september 16th, 2019
7:08 am
THE SLAMMING OF LOCKERS AND KYLAH'S PEERS TALKING AT A BOISTEROUS VOLUME was making her head split.
The indecision swirling in her stomach was making her slightly queasy and as she examined herself in the girls' bathroom of her school, she could see two ocean-deep bags underneath her eyes due to the lack of sleep.
The baby pink ceramic tiles on the wall were faded and littered with graffiti from the female students at Henry W. Grady High School. A few miscellaneous pieces of toilet paper were scattered on the floor and the window letting in pale sunlight was cracked on one side.
Kylah cocked her head as she examined her reflection, pulling down the bright red sweatshirt that read 'Grady Gymnastics' in black cursive. She leaned closer to examine the purple bags under her eyes and then groaned at the sight of them.
When she closed her eyes, she saw Sharife moving to take her face in his calloused hands, and could still feel his lips on hers. That alone had made it impossible to fall asleep.
'It's up to you'.
Just another decision bearing on her shoulders.
Great, just great.
The wooden door opened behind Kylah and in walked Nyree, her backpack hoisted over one shoulder, "Hey! I've been looking for you." Nyree says as she walks closer to Kylah.
"I've been here," Kylah said in a lackluster tone.
"Why? This isn't the upperclassman bathroom." Nyree scoffed, taking out a toothbrush and a mini-sized jar of clear edge control out of her bag.
"I knew I'd be alone here," Kylah took off her backpack, unzipped the smallest section, and pulled out three thick envelopes, the edges jagged from how her father had roughly opened them the night before, "These came in last night."
"Where are these from?" Nyree asked as she took them from Kylah's hands, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Chapel Hill, Stanford, and UConn," Kylah replied, lifting a hand to brush the hair away from her cheek, "My dad opened them of course."
Nyree rolled her eyes, and let them stick to the ceiling for a moment before murmuring, "Of course. How long is the list of schools that want you?"
"With these three, we're at seventeen," Nyree let out a low whistle at the number, "How are you narrowing these down?"
"I'm not. All these programs are amazing." Kylah replied, stuffing the offers back in her bag.
"I thought you and your man talked this out already," Nyree's face held a teasing smile.
"Not my man," Kylah chuckled, "But yeah, we did but what if I make the wrong choice? Yeah, I could transfer but I don't wanna be that girl moving from school to school. How's that gonna look in the Olympics?"
Nyree was silent for a moment, "You have time, Ky."
Kylah's iPhone beeped from where it sat on the counter, and before Nyree could even twitch, she swiped the object into her dominant hand and then pressed it to her ear, "Hello?"
"What's your favorite flower?" Sharife asked.
"Hi, good morning. I'm fine, how are you?" Kylah replied, her tone light so he would know she was joking.
Sharife chuckled and the sound shot straight to the lowest part of her torso before flitting up her spine, "My bad, sweetheart. But seriously, what's your favorite flower?"
"This couldn't be a text message?" Kylah mused.
"It could be but any excuse to hear your voice can't be a bad thing, right?" Kylah couldn't help but release a faint giggle at his words.
Nyree glanced at her phone and then began to tap the screen as a way to get Kylah's attention, "Five minutes till the bell, let's go."
"Orchids. I like orchids," Kylah revealed before tapping the red icon near the edge of the device and then sliding the object into the back pocket of her jeans.
"Rife and Ky sitting in a tree," Nyree joked as the duo walked out into the hallway.
"Oh my god, Ny." Kylah laughed.
"You're not denying it," Nyree pointed out, "Are you blushing?"
"No. No!" Kylah vehemently denied it even as her face grew warmer.
"You did!" Nyree grabbed her elbow and pulled her to the left side of the hallway, "When? At the party?"
"No." Nyree's eyes narrowed, forcing Kylah to continue, "He might've come to my house yesterday and we might've kissed on my trampoline."
Nyree's arm shot out to slap Kylah's cotton-covered arm, "Ow! Ny, what the hell?"
"I can't believe I'm hearing this the day after. Why didn't you call me?" Nyree demanded.
"Um because, I was too busy being hit with too many choices. He told me he liked me, said it was up to me, and then left." Kylah summarized.
"So what's the hold-up?"
Kylah held up her right hand and began to count on her fingers, "For one, I don't know where I'm going and where he's gonna be next year. Two, this could be just a phase and he could change his mind. Three, I'm pretty sure Destiny thinks he's her boyfriend and I don't need the drama, and four, and perhaps the most important one, Brandon would hate it."
"One, planes exist," Nyree counted off as well, "Two, the only way to find out is to go through with it. Three, that fuck Tweety Bird ass bitch, and four, Brandon loves you. There are worse things you could do besides dating his friend. Eventually, he will get over it. I saw the way Rife was looking at you and you've liked him since forever." Nyree gently gripped both of Kylah's shoulders and shook her a little, "Go for it."
"Can we just go to AP Psych now?" Kylah groaned.
Nyree snickered as she put one arm around Kylah's shoulders, "C'mon pouty, let's go."
After finishing school, Kylah breathed a sigh of relief as she entered her home through the garage and dropped her gym bag, which was still slightly sweaty, on the hardwood floor. Her muscles were still tense and aching from the strenuous practice she had just endured.
She slipped off both shoes and began to walk past the dining room, where her father, Thomas, was typing something on his laptop. Before Kylah made it to the kitchen, she peeked her head in, "Hi, Dad."
Thomas glanced up, "Hey, how was practice?"
"Same old, same old," Kylah called back as she tugged open one shiny black door of the fridge to examine the contents.
"Really? I called your coach and he said you were having a little trouble on bars. Said you dropped almost three times," As he spoke, Thomas strolled over to join her in the kitchen, "What's that about?"
Through the closed refrigerator door on her left side, Kylah could see her father's reflection cross his arms and lean against the black and tan speckled granite countertop.
"I didn't put enough chalk on my hands," Kylah managed to state, grabbing a frigid water bottle before spinning around to face Thomas, "That's all."
"You gotta do better. The University of Georgia isn't gonna want you anymore if you're not giving it your all."
Kylah stiffened her posture and tapped the bottom of the plastic water bottle on her palm, "Um, about that, I.." Thomas' facial expression was impatient, causing her to trail off, "Yes?"
"Nothing," Kylah murmured instead.
"Devon sent more flowers. They're in your room." Thomas responded in a distracted tone.
Kylah slowly climbed up the stairs towards her bedroom, lost in thought as she let the door close behind her. The soft creaking of each step beneath her feet echoed through the quiet house. As she closed the door behind her, Kylah took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, feeling the weight of the day slowly lift off her shoulders.
Sure enough on her white desk was a mixed bouquet of blood-colored roses and magenta-colored orchids large enough to cover the length of the desktop. Unable to help herself, Kylah bent down to deeply inhale the combined floral, sweet, and spiced scent of the plants.
When she leaned back up, Kylah noticed the note tucked between the prongs that matched the lacy etchings of the vase and gingerly picked it up to avoid making any of the petals fall.
'I think you deserve all the flowers in the world but on such short notice, this is the best I could do - Rife'.
The inscription caused Kylah to release a dreamy sigh, almost involuntarily.
She should go and see him.
But she should shower first.
That was the one decision that Kylah didn't need to overthink.
In fact, this was the one decision that gave peace instead of the usual dose of unease.
NOTE FROM KY
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