*Understanding Him*

Chapter Twenty-Five

*Corey's P.O.V*

Th air buzzed with excitement from every person walking the halls, teacher and student alike.

The last days of school were always the most carefree of them all; teachers rarely gave any homework or class work so we basically had free periods all day.
Our teacher allowing us to be on our phones this last period was a bonus as I played Candy Crush on my IPhone. Lamon was on his own phone as well, occupied with whatever game he was engaged in; as was Javon.

"We should celebrate tonight", Jay spoke up from his seat to the left of me. "Let's go out for burgers with the girls or something."

"Dude, we're gonna be together all day tomorrow, I think we should get some rest", I chuckled out. Javon was always up for celebrating something.

"Surprisingly, Corey's right. Everyone should get some sleep. Christmas is tomorrow", Lamon chimed in, eyes still glued to his phone.

Lamon and I had become friends now; don't get me wrong, he still knew that if he messed up with Laria I'll be there waiting to shoot my shot, but nevertheless we got along pretty well. We didn't start off on the right foot in the beginning but I understood why; he explained all of it a few weeks ago.

Wednesday when he came inside class looking as though he was on edge, I decided to talk to him, if not for his own sake then for Laria's. I could tell she was keen on finding out why he seemed so distressed. Turns out, he just needed help with finding the right words to say.

That day I was extremely tired from exhaustion; I had gotten minimal to no sleep the night before. My brother had called me and I rarely get to speak to him these days. He's at a college in Texas, and was studying law enforcement; he wanted to be a police officer. He was unsure if he wanted to come back here and stay or find some other state to go to.
We had been discussing all sorts of things that night way into the morning before we realized that it was time to head in. My brother was definitely my best friend. I barely had shut my eyes when my Mom was already waking me up for school, so that morning I was totally out of it.

"That's true. But we should definitely plan something for New Years", he started again. Lamon and I laughed aloud as we shook our heads at Jay.

Like I said, he loved to celebrate.

The last bell of the day rang as everyone cheered out, elated that the Christmas break had finally arrived.

"Remember to stay safe over the break everyone. Make good choices and don't give into peer pressure!" Ms. Molly, our English teacher was giving us parting words as we all herded out the door and into the halls.

We headed for the classroom we knew the girls had and bumped into them on the way.
Jay found Tulip as he slung his arm over her shoulder while Lamon did the same to Laria. I ignored the pang of jealousy that stung my chest and willed the smile I had to stay on my face.

"We made it guys! Now we could finally get the break we deserve", Tulip said triumphantly, as we all began walking to the front of the school.

"I have to admit, I will not be missing all that homework", Violet said smiling.

She was an attractive girl; her vibrant green hair contrasted her name and to me, it was hilarious. She was smart and funny and had become my friend along with the rest of them. As far as I knew, she was single and had no interests in anyone; this information should have sent me barreling towards her but surprisingly, it didn't.
Not that she wasn't someone I would be interested in, but because of the fact that she wasn't Laria. She wasn't the strong, bold, unorthodox chocolate skinned girl I had fallen for.
Maybe, if possible, I could get over Laria and she would still be available, maybe there'd be a chance. But as for now, I didn't want to hurt her in anyway by leading her on.