Baton Rouge.

Chapter 49 - "Plottin', Schemin'."

"Hello, I'm Mr. Gale! I'll be your trigonometry teacher up until summer vacation." The teacher smiled. "I'll just be writing down notes on what I expect for this class."

As the teacher started taking down notes, Jionni continued to pry Melissa.

"You hear me, Lissa?" Jionni whispered to her. "I told you I was sorry!"

Melissa continued to take down notes, not paying him any ounce of mind.

"Lissa!" Jionni whispered loudly.

"Excuse me sir, can I move?" Melissa asked as she raised her hand. "This boy next to me won't shut the hell up."

A few of the students in the classroom started chuckling at the teacher gave Melissa a disturbed look.

"Uh.....sure?" Mr. Gale laughed. "And next time, let's use language that's a little bit appropriate."

Jionni gazed at Melissa and placed his hands out as she got up out of her seat, walking across the classroom and sitting in the emptiest seat in the back. Usually when Jionni and Melissa fell out, he got signals that Melissa still wanted to be around him. And it usually tended to show in her body movement, demeanor, etc. This time, he could see nothing. She wasn't looking, moving, or even acknowledging him.

He was starting to realize how serious she was.

Once first hour was over, Jionni tried to catch up and talk to Melissa. However, she got away before he could catch up to her. As Melissa walked down the hall, Trina and the girls walked up to her and cracked large smiles.

"Welcome back Melissa boo!" They all chanted.

Melissa didn't say anything to them either. She continued to speed walk as the girls stopped in the full hall, giving Melissa a "stank" look as she turned and disappeared into the crowded hallways.

"Well hi to you too, bitch." Mercedes scoffed.

"What da' hell is wrong wit' her?" Trina asked Jionni as he looked out at them.

"She thank dat' I poisoned her wit' dat' damn rat poisonin'." Jionni sighed.

"Well shit, we ain't do it!" Britt Bratt scoffed. "Fuck she mad at us for?"

Melissa walked into her next class and sat down in the back row, listening to her phone vibrate. It was a text from Louis.

Louis: How's your first day back? Everything alright?

Melissa leaned forward in her desk, keeping on her nonchalant face and texting him back.

Melissa: I'm not talking to any of these boys or bitches. They're all suspect in my eyes.

At lunch, Melissa waited in line for her tray of food along with every other student. After getting her lunch 5 minutes later, she walked right out of the lunchroom and chose to have lunch by herself in the staff center. Not because she was scared, not because she didn't have any friends, but because she was done with associating herself with people at the school. Since someone tried to kill her, she wanted to make sure that stayed lowkey. Jionni walked into the counseling center, giving Melissa a disappointed stare.

"Lissa, for real?" Jionni groaned. "Will you stop fuckin' around?"

Melissa grabbed her tray and walked out of the counseling center. Jionni jogged out and placed his hands out as Melissa started walking down the long hall.

"For real, Lissa?" Jionni repeated. "Come on!"

Melissa continued to walk until she turned the corner, disappearing out of view. Jionni sighed and prepared to walk in the lunchroom when Chevy rushed up to him.