"We're gonna be late!" I yell up the stairs, craning my neck to see if I spot my siblings up the stairs.
All I hear are stampeding feet, running up and down the hall as multiple people try to get ready at once. I pace to the front door, and then back up the wide hallway to the stairs.
"Come on!" I groan, tapping my foot as I check my phone once again. If we leave right now, I can drop them off and make it just in time for the late bell.
"You have one minute before I leave without you!" I walk into the kitchen and grab the five lunch pails that are in a line on the counter. But this time I walk back to the bottom of the stairs the pounding feet are heading in my direction.
"God, we aren't even late," Jazmine huffs as she prances down the stairs.
I roll my eyes as I hand her a pail and shoo her to the door, my hand only grazing her arm instead of smacking it like I intended. But I can't respond to her because Kahlil is bounding down the stairs, nearly running into me.
"Woah, there Striker," I laugh, steadying him and myself before handing him one of the pails as well.
"I don't want the purple one," he groans as he checks the contents. "Give me the red one."
"They all have the same stuff inside of it," I roll my eyes as I push him toward the door. "Now go get in the car or you can walk."
He huffs just like Jazzy but continues outside, mumbling something about his friends making fun of him. I ignore him as I wait for the last two, checking my phone for the millionth time.
"I'm leaving!" I yell up stairs, stomping my feet dramatically as I pretend to walk to the door.
"No!" Someone screeches from upstairs. "We're coming don't leave!"
I don't even look up the stairs this time, trusting the sound of feet rushing down the stairs as I walk to the front door to grab my backpack and keys off the front table.
"Where's my lunch?" Reagan calls from the kitchen.
"In my hand, let's go!" I yell opening the door wide as I look back down the hallway.
Rowan is sitting on the bottom step, struggling to put on her shoes as her hair keeps falling into her face. She finally slides the both of them on and is trying to push herself off the step as Reagan rounds the corner, sending her falling backward onto the step as he plows down the hallway.
"Watch where you're going, Bear!" Rowan yells, struggling to pull herself up.
Reagan throws a sloppy smile over his shoulder as he snatches one of the pails out of my hand and runs outside. I roll my eyes as I walk over to Rowan and help her off, dusting off the dirt that is now on her butt.
"Come on, Bug. Let's get going." I push one of her braids out of her face as I hand her the red lunch pail I was saving for myself.
She smiles broadly, he tongue poking out through her missing front tooth, as she grabs my hand and starts pulling me to the door. I quickly lock the door behind me and run to the van that's parked in the driveway. I launch myself into the front seat, throwing on my seatbelt as I turn around to make sure that everyone is inside and buckled up. Kahlil is just clicking Rowan into her booster seat as turn on the car and put it in reverse. I check the clock on the dashboard, speeding out of the driveway and down the street.
I'm so going to be late.
I go on autopilot as I drive through the regular traffic to drop off the twins at school. I smile and wave as the schoolyard attendant ushers them into them up the front steps, their overfilled backpacks nearly as large as they are. Next up is Kahlil, although his middle school is just down the street from the elementary school. He gets out of the car without a wave or a goodbye, throwing up his hands in the air as a hello to a group of his friends that are waiting outside the gates. Finally it is only Jazzy and me in the car, but that doesn't last long as I round the corner to our high school.
"Drop me off out front, the first bell already rang and I don't want to be late." Her hand is already on the door handle, preparing to fly out the door as soon as the car crawls to a stop.
I bite back the smart remark that was about to creep off of my tongue, pulling to the side of the street briefly so she can hop out before I continue around to the back parking lot. I screech into the parking lot and into the first spot I see, which unfortunately is at the back of the lot.
I jump out of the car myself, hauling my backpack onto my shoulder as I rush onto campus, slamming through the back gate and into the main building where my homeroom is. The hallways are completely empty, signaling that the late bell has already rung.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," I chant under my breath.
This will be the second time I'm late this week; the eleventh time this month and I can't even count how many times this month. I skid to a stop in front of my first period, hesitating with my hand on the door handle. Mrs. Baez is going to be pissed. She'll probably call me out in front of the whole class before giving me detention, like she did last time. I close my eyes as I prepare myself mentally, willing to spare the few extra seconds since I'm already 10 minutes late.
"Were you planning on going in anytime soon?" A voice beside me asks. "Because if you want to stay outside I'm sure wecould find something fun to do."
I start at the sudden noise, but I don't turn to look at the speaker, instead throwing open the door without another thought. I walk into the classroom with my head held high, ignoring the dramatic pause Mrs. Baez is giving from the front of the room as I make my way to my desk in the middle of the classroom.
"Ms. Hayes, Mr. Shills, what a pleasure for the both of you to finally join us."
I don't even look at her as I slide into my desk, dropping my bag on the ground before I unzip it to dig out a notebook and pencil. But the person who followed me into the room isn't as smart since he is still standing at the front of the classroom, all eyes now on him. I send up silent thanks, grateful for this pompous asshole that, for some reason, feels the need to have all attention on him.
"Well, Mrs. Baez," the boy grandstands, "I didn't want to deprive you of the chance to see my handsome face this early in the morning."
"Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Shills," Mrs. Baez frowns at him. "I'll look forward to seeing it again at detention this afternoon."
I close my eyes and start to pray again, hoping that he has been a big enough asshole that she has completely forgotten about me.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..." Mrs. Baez continues, moving on with class as she starts writing something on the whiteboard.
I exhale loudly, opening my eyes as I focus on board, but my eyes are drawn to the person turned around in his seat to stare at me. I purposefully look away, pretending I didn't notice in the first place.
"Hey!" The boy whispers, loudly enough for everyone in between us to hear. "Hey Killer!"
A couple of the girls giggle, and the boys nudge each other proudly. I ignore all of them, my eyes lasered onto the board.
"Hey Killer!" He whispers again. This time even more people hear, and divert their attention to us. "I hope you're not too mad I took the attention I from you. I would hate for you to go postal again."
My eyes dart to his briefly as they narrow drastically. His smile is wide, as are all of the other listening ears around us, eager for my response. I look back to the board, pretending I didn't hear him as I try to focus on Mrs. Baez again.
Once he realizes he isn't going to get a rise out of me he turns back to the front of the room, chatting with his friends while Mrs. Baez drones on mindlessly from the front of the room. I finally take a moment to relax; the first moment since I woke up this morning. I blink rapidly a few times as I settle into the routine of class. Mrs. Baez asks questions from the front that remain unanswered, and everyone else in the room whispers amongst themselves as they wait for the hour to be up. Finally, the bell rings, signaling for us to transition to the next period.
"Excuse me," Mrs. Baez calls out, finally putting her foot down. "The bell does not dismiss you. I do."
A couple people laugh straight to her face, while everyone else just silently rolls their eyes, but none of us stop moving, gliding out of the classroom and into the hallway. I flow with the crowd, breaking off only to stop at my locker.
"So we should go off campus today."
I turn to look at the dark skinned goddess leaning against the locker next to mine, her lips set in a permanent pout as types furiously on her phone. I search through my locker for my English and Calculus books, not looking at Asha as I shove them into my bag.
"Girl, I was already late this morning, I can't risk getting in more trouble by sneaking off campus."
"It's worth it!" She groans, her pout deepening as she finally looks up from her phone. "I've gone through three years of eating that shitty cafeteria food, and I refuse to have my senior year marred by food poisoning every other day."
I roll my eyes at her dramatics, suddenly reminded why she got the lead roll in the Fall Production. "You got food poisoning once, Asha, in ninth grade."
"And I have been terrified to eat the food here ever since," she throws her hands up in the air as she pushes off of the locker.
We start to walk down the hallway toward the stairs leading up to the second floor of the main building, where both of our classes are located. As we round up on the stairs there is a group of people gathered by it base. I pretend I don't see them as I prepare to climb the stairs.
"Oh look, here comes Killer," someone stage whispers, causing snickers to echo throughout the entire group.
I clench my teeth as I keep my mouth glued shut, but Asha isn't willing to be as quiet as I am.
"Y'all better watch who the fuck you're talking to," she snaps, her eyes narrowing as she takes in the entire group. "Remember, she earned that nickname for a reason."
A few of them stop laughing at her words looking warily between each other and then up at me as I continue to climb the stairs. Asha flips her hair arrogantly over her shoulder before she climbs behind me. I reach the second floor before she does, pushing through the students as I walk down the hall. But I feel a hand on my elbow before I can get far, encouraging me to walk slower.
"I have no idea why you don't fight back when they say stupid shit like that," Asha says, looking at me curiously.
He light brown eyes contrast perfectly with her deep brown skin, making me squirm with an intensity that is rarely unleashed. "You know what happened the last time I fought back. Honestly, none of them are worth that."
Asha nods as she looks back down at her phone, starting a new text message. I look over to get a peek at what she's typing, finally curious as to what has been occupying her attention.
"Femi's not coming to school today," she frowns, furiously tapping out another message.
I try to skim what I can of the conversation, but the phone keeps shaking back and forth as her fingers pound the screen. I'm so busy trying to focus on the screen that I'm not able to dodge out of the way.
"Whoa there cupcake," Jude laughs as he grips me waist, unnecessarily steadying the both of us.
His hands don't rest there for more than a second before Asha is wrenching me a dangerous frown on her face. "Back of Shills. Isn't there a virgin somewhere you need to deflower?"
"I think I'm looking at her right now," he smiles, his eyes never leaving mine.
I can't stop the sneer that takes over my face before I can stop it, turning away completely as Jude continues down the hall with a few of his buddies flocking him. My eyes naturally follow him, observing his confident swagger and commanding presence.
"Don't even think about it," Asha says from next to me.
My eyes break away from him as I look over at her confused.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Only bad things can happen by getting involved with that." Asha shoves her phone into her pocket as she hitches her questionably small backpack up higher on her shoulder. "If Femi isn't here by lunch I'm going to ditch and head over to her house. You want to come?"
"Do I want to go be third wheel while you try to force Femi to talk about whatever she is obviously refusing to tell you?" I ask rhetorically, tapping a finger on my chin. "I think not."
Asha rolls her eyes as she pushes my shoulder, before waving goodbye as she heads into her classroom. I wave as I wait out in the hallway for a bit, finding comfort in the frantic hustle of students sprinting to their classes. But the warning bell spurs me into motion, propelling me forward as I hurry to the classroom across the hall.
But the booming laughter down the hall makes me hesitate before I can enter, my eyes once again drawn to Jude. Right before he walks into a classroom down the hall his eyes flit up to meet mine. For a few seconds we're locked together, each of us caught staring at the other. But then his friends sweep him into the room and I shake the cobwebs out of my head as I continue on with my day.
A/N Hey Everyone! I know I'm a little late for NaNoWriMo, but this story has been nagging at me for the better part of a year, so I figured, why not just sit down and write it? Although, if I'm being completely honest, I'm starting this story to put off finishing my other one.....but let's not think about that.
The picture at the top is of course my main character, Ms. "Killer" Hayes, who I had to make a strong black queen because this story wouldn't be complete without a couple. And trust me, there are more than a couple. In a few chapters, once more characters are introduced, I'll make sure to do a character introduction for y'all so you can get acquainted with everyone.
But anyways, what did you think of the chapter? I know this seems pretty uneventful so far, but trust me, it won't stay that way for long!
Any comments, questions, and concerns are welcome! Make sure to vote!
Much Love,
Naomi