"Essa!" Billie smiled as she ran towards her best friend, whom she hadn't seen all summer, and hugged her.
"Hi, Billie," Essa rolled her eyes as she pryed the short girl off of her thin body. She had only known Billie since last year, and didn't think of her as her best friend, or as a friend at all. She was just someone she knew, but Billie didn't see it that way.
"What'd you do during the summer? You didn't text me back at all and I thought that you dropped your phone in a pool or it got eaten by a horse or it got stolen or you..." Essa stopped Billie before she got any further. She, along with everyone else in the school, knew that Billie loved to babble on and on.
"I just swapped numbers, that's all. I thought I told everyone, but I must have missed your number." Essa said calmly, even though it was a lie. She really just ignored all of Billie's texts.
"Oh, ok. What's your new number? We have barely any time to talk and I thought that maybe we could..."
Essa thought fast, saying, "I'm gonna head to class." Essa waved good-bye and ran off to the first class of the first day, physics.
But, half way down the hallway, she ran into someone.
"Hey, watch where you're g..." She stopped herself as she looked up. It was someone else she had met last year, Soloman. He was the cutest boy she had ever met. He had strong arms and brown eyes that sparkled even in the middle of the night.
"Hey, Essa." Soloman smiled. His dimples were adorable.
Essa couldn't speak. She could feel her cheeks getting hotter. She wanted to say hi back, but it seemed like her mouth was glued shut. She managed to force her arm up and wave.
Soloman was about to say something, but fifteen boys came towards him.
"Hey, Sol, my man!" Alexan, the most annoying boy on Earth, said to him. Essa ducked out of the way as they ran through the hall. They all had broad shoulders and so much hairgel that they could set the school on fire. Jocks. Essa thought. She saw, as Soloman started laughing with his friends, that she should leave, so she walked back towards physics.
She opened the door right as the bell rang. She sat in a middle row next to a desk with a grey sketchbook on it. There was a creative drawing of a dragon in it, clearly drawn in pencil. Essa stared at the amazing drawing until she heard a soft voice say to her, "Do you like it?"
She turned around to see a brunette with emerald-green eyes smiling at her.
"Yeah! Did you draw it?" Essa asked as the girl sat down.
"I did during the bus ride here. But I clearly rushed it, the curvature of the left wing is way off, the right eye is unproportional to the other eye, and the scales change shape and size as they closer to the left corner. And..."
"Stop hating on your own art, it's amazing!"
"Oh, thanks." the girl smiled, brushed a chocolate-colored bang out of her face, and she erased the right eye and quickly drew a smaller, more detailed one.
"What's your name anyway?" Essa asked as she got her new physics book out.
"Ariel. And you're Essa, right?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
Ariel sighed. "You're Soloman's girlfriend, everyone knows you."
"I'm... no I'm not! I mean, he's cute but we never officially... who said that?" Essa said, surprised at the news.
"My brother is on the football team, and he always talks about the 'power couple' and has since last year." Ariel sighed again, as if she was sad.
Essa thought about it. The only way the team would know about her is if Soloman said it himself. Which would mean that he thought that they were dating, which would mean...
"Soloman likes me! I can't believe it!" Essa said, a bit too loud.
"Wait... you aren't dating?" Ariel said, suddenly perked up.
"No..."
"Oh, that's a relief."
"Why?" Essa realized that Ariel probably had a crush on Soloman as well.
"I mean," Ariel thought for a second. "I can tell my brother that you aren't together and he'll shut up about it."
"So, do you like Soloman?" Essa asked, seeing that Ariel was lying.
"Heck no. He's just a big show-off. Can't even give a good foul to someone when they deserve it, like last year's game against Flior Middle? Silvers deserved a good punt to the head, but no, he had to go for a darned touch-down and got fouled on by Nichols." Ariel began drawing again. She sounded sincere, like she really didn't like him. But then, why would she be relieved that they weren't dating? Did she really just want her brother to shut up? Or maybe she was a really good liar?
Did it even matter?
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Essa walked out of civics, her third class, and ran to lunch. The bell had already rang, and she wanted to talk to Soloman.
She quickly grabbed a tray and paid for her summer sausage and mashed potatoes. She scanned the cafeteria for the jock table, which changes every year. She then saw the broad shoulders in the left corner, which was the nerd table last year. Right by the window. Last year, jocks would scare nerds by giving wedgies to other nerds right outside of that window. But now, the jocks probably have that table because right outside that window is the new picnicking area where the pretty, popular girls now sit for lunch. You know, the tall blondes with the pink and aqua-marine highlights in random strands of hair, dangling earrings that could touch the floor if the girl crouched, and bright yellow halter tops that showed their belly-button and half of their rib-cage. Those girls.
Essa walked over and tapped Soloman on the shoulder.
"Oh, hey Essa. What's up?" he asked as he turned around.
"Hey, so, can I talk to you?" She looked at the other guys who where listening in on the conversation. "Alone?"
"Um, sure, I guess." Soloman picked up his tray and followed Essa to the bottom of the stage in the middle of the cafeteria.
"Do you like me?" Essa asked, determined to figure out if he liked her or not.
"What kind of like?"
"Like, girlfriend-boyfriend like."
"No, why? Do you like me?" Soloman tilted his head like a puppy begging for food.
Essa felt her heart shatter. All of her stomach-butterflies died, and she blinked back tears. "No, I don't. It's just, people think that we're dating."
"They didn't!" Soloman looked back at the jock table.
"Didn't... what?"
"They were teasing me that they were gonna tell everyone that we were the 'hottest couple'. I told them not to do it, but I guess they did."
Essa nodded and smiled, though she was dramatically shaking her head and crying on the inside. Soloman looked at Essa. He smiled too, and hugged her. He grabbed his tray.
"You're more like a sister to me." he said as he walked back to his friends, probably to bash their heads for being, well, boys.
Essa slumped. She was heart-broken. Just as she was about to get up, Billie came up to her.
"Hey, Es!" she smiled. "Wanna sit with me?"
Essa was so angry at Soloman. She was angry at herself for being so gullible. She was angry at Billie for being such an annoying little girl.
"Billie! I don't want to sit with you! I don't like you! No one likes you! And no one ever will!" Essa stormed off. She wanted to get away from society. She wanted to hurt someone, like Soloman or Billie.
Billie stood there. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She walked over to the jock table.
"Hey, can I sit with you guys?" she asked over the laughter of the boys.
The jocks went silent and looked at her. Suddenly, a red-haired boy smiled.
"Sure!" He scooted over towards the edge, making room for her.
Billie felt her cheeks heat up. She set her tray next to the red-haired boy.
"I'm Billie," she smiled. "And you are...?"
"Derek." He brushed his bangs out of his face, revealing bright-green eyes, gleaming in the artificial light hanging above.
Billie felt her heart thump loud in her ears. She spooned some mashed potatoes into her mouth, then felt something warm curl around her other hand. She glanced down and saw that it was Derek's hand. She looked at his face, which was smiling. Billie was about to move her hand, but the embrace felt nice. She let her hand stay, and rested her head on Derek's shoulder. Billie had never before felt as she did this very minute. It was a sweet, calm feeling. She nuzzled her ear against his broad shoulder, and here she stayed, until the next bell rang.
And even after that, she stayed close to him.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
The last bell rang. Essa was still a tad steamed about Soloman, but not as much. As she walked out of the large doors, she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw Ariel standing behind her, keeping her sketchbook close to her chest. Her emerald eyes were wide, and she was smiling.
"Hi," Ariel said in her small voice.
"Hey, Ariel. What's up?"
Ariel started walking, and Essa began walking next to her.
"Nothing," she said. "Just wondering if you wanna sit next to me on the bus?"
Essa nodded. "Sure."
They walked to the bus and sat near the back. Ariel started flipping through her sketchbook, showing Essa every detailed picture. She had dragons, unicorns, and multiple fictional characters. She was about to flip the last page, but closed the book instead.
"What's on the last page?"
Ariel paused. "Nothing... absolutly nothing." she shyly giggled. She set the sketchbook next to her and began digging in her backpack, which was by her feet.
Essa was suspicious. She slowly went to grab the cover to open it, but Ariel sat upright again and Essa quickly threw her hand back into her pocket. Ariel sat her tablet down and put her sketchbook back in her backpack. She smiled and opened her tablet, the homescreen was a picture of a young Ariel, clutching her sketchbook, with a tall, red-haired boy standing next to her. Their faces looked the same, from the green eyes to the way freckles seemed to clump around the tip of their noses.
"Is that your brother?" Essa asked, pointing to the boy in the picture.
"Yeah, Derek, he's really annoying, but he's funny." Ariel smiled. She then looked over the seats in front of her, then pointed out a mop of curly red hair flopping over the back of a seat. "That's him."
Essa looked at him, but then saw a familiar black ponytail sitting next to him.
"Billie?" Essa said quietly, though Ariel seemed to hear.
"Is that your friend next to my brother?" Ariel asked.
"No. We just know each other." Essa scrunched up her face. Why is Billie sitting with Ariel's brother? She always sits alone...
The bus came to a halt. The doors swung open.
Ariel stood and grabbed her backpack and her tablet and walked into the middle lane.
"See you tomorrow, Es." she said as she walked to the door. Her brother stood up, letting go of Billie's hand and ducking so he wouldn't hit his head on the ceiling. He followed Ariel, and asked her something as he looked at Essa. Ariel dramatically shook her head and hopped off.
Essa didn't notice. But what she did notice was that Ariel's sketchbook had fallen out of her backpack when she stood up. She grabbed it and was about to tell her, but the doors closed and the bus began rolling. Essa would give it back to her in the morning, but for now...
She picked up the book and flipped to the last page. It was a very detailed picture of a girl. Suddenly, Essa realized that it was her, from the blonde hair to her brown eyes. Essa, at first, thought it was just a friendly portrait. But then again, every other drawing in there was of a mythical animal or fictional character, this was the only real human-being in the book. Essa closed the book and put it in her backpack, trying to forget about it.
Forget, forgive, forget, forgive...
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"So, Derek, how was the first day?" Jolie, Derek and Ariel's mom, said as they sat at the table for dinner.
"Pretty good," he said through a mouthful of greenbeans. "I met this cute girl, Billie, and we're becoming a thing." His face burned red.
Jolie laughed. She looked at her daughter. "What about you, Ari?"
"Not much, but I did do this dragon sketch." Ariel opened her backpack and dug around for her sketchbook, but couldn't find it.
"What's wrong, A?" Theodore, Jolie's fiance, said as Ariel began to hyperventilate.
"It's not here! I put my book in here and it's gone!"
"You must have dropped it on the bus, you can get it back tomorrow." Derek said as he blew his bangs away.
Ariel's eyes widened. Her heart sped and and she breathed faster. "No, no, no, no, no! What if Essa picked it up, what if she looked through and saw... oh no, no, no!"
"It's ok, she'll understand." Derek smiled.
Ariel pushed back her chair. "I'm going to bed."
"Good night, princess." Jolie said.
Ariel ran into her room. She laid down on her bed and imagined the possibilities of what Essa thought.
She could think it's just a doodle of her because we're friends... or maybe she realizes that I'm practicing normal humans... or maybe...
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Essa waited at the bus stop, backpack (with Ariel's sketchbook) in hand. She heard foot-steps running towards her, and she looked. It was Billie, her thick, black hair pulled into a bun.
"Hi, Billie." Essa said as Billie got closer.
Billie didn't reply, but just stood near her and waited for the bus. Essa sighed as she looked at the little girl, then back at the street.
The bus came to a halt as the girls got on. Essa looked around for Ariel, and then heard the soft voice mumbling away, something about 'finding out' and other stuff.
Essa sat down next to her. Ariel looked at Essa's face.
"I have your notebook," Essa said as she pulled it out of her backpack. "I flipped through it again, you're really good at drawing."
Ariel grabbed the book and stuffed it next to her tablet inside her backpack. She hoped and hoped and hoped.
"Hey, Ariel," Essa started.
"Yes?" Ariel gulped.
"I really like my portrait, really detailed and beautiful."
Ariel smiled. "Thanks."
The bus came to a stop at the school. The doors swung open and the girls started to walk out.
Derek nudged Ariel's arm with his elbow.
"I told you she'd understand." he smiled.
"Understand what?" Essa asked, looking at Derek.
Ariel glared at her brother. He nodded.
"That you're..." he thought about it. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head and he swung around to be next to Essa. "That you're the perfect muse." he smiled as he brushed her bangs out of her face.
Essa smiled, softly. Her heart fluttered. Her cheeks burned. As they walked inside, she felt her hand brush against his, but then she heard a familier voice coming from behind them, calling, "Derek!"
He turned to face Billie as she ran up and hugged him. She looked at Essa's face.
"What do you want?" Billie asked her.
Essa internally sighed, but on the outside, she rolled her eyes. "Nothing to do with you." she growled as she stormed off to physics. Ariel ran to keep up with her, but Essa was basically running and, even with her long legs, Ariel couldn't keep up.
She couldn't keep up with Essa or this drama.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Through every class that day, Essa thought about the feeling she had gotton around Derek. She only felt this way around Soloman before, and even though she knew that he and Billie liked each other, when he stood really close to her and called her the "perfect muse", Essa felt like she could be perfect, that they could be perfect, together. Essa was confused, not just because of the Derek-Soloman issue, but also because of how Billie completely hates her now. Essa had treated Billie in similar ways before, like how last year when Billie wanted to be her science partner, and Essa told her that she didn't want to spend "that much time" with her, or when she invited everyone, except for Billie, to her pool party. Essa was also confused why she even cared who Billie likes or not. She just couldn't help it. Also, was it true that Ariel thought she was a perfect muse? Or was Derek just saying that to say what he felt?
Essa thought about all of these until she got on the bus, where Ariel had a new sketchbook, already half-way full of cartoon characters. She started to think about it again when she got home, but it was Tuesday, so she didn't have much time for random thoughts that were almost not random. Because this Tuesday is Trip Day, which meant she got to spend time with her cousin Erica, and only Erica.
And not Soloman, or Billie, or anyone else.
Just Erica.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"Hop in, Es!" Erica smiled as Essa ran out to the van that her cousin owned. Essa got in through the window like they do at Nascar races, which is what they went to see last Trip day. She looked at the back seats, where there were tents and a bunch of marshmallows. The essentials for a perfect night of camping.
Erica laughed as Essa grabbed a bag of mallows and started stuffing them into her mouth. She grabbed a handful then started driving.
"So, Es, what's on your mind?" she smiled, as if she knew that Essa was confused.
She sighed. "Promise not to tell?"
Erica nodded. "Swear on my van." She patted the steering wheel.
"Ok, well, I've told you about Billie before, the annoying little kid who thinks we're best friends or whatever, anyway, she got on my last nerve after Soloman completely rejected me, and..."
"Soloman rejected you? Not cool!" Erica gasped.
Essa sighed. "Yeah, so anyway, Billie got on my nerves and I blew up at her, how no one likes her, then that very day, she's sitting with Ariel's brother, Derek, and..."
"Who's Ariel?"
"This crazy good artist girl, long brown hair, green eyes, anyway, her brother, Derek, and Billie like each other, but then, I'm pretty sure he likes me more because he called me the 'perfect muse' and he stood so close to me. And I'm not sure why I really care if he likes Billie, I really don't care. Well, I don't want to care. Either way, I don't like Der..." Suddenly, Essa saw red, curly hair outside the window. She turned to see Derek, throwing a football into the air and catching it, over and over again. He must have seen Essa, and he dropped the ball. Essa waved, and he waved back.
Erica stopped the van. Essa looked at her.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Go say hi," Erica smirked. She unlocked the doors.
Essa's face burned red. Derek noticed this and ran up to the van. Essa opened the door.
"What's up, Essa?" he smiled, his hair flopping over his eyes.
Essa's face burned hotter. She glanced at Erica, sitting cross-legged, eatting a bag of marshmallows like a bucket of popcorn at the movies.
She looked back at Derek, grinning. His eyes gleamed in the sun.
Essa took a deep breath. She got out of the van, standing in front of Derek, face-to-face. And then kissed him. On the cheek, but still.
Derek's eyes widened. Erica gasped. Essa stared at Derek's eyes.
"You... I... but..."
Essa's heart pounded. Her mind was racing.
Ariel ran out of the house and grabbed Derek by the wrist. She looked at Essa. Then ran with Derek inside. Even from the van, Essa could hear Ariel screaming at her brother. She had never heard Ariel speak louder then a loud-whisper.
Essa couldn't make out what Ariel said. Maybe because Ariel's voice was over-bearing, or maybe because Essa was hiding in her own arms, questioning why she kissed him. She was confused, almost grabbing why, then it slipped through her imaginary fingers. She never had the courage to kiss Soloman, not ever. But she kissed Derek like they had been together since forever.
Maybe she really did like Derek.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Billie was sitting in her room, trying to figure out this Algebra thing. S'Jaia, Billie's sister, tried to help her, but kept getting distracted by this Derek character, whom Billie couldn't stop thinking about.
"So, is he a brunette or a blonde?" she smiled, head resting in her hands, her black braids falling over her shoulders.
"Red-head, wait, is 'a' 7 or just an absolute value of 7?"
S'Jaia's smiled. "Ooh, ginger! And it's 7. And he's on the football team?"
Billie scribbled down five different numbers as she nodded. S'Jaia twisted one of her braids around her finger and giggled as she imagined the tall, strong figure. Billie glanced at the dark girl, and S'Jaia stood up.
"Sorry," she smiled as she grabbed the pencil out of Billie's hand and ran off with it.
"Hey!" Billie laughed as she chased her out of the room and into the hall. She would have chased her out of the apartment if they hadn't ran into Deryl, the "human buzzkill", a.k.a. their dad.
"What are you girls doing?" he sternly said. "I don't think you're done with your homework."
S'Jaia handed Billie back her pencil. "I did my homework, Deryl. I was helping Wilhemina with hers, but then we started playing."
Billie rolled her eyes. She hated when people called her by her real name. "Yeah, so I'll just go back and finish that." She turned around and took a step forward, only to be stopped again by Deryl, hand on her shoulder.
"S'Jaia will not be helping you. You can finish on your own." And he let her go.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
It had been half an hour since they left Derek and Ariel's house, but Erica and Essa were talking about it as if it had just happened.
"Was his face warm?" Erica asked the still shocked-girl.
"Well, duh, he had been in the sun since school got out."
"Would you ever do that to Soloman?"
Essa's heart thumped loud inside her ears, as if trying to answer the question itself. Essa sighed, and Erica nodded. She put her hand on her little cousin's shoulder.
"It's fine. Before I met the man I married, I thought I liked this other kid, Theodore. But then he met this other girl, and I completely forgot about him."
"Doesn't sound like you forgot him." Essa slyly grinned.
"Ok, fine. I haven't completely forgot about him, but I wouldn't have married anyone else other than my hubby."
Essa nodded as they pulled into the camp site. They got out and got the tents. For the next while or so, they wouldn't be thinking about boys, friends, or crumby lives. Just about how to set up these tents.
And tents took forever.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"Wait, so you hugged her?" Alexan laughed at Soloman.
"Yeah, I did, and called her my sister," He punched his head and moaned. "I'm so stupid."
"She likes Derek now, dude."
Soloman looked up. "Derek? What about Bobbi, or whatever her name was?"
"Billie? Oh, yeah, Derek and her are a thing, but I saw him and Essa kiss after school, at his house."
Soloman slumped deeper into his bean-bag chair. "I should've told her under the stage." He groaned.
Alexan shook his head. "Dude, you're so bad at this. If I were you, she'd be my girl by now."
Soloman groaned again. "You've mentioned that multiple times. Multiple, multiple times."
"Just to help you remember."
The door suddenly swung open, and a beautiful girl with brown hair came in.
Lorrey. Alexan thought as he stared at her sparkling eyes. Soloman just groaned.
"What do you want, Lorrey?" he mumbled.
"Just wanted to say that I'm home and that mom wants Alexander out of her house." She glanced at the boy, who would usually punch someone if they called him by his real name, but Lorrey was different. He didn't mind her calling him Alexander. She could call him anything she wanted. He really didn't care.
Alexan got up and hopped out the window, the same way Soloman let him in and waved as he ran off. Soloman closed his window, and flopped back into his chair.
Lorrey rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Soloman grabbed his pillow and shoved it into his own face, groaning and hating himself for not telling Essa that he liked her.
He punched himself again.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Derek sat alone in his closet, throwing his football against his wall and trying to catch it as it bounced back. He could usually do this easily, but now he had so much on his mind, like how he got a girlfriend already, and also got kissed by a girl, who wasn't his girlfriend. He thought about how he felt when Billie hugged him, held his hand, and smiled at him versus when he stood super close to Essa, or when she blushed as he called her the "perfect muse", or when she kissed him.
He couldn't keep that last feeling out of his head, how his heart pounded as it happened, and how it felt like an eternity, though it barely took three seconds.
That's when, while sitting in his closet, still picturing Essa kissing him, he smiled and nodded off to sleep.
He dreamed of Essa. And didn't even think about Billie.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Billie and S'Jaia rode their bikes to school the next day, simply because they wanted to. The nice, August breeze brought a fresh feeling to them, and the smell of the morning dew helped them get ready for the day.
Well, that's how S'Jaia felt.
Billie was sweating because the only clean shirt she had this morning was a turtleneck, and she was sneezing because the pollen in the air inflamed her allergies.
Oh, how S'Jaia loved August.
They parked their bikes outside the school, and S'Jaia started walking inside, but stopped because Billie just stood there.
"Billie, come on! Early students get extra credit!"
"I'm waiting for the bus, I want to talk to Derek."
S'Jaia lit up. "Ok, I'll wait with you." She really wanted to meet this Derek.
The bus screeched as it stopped in front of the school, behind it was a van. And from the van emerged a very beat-up, dirty looking Essa. She waved to the blonde woman in the driver's seat as she ran into the school.
Billie shook her head and stared at the bus doors as they swung open. The first ones out were Derek and his sister, Ariel. She ran up to hug Derek, who didn't hug her back.
"Hey, B." He smiled.
"Hi, I need to talk to you." She grabbed his wrist and brought him around to the side of the bus.
"Alexan told me you kissed Essa!" she screeched.
"She kissed me! Ariel watched the whole thing, right A?" He looked for Ariel, but she wasn't anywhere around. He looked towards the school again, and saw her walking with Essa. He sighed relief.
Billie sighed with him. She let him go and walked with him back into the school.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"You do know that Derek's dating Billie, right?" Ariel quietly said as she and Essa walked down the long hall.
Essa moaned. "Yes, I am aware of that."
"I saw you kiss him," the shy girl whispered. "At least, I think I did."
Essa sighed. "Yeah, I did."
Ariel looked back and saw Derek and Billie laughing together. She smiled a little. Essa moaned again.
"Who all knows?" she asked.
Ariel bit her bottom lip. "Well, I know that Alexan saw you guys, so he told the whole team, and then Billie knows, and..."
"Wait, he told the whole team?" Essa screeched. "Does that mean he told Soloman?"
Ariel looked down at her feet. "Yes." she whispered.
Essa hid her face in her hands.
She was finished.
Truly finished.
Absolutly to-the-very-end finished.
She kissed a boy and now her crush knows.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"Now, who can tell me what thirteen's absolute value is compared to negative fifteen's? Which is larger? Anyone?" Mr. Gredly asked his class. No one was listening, of course, because everyone had something on their mind.
Essa had Soloman knowing that she kissed Derek.
Soloman had regrets on not telling Essa his feelings.
Billie had Derek, and definitly not Essa ghosting on her.
Derek had Essa's sweet, gentle kiss.
Ariel had her sketchbook, a pencil, and an idea.
Alexan had lots of dishy things on almost everyone.
S'Jaia had homework. Lots and lots of homework.
All Mr. Gredly had was equations and more equations.
And of course, it was only seven in the morning.
It was going to be a very, very long day.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
The bell rang for third period. Soloman sprinted up the halls, looking in every window and every open doorway for Essa. He needed to tell her.
As he ran past the science lab, he ran into someone.
"Sorry, man, I was just..." He stopped himself when he looked back and saw the beautiful blonde.
"It's, it's fine Soloman." Essa smiled.
Soloman heard his team laughing and yelling as they ran through the halls towards them. He only had three seconds to right this wrong.
And, boy, did he panic.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Essa stared off into the emptiness of the hallway. Soloman had just left with the other jocks. Her face was frozen. Soloman actually just set something in her hand, held her hand, and held it until the boys came.
She looked back down at her hand. It still had the small piece of paper in it that Soloman left. Essa hadn't had the courage to see what it was, but she finally grabbed it and opened it. She read the small numbers written on it.
Her eyes widened. Soloman had givem her his phone number, the ten numbers that she'd wanted since seventh grade.
She immediately took out her phone and dialed the numbers. She put in his name, Soloman Cleary, a few heart emojis, and texted him. The response was almost immediate.
ESSA: Hi, is this Soloman? 7:47 a.m
SOLOMAN: Yea is this essa 7:47 a.m
ESSA: Yeah. 7:49 a.m
SOLOMAN: did you really kiss derek 7:50 a.m
ESSA: Yeah... 7:54 a.m
SOLOMAN: can i ask why 7:54 a.m
ESSA: Because you don't like me. 7:55 a.m
At this response, Soloman knew that he seriously messed up. If he had just said that he liked her, they wouldn't been having this conversation.
She would have never kissed Derek.
Alexan wouldn't be bothering him about Essa so much.
The entire school wouldn't be talking about how Derek and Essa belong together.
Things would be better.
Much, much better.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
The final bell rang. Essa sighed as she walked out of the doors. She checked her phone every five minutes, waiting for a text back from Soloman. But he never texted back. On the bus, she did look through her unread messages.
There were thirty-four of them, all from a single person.
A single Wilhemina Wilson.
Billie had texted her about horse-riding in Texas, skiing in Greenland, hopping with kangaroos in Australia, and finding a leaf in Washington D.C. with a mark on it that looked eerily similar to Katy Perry (she sent a picture, it was awesome).
She texted about getting a sister adopted from Jamaica. So that's who that girl was.
She also texted about how much she missed Essa, how much she couldn't wait to see her again.
How much she appreciated having someone to count on.
How much she wanted to laugh, to cry, to be with Essa again.
And Essa starting crying.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
The bus came to a screeching stop near the Cleary's house. Soloman got off, and Alexan followed.
They walked in the door, up the stairs, and into his room, where Soloman flopped onto his bed. Alexan sat next to him.
"I gave her my number," Soloman said as he stared at his wall. "And she texted me in, like, four minutes." He gave Alexan the phone.
Alexan read every word, and then he got to the last one, sent by Essa.
"Dude..." he said, looking at Soloman.
He covered his face and mumbled, "What should I say to that?"
He then heard typing. He uncovered his face and snatched back his phone.
Alexan laughed. "I didn't send it," he smiled. "But you should."
Soloman read it out loud. "I really do like you Essa, you're sweet, funny, and beautiful. Please take me."
Soloman turned off his phone.
"Come on, man. Just send it to her!" Alexan smiled.
Soloman glared at him. "I am not sending that!"
"So you don't think that about her?" Alexan slyly smiled.
"I... she... I mean, duh."
"So send it."
"Can I at least say it differently?"
"Knock yourself out."
Soloman went back to the text and typed a different, yet some-what similar, text.
Alexan took the phone again and read it before Soloman could send it. "That's it? You have nothing else to say?"
Soloman nodded as he fell onto his back again. "I do.. but just... just send it," he groaned. "It won't make a difference."
But that's where he was wrong.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Billie parked her bike next to S'Jaia's.
"So, Derek's really cute," S'Jaia smiled as she nudged Billie's arm with her elbow.
Billie smiled. "Careful, now. Too many people think that."
S'Jaia nodded. She remembered Alexan telling them over the phone about Essa kissing Derek.
But then she realized something.
"Why haven't you kissed Derek?"
Billie's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?" she screeched just as she was about to open the door. "I'm not ready for that!"
"Well, Essa's not even dating him and she did it easily."
Billie sighed. "Exactly. He's been kissed by a girl before. That would make me his second kiss. I'd rather just... just not kiss him." She opened the door and walked in, making sure Deryl couldn't see them.
"Well, the first kiss is most memorable, but true-love's kiss is most important."
And at that sentence, Billie burst out into tears.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Ariel walked into Derek's room, holding her sketchbook.
"Hey, Ari," he said as he turned off his phone. "What's up?"
"Derek... I just got this from Alexander." Ariel sighed as she handed Derek her phone.
It was a video of Essa kissing him.
It had over a hundred views.
"That kid," he growled. He scrolled through the comments and was about to call Alexan and yell at him, every comment was about how they were so cute together. But then he saw one from Billie, from this morning. Ariel looked over his shoulder and read it.
'True love's kiss wakes thee from thy slumber.'
And at that, Derek dialed Alexan's number.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Essa felt her phone vibrate inside her hands as she sat in bed, about to send her first text back to Billie. She couldn't send it though. It was way too long and too touchy. She swiped to the other text.
It was from Soloman. She scanned it and almost dropped her phone.
'That's not completely true, call me when you can.'
Essa heart jumped up into her throat. Did that mean that he liked her? Or was he still referring to her as his sister?
Essa couldn't make up her mind, but her fingers started to call him. She brought the phone to her ear, and Soloman picked up almost immediately.
"Hello? Essa?" he asked over from the other end, Alexan groaning about math homework in the background.
"Um, yeah." Essa said. She could barely hear herself, though, over her heart banging inside of her.
"Listen to me, when I said you were like a sister to me, I knew it was wrong because I don't like you like a sister."
Essa sighed.
"I like you differently than that, I like you like..." Soloman paused. He took a deep breath. "I want to be your boyfriend."
Essa did drop her phone this time. And didn't pick it up. She was really excited, yet nervous. She felt like her heart was healed, but then again...
She could hear Soloman talking over the phone, which was lying screen-down on her bed. His voice was muffled, but she could make out every single 'Hello?' and 'Are you still there?'.
She wanted to pick it up and say that she liked him back, that she wanted to be his girlfriend, but the moment he had said he wanted to be her boyfriend, she thought about Derek.
She couldn't keep his sweet face out of her mind.
She couldn't keep the kiss out of her mind.
She couldn't keep the thought of them out of her mind.
And she thought for so long that Soloman hung up.
Right as she was about to grab the phone.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"It's ok, man. She was probably nervous or something." Alexan said as he patted Soloman's shoulder.
"I knew it was a stupid idea," he said through his pillow, which he had covered his face with. He didn't need Alexan making fun of his flustered face.
"It wasn't stupid, it's just that..." Suddenly, Alexan got a call.
From Ariel.
Alexan picked it up. "Hello?"
"Alexander. Take. Down. The. Video. Now." Derek said from the other side.
Alexan rolled his eyes. "What video?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT VIDEO I MEAN!" Derek screamed.
Soloman looked back at Alexan and knew exactly what video it was. He mouthed the words "Take down the video!"
Alexan shook his head. "Look, Derek, I read her comment, too. But it's good that the girl has some sense."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, Essa and Billie hate each other now, right? So this creates friction. And they both like the same guy. That creates drama. And do you know what drama creates for the dude that took the video of the drama?"
Derek glanced over at his sister. She shrugged.
"It gets me popularity. Popularity gets me to the best people, that includes the best peers. The best peers get me into the best clubs and parties, and do you know what clubs and parties create? Drama. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
Derek growled. "Take. It. Down!"
Alexan rolled his eyes again and hung up the phone.
Not just because Derek was super annoying, but because Lorrey walked into the room.
And she kissed Alexan on the cheek.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"What's wrong?" S'Jaia asked her crying sister.
"Never say that again!" Billie yelled. She had never really yelled before, but this was the right moment.
S'Jaia stepped back.
"Say... what?"
"Never say true-love again!"
"Why not?"
Billie got out her phone and showed a text she had gotten from Alexan. Then she showed the copy-pasted comment on the video.
"True-love's kiss wakes thee from thy slumber?" S'Jaia asked.
Billie nodded. "Alexander's right."
"About what?"
"They do belong together. I'm just a substitute."
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Lorrey rolled her eyes as she walked out of her little brother's room. She went back outside, to her patio, and sat next to Janie, her best friend.
"Ok, ok, I did it. I kissed the kid." she groaned as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Kipper laughed as he leaned over and held Janie's hand. "I don't believe it. You did not kiss my brother."
"What proof do you want?" Lorrey joked.
Kipper tossed her his phone. "Video proof." he grinned.
Janie laughed as Lorrey got up.
"Fine, but this is it!" She walked back inside and hid the phone in her jeans pocket.
She opened the door and stepped into her brother's room.
Alexan looked up at her. "Hey, what's up? Want more?" He puckered up his lips as Soloman watched and held in his laughter.
Lorrey took a deep breath and kissed him on the cheek again. His face turned red.
He smiled a stupid smile as she walked out of the room.
And that's when she realzied she forgot to click the record button.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Essa texted Ariel and asked about Derek's phone number.
She texted it to her and Essa texted Derek.
ESSA: Hey this is Essa.
DEREK: Oh hi
ESSA: Soloman called me and said that he wants to be my boyfriend.
DEREK: You know this is derek, right?
ESSA: Yea
DEREK: Why are you telling me this?
ESSA: Because normally i would have told him yes but i didn't.
DEREK: Because of the kiss?
ESSA: Because of the kiss.
DEREK: So do you like me or him?
ESSA: That's just the thing
ESSA: I like you both
DEREK: Well who do you like more?
ESSA: The one who likes me-
ESSA: So i would assume Sol
DEREK: But...?
ESSA: But I don't feel like thats right. And i know that you and billie are dating
DEREK: I dont think she wants me anymore
ESSA:...? Why?
DEREK: you saw the comment didnt you
ESSA: On the video? No
Derek went back, screen-shot the comment, and sent it to Essa.
ESSA: Oh wow
DEREK: I told alexander to take it down but he didnt.
Essa sighed. Derek really did like Billie, and hated the thought of him and Essa being together. She knew what to do.
Essa didn't text Soloman.
She texted to someone more important.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Billie sat by herself in her room, doing her homework, secretly texting her sister and asking for a little help with it.
She asked what the answer to question 4 was, and got an immediate text back. She clicked it, but it wasn't from S'Jaia, it was from Essa.
She was about to swipe it away, but then she read it.
'Hey Billie, I'm sorry for kissing Derek, and I saw your comment on the video. Yes, I do believe what you said, but you're his true love. Go get him back please.'
Billie called for S'Jaia to come see. She came in and nodded, and Billie climbed out of her window, got on her bike, and started riding to Derek's house.
Time to right a wrong.
Hopefully, not wrong a right.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
"What the heck was that about?" Soloman asked.
Alexan was still smiling. "I told you, Sol. I've told you for years that she'd come around to me."
Soloman rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to talk but was interrupted by over-whelming laughter from the patio. He peeked out his window and saw Lorrey, Janie, and Kipper.
"You didn't do it!" Kipper laughed. Janie gripped his hand and tried to stop laughing.
"Did so! I just forgot to video it! It was a stupid dare anyway." Lorrey sat down and huffed. She crossed her arms and threw Kipper back his phone, who caught it barely and almsot dropped it.
"Careful!" he said as he gripped his phone, held it close and kissed it. "I love this thing!"
Janie let go of his hand and crossed her arms.
"Not as much as I love you, though." Kipper grabbed her hand again.
Janie nodded. She kissed his cheek. "Ok, then." she smiled.
Soloman sat back down. He looked at Alexan, who had taken a pen and wrote 'Lorry' on his wrist, over and over, all the way to his inner-elbow, then he realized he spell it wrong.
Soloman shook his head.
Let him have her for a bit. Then he'll blame himself.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Derek grabbed Ariel's old sketchbook and flipped to the last page, the beautifully drawn picture of Essa. He smiled. Ariel drew this amazing thing for him, last year.
She hadn't drawn a human before, yet, using her skills, she had managed it. He took out the page and folded it. He stuck it in his pocket, picked up the book and brought it back to his sister, then the doorbell rang.
"Come in!" he said. The door opened and Billie walked in.
"Hey, Derek. Can we talk?"
"Sure." he said.
Billie followed Derek to his room.
"This is about the video, right?" Derek asked.
Billie nodded.
"I hate Alexan for it. He's an idiot and-"
But he didn't get to finish his sentence because Billie grabbed his shoulders and kissed him on the lips.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)
Essa lay in bed, pillow over her face. Ariel just texted her that Derek and Billie kissed. She was happy for them, really. She just felt really bad about kissing him in the first place. But she didn't regret it, she realized. She felt proud that she had the courage to do it.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She answered it without reading the ID.
"Hello?"
"Es?" Soloman said from the other side. Essa bit her lip. This was a time to fix what she had broken.
"Soloman, hi."
"I know I'm dumber than dirt for asking you to be my girlfriend; you have better choices then me. I just wanna make sure we're still friends."
Essa took a deep breath. "I do like you, Soloman. Alot. Like, I would love to be your girlfriend."
Soloman sighed. "But...?"
"But, I feel like I'd be a terrible girlfriend to you because I can't keep Derek out of my mind. I don't know why; but I've liked you since seventh grade and I know that we would be beautiful together, but-"
"I get it, Essa."
Essa caught her breath, but it was to late. She said it.
"I love you, Soloman."
"Essa, I-"
Soloman smiled to himself.
"I love you, too."
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)