"hey Keith,good to see you're back for another year."
a tall blonde waved his way.
keith strutted with confidence as he thanked her,walking into his apartment complex.
he pulled the key out of his sweat pocket before fumbling with the different ones.
before he could pick one out,a tap landed on his shoulder making him jump slightly,turning around.
another lady,this one brunette with blue eyes,stepped to him with her hand on his shoulder.
"good to know you still actually go here. i've been texting you all summer,where have you been?"
she asked.
keith tilted his head with dipped eyebrows as he tried to remember who this woman was.
lina?
luna?
"i've been busy,my bad."
he stalled as his thoughts took over.
she rolled her big blue orbs.
"lies,lies,lies. i've seen you all over instagram,hugging other girls,hanging out with women you don't even know. what, did you fuck them too?"
she asked irritated.
"you've been stalking my instagram?"
he asked.
she waved him off before slapping him across his face,making his eyes bulge.
"stop trying to change the fucking conversation keith! you know what you did! we were meant to be together,we were in love."
she fought.
he shook his head before scratching it.
"we hooked up once last summer and then i saw you in my engineering lab. if i'm not mistaken-"
"you are!"
she scoffed.
"i can't believe i ever fell for you keith! "
she said dramatically.
"you're an ass-"
she pushed him on his chest.
just as he was falling back,the apartment door opened and bakari caught keith before he could fall on his ass.
"jesus christ!"
keith let out a big breath of air as he stood next to bakari
"oh just great,now you have to have your friend save you because you're too much of a pussy to admit that you were wrong. pathetic-"
"hey!"
bakari yelled at her as she stopped talking.
"shut the fuck up and get out of the way,you're blocking our front door and you're disrupting everybody else who lives in this complex! your'e embarrassing yourself, so step before i carry your short as out,got it?"
his voice boomed.
she stepped back before scoffing and flipping keith off.
"whatever."
she strutted down the hallway as keith and bakari watched her to make sure she left.
"bye luna!"
keith yelled as she entered the elevator.
"my names lana you ass!"
Keith laughed before being pulled back into the apartment by bakari,who then slammed the door
"this."
he motioned around him and keith.
"is not about to become a reoccurring thing."
he walked away from the door and into the kitchen,opening the fridge.
keith threw his bag on the living room floor, acknowledging calvin who was on the couch reading a book.
"how are you doing work already,school doesn't start until tomorrow?"
he said taking his shoes off.
calvin kept his eyes on the book as he turned a page.
"some of us actually enjoy reading,for fun."
keith rolled his eyes as he stuck up his pointer and thumb making a 'L' shape.
he joined kari in the kitchen.
"what do you mean?"
he asked referring to the conversation at the front door.
Bakari pulled out ingredients to make himself a sandwich as he opened the bread.
"you and your bullshit. you bringing girls to the apartment to hook up with them,then dumping them and having them show up two days later."
he explained,spreading mayo on the bread.
"last week,a girl showed up yelling at me because you weren't here when she wanted you to be. i'm not about to argue with 5'4 bitch-i mean,women."
he corrected himself.
"so,don't open the door."
keith shrugged.
kari stopped making his sandwich,as he looked up at keith.
"oh yeah cause that's just so much better. they're still gonna show up. eventually,one of them is gonna find a way to break in here. you're gonna wake up one night and one of them is gonna be standing above you, like slender man."
calvin's laughed boomed through the loft apartment,before he returned to reading his book.
"he's not lying."
keith shook his head,stealing a piece of turkey meat.
"whatever."
"you think i'm playing,watch. but anyways,i have to meet up with a friend really quickly at this new ice cream shop,ya'll wanna come?"
he looked up.
keith thought about it before nodding with meat in his mouth.
"sure,i'm down."
they both looked back at calvin who felt their eyes on him.
"i'm lactose intolerant."
kari kissed his teeth as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"they have vegan ice cream."
calvin stalled before making up an excuse.
"i...have sensitive teeth."
bakari scoffed before ignoring him,making keith turn his head back.
"you're lack toes and tolerant?"
bakari turned towards keith with wide eyes as he stopped chewing.
"what!"
he yelled.
"i'm sorry,say that again."
keith shrugged before repeating his words.
"lack toes-"
"it's lactose! oh my fucking god,you idiot. how did you make it to college?!"
-
"could you stop doing that and come sit down! we need to figure this out now!"
sincere yelled at beautiful.
beautiful was dribbling the soccer ball in the living room as remedy sat down at the counter.
classes started tomorrow and even though beautiful had gotten settled into her new home,there was one thing she hadn't quite figured out yet.
a job.
beautiful's parents paid for her tuition,and they had no problem doing so.
the Braxton family wasn't poor,they actually made quite good money.
lance was an orthodontist and alicia was an lawyer.
they lived an average life,in a five bed,five bath home.
although money was never a problem for the braxton's,lance and alicia made sure to let them know that hard work was the only way to get what you want.
lance and alicia had no problem paying for their kids tuition,but what they weren't gonna do was baby them.
and now that beautiful was not only paying double of what she was paying last year,and needed money to satisfy her needs.
for her first two years,she had lived off of students meals and limited money from her trust fund.
but that could only last for so long.
she needed a real job.
well,as much of a real job as she could get in college.
beautiful placed her soccer ball down before standing next to remedy at the counter.
"what about this one. baby sitter,part time,three kids,nine dollars an hour on Monday's,Wednesday's and Friday's."
remedy read.
"what age!"
sincere asked from on the couch.
remedy read off of her MacBook as she adjusted her glasses.
"um,three,five and seven"
"i wish i would babysit three,bad ass little kids for a lousy nine dollars an hour. i'm desperate but I'm not that desperate. i can't say the same for you beauty."
she sighed.
beautiful shrugged as she sat in the barstool next to her.
"you know what sincere. your bad energy is interfering with the positive mindset that i've created in order for the new year to go smoothly."
remedy frowned.
sincere kissed her teeth.
"i'm just saying"
she shrugged.
"well it's a good thing we weren't talking to you. you don't know what beautiful wants to do for money."
remedy shook her head.
sincere tilted her head as she looked at beautiful.
"do you wanna watch three bad ass kids for nine dollars an hour?"
beautiful dipped her eyebrows before shaking her head sweetly.
"no."
her soft voice rang out.
sincere held a look on her face that told remedy.
"i told you so."
remedy shook her head as she looked back at her computer for more jobs.
this is how most of their conversations went.
sincere always had some elaborate plan or idea that wasn't realistic,so remedy always had to put her in her place respectfully.
and beautiful sat and watched the whole time since she was in the middle of it most of the time.
sincere was definitely more of a free spirit.
she wanted to go out to clubs and encourage beauty to step out of her comfort zone and do all the things she does.
which is a lot.
then remedy would step in and give them both a reason why that idea was stupid.
remedy was more like the chill mother of the group.
not in a 'my mom lets me drink and run around the streets' kinda mom,but more of a 'my mom knows how to raise her kids,but she does it in the most respectful way possible' kind of mom.
you know?
she was like the glue of the group.
without her,they would be nothing.
literally.
remedy was an english major.
she would be receiving her degree in humanities and going on to business and law school.
sincere on the other hand,was the complete opposite.
she was a fashion design major.
she always enjoyed sewing growing up,so when she got into college,she expanded her horizons and chose a major that would allow her to know to design and construct pieces.
they made a good group.
the crazy older sister,the protective mom and introverted middle child.
"okay,all of these jobs are fast food. which is annoying,nobody wants to smell like grease when the get home from work."
remedy sighed.
"well, to be honest,it's not that bad. my first job was at Macdonald's sophomore year."
sincere said.
"and look how that turned out ."
remedy sighed,scrolling on the computer.
sincere's mouth fell open as she gasped.
"it was not that bad. i quit because they weren't paying me enough to handle all their bullshit. the customers,the cooking,all of it,i did what i had to do."
she stated.
remedy paused on her computer before turning back to her.
"you didn't quit,you got fired for cussing out customers and eating all the fries!"
sincere's lips fell into a line and she ate her chip.
"damn,you just had to ruin my flow."
remedy sighed as she grabbed her phone,scrolling through her contacts.
beauty looked back at sincere.
"you told me you got fired because you threw food at a customer. which one is it?"
beauty asked confused.
"you know what beauty,it's better for the both of us if you just sit and do what you do best. be quiet and look pretty."
beauty sighed at her sarcasm before hearing sincere's conversation.
"hey! Craig,um it's remedy. i know i haven't called you in a while but.....yup. i'm still,single."
she cleared her throat.
"no,um I'm free on Saturday. oh! you wanna go out to eat? well,i'll be sure to let you know when i am,free i mean."
she shook her head no making sincere laugh loudly in the back,rem waving her off.
"yup,I'm still here. yeah,it was sincere,you know how she is,she's a little slow."
she joked,kind of.
"anyways,uh i was calling because i heard you took over your grandpa's pastry shop and made it an ice cream parlor. it's only been open a few weeks and i just wanted to know if you needed some help."
she asked.
remedy rolled her eyes behind the phone as she put her head down.
"no,i'm not looking for a job there."
"i have a friend,beautiful,you know her right? she's looking for a job and i would really appreciate if you could help her out."
"really! oh my god,thank you thank you,i owe you one. okay,we'll be there in an hour."
she hung up the phone,clapping as she looked at them.
"he said he has more than enough employees but he's willing to hire one more person if it's for a good cause."
she said excited.
"what's the good cause? you?"
sincere laughed.
"you know he wants you."
"who's Craig?"
beauty asked as she bit into an apple.
remedy sighed as she rubbed her eyes.
"this guy i met in high school. he's had a crush on me since like freshman year and somehow we're still 'friends' or whatever you wanna call it."
"acquaintances,is what she means to say."
sincere got up,going into her room to get ready.
"why won't you go out with him? he sounds cute."
beauty asked.
remedy sighed as she closed her MacBook,putting it back in the case.
"he's just kinda..nerdy and not weird but i don't know. i just feel like we won't work out and i don't wanna waste my time."
she told her.
"don't judge a book by its cover."
she told her kindly before getting up and going to her own room,leaving remedy in the kitchen.
-
"ooh damn,rem if you don't want him i'll sure as hell take him. i like nerdy dudes."
sincere said as they walked into the shop,looking at Craig.
he was this tall,built,hispanic looking guy with big muscles and glasses.
Craig's eyes caught onto the girls as they walked in before greeting them.
"ladies."
"oh my god,here we go again."
remedy mumbled.
"hey Craig, how have you been?"
she shifted on her feet.
"good,and you?"
she asked,he nodded as well.
"good,good"
"oh my god,can you two stop being so awkward and hurry up. i want my free ice cream."
sincere smiled.
"who said you're getting free ice cream?"
Craig asked.
"i'm using my 'you have a crush on my best friend' discount."
she laughed,going behind the counter to get ice cream.
"anyways,how much do you pay?"
"$16 an hour."
he nodded.
"to scoop ice cream? can you hire me?"
sincere asked as she scooped the cookie dough into her own cup.
Craig laughed as he looked back at sincere.
"i know we haven't really talked much since high school but she really needs a job and-"
"don't worry about it. she's already hired."
he smirked.
she gasped.
"really? thank you so much!"
she engulfed him in a hug as he waved at beautiful.
she waved back with a grin before going behind the counter and getting her own ice cream as well.
"she doesn't really talk much,does she?"
he wondered.
"she just has to get comfortable around you,it shouldn't take long."
sincere pulled away.
"thank you,i really do owe you one."
she smiled.
"you do. i have an idea."
he stated making her nervous.
"what?"
"since i helped your friend get a job,you have to do something for me now."
he told her.
"oh shit,you want us to step out real quick?"
sincere asked as she chewed her ice cream.
they both rolled their eyes as her.
"no, go out with me. on a date."
he stuck his hands in his pockets.
sincere sighed as she let her head fall.
"really? you couldn't come up with anything else?"
he put his hands up.
"hey,you're the one that said you owe me one."
remedy stalled,contemplating her decision before nodding.
"fine,just one."
sincere and beauty cheered from behind the counter making her shake her head.
"just one."
-
i know it seems like beauty is barely in the story right now but i gotta incorporate her in a certain way.
all of my other main cha trees caters have been really out going and confident,beauty's the complete opposite.
and this book is still new so i like barely have any ideas but bare with me.
also,am i the only person who chews their ice cream?
let me know.
-J
edited*