A few weeks had passed, and it was nearing mid-September, meaning that football season was coming to a start, and Mekhi's first game was in one week. She had washed her jersey, and she was fully prepared. Ever since they were younger, if she could help it, she never missed a game. Sakari wasn't even that big of a football fan, but he was so good at it, and she knew he loved having the support.
When his parents had to work, or one of them couldn't make it—even if neither of them could leave work in time to be there, he found comfort in knowing Sakari always was. It never failed.
At the moment, Sakari was on her way to her dorm from her last class when she heard a familiar voice from the corner.
"I-I told you I can't deal with this shit anymore, Jaden. I'm not—I can't," she heard her newfound friend—Aja stammering.
"And I told you I was sorry, Aja! You know I ain't mean that shit and she don't mean nothing to me, I love you, baby," whatever guy she was talking to said, and as badly as Sakari wanted to mind her business, she felt she should stay around, so she did.
"No! No," Aja snatched away from him. "She means more to you than I do and we both know that, Jaden," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm sick of you making me look stupid all over this fuckin' school while you do whatever you want! I'm not—I won't," she shook her head furiously and he just stepped closer to her.
"Back up," she said, voice shaky, and Sakari was on alert, already making her way over, just in case. "Move!" she exclaimed, pushing past the guy and walking briskly in any direction, Sakari could see he was about to follow—so she decided to intervene.
"Aja!" she called with a smile, acting like she didn't see her friend crying. When she looked over, her smile dropped. "Hey, you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone, walking over to her and briefly glancing over Aja's shoulder to see if the man would approach them, and he didn't.
"Sakari? I—hey," she sighed. Her usual chipper tone was replaced with something much heavier, like you could tell she'd been carrying this around. She furiously wiped her fave to rid herself of the tears.
"Hey," Sakari said simply. "Everything alright?" she wondered.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, don't let me hold you," Aja replied, pulling back from her.
"No it's okay I just wanna make sur—"
"I'm okay, don't worry," she flashed a quick smile and before Sakari could stop her, she was taking off toward what looked to be her ride.
As badly as she wanted to follow her friend, Sakari knew she probably needed some space right now, so she resolved to text her whenever she got back to her room
Sighing, Sakari resumed her trek back to her dorm when her phone dinged, indicating a text from either Mekhi or Jelani. They both had the same text tone, since she talked to them the most.
stupid💙🤞🏾: wanna go to the diner place I was telling you bout
: im broke friend
As she went to put the phone back in her hoodie pocket, he started to call her. She already knew he might.
"Yes, sir?" she answered, securing her headphones in her ears.
"Do you wanna go or not?" he appeared in the camera, starting to pull a shirt over his head. She saw his tattoos peeking from the top, but she quickly caught herself before she started staring. "If you wanna go, you'on gotta worry about paying you know this," he stressed.
She sighed silently. "Who's going, Khi?" she wondered.
"Me, Trae, Ethan, this other junior nigga from the team and—"
"So you was just gon bring me to a gathering of niggas? That's what this is?" she raised her eyebrows.
"No!" he laughed. "Amina and her friend coming,"
"So a gathering of niggas and the girl you fuckin' on? Mekhi I don't know them people," she explained. "Jeli is busy, Amber is still in cheer, and Aja is—well she's having a bad day. I don't wanna be surrounded by people I don't know," she said.
"We just been busy all week for like two weeks, ain't seen each other much," he shrugged.
"That's true, but you know I get uncomfortable," she pointed out. "I'd be glad to do something with you over the weekend, though," she offered. "Whatever you wanna do," she smiled widely, seeing as he looked kind of disappointed.
"Whatever?" he repeated and she nodded. "Okay, deal. I'a see you Saturday then, and I'm bringing you food back," he pointed and she laughed.
"Okay, Khi. Thank you, I'll see you," she waved, about to hang up.
"Aht! Love you," he cheesed.
"Love you too, softie," she giggled before ending the call. She sighed in relief and turned her music back up, quickening her pace back to the dorm.
As true as all of that was—she really did dislike being in groups where she only knew one or two people, she'd rather not be around while Amina flirted with Khi unashamedly. It's not like she couldn't control herself or the twinge of jealousy she tended to feel, she just hated seeing it sometimes and especially with someone as pretty as Amina Gaines. Made her feel like her already low chances took a nosedive to the pits of hell.
She wasn't the most insecure girl in the world, but she wasn't the most confident either, she just floated in the middle, having her doubts now and then, but when the guy she had such strong feelings for always tended to have Ms. Congeniality on his arm she began to float a little to the negative side.
Shaking her head to rid herself of the negativity that could follow, she checked blackboard to see what studying she could get done tonight, and what assignments were due in the next few days so she could get a jump on them all.
Then next morning, Sakari was up first. She yawned and stretched, checking her phone and seeing some messages from her family group chat from the night prior, making her laugh and reply with some random meme.
Her family had always been close, which was why being at at school sometimes could take a toll on her mentally and emotionally, but she knew she had to get used to it, she couldn't live with her parents and her siblings forever.
After that, she stuck her headphones in her ear to get freshened up for the day, thankful she took a shower last night. She kept on her bonnet and pj's because she knew she wasn't leaving until Khi came by and got her.
"Rise and shine," Sakari sang off key on purpose when she saw Jelani sitting up in bed upon her return, and Jeli cracked a smile, despite not being a morning person at all. "Ready to get this place all nice and clean?" she asked her friend.
"I guess, chile. Can I go back to sleep after? Lab kicked my ass last night," she huffed.
Instead of the typical Sunday morning cleaning, the girls made sure to tidy up or do whatever major cleaning they needed done on Saturday morning instead. It still gave them Saturday evening to go out, and Sunday to relax and unwind to prepare for the week ahead, or run any errands needed.
Every two weeks, those errands consisted of Target runs and grocery shopping with Trae and Khi. This was that week, the girls were in desperate need of some food and drinks—and snacks most importantly.
"Yes," Sakari laughed in response to her question. "It won't take us long, we did good putting stuff away this week. So...just sweep and swiffer, windows and mirrors, and a laundry run? Anything else we see along the way of course," she broke down, and Jeli agreed.
They started by shuffling a spotify playlist of 2000's R&B on Jelani's bluetooth speaker, Alicia Keys' You Don't Know My Name playing at a decent volume.
"Oooh baby, this my song," Jelani snapped along.
"She ate this," Sakari nodded along, sweeping the corner by her bed, singing into the broomstick dramatically, while Jelani recorded her, laughing.
Sakari was by no means a shy girl. She was what most would describe as antisocial, she wouldn't describe herself that way of course. It wasn't hard for her to make friends, once she applied herself. She just didn't feel the need to be everyone's friend—nor could she handle all of that. She would much rather be described as introverted.
Sakari preferred her small circle. She was happy she had a safe space to be herself, laugh, joke and get loud, and the friends she did have provided her with the perfect space and opportunity to do just that.
"Whew, that wasn't bad at all," Jelani yawned. The girls had finally finished, and their final touches were turning on their large wax warmer and the oil diffuser to give a breath of fresh air to the room.
"It wasn't," Sakari agreed. "You off to nap now?" she glanced at her friend and she was already under the covers of her newly made bed, making her laugh.
She decided now would probably be best to study and take some notes for her classes, since she was free and didn't really have anything to do until later on.
"Dean's list ain't gon make itself," she sighed, grabbing her things and heading to her desk.
"Tootie don't be mad at me," Khi said over the phone once Sakari picked up. She rolled her eyes slightly, knowing might be coming.
"Why would I be mad?" she asked.
"Practice running late as fuck," he groaned. "I hope you ain't get dressed yet," he said and she sighed silently, looking down at her clothes.
"No, I'm just picking something out," she lied effortlessly, sliding her jeans down her legs. "We can reschedule, Khi, it's okay. Plus, I'm gonna see you tomorrow anyway," she told him.
"No, I told you I was coming today," he pressed.
"You been at practice forever, you're gonna be exhausted. You think I'm gonna want you driving around and barely awake? Get some sleep when you get out, and we'll reschedule," she emphasized. She knew how he got once he was tired, it was really game over. So even if they did meet up, he'd probably fall asleep wherever they decided to go.
"Sakari," he groaned, which to her sounded more like a whine, he was truly an only child and it was adorable to her.
"Mekhi," she chuckled. "It's fine, I'm not mad,"
"Okay. Well Ima make it up, promise. Aight I'm hiding in the fuckin bathroom I gotta go before coach whoop my ass—shit there he go, bye!"
"Bye," she laughed as he hung the phone up.
"Man this shit stupid," Traveon huffed, as and Dontae followed Khi to the car.
Practice had finally ended, and all the boys were beat to say the least. Their first game being this weekend had their coach on edge and he was working them to perfection, or as close as he possibly could.
"I'm tired as hell," Tae said and Khi nodded in agreement, checking his phone and seeing Mina had dropped a pin. He swiped to clear the message, too tired to even entertain her at the moment. "Y'all tryna go get food before we go home? I know that diner still open" he asked.
"Nah," Khi shook his head. He felt bad about missing he and Sakari's plans. Even though they were made in the spur of the moment yesterday, he wanted to be there. He didn't want her to see him out and think he was purposely dodging her.
He had done a lot to make sure his friendship with her stayed in tact. He went out of his way to miss certain team events in high school, some after parties or celebrations because he knew his best friend wouldn't be comfortable there—and she had done so much to make him feel comfortable in his skin and not feel bad about his anxiety over the years it was only right he repay her.
To see her now, going out with her friends, albeit once in a blue moon, made him happy. Mekhi didn't want her to stay in her bubble forever, and he didn't want to force her out, so he was glad Jelani and Amber came along, to help her out at her own pace.
"We can just get cookout, I'm tired," Traveon agreed and the boys were off to eat.
On the way, he texted his father, who was very excited to see Khi play this weekend. His family always watched his games, and if they could they'd come see a few. He was grateful for the support of his parents—sometimes though, he felt like he disappointed his dad by not aspiring to be an NFL player, like him.
A big reason that his family even left Detroit when Khi was 4 was because his dad got hurt. He was a lineman on the Detroit Lions and after an unfortunate and unforgettable collision, number 16, Deandre Washington lost his game, and he never got it back.
From when he was young, Khi loved watching and playing football, so his father thought that he would want to go pro, just like him. So from a young age, Khi was in football clubs, he loved spending time with his dad practicing ball, watching games and improving his skill, but he always knew his mind wasn't on the field.
It was more like a pass time. He had to sit his father down one day in middle school and explain that he wasn't going to go to the NFL. He could tell it came as a shock to Deandre, but he needed to let him know before things became a little too complicated.
"Dad...I-I don't wanna play ball forever," a 13 year old Mekhi said at the dinner table while his mother was in the kitchen dishing out plates. She listened in with a smile, happy her son was taking his future into his hands and out of his dads.
"Wait what?" Deandre sputtered, slightly confused.
"I know you meant well and I appreciate everything you done for me dad, but I'on wanna be a professional football player," he shook his head and Deandre stared back, still confused for a second.
"We-well I thought, since you loved to play so much—"
"I do love to play, I still want to! But...just at school. I like spending time with you dad, I don't want us to quit hanging out because I don't wanna go pro," he said, shoulders slumping slightly, and at that moment Dre realized what he may have been causing his son to think and he immediately regretted it.
"Of course we won't stop hangin' out, Pop. I just had the wrong idea and that's my bad—whatever you wanna do with yo' life, know your dad's a hundred percent behind you," he said with a smile, and Khi's head popped back up, and a light was in his eyes that he hadn't seen when they played football.
"Really?!" he asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"Of course, my boy," Dre nodded. "Since you know what you don't wanna do, you know what you wanna be when you get old like me?" he asked as Tamara set everyone's food down.
"Yes sir, I wanna be a nurse that take care of them lil babies, you know, the sick ones, the um....I'on know sick baby unit" he said and Tamara chuckled. "I said it wrong, mama? I always forget."
"NICU, Mekhi," she reminded him.
"Yeah, that! I wanna be a NICU nurse," he said proudly, and her heart swelled with admiration for her boy.
"That's gon take a lot of hard work and studying, son. You ready for it?" he asked, a small smile growing on his face seeing how excited he was.
"Well...not yet, but Tootie say she can help me study, you know when we go to college," he explained and his parents nodded knowingly, she was always so helpful to him. "But, I told her she don't gotta help me for long, cuz Ima get it, and Ima be a good nurse,"
"You sure are," Tamara grinned. "Now let daddy bless the food, it's gon get cold,"
"Yes ma'am," he spoke and bowed his head.
After that, his dad eased up on him—but not by much. He preached that if Khi was still gonna be part of a team, he still had to be on his game, and he did just that.
Having his father's support meant the world, his mom too but she always knew what he truly wanted. Sometimes, Khi still struggled with anxious feelings of disappointing Deandre, but he could combat it with a good heart to heart with his dad every now and again.
After the boys got their dinner, Mekhi dropped Tae off to his dorm and soon enough the other two boys were back at their own.
"What time you tryna get up tomorrow?" Traveon yawned. "We still goin' right?"
"Yeah, honestly I was just gon get up when Sakari call me," he chuckled. "She probably gon be mad but hell, I'm not gon get up before 10 on my own," he continued, and as if she knew she was being talked about, Sakari called him.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Hey ugly," she grinned and he sucked his teeth. "You look tired, I'm not gon hold you. What time do you wanna leave tomorrow? If you're still too tired me and Jeli can go—"
"Nah, we going. I'on know what time Ima get up, so just call me when you get up," he said and she straight faced him, making him laugh. "What?! Is that not a logical plan?"
"I guess, Mekhi," she chuckled. "I'll call you tomorrow, go to sleep,"
"Yes ma'am, goodnight," he cheesed.
"Goodnight, sir," she smiled and hung the phone up.
After they hung up, he started to gather his things for a shower, completely drained, and ready to end the day on a good note.
"Mekhi get your fuckin phone," he heard Traveon grumbling from across the room. "I'm gon slap the shit out you if it keep ringing,"
"Fuck you—hello?" he groaned into the phone.
On the other end, Sakari stood with her mouth slightly ajar, pausing what she was doing at the sound of his voice.
"Hello?" he repeated, sleep coating his tone.
"Mekhi," she snapped out of her trance. "You told me wake you up when I get up, I been up for two hours," she said.
"You been calling my phone for two hours, Sakari?" he asked incredulously, and she could hear him starting to move around.
"No, boy," she chuckled. "For like ten minutes. Figured you were sleepy so," she shrugged. "But it's time to get up now, you know that target get crowded on Sunday," she said, pulling some sweatpants over her body.
"I know," he mumbled. For him to be so energetic during the day, she found it hilarious how irritated he was upon waking up. That was one thing they'd always have in common.
"Alright, Ima let you go since you being all stanky," she teased and he sucked his teeth. "That attitude better be gone when you get here, bye,"
"Whatever, bye," he chuckled.
Jelani reentered the room after brushing her teeth and washing her face, waking up not too long ago herself.
"Okay, you got your list?" Jeli asked, throwing her hair up into a scrunchie. Neither girls particularly worried about their appearances on errand day, they were both liable to walk around in pj's and sweatsuits.
"Yes ma'am, nothing crazy today but I have no snacks and I'm on my last pack and my last cup of noodles, I'm very much suffering," she giggled.
"Oh yeah baby we need to get you some food," Jeli laughed.
After about 45 minutes, Khi texted her to let her know they were outside, so once they had their things together, they made their way outside.
"Good afternoon," Sakari greeted, sliding in the backseat of the car. Jelani said hello as well, and the boys replied before they sped off to their destination.
In target, the girls grabbed a cart and the guys got their own so they wouldn't mix up groceries while they shopped, and made their way.
"Oooh, brownies," Sakari cheesed grabbing the plastic container. Her parents sent her a little extra this month so she was making sure to load up on snacks while she could splurge. "Oooh a big jar," she clapped to herself seeing the large jar or dill pickles.
"What the hell you got goin' on in this cart?" she heard Mekhi's voice as he reached for a box of cosmic brownies.
"My business," she chuckled. "You feeling better, Khi? You meed to sleep more," she fussed. She didn't even have to ask him to know that he was exhausted, she could tell.
"I know, Ima be straight though," he nodded. "Sorry for yesterday," he mentioned.
"Don't apologize, it's not your fault," she said, grabbing her cart handle and wheeling it toward the ice cream so she could grab a box of ice cream sandwiches. "Plus, I flaked on you the night before, so now we're even,"
"If you say so," he chuckled. "But next weekend I gotchu, we going to...I'on know yet, but we gon go somewhere," he said and she shook her head with a small smile, letting him continue to ramble on while they finished up their small errand run for the week to come.
GUESS WHOS BACK! ITS ME!
lol hey yalllllll. lets get into it!
but first—y'all was really dragging my boy last chapter lol i said he was still a little SHY i didn't say he was NUN 💀 you can be shy and blow some backs out i promise 😭
anyway! getting into it.
let's talk about aja, how y'all feel about her situation? what should kari do?
khi miss his best friend 🥺
did yall like that lil flashback?? about khi and his father?
and lastly, lmk your favorite parts of the update!
till next time for real this time 💀