure that we are tamable and children to the rules that weren't made by God, but by man, to keep us at bay."
The way he looked at me was the way a parent looks at their child as they ask a ridiculous question. I did not like how he spoke to me like I was beneath him mentally, and that my answer was from a naive standpoint. No man will ridicule my intellect and get brownie points for it.
"I did not say that religion did no harm, but rather explain others' intentions as it should be considered human. We should not judge others for finding outlets of hope in a world that sets specific standards of who can succeed. Judging by the yellow gold Rolex on your wrist, your white skin, and how you're masc-presenting to society: you are highly favored. So, don't try and mansplain patriarchal tendencies to me as you are the government's standard."
I expected him to be a coward and turn in his seat with arrogance, but his eyes briefly glimmered with intrigue before dissolving into coldness.
"Touché," he lowly replies and turn back around, just one word that brought shock to my core.
I did not expect that reaction at all, but can't lie and say that it wasn't exciting to be challenged after a very long time.
POA #2: Make Tate fall in love with me.
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