AARON
"i need a favor."
i said holding the phone between my ear and shoulder.
the line went silent before he replied back.
"shoot."
i sighed.
"i need you to do a background check on somebody.find their social media,personal interests,any and everything that has been put on the internet within the last ten years"
"what's the name?"
he asked.
i kept quiet trying to figure out a way to tell him.
"it's her isn't it?"
he asked,no sign of laughter in his voice.
"yeah.but it's only because-"
i stuttered.
"it's done."
he said before hanging up the phone.
-
i didn't really want to ask ryan for help.
the main reason being that if i did,i would have to admit that i was wrong and he was right.
and i would rather burn in hell before i let that happen.
thankfully,he wasn't an ass and decided to do it,no questions asked.
i sat in class,completely drained of any energy that i might have had before.
even though coach had me on probation for a few weeks,practice was kicking my ass.
chris kept assuring me that i would be back on the team in no time,and he'd make sure of it.
i looked like a little lost puppy,following everybody else on the team around.
attending every practice,game and training just to sit my ass on the bench when it came time to play.
the only reason i hadn't quit the team yet,was because i knew this season would be a good one.
colleges usually start scouting around the end of the year so hopefully by then,all this shit will be sorted out.
in the mean time,my main priority was finding some info on aaliyah and her family.
not anything serious,just enough to be nosey and have enough power to black mail her,whenever i wanted to.
"mr Williams,can you please answer my question?"
mr shelly asked.
i rubbed my eyes.
"sorry,what was it again?"
i asked.
the rest of the class mumbled and groaned,upset that he now had to repeat the question.
physics class with mr shelly was one of the hardest and slowest classes i had.
he talked as slow as a sloth and his monotone voice didn't help when it came to teaching.
i had him last year for chemistry and i just barely passed his class with a c minus.
"zinc,atomic number thirty on the periodic table of elements,zinc has six times the number of electrons as?"
i stalled looking up trying to guess the answer off the top of my head even though i knew damn well i didn't know it.
"can i ask somebody for help?"
i ask,making the rest of the class laugh.
"this isn't phone-a-friend mr Williams,the answer is boron"
he said turning back towards the board.
before he could finish the lesson,the bell rang.
letting it be known that seventh period was over and we had five minutes to get to our last period.
i packed up my bag,before sliding it on my shoulders and grabbing my phone out of my pocket,walking out.
the hallways were crowded,as always.
students stood by lockers engaged in deep conversations,people rushing in and out of the bathrooms as fast as they could to get to class on time.
i hadn't seen chris since lunch and we had last period together.
and ryan was nowhere to be found.
before i could turn the corner,a tall figure pulled me the opposite way.
i looked up to see that it was ryan and he was going in the complete opposite direction of the class i needed to go to.
"ms lee's class is on the other side of the school-"
i point.
"we have four minutes left,you'll make it"
he said looking down at his apple watch.
"so what did you find?"
i ask walking next to him hoping he had an answer for me.
he sighed.
"not much,i looked for hours and i only found basic information"
"i thought you were an expert?"
i ask making quotation marks with my fingers.
his face scrunched up.
"i'm a high school computer genius,not the federal government.so do you want the information or not?"
i nodded my head as we walked in the direction of the west side of the building.
my english class was on the south side.
i looked down at the time on my phone.
three minutes.
"ok,her birthday is February twenty sixth,and she shares it with miles,pisces."
"twins."
i stated out loud as he nodded his head.
he hummed.
"they stay with their dad,james brown,he owns an auto repair shop on the other side of town"
"what about her mom?"
i ask as we turned a corner.
he gave me an awkward look.
"what about her?"
he asked.
"what school does she work at? what's her salary,stuff like that?"
i wonder.
he shook his head as i looked down at my phone.
two minutes.
"i couldn't find anything on a mother figure.there's a slight possibility that she's adopted but if not then her mom definitely isn't in the picture"
he explained.
"but she told me her mom worked as a teacher for freshman,back in atlanta.she seemed like she had a pretty good relationship with her"
she shrugged his shoulder running his fingers through his hair.
"i'm not sure.i can do some more digging tonight but if i don't find anything,it's probably because it has something to do with the state"
i nodded as we rushed down a set of stairs,watching as students slowly disappeared into their last period classrooms.
"is there anything else you wanted to know?"
he asked looking my way.
i hesitated on my question before just letting it out.
"did you find anything,illegal?"
i say cautiously.
"you mean,does anybody in her family have a criminal record?"
he asked stating the obvious.
i nodded letting him know he had the go a head to tell me.
"kinda,her dad has a charge"
he mumbled avoiding my eyes.
my eyes went wide as i tried to process the words that had come out of his mouth.
"how?"
i ask intrigued,i read the time on my phone quickening my pace.
one minute.
"assault and battery against a minor.i found a news article on it from like last year but there wasn't much on it."
before i could ask him another question,he had stopped in front of a door.
we were standing in front of ms.lee's class,some how,some way on time.
i guess i was so engaged into the conversation with ryan that i didn't even pay attention to what direction we were going in.
he followed me into the room as i sat down in my desk.
"should i be,mad or worried?"
i ask confused.
a confused look took over his face as he stood next to my desk.
"why would you be mad,it's her business,she doesn't have to tell you anything"
"well then if that's how you feel then why did you go through all this trouble to find out all of her personal information?"
i ask.
"because i know that you're desperate."
he said smartly.
i rolled my eyes at him.
"what the hell do i have to be desperate about? i have everything i could ever want,i don't need to beg."
"right,tell that to your coach and your parents"
he folded his arms looking around the room.
i took out my notebook,just as chris had walked into the room and sat in the chair next to me.
"where have you been,i haven't seen you since lunch?"
i ask playing with my lanyard.
he waved his hand,propping his arm up on the desk.
"me and nikki skipped fifth and sixth period,and made out in the parking lot across the street"
ryan scoffed as he looked at chris.
"figured."
chris looked at him funny before turning my way.
"when's the last time you got some from jessica?"
he went in to touch my face as i slapped him hand making him pull away and shake it.
"none of your damn business.and i think you mean when's the last time she got some from me."
he chuckled tapping on his desk.
"naw,you've been off your game lately.you and jessica barely ever hang out anymore,trouble in paradise i say"
he wasn't wrong.
me and jessica were always on and off.
i handy talked to her in a few days.
i never really knew what jessica was thinking and when.
she was so stubborn.
you know how people say 'i can read you like a book?'
well in that case,jessica is the dictionary because i've never had more trouble figuring out somebodies emotions then when i'm with her.
"there is no trouble,just relaxation.me and jessica are fine,you know how it is.you worry about your relationship and i'll damn sure take care of mine"
his eyes shifted up at the door as it closed.
me and ryan both turned to see aaliyah walking in and taking a seat towards the back.
she put her stuff down before letting her eyes roam,before she noticed us.
"look who it is everybody,it's alvin and his chipmunks."
she chuckled as she stretched in her seat.
a few students laughed as she smiled leaning back in her seat.
"who's who?"
i asked,hiding my smirk behind my hand,before letting it fall.
what the fuck.
"i don't know,figure it out on your own.ones talented,ones smart and the other ones fat"
we both turned to look at chris as he held an angry look on his face.
he looked back and forth at both of us before getting it.
"oh,the hell i am! i'm not the fat one!"
we both laughed as she did the same.
"i mean,if the shoe fits,wear it.if it don't,you aint cinderella."
ryan rubbed his shoulder as chris looked at him upset.
"it's okay chris,maybe nikki likes her dudes with a little more meat"
he joked.
chris punched his shoulder making him groan and cuss.
he looked aaliyah's way.
"you know what,keep making jokes brown.since that seems to be the only thing you can do right,i'll let it slide."
he turned around ignoring her presence.
"i know you."
she blurted making us all turn around confused.
her eyes were on ryan as he stood there,finger pointed at his chest.
"not me."
she nodded at him,snapping her finger trying to remember.
"i saw you at the game the other week,you were working the concession stand."
we both looked at him as he held an awkward smile on his face.
"yup,that was me."
she pointed back and forth between the three of us before it hit her,making her laugh with her head down.
"i knew you looked familiar,you were one of the guys at his house the one day i got into that argument with channing tatum"
he pointed at me and chris.
ryan nodded.
"so why did you lie like a bitch and act like you didn't know who i was?"
she questioned him leaning forward in her seat.
he stuttered over his words before the bell rang out making the room go silent and the door to the room close.
every bodies eyes went to ms.lee and she pulled down her glasses.
"mr.richardson!"
she said,eyes locking with ryan's as he was the only person left standing in the classroom.
"that bell means that class has started,and last i checked your name wasn't on my attendance list,which means you aren't in this class.
so you must be enrolled in ms.houston's class,which is on the other side of the building which means you are indeed late and disrupting my class in the process."
"oh no ms.lee,you know,i was just doing some charity work.you know,gotta help out the kids"
he joked hitting mines and chris' shoulder before clearing his throat leaning against a desk.
she looked at him unamused before pointing her finger at the door.
"get out."
he nodded doing just that and exiting the classroom as ms lee looked our way.
"would you two care to join him?"
she asked.
"don't be silly,ms lee,we love your class."
i said said gesturing at me and chris as we put smiles on our faces.
she hummed.
"clearly you love it a little too much if you had to retake it for a second time"
she said making the rest of the class laugh,i sat back in my seat getting ready for this long lecture.
-
it's december 21st.
i want my superpowers today.