Contains Island Dialect.
From the corners of their eyes, Bree and Natalie silently took in Elijah's curious attention on Erica. The girl in question had her head down completely oblivious to the stares of Spencer High's wealthiest and most popular guy. Jealousy rose in Bree while anger brew in Natalie, both had different reasons for their instant negative reaction to the scene before them but both had the same dislike for the entire clique.
"What do you have next?" Bree asked. She tried her best not to make her voice sound harsh but totally friendly.
"Ummmm... AP History. I wonder how this week is gonna be? Your history here is really fascinating," Erica said grinning at them both.
"Are you serious right now? You're actually excited about learning shit that happened years ago?" Natalie asked, sneering in disgust.
"Nothin' wrong wid learning somethin' new," Erica retorted, rolling her eyes at her. Bree and Natalie flinched at the harsh accent she spoke in. They hated how uncultured she sounded and pray she never embarrass them in public for the future. Secretly they have been trying to do a subtle makeover with her but nothing stuck. She still dressed simply. She refused to do something about her hair and she wasn't keeping with American English. A hopeless case she was to them.
"You're not missing much. Why don't you come with us? It's our free block and we want to show you..."
"Hi. You must be Erica Hollis." The perky and friendly voice of Selby Moschivitz stopped Bree from saying whatever she had to say. Erica was dumbstruck by the mere thought of Selby knowing her name and now sitting before her. Selby is one of Elijah Johnson's closest friends who had her own large following also. She capitalized on teenagers wanting to rub shoulders with rich kids' friends and led online campaigns and fundraisers for whatever project she was involved in. Selby had her own recognition when her mother married a visiting Hollywood director a few years back. The man fell head over heels for Selby's mother and welcomed her and her siblings like his very own kids.
"What are you doing here?" Bree snapped. Selby lazily eyed her former friend with a bored expression before placing her full attention on Erica. "I overheard your next block. That's my next class also. You can catch me up on the past week," she said sincerely.
"Sure!"
Erica surprised herself by being so self-assured with someone new. Since hanging with Bree, she did find herself a follower and not an equal. "Remember what we told you. Don't come crying to us when they fuck with your head like they always do," Natalie sneered. Selby rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised there are people who believe the shit you two spread. Your goal for last semester was fulfilled, get off the crusade you two have against us especially Elijah." The anger and annoyance were heard in Selby's soft voice, Erica found herself in the middle of something bigger than her.
The bell rang, the noise and the other kids moving from their lunch tables, gave her the small distraction in packing up and leaving the tension-filled table. Keeping her head down, she made her way through the pushy teenagers, enduring the passing bumps from them, trying to recollect the classroom number. Erica became oblivious to the now waning bumping off her shoulder and the two masculine presence beside her. "Next left. Third door on your right."
A frightened squeak escaped her, stopping her hurried pace she finally took note of the two titans on either side of her. Just like their friend Elijah, these two males were tall and had the aura of being larger than life. Alec and Trey. Bestfriends to Elijah Johnson and carried their own weight in popularity amongst the girls and guys of Spencer High. She heard the whispers of these two. They weren't cliched players, they were very selective in girls they choose to date which hasn't been much, according to the rumor mill. One rumor she needed confirmation on was the fact they shared two girlfriends before but the girls in question were from other schools. Though she was a bit conventional, the thought of having two irresistibly hot guys loving you will be like a dream come through.
"Terribilmente dispiaciuto per lo spavento, piccolo," Alec said to her, flashing his signature charming smile her way. Her brows furrowed in confusion by his language, that's when Trey translated and he, in return had a sheepish look on his face.
"I tend to go back and forth with my friends in which they understand immediately. Italian was my first language before I came to America, my family speaks it at home so the transition is still crazy," he explained.
"Oh. That's nice of yuh friends. Learning ah new language an' all," Erica said with a smile. Her face heated at the thought of them thinking her island accent was deplorable. Trey smiled her way, his clear eyes trained on her, making her squirm a bit. "Is Grenada close to your home island?" he asked. Erica's eyes widen at the blunt question and expressionless face.
"Uh, yes, actually. Tobago is practically close to plenty of the other islands. Small but great in many ways," she answered. She felt at ease talking to these two about home.
"You're smart girl," Trey continued with his straightforwardness. Alec groaned beside him before nudging his best friend on the side. He ignored the Italian and pressed on. "I say this because the islands are under the British schooling system which is undeniably advanced. You're in majority of the advanced classes here as I've learned, you have book smarts but not social smarts, I must say."
Erica wrapped her arms around her body and lifted her chin in defense. She knew what he was pertaining to. It hurt her pride to say she let Bree and Natalie take a bit of advantage of her but they were the only ones who befriended her. These two guys and Selby, she hadn't quite yet figured out their motive in talking to her. "I've yet to learn. It was easier back home, we weren't so..." she began trying to find a word.
"Segregated. As my great aunts told me, no cliques or positions in society were made at your schools. Though they were groups, everyone got along. They are from Grenada, the reason why I asked earlier."
"Yeah, segregated," Erica confirmed with him. Trey kept his cold gaze on her, Alec stepped forward blocking his friend from her.
"It's different here, piccolo. I've had years to understand it. As my amico here said, you're a smart girl. We think you should figure out why a girl like Bree always paints a bad light on her ex and his friends, to people. Also, take a good look at your surroundings. Choose your friends wisely, piccolo. In this scenario, rethink your choices. Have a great day," Alec said. He gave her a smile before pulling his friend along down the hall.
"There you are. Come on, we're a tad bit late."
Up came Selby, running towards her with two textbooks and her iPad clutched to her chest. Erica smiled her way before joining her in the rush towards the class. During the entire block, Alec's statements resonated in her head. She did take a look around her class, yes, they were students who belonged to certain cliques but she saw how they all welcomed Selby back to school sincerely, and asked about her vacation, even joking around. The girl though came from money was genuinely warm and down to earth, not the bitchy poser, Bree described her as. Was it all an act? No one can act that good and have so many people in cohorts in such a farce.
After class, Selby was telling her of past history projects she did, in order to give her an idea of what their teacher expected. Turns out the two were partners in a project for their final grade. Total coincidence, Erica said to herself. "Hey, babe." "Selby." Two male voices called out to the girl, cutting off her explanation of World War 2 convalescent homes. Erica spotted one of Elijah's cousins and an unfamiliar guy in a black letterman jacket. Selby turned to the stranger first, receiving a very dramatic kiss from the guy before greeting Harem. Erica's heart weirdly ached for the guy when she saw his true emotions flash across his face before he schooled them.
"What's up, Rem?" Selby asked giving him a wide smile. His eyes lit up at her actions but dimmed when the guy beside her threw his arm around her shoulders.
"Raine asked me to give you a ride home today. I know you have a dance practice so..."
"Don't worry about it, dude. I will take her home. I love watching her practice plus my practice is canceled."
Harem eyed Selby then the guy. "You okay with that Selby?"
"Why wouldn't she be? I'm her boyfriend," the guy said aloud. No one missed the annoyed and rude tone of his voice. "Derek. Enough. Harem is simply asking what I wanted and looking out for me. Sheesh. How about we lower that macho man attitude of yours," Selby retorted. Derek was about to say something but the school bell stopped him. He eyed Harem who in return gave him a dull look, refusing to be intimidated. Derek tried to kiss Selby in the same dramatic fashion from earlier but she refused his advances and returned to Erica's side. "Harem will take me home after my practice session. You need to cool off," she said firmly.
"You need to know how lucky you are to have me," he sneered before stalking off.
"Sellie."
Erica noticed how low and comforting Harem called out to the girl beside her. "I'm fine, Rem. You don't need to baby me," she snapped. Harem visibly flinched at her harsh tone but kept that beautiful smile of his on her. Erica knew then that this guy was crazy for his friend and she was in confusion about something. Deciding it wasn't her place to pry, Erica quickly changed the subject, Selby invited her to watch dance practice after school but declined. So many things were going through her mind and she didn't feel like herself. She hasn't been herself since she left the island.
Giving her assurance of meeting up the next day, Erica escaped to the library she fell in love with. The library back on the island couldn't compare to this small town's high school library. Books she had to read online because of the physical unavailability of the books. The cool open space concept of the setup calmed her greatly. Her last two blocks of the school day were free, taking time to center herself was needed. Smiling at the two librarians at the circular check-out desk, she made her way to one of the small lounge areas away from the foyer. Thankfully, she brought along her laptop, a welcome home gift from her father. Setting it up, she checked the time and logged into Skype. Erica laughed softly when she saw the green available sign on all four of her friends' contacts. Quickly she created a conference call, placed her headphones on, and waited for them to connect.
"Oooooo!!! Look at you, miss lady."
A laugh escaped her when her friend Avi answered the call along with the other three. Hair natural dark hair unbound and dressed in a sports bra and shorts, Avi had the most genuine smile on her face, her eyes bright with mirth, happy to see her best friend. The girl was loyal to a fault, the first one to defend you against anything.
"Hi, Avi. Wassup?"
"Her ass decided to take a day off on ah Monday," Alissa interjected. Erica rolled her eyes at the brown skin, a curvy girl whose mouth has no filter.
"Wait. Yuh cut ya hair?" Erica exclaimed. Alissa struck a sassy pose for them all, showing them her now low-cut natural hair with now honey blonde and pink highlights. Designs were marked on the lower half of her head, the new hairstyle accentuated her slightly round face and hazel eyes, she was a knockout.
"Yes, girl. Mammy did it." Alissa beamed when she said this. Alissa's mom was currently a popular hairstylist with her own shop at a prestigious part of Scarborough. After growing up knowing how to do braids and weaves, Alissa decided to make that her career path with her mother's support. Her goal is to learn more about different hair types and styles before settling.
"Now you looking more like, Pinky," Christopher quipped sending her a suggestive look. It has been a running joke among the five friends that Alissa had the uncanny look and body shape of a popular BBW porn star, Pinky. She took it in stride and found no harm in it. She was confident about her body and looks, giving many hate-filled girls on the island, a run for their money.
"So Avi, you took a day off from school and everybody else just chillin'?" Erica asked them all.
"More or less. I home fuh now. Chris chilling too, classes on the evenings, you know how he mammy is," Jamal said with a sly grin. Christopher rolled his eyes at his friend.
"Helping she out by de shop, get ah little money on weekends. I ain't mind. Not really ready to look fuh wuk. She say I can relax but not fuh long. How things going up dey?" Chris returned.
"Yeah. We see yuh new IG pics. Who da white girl wid you in da picture dey? She look like one of those hoity-toity girls we see on tv," Avi asked, squinting her eyes in question.
"De black one look like trouble," Alissa added. Erica sighed, showing them how really confused and out of sorts she really was. Knowing her friends, they all have a sixth sense in seeing through people while she likes to get to know them, ignoring the obvious. Rubbing her face harshly, she told them everything, answering a few questions in between. After it all, they stayed quiet and eyed her carefully.
"Sweetie, yuh good?" Avi asked softly.
Erica didn't answer, looking up from her laptop, she took in her surroundings trying to keep the tears away. Hearing the worry and concern in her friend's voice seem to put a crack in the wall she built since she arrived in the States.
"Lova, come nah man, doh stay quiet. Somethin' botherin' yuh," Jamal pushed.
Before she can say it, the tears won and all her silent worries and fears came tumbling out. "I'm scared. Scared of being alone in dis place. She didn't even wait an' see if ah reach my terminal. Ah had to struggle wid those bags an' act like ah know what ah was doing. She ain't even call to find out how ah doin'. Ah whole month and nothing. Ah get that she like Giselle more than me but I'm she daughter too. Daddy tryin' he best but it's my mother, yuh know. On top of that, I'm de foreigner here, ah still get funny and confused looks when ah talk and how ah does dress. Ah doh even think I have friends. Those two girls in de pic, I'm getting mixed feelings about them. Gosh, I'm just so fucking...... ughhhh... shit."
All four friends watched on as their friend silently cried as she spoke. They all knew how bad it was living in her older sister's shadow and trying to gain some sort of love and attention from her mother. Erica's conception wasn't a secret in the village back home. The thing about Tobago, everybody knows what's going on in your own place and they are all good at math in putting two and two together. Julius Hollis was on a visit to the island with his family, hooked up with Charlene for the one-week stay, not knowing she already had a kid and a boyfriend. What Julius didn't see in Charlene was the opportunistic streak in her. Some say she got pregnant on purpose, others said it was just one of those 'major mistake' situations. Erica was pinned on her present boyfriend but when she was born, her mixed features were prominent. Julius was kept in the dark for a while until Charlene notified him. No one knows why she kept the father and daughter apart for so long but they all knew of how badly she treated her second daughter.
"Erica. Please stop. This isn't you. What is goin' on?" Avi voiced softly.
"I miss home so much. I doh fit in here," she cried.
"I-It's just ah few weeks, give it time. No one seh you have to get best friends in ah jiffy. Just relax and let things flow. Dah drama wid dat Bree girl is serious thing eh. You hear her side but what about Elijah. Ah mean, two sides to ah story right? Plus I doh believe she story. We all follow de boy on IG. All he post an' dem is about his family or he cats an' dem. We ain't see nothin bout she so she ain't worth ah headache....." Alissa started.
"He ain't post personal shit means he private and not much for social media. You yuhself say how calm he is, his friends loyal to him means he have dey respect an' he listen to dey advice. You need to figure out things on yuh own and adjust to da new country. It won't be instant. Just relax an' keep ya head on. it's not like yuh really alone up dey. You have yuh father now, forget bout Miz Charlene. Live ya life. Yuh get more opportunities up dey dan down here," Jamal continued for her.
Drying her eyes, Erica finally let out a calming breath and gave them a trembling smile. They all returned her smile and quickly changed the subject to distract her from what made her cry. While talking to her friends, she realized they were right. It was still early in the game, forging long last relationships can wait. She had time also to get to know her father. By his actions and attention, she knew the man loved her but was giving her space to adjust to her new environment. In order to be happy in her new home, she had to be herself and explore it all on her own.
When the bell rang to end the present block, she said goodbye to her friends and simply welcomed the quiet around her. Needing some new books to read, she wandered around the fictional section, choosing books that snagged her attention. What she didn't expect was tripping over a bag and onto a firm masculine body.
"Crap! I'm sorry." The voice was familiar. Shakingly getting to her hands, she flicked her hair over her shoulder only to be caught into the light brown eyes of Elijah Johnson.
"Nah. Nah. Is me. Ah wasn't...." she stopped when she realized she was talking in broken English. For some reason, she became self-conscious of her Caribbean dialect. She unconsciously wanted this boy to see her as perfect. Hiding her face behind the mass of hair that fell back over her shoulder, she quickly got off Elijah before she embarrasses herself even more. Not watching where she stepped, Erica slipped on the paperback she selected, falling back onto the still sitting Elijah. This time she heard him laugh softly, her face was extremely hot by now. Not only by her second fall but by her position. Her upper torso was practically across his thighs, books scattered around them and he was simply there. Groaning at her sheer dumb luck, she stayed in that position, willing her pride to return to her body. Laughing once more, Elijah gingerly rolled her over by pulling her by the shoulder higher up his legs. His laughter became a bit louder when her hair covered her face, her eyes tightly shut not wanting to look him in the eye or say anything. Every time she says something, it always backfires on her.
"Hello, my beautiful island flower," he said softly. Erica gasped at his soft, heart racing words, she stilled when he brushed away her hair from her face and ran a finger down her cheek. Slowly she opened her eyes, only to be blessed with that one special Kodak moment. His own brown curly hair was loose, his silver earring dangling from his ear glittered in the sunlight shining through the window above them. He wore his gold-rimmed glasses, which made his brown eyes brighter. His smile was beautiful and Erica can only stare. That smile turned into a frown, "You've been crying. What's wrong?" he asked as he helped her to sit up. Erica was speechless, once again he boldly touched her, touching the dried tear tracks, waiting for her to answer.
"Umm. Ah just miss... I mean... Ummm... A bit of homesickness, that's all," she answered, correcting her English at the same time.
"Oh. Anything I can do to help?" he offered.
"If you can import tons of sand and seawater, that will be nice," she joked while collecting her books.
"Can't import it but I can fly you there," he returned honestly. Erica turned to look at his earnest look, she didn't know if he was kidding or being brutally honest. Sitting back on her haunches, she simply stared at him. The guy was simply handsome, though she didn't know him personally she knew he wore his heart on his sleeve just by his instant need to please her.
"Thanks for the offer but I think I should give this new country a try," she said giving him a smile. Rising to her feet, she gave him a small wave and made one step to leave his side.
"Wait."
She stilled when he caught her hand and quickly scrambled to his feet. The heat from his hand surged through her body, making her aware of his masculine presence even more. He towered over her by a good few inches, stupidly she wondered how it will feel for him to hug her.
"Yeah?"
"Ummmm..... I know you've probably heard a lot of shit about me from my ex but would you like to hang out sometime? If you say no I will totally understand your need to stay away from me, I haven't made such a good impression on you during our first meeting. So maybe you won't which will suck. You're really beautiful and apart from your natural beauty, something is nagging me to be with you. I mean, not 'be with you, it's more like get to know you, show you stuff, become friends you know, maybe more. Fuck. Not like I want you to be my girl...yes, I think that may work, not that I'm pressuring you to be but maybe consider it? Shit, that's too much info for now..."
It was hard not to laugh at the guy's cute ramblings and flushed cheeks, he was entirely adorable. Wanting to put him out of his misery yet quelling her inner fangirl screams, Erica answered his question.
"Yes."
"What?" Elijah was confused for a moment then a wide grin spread across his lips. "Really? Cool. Um... how about the mall? No, you've probably visited there already. There's a flea market in town for the next two weeks, wanna go?" he asked hopefully.
"How about tomorrow? I promised daddy to chill with him this afternoon," she said with an apologetic smile.
"That's cool. Can I have your number?"
Something in her made her stand taller with pride in her posture as she accepted his phone when they exchanged it. She was talking to her crush without any doubt or snide warnings from Bree. She was thinking for herself. After the exchange of numbers, the two simply held each other's gaze with silly smiles on their faces.
"I'm not a bad guy, Erica. Please believe me," he implored softly. She bent her head in shame after seeing the sincerity in his eyes when he spoke.
"I guess I was acting on a scorned lover's spiel and the need to make new friends. My judgment should be the only thing that matters. Maybe someday you will tell me your side of things and forgive me for my behavior," she returned.
"Someday I will," he answered. He shifted uneasily on his feet, looking away for a moment before placing his attention back on her.
"I uh... gotta check these out..." she said gesturing to the six books in her hand. "Let me help you with those," he quickly offered as he got his backpack and the book he was reading. He took the books gently from her hands and escorted her to the front desk. He didn't say anything, and neither did she, the silence was companionable. Erica knew she made the right choice in following her own instincts.
Now, if only she can get her heart from racing so fast every time she was near him.