when we were young (JEM#1)

29.

Sitting down beside a brown skinned girl in her table group, Jamie being the everfriendly child she was turned towards her and asked her the question every 9 year old wanted to here. "Hi, I'm Jamie. Do you want to be my friend?" Shakiyah looked at the dark skin girl who sat beside her than looked at her hand that was reached out. Grabbing she shook her hand with a smile just as big as hers. "Yeah, my name shakiyah. You're my best friend now."

"Cool." The girls burst into a fit of giggles at their new found friendship.

If only they knew where that would lead them, twenty odd years later.

3 years later: 12 years old

"why would you tell everyone I liked him? it was supposed to be  a secret between us." Jamie excaimed with tears in her eyes.

she had confided in shakiyah about one of their mutual friends who she had a crush on since kindergarten, and she had told everyone in their friend group.

"What? i was doing you a favor you needed to realize he would never go for someone like you." shakiyah said looking her up and down. "Besides he says he likes me, so wouldn't it look bad if you liked him whilst he liked me."

Jamie could just feel the cockiness radiating off of her. she was sick of her but if she stopped being friends with her she knew she would lose all her other friends too. Jamie hated being alone so all she could do was suck it up and agree with her.

" i guess your right, he probobly only sees me as a friend anyway." jamie said forcing a smile on her face when on the inside her heart was slowly breaking.

2 years later: 14 years old

" i dont understand why i cant be friends with him." jamie said madly confused. out of no where shakiyah had proclaimed that her and kareem couldn't be friends anymore and that their communication was making her uncomfortable.

previous to this encounter the three of them had been thick as theifs but it seemed that shakiyahs personality had  done a 180 overnight. now she was deaming that jamie and kareem cease contact immeditely .

"i dont care, your making me uncomfortable. as my best friend you shouldn't be so close to my man, its wrong and you should be ashamed of yourself. your acting like a slut."

jamie was speechless. she couldnt recall any instances where she acted more of a friend  to kareem. she may have had a crush on him in previous years, which  shakiyah had known about but that was long gone. she ultimatley didnt know what to do. kareem was the realest friend she had in a while and she didnt want to lose him. but she had known shakiyah for longer and didnt want to end off middle school frindless.

'"okay, ill back off from now on." jamie complied

"see, this is why we are friend s. you always listen to me." shakiyah smiled brightly as she pulled jamie into a tight hug.

as shakiyah held her all she could think about how she was going to cut her off before highschool started she was sick of her toxicity.

A year later : 15 years old

Jamie had successfully cut herself off from shakiyah and their friend group after Kareem had moved and high school had started. She had met Malaysia and Essence who quickly checked her on shakiyah's behaviour and how she needed new friends asap. With those words of encouragement she able slowly but surely separate herself from that group quietly. So quite in fact no one noticed for a while. Shakiyah hadn't noticed till she had seen Jamie happy with Malaysia .

Jamie being happy bothered shakiyah to no end. Something about her having something that she didn't aggravated her. So obviously she had to make sure that the happiness Jamie was feeling wouldn't last long.

Jamie was in the washroom washing her hands as she waited for her friends come down from their classes for their lunch hour. She heard her name being called an turned towards the sound.

Their she saw shakiyah and her former friends barricading the door preventing her from escaping.

"So what makes you think you can go around bad mouthing be to everyone just because you got you some new friends." Shakiyah said scrunching up her face.

"What do you mean?" Jamie asked puzzled. She just wanted to use the washroom in piece.

" I heard you and your lil friends have been going around shit talking me just because your attention deprived." shakiyah spat out.

Jamies head reeled back in shock, and her eyes began to water. She was heated, mad as hell even. But she was trying to not let it show which was obviously not working.

" I'm not going to involve myself in foolishness, move out of the way so I can leave." Jamie was tired of constantly being confused all she wanted was to eat her food in piece.

For once in her life shakiyah decided to oblige  to Jamie's request, and moved.

As Jamie made her way past shakiyah she felt her hair being grabbed and felt her head being pulled backwards, causing her whole body to be pulled back.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Let go!" Shakiyah may have snuck her from behind, but that didn't mean she had the upper hand.

Even though both girls grew up with brothers only one of them had been in physical altercations before.

Jamie expertly grabbed the arm that was holding her hair and grabbed it, twisted it , and threw shakiyah onto the floor. By this time a crowed had started to for in and outside the bathroom, and didn't take long for the teachers to rush in and break up the fight.

"I CANT BELIEVE I EVER CONSIDERED YOU MY FRIEND. I PUT UP WITH ALL YOUR SHIT FOR WHAT? TO BE BULLIED BY YOU? I FUCKING HATE YOU!" Jamie yelled with tears streaming down her face as two teacher held her back from a bloody shakiyah.

There lying in a pool of their own blood laid two misunderstood former best friends. Jamie stared at her former friend , once again with tears in her eyes just like how it was many years ago.

How could it have come to this? She though to herself as her consciousness slowly slipped away. The last thing she heard were sirens and the desperate cries of Kareem. Pleas for her to open her eyes one more time.

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