"So, where were you yesterday?" Asha and Femi lean against my locker, blocking my way.
I can't stop the heavy sigh that escapes my lips. I should have listened to Jude and skipped another day. It's not like we're doing anything important in our classes anymore.
I force a smile on to my face as I try to summon the energy to pretend like everything is okay. "I wasn't feeling so well, so I stayed at home."
"You weren't home though," Femi pipes in, watching me as carefully as Asha is, "we checked."
"I just needed a day off, okay? I'm fine, don't worry about me." I close my eyes for a moment, taking another deep breath. "Now, can y'all move so I can get my stuff?"
They both take a step to the side, silently communicating between each other as I pretend not to notice. I mindlessly shove all the books from my locker into my backpack, preparing to go home even though it isn't even second period yet.
"Shills wasn't at school yesterday either," Asha states matter-of-factly.
"What a coincidence," I deadpan, slamming my locker closed before I start to walk down the hallway.
"Your second period is in the opposite direction," Femi observes, easily keeping pace with me. Asha struggles to keep up, having to make a bigger effort to dodge around the people milling in the halls.
"Yeah, but my van isn't."
"You're ditching today, too?" Asha asks.
"I wouldn't call it ditching," I mumble, the door to the parking lot finally coming into sight.
"What would you call it? Getting ready for Senior Ball a whole day early?" Femi sasses.
That stops me in my tracks. This is the first time Senior Ball has crossed my mind in days. "Senior Ball is tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Femi says, shooting a worried look at Asha.
Asha touches my right arm gently, directing my attention to her worried eyes. "Keni, are you okay?"
My lie gets caught in my throat, so I just nod my head before I push through the double doors to the outside.
Is today Friday already? I swear this week just started yesterday. It feels like I'm in a time warp or something.
I turn to face Asha, rubbing her arm as I smile slightly. "I'm okay, Asha."
Tiny dimples appear in both of her cheeks as she frowns up at me. I can't help but think of all the times she's given me this look over the years. All the trouble she's helped me through. I don't know what I'll do without this girl next to me in college.
"I'm okay," I repeat, summoning a smile that I hope reaches my eyes.
Her frown doesn't disappear, but she nods along with me. "Femi and I were going to leave after lunch to get out nails done and start prepping for tomorrow. But do you want to leave now, and we can all go together?"
I don't want to go. I really just want to go home and recharge my energy for the rest of the day by myself. But the look on Asha and Femi's faces. They're both genuinely worried about me. They were the ones that helped me get myself back together after the Frank incident. They were the ones that covered with my parents and made sure I didn't fall behind in my classes. They were there for me.
"Yeah." The word slips out before I even realize. My throat feels thick and I have to take a second to gather myself. "Yeah I think a day of self-care will be good for me. Let me just call Jude and let him know where I'll be."
I step away from the girls, pulling out my phone before I navigate to my contacts. Jude wasn't in class this morning, but he already told me that he might not come to class today. I was hoping to stop by his house when I left, but it looks like I'm going to be busy for the rest of the day with Asha and Femi. I guess I'll just have to see him tomorrow before homecoming.
I click on his name as I bring the phone to my ear, waiting for the ringing to start, but the call goes straight to voicemail. His muffled voice message echoes in my ear, and I wonder why he didn't answer. Maybe he's still asleep?
"Hey Jude, it's me." I say after the beep. "I'm gonna be spending the day with the girls getting ready for Ball tomorrow. Call me or text me when you wake up, okay?"
I hang up but can't stop staring at my phone. The weight that had been sitting on my chest gets even heavier, settling in right in the center of my chest. =
"Come on, Ken." Femi appears at my side, gently looping her arm through mine as she leads me to the parking lot. "We just booked some massages at the spa downtown to get this day started."
I nod as I allow myself to be pulled along, hoping that a nice long massage will help me get rid of this eerie feeling.