Full Circle

I.

[LaShontae Heckard as Geneva Tilden]

I.

9 Years Ago...

All I could hear was chattering from my fellow classmates on this bus. The sound was driving me insane. I gave Keema a pass, because I had became accustomed to her loud mouth. These other kids? So fucking annoying yo.

One more year, Neva, I thought to myself as I shut my book and reached for my headphones and my MP3 player. I connected the two and let my music shuffle. Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" blared loudly in my ears and I nodded my head in content as I reopened my book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I couldn't wait to read the book; I was so glad that my best friend Keema got my the book for my birthday last June. It was yet another book on my desired reading list.

I was engulfed in the Southern vernaculars written across a page of the book when I felt eyes piercing my side intensely. I lifted my eyes from the book slightly to look from my peripherals. The burning stare was coming from him...

Mathew.

Mathew Lucania. Yes, you guessed it. A descendant of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, one of America's most notorious Italian mobsters. But instead of adopting Lucky as his nickname, he went by Easy. You would never think he was Italian by his smooth chocolate skin. Bad boy was in his blood, and girls loved it. Including me. I had been feenin' for boy since I could remember. He looked GOOD. It wasn't even his pimple-free dark skin, dark brown eyes, nice build, and straight white teeth that made him Lincoln High's sex God; it was his swag, his Harlem slang, and his mysterious vibe that had bitches will to drop their panties left and right for him.

But what was he staring at me and Keema for? Not saying I was ugly; I was far from it. Besides these glasses and braces, I had chinky brown eyes, high cheekbones, luscious dark hair, and full lips. I never wore make up, differentiating me from Keema and the rest of the girls in Lincoln.

I could tell he couldn't tell that I was staring right back at him, for my thick glasses was obstructing his view of my eyes and he was half listening to his boys in his ears talking about the new girls they just scooped. I had broken free from my stare when Keema, who was sitting beside me chatting on her phone with her "boyfriend", put her phone away and snatched my headphones out of my ear.

"What the hell?!" I snapped at her.

"Yo, keep those out your ears and listen to what they're saying. Mathew checking you out right now, Neva." Keema said lowly. She was looking back in his direction, making it quite obvious to him that she was talking about him.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "He probably looking at you. Look at what you wearing," I pointed at her extra tight Bebe belly tee, her tight black jeans, and her white uptowns. It was obvious why Mathew would most likely be looking at her rather than me, just like any other dude would. Keema didn't leave anything to the imagination. But I had to give it to my bitch though, she loved the skin she was in and she wasn't afraid to show what her momma gave her. Her waist was as thin as a needle, but her ass and titties complemented her shape in anything she wore. It could've been the piercings too that had niggas feenin' for her. She had her belly button, nipples, and her tongue pierced. And I could only imagine the thoughts that could pass through niggas' heads every time she would pull out a cherry Blow Pop or laugh with her tongue out when the conversation was really funny.

She frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Besides Keemie," I continued. "That was your nigga at one point. He might want a second chance."

Keemie scoffed, laughing. "I don't recall him EVER being my man. You buggin'. That was freshman year, one, and two, that was one time and we were drunk. Dick wasn't even good anyway."