Serenity

Eleven

I sat at the lunch table picking over my food and not really paying attention to anything--that was, until Malik plopped down in front of me with a bag of food from Wendy's. Where did he even get that from?

"Wassup witchu, shorty?" he said his familiar catchphrase right before that tongue of his glided across his lips as always.

I didn't respond with my words. Instead, I just looked up at him lazily and rolled my eyes.

"Somebody gotta attitude, huh?" he asked.

I sighed and pulled out my phone, continuing to ignore him.

"What's the problem, yo?" he asked more seriously.

"Why did you lie to me?" I asked, not even looking up at him. "You said you didn't have a girlfriend, and that was a lie."

"Actually it wasn't a lie, sweetheart. Like I said, Courtney is a liability--someone I'm trying to get rid of more like it. She ain't my girl."

"But you made it seem like you weren't messing around with anyone at all."

"Nah, shorty. I ain't make it seem like nothing. That was just your assumption that I wasn't messing around with anybody. All I said was I ain't have a girl, which is true."

After he said those words, I realized that he was right. He never said he wasn't messing around. He just said that he didn't have a girlfriend, so I couldn't be mad about it, not that I was mad anyway. I was just annoyed.

"Why you so worried about it anyway? You tryna me my girl or somethin'?" he asked with a raised brow as he took a sip of whatever he was drinking in his Wendy's cup.

"Absolutely not," I didn't hesitate to say.

"Okay then. Stop worrying about it," he said trying to dismiss the subject.

"Actually, I have a right to worry about it because you're dealing with someone, but for some reason you're always in my face and not theirs."

That smart mouth of mine. I meant to say that in a calmer tone.

"Tuh," I heard him murmur as he continued eating his burger.

"All I'm tryna say is, I don't want no problems with anybody. I just moved here, I don't bother anyone, and no one bothers me--well except you--but I'm just trying to keep it that way."

"I hear what you saying, Diamanté. I got you," he said as he studied my face. Why was he always looking at me like that?

Part of me wanted to just come out and ask Malik what he wanted with me. Another part of me said to just let it go and not make a big deal out of it. It was probably nothing anyway.

"Here," he said. Reaching into his white bag, he pulled out another neatly wrapped burger and slid it in front of me.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Umm. I don't know, shorty. Eat it probably," he said sarcastically.

"I don't take food from strangers," I said sliding the burger back his way.

"I ain't a stranger. Plus, you know you ain't gon' eat that other garbage in front of you."

"You are a stranger. I don't know you like that," I said, even though he was right. I wasn't gonna eat this food, but I didn't wanna take his food either. He could've done anything to it.

"If you scared, give it here. I'll take the first bite," he said, reaching for the burger.

"I ain't gonna eat after you. I don't know where ya mouth been," I said scrunching my face up.

"Well fine then, Miss Bougie," he said. "I'll eat it myself."