Everyone's gathered in the living room, staring at Mom.

Dad's sitting on his recliner and Mom's sitting on the arm, both of them facing the four of us on the couch.

"Okay, so I have news for you all. I won't say whether it's good or bad, because — well, knowing you, it could be either or," she says, mainly looking at and talking to Amir.

He's a year older than me, but sometimes I feel like I'm way more mature than him.

Don't even get me started on Trey.

"I went to my doctor on Sunday and found out that I'm nine weeks pregnant." I stop blinking and my shoulders slump. She pauses and hesitates, probably hoping we'll feel excited for her, but honestly, I don't know how to feel. "I already knew that I was pregnant, but I wanted to wait until I was sure that the baby was healthy enough to share the news."

"Do you know if it's a boy?" I look at Amir when he speaks. He's on the other end of the couch, his forehead scrunched.

"It's too soon for that," Mom says with a chuckle. Jodi and Dad smile, but me and my brothers don't bother to do the same. "All I know is it's one baby, and that's fine by me. I don't know what I'd do if I had twins." Mom looks down at Dad and he wraps an arm around her waist. "Oh, I have pictures."

She reaches into her pocket for accordion-folded pictures that drop open when she lifts them in the air. I squint and stand up to get a better look.

It's in black and white like one of those old pictures at Grandma's house.

"Everyone who wants to look, come closer," Dad says, ushering us over with his other hand.

Me, Jodi, and Trey step toward Mom and Dad. I stand in the center and stare at the bundle of blurry pictures I'm supposed to be thrilled about.

A baby. It could be a girl or a nuisance.

"Oh, I see its feet," Jodi says, cooing over our new sibling. She hunches forward, plants her hands on her knees, and squints at the pictures.

"I see its eyes," Trey says with a smile and I roll my eyes. Now I know they're lying.

Mom looks through the gap between my sister and brother. She asks, "Amir, you don't wanna see the baby?"

He shakes his head and says, "Nah, I'm good."

"I'm gonna go to bed." I step forward and wrap my arms around Mom. She hugs me tight with one arm, then pulls away to smile at me.

I lean over and hug Dad. He practically swallows me in his giant arms and holds me for a few seconds longer than she did.

"I'll be in there to tuck you in," Mom says when I walk away, and I nod. I say goodnight to everyone and continue toward the hall.

***

It's almost nine in the morning and the clouds are touching the ground. Dad's driving his Range Rover and playing one of his friends' songs on Spotify.

He has it connected through Bluetooth from his Android to the radio, nodding his head like his friend is a lyricist.

The guy is running from the beat and rhymes like Dr. Seuss. I've been counting every time he tries to rhyme a word with itself.

I raise another finger at my side. Four fingers are pressed against my leg.

Dad takes a deep breath through his teeth and shakes his head. He reaches his hand over and hits the stop button. He says, "Yeah," while dragging it in a low voice. "Don't quit your day job, Kev."

The song's picture is of him wearing shades and squatting in front of a truck on big rims, holding up a stack of cash. The money blocks the lower half of his face.

Dad props his elbow on the armrest and drives with his other hand at the top of the wheel.

"So, what'd you think," he asks, and my brows raise. I start to tell him how bad the song is, until he says, "I know it means you won't be the baby anymore, but it doesn't mean you won't get any attention."

"Oh," I mumble, bringing both hands to my lap. I stare at them while picking at a hangnail on my thumb.

"That's it?" He glances at me a few times. "Just, Oh?"

We pass people walking and waiting near crosswalks. Shop owners are unlocking their doors, flipping their signs, or raising blinds.

A yellow bus drives in the opposite direction.

I mumble, "Well, I don't really know. I'm happy that she's happy, but," and he cuts me off.

"You don't want another sibling?" I purse my lips. Honestly, I don't, but I'd be okay with having a little sister.

"It's not that." I blink and shake the thought out of my head. "I just — prefer it being just us."

He taps the top of the wheel with two fingers while looking at the mobile homes across from my school.

Ms. Fletcher is outside again in a black turtleneck and beige slacks. She's wearing a thin poncho that looks like a wool cape.

"We can talk more about it when you get home," he says, and my nostrils flare as I hold in a sigh. I don't wanna talk about it anymore because I'm already set with how I feel.

I ran away because I wasn't getting any attention from anyone. I felt like a stranger or an outsider, constantly ignored by my siblings, and my parents were always too tired for me.

Now, I'm back and not only has so much changed, I have a sibling.

How am I supposed to be okay with that?

The man from yesterday greets us and helps me out of the car. I take my bookbag and sling it over my shoulders while the staff member shuts the door.

We speak through the open window and share 'I love you's, and then I follow the crowd of students into the building.

"Get to your homeroom classes," the JROTC instructor says. He has dark brown skin and sounds like James Earl Jones.

I find my class and like yesterday, Mrs. Schmidt is sitting at her desk. This time, she's alternating between typing and writing on sticky notes.

Her red hair is in a clip with front pieces hanging down her face. As I walk to my seat, she watches me over her thin glasses without lifting her head.

"Leila!" I smile with all of my teeth when I see Destiny. I drop my bookbag beside my seat, she stands up and throws her big arms around me. They squeeze me like a snake and all I smell is Shea Butter.

"Hey," I say when she lets me go. We haven't spoken since me and Aniyah got into it, but her mood is contagious.

"Why'd you leave yesterday?" I roll my eyes and sigh. Her grin fades as I take my seat, then she does the same. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No, it's not you," I say, fanning her off. I look around, then I lay my arm on her desk and lean in to whisper. "Remember that girl you had over?" She nods slowly. "Look, I know it doesn't matter, but she knocked over the cup. She was being weird the whole time and as soon as you left, she, like, got all in my face, mad about you being my best friend."

"But why'd you leave?" I stammer for an answer, my eyes narrowing.

"I just didn't wanna make a thing out of nothing," I say. "You were upset, your mom literally said not to spill anything, and I was getting blamed for it."

My heart warms when she says, "But, Leila, she's a nobody. I could've easily had her leave and not talked to her again for that weirdo shit."

"I didn't think you'd believe me," I mumble, my shoulders hunching forward.

"You're my best friend. Do I gotta keep reminding you?" My smile slowly returns and hers does too.

I reach forward and she meets me halfway, our arms outstretched. We hug each other tight.

We sit back, and I ask, "So, did you talk to Jaden yet?"

She shakes her head and says, "He has a doctor's appointment, so he won't be here until later." I nod. "What about you? You speak to Keenan?"

I wanna tell her no but it would cause more questions.

"Not yet. I was busy yesterday, so," I say, trailing off. "But maybe I'll see him today."

The bell rings and I turn around in my seat. Two kids step through the door and the last one shuts it behind them.

I recognize one of them from yesterday. He was sitting next to Keenan, but we didn't speak.

He walks toward us, pulling a rolling bookbag. The other boy sits near Tavarius on the other side of the room, while this one sits in front of me.

He takes off his hat and I stare at the dark birthmark above the back of his neck. It's shaped like a half-moon.

"Hey," I mumble. My voice cracks, I shut my eyes and gnash my teeth. I reopen them and lean forward to tap his shoulder. He turns his head to me, and I wave. "Um, hi. I don't think we know each other. My name's Leila." I stick out my hand. "I saw you during lunch yesterday."

His dark eyes flick onto my hand and stare for a while. He looks at my face, then turns his back to me.

I furrow my eyebrows and lower my arm to my side. Destiny snickers and I sit back.

Mrs. Schmidt stands in front of the whiteboard and lifts one of the markers.

"That's Andrew," Destiny whispers. My ear twitches. "You two were friends until he started dating some girl we have Gym class with."

I scrunch my face and blink back, asking, "Why would that end our friendship?"

"Probably because you like him," she says in a sing-song way. I roll my eyes again, then cross my arms.

***

I stop at my locker with Destiny after first period. She tells me my new locker combination, because the other Leila had it changed.

I turn the dial clockwise, counterclockwise, and back the other way. She watches me tug it off the handle and open the metal door.

There are little pictures of old singers like Prince and Janet Jackson taped to the inside of the door.

The textbooks and journals are neatly stacked inside, and she left a half-finished bottle of Dasani laying in front.

"Aren't you gonna take your bag to your locker?" I kneel and unzip mine. I take out my science textbook, the journal for his class, and my mesh pencil case. I stack each one on the floor.

She scoffs and says no.

"I don't care what he says, I'm not leaving my bag out here." She folds her arms and stands with one leg forward. "I'm a girl."

I zip my backpack and lift it in the locker. After stuffing the straps in, I shut the door and click the lock on the handle.

"You know he can write you up, right?" I pick up my items and hold them to my chest.

"I don't care." She shrugs. "My momma said if I need something to go get it. If I gotta pee, I'm leaving the class; if I need water, I'm leaving the class."

She goes down the list while using her fingers to count, and all I do is shake my head.

One of the taller students slows down and stretches out his arms to clear space. A few people stop to watch him while others continue walking.

Me and Destiny are stuck behind the ones that want to be nosy.

He jumps up and slaps the bottom of the banner hanging from the ceiling. My eyes dim.

I hate this school.

"Move," Destiny yells, and I pull my lips into a line. Her face is sour and her hands are in fists.

Students step aside to look at her, but she has to push the other ones to clear a path for us.

She easily shoves aside boys as big as high schoolers and they stumble into bystanders.

This is one of the reasons why I love having her as a friend.