Playin' Hard (Original version)

Thirteen

         The bell rang somewhere in the background. What?

Troiann gathered her things and I had to rush to gather mine to catch up.

I met her in the hall, huffing for breath.

"W-what...happened?" I asked.

"Nothing." Troiann watched as DeAndre and Tremaine walked by looking at her with so much judgment in their eyes, well at least on Tremaine's part. Tremaine whispered something to DeAndre and DeAndre shook his head.

"Then what's going on?"

"Nothing, Cree. I was just done with Marcus, that's all. The rest of the Ballas are just acting like a bunch of S.A.B.s"

"S.A.B.s?"

"Sensitive Ass Bitches." Troiann led the way to the lunch room with a sway to her hips. A sway girls like me would need years of experience or practice to master. "We're not sitting with the Ballas any more by the way."

"Why not? They're our friends."

Troiann snorted. "Yeah, right. They're nothing but a bunch of assholes. We were never friends."

"That's not true. They look out for us."

Troiann stopped just as we made it to the cafeteria entrance.

"Friends? DeAndre blackmailed me into convincing you to go to After Hours that night. He knew I was messing with Marcus and held it against me."

She said it to hurt me. To turn me against DeAndre and the boys. But what hurt more was the fact that DeAndre had told me first to prove that he was genuinely trying to be my friend, and Troiann hadn't told me until after and when she did she left out the blackmail and the set-up.

Blinking, I took a step back. "You're only saying that to turn me against them. DeAndre already told me everything before you told me."

Troiann appeared impassive. "So is that your decision?"

"My decision? Troy we can still sit with them."

Troiann rolled her eyes and headed into the cafeteria. "Be that way then. When anything goes down and you need someone we'll see who's there for you."

"Just like you were there for me with Dereon?" I shot back as we got in line.

Troiann faced me, ignoring our small audience. "Grow up, Cree. No boy wants a baby."

"He came off controlling and aggressive!"

"Wow, one bad date and you act like you can't go on another one."

I took a step back and squinted, unable to see who was standing in front of me. It definitely wasn't Troiann. "What's wrong with you?"

She stepped closer. "You're what's wrong with me. You're supposed to be my best friend but no, you're standing here defending them. I ended it with Marcus thinking maybe we could all still be cool but the first thing I see this morning is Tremaine looking at me some type of way. Why? Because he's a Balla and they stick together. I bet if this was Marcus who ditched me, Tremaine wouldn't see a problem and would be eyeing me like he hoped he was next in line. They look out for each other and I thought we had the same thing. They're judging me and you don't even have my back!"

I was at a loss for words as she turned her back on me.

I wasn't hungry and I wasn't in the mood to sit with the Ballas either. Troiann's words had sunk in deep within my skin and I couldn't shake them off. Instead, I found myself alone at a table, sulking.