Chapter Thirty One.
Monday.
Thanksgiving break was over, and it was back to the regularly scheduled routine. Since it was Monday, everybody was sluggish and not in the mood to be at school at all. The students so desperately wished that the break could've lasted longer. It was now midterms time, which brung a lot of unnecessary stress.
Xavia sat in her senior seminar class, bored to death. To sum it up, senior seminar was a course strictly for twelfth grade students. It taught them everything about college — how to apply for financial aid, how to fill out college applications, how to make a college wishlist, research, essay preparations, etc. Xavi had recently been contemplating on giving college a chance, even though she had said that she wasn't going. Her teacher told her that it wouldn't hurt to apply to a few institutions, even if they were community colleges. Xavia's gpa was a 3.7 and her ACT score was a 22, so she doubted very seriously that the schools would deny her admission.
While she played around with the mouse that was on her computer screen, Xavia felt herself having to pee. After drinking a large cup of coffee this morning before coming to school, that was bound to happen. She raised her hand, waiting to be acknowledged.
"What can I do for you, Ms.Bishop?" Her teacher Ms.Brett asked, looking over at her.
"Can I use the restroom, please?"
"Yes, you can. Be sure to grab the hall pass on your way out."
Xavi nodded, and stood up from her seat. She then went to the back of the class and grabbed the hall pass off of a hook that was on the wall, before leaving the room.
She hummed to herself as she walked down the long hallway. When she got to the bathroom, she opened the door and saw that it was empty. Going to the first stall, Xavia went in then shut and locked the stall door. While she was doing her business, she pulled out her phone.
Going on Instagram, she clicked on somebody's story to see a fight had broken out between a football player and a theater kid at first lunch.
"Damn, I wish I had that lunch!" She said quietly to herself as she saw the guys punching each other.
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and she heard voices. One of the voices she could point out almost instantly. It was Hailey.
Xavia put her phone back in the pocket of her jacket, before wiping and flushing. She unlocked the door, and exited the stall. When she did, Hailey and the two other girls paused their conversation and looked at her.
Xavi looked at them, before walking over to the sink so that she could wash her hands. She didn't know what they were staring her down for, but she'd greatly appreciate if she could get her face back.
"Mind if we talk for a second?" Hailey appeared behind Xavia in the mirror as she pumped soap into her hands and began washing them.
Xavi raised a brow, before continuing to wash her hands. She then shut the water off and grabbed a few brown paper towels out of the dispenser to dry her hands.
"What's up? I need to get back to class." She said to Hailey, now turning around to face her directly.
"Look, I get that you and Zealand were friends before he and I started dating, but I need you to distance yourself from him. Y'all are a little too close for my liking. I'm in the picture now, so you need to respect that I'm his girlfriend. Are we clear on that?"
Xavia chuckled, before placing her hands on her hips. "Are you serious right now?"
"Does it look like I'm joking?" Hailey questioned, looking her up and down.
"Hailey I don't know what your issue is, but trust me when I say that you don't have to worry about Zealand and I. That's my friend. Okay? Nothing more, nothing less."
"Baby, I don't have an issue. I'm simply just letting you know that you need to stay away from my boyfriend." Hailey snapped, stepping closer to Xavi. As she did, the two girls that came into the bathroom with her stood on both sides of Xavia. All three of them were now surrounding her.
"Back the fuck up." A voice said. They turned to see Arnecia standing in the doorway of the bathroom.
"So y'all think it's cute to jump people?" Niecey questioned with a raised brow.
"Girl wasn't nobody about to jump her."
"Really? Cause that's exactly what it looks like. Behind my cousin, I'll go to war and I put that on my dead pawpaw."
"Armadillo, mind the business that pays you." Hailey said to her.
"Bitch you got one more time to call me that." Niecey said, putting her hair up in a ponytail.
"Arrrmaaadiiillooo." Hailey dragged out slowly, before smirking at the girl. As Niecey was about to charge towards her, the bathroom door opened once again. This time, it was a faculty member. They all froze, looking like a group of deer in headlights
"Don't you ladies have somewhere to be?" The woman said sternly, eyeballing all five of the teenagers. They said nothing, and exited the bathroom one by one.
Xavia blew out a breath, kind of thankful that nothing popped off. She had never fought before, and was pretty sure that she wouldn't had been able to fight off three girls at one time. Even though Arnecia had come in, she wasn't looking for her to help fight her battles.
Returning to class, she put the hall pass back in its designated spot before going to take a seat. Since there was only fifteen minutes left of class, Xavia figured that she would just put her AirPods in and listen to music. She didn't feel like being bothered by anyone or anything.
••
"Your friend almost got beat up earlier." Hailey told Zealand as they both stood by his locker. He looked over at her in confusion as he put his combination in.
"What are you talking about?"
"Xavia. She was about to catch these hands during sixth period." She told him, causing Zee's eyes to go wide. Hailey never struck him as the fighting type, so this information was a shock.
"Hailey, what the-..why would try to fight her?" Xavia never messed with anybody, so Zealand couldn't think of any logical reason why his girlfriend would want to fight her. Plus, he thought they got along. They were always polite and cordial to one another when he was around. Then again, it all could've been a facade.
"I told her that I didn't like her being around you all the time, and she got smart with me." Hailey said nonchalantly, looking at herself in the small mirror that was attached to the inside of her locker.
"Don't tell me you're jealous." Zee said, causing her to suck her teeth.
"Boy, please. Nobody is jealous. It's a respect factor. I just feel like she needs to back off. Think about it, if she had a boyfriend, I'm sure he wouldn't want you and her hanging together 24/7."
"I mean, yeah that's understandable but there's no reason you should've been trying to fight her. Xavia is a sweet person, and she means well. That's my best friend, Hailey."
She rolled her eyes, " Okay? I'm your girlfriend. I come first." Hailey pouted. She felt like Zee was always taking Xavia's side when it came to things.
Zealand sighed, shutting his locker. He grabbed Hailey's hands and held them in his much larger ones. "I promise, you have nothing to worry about alright? I'll talk to Xavi about it. It'll be all good."
Her pout turned into a small grin. "Fine." She said.
"Come here, stop acting like that." Zealand bent down and grabbed her waist, pulling her into a hug. Hailey giggled, wrapping her short arms around him as much as she could.
"I guess I did kind of overreact." She admitted as they both parted from the hug.
"Kind of?" Zee asked sarcastically.
"Shut up." Hailey playfully swatted his arm. "You wanna come over later to help me study for the ASL midterm?"
"I wish I could, but I gotta head straight to work." Zealand told her with a sigh. "Duty calls."
"Okay. Well, are we still on for this weekend?"
"Of course we are. Look, I'll text you later, alright?"
"Alright." She nodded. Zealand then kissed her lips softly, before heading down the hall towards the exit doors of the school.
Hailey closed her locker, and caught a glimpse of Xavia coming out of her last class of the day.
"Big bitch." She mumbled, eyeing her in disgust. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she began walking to the gym where cheer practice would be held.
••
"Alright ladies, let's get started on those warms up!" The cheer coach clapped her hands and blew her whistle, causing all the girls to spread out on the mat that was in the gym. They began doing lunges as Arnecia counted.
Hailey walked in shortly after, and sat her cheer bag down next to the rest of the bags that were lined up on the wall.
"Williams, let me talk to you." Coach P called out. Hailey nodded, and began walking to where she was.
"Yes, coach?"
"Come on, let's go inside my office." She said, turning around and unlocking the door to her office. They both walked in, and Coach P turned on the light before shutting the door.
"Sit." She told Hailey, gesturing towards the chair in front of her desk. Hailey sat down, and Coach P went around to the other side of the desk to sit in her leather computer chair.
"May I ask what this is about?" Hailey questioned, now feeling like she was in some kind of trouble.
"Williams, it has been brung to my attention that you and two other girls tried to jump a student earlier in the restroom on the second floor. Mind telling me about that?" Coach P asked, folding her arms over her chest.
Hailey's mouth hung open. "I- Coach it wasn't even like that. We were just..having a conversation." She said.
The older woman pressed her lips together, feeling unconvinced. Hailey might've been a good cheerleader, but she had the temper and attitude like a firecracker. Coach P didn't put anything past her.
"Fighting and having a conversation are two different things. Do you have any idea how serious this is?
"There wasn't any fighting!" Hailey snapped, causing the cheer coach to be taken aback.
"You know what, I think you need some time off from cheering. As of right now, you're temporarily suspended from the team."
"Coach are you serious?! That's not even fair, I didn't do anything!"
Coach P stared at her blankly. "Goodbye, Williams. Get your stuff and head home."
Hailey let out a frustrated huff, and got up from the chair. She stormed out of the office, causing the other team members to look at her in confusion. As she walked to go get her bag, she turned her head to see Arnecia smirking at her.
Dots started to connect in her mind, which enraged Hailey. She detoured, ran over to Niecey and jumped up to grab her by the hair. Her fist then began moving as Hailey began attempting punching her.
A girl that was nearby tried to pry Hailey off but she wasn't letting up. Coach P quickly ran out of her office and over to where the incident was happening.
She snatched Hailey away, blocking her so that she couldn't get to Niecey anymore. "Stop! Have you lost your mind? This is completely unacceptable!"
"You got lucky this time, bitch!" Hailey yelled, craning her neck to see around Coach P who stood in front of her.
"Girl fuck you, them punches wasn't even connecting! Weak ass hoe!" Arnecia yelled back, fixing her ponytail that the shorter girl had messed up.
"Williams, get out and I mean now!"
Hailey began cursing to nobody in particular as she went and got her stuff. She threw her bag over her shoulder and exited the gym.
Her old ways were starting to come back, and she didn't care. Hailey was tired of people playing with her.
She'd get Arnecia and Xavia, one way or another.
TBC...
________________________
Chile. What's wrong with y'alls friend Hailey?
Thoughts?
Excuse any mistakes.