As if the blinding light in the center of my bedroom ceiling wasn't enough, the shuffling of my mom's house shoes and the amplified throat scratching noise would do the trick.

"Jada Simone."

Her voice was groggy. Well of course considering she just alerted all the frogs within a mile radius.

"It's time to Get up."

My eyes stayed shut. I just had to cherish the warmth and comfort before the reality of being a high school senior set in. It was time to get up to spend 7 hours of my life trudging through shitty hallways and dying of boredom just to keep up my standard grade point average. I'd much rather stay here, of course in the usual and most comfortable position: one arm tucked under the pillow, the other laid beside my head, right knee bent and left leg extended.

But you know, nothing really goes my way.

The shuffling of her house shoes came back around, this time coming to a halt in what had to be my doorway. "Jay."

My eyes twitched. Whenever my mother said my name, I knew she wasn't calling me, she was expecting me to answer.

"I'm up." I croaked.

"I'm making eggs and toast."

Sighing, I rolled onto my back and moistened my cottonmouth, silently cursing this Monday morning. "I'll be down."

And that was it. No further explanations, nor did anything else need to be said for me to understand that if I didn't get my big behind downstairs to eat what she cooked, I was going to be assed out.

Getting ready for school wasn't so difficult, it was the getting out of bed part that I battled with for years. To my defense though, who really wants to leave their bed? Using my elbows for leverage, I sat up and yawned a not so harmonious melody. With one eye squinted to the light, I reached over to grab my phone. There weren't any notifications left worth opening, so I passed on indulging in some early morning screen time. If anything, I needed to get in that bathroom before Julius got his burst of energy. Only lord knows how long I have to wait just to brush my teeth in a stink cloud and toothpaste infested sink. The thought alone was enough motivation to get me to my feet and on my way to the bathroom.

By the time I entered the kitchen, dressed in a simple black band shirt and black cargo pants, I was met with my ready for work mother and partially ready for school brother. She leaned against the counter, legs crossed at the ankles, dressed in pink scrubs, matching trainers and sipped a mug of what she referred to as a 'get me right'. The mug emitted a pleasant aroma to match the visual representation of how she felt with each sip.

She hummed in satisfaction, pulling the mug from her lips when she noticed my presence. "Jay."

"Morning." I said as I took a seat at the kitchen table where a ceramic bowl waited for me.

"Did you and your partner get anything done?" she asked, setting the mug next to her.

I looked up from my bowl, meeting the eyes of my prototype while she awaited my response patiently. "Um, not really."

"What do you mean not really? What did you do for hours?" she leaned intently, raising a brow at my answer.

My shoulders shrunk and I prepared myself to be grilled. My mom didn't take me not doing my school work lightly and always made sure I was on the right track. Crumbs fell from my mouth as I sank my teeth into the toasted bread.

"Jada Simone."

" Yesh?"

"Finish chewing first, girl." Her forehead creased when she raised her voice slightly.

"Well," I swallowed, " after you dropped me off at his parents' restaurant, she fed us then we left for the park. We couldn't really think of anything, so we just.. chilled."

"Oh you just chilled, huh?" I took another spoonful of eggs, chewing with caution as the gears turned in my mother's head. She shoved a strand of hair behind her ear, then folded her arms across her chest. "So you spent a few hours with this boy for a project, and you guys didn't think of anything?"

"Yeah.." I admit, sinking even lower into my seat.

"Jada I didn't take you over there so you could chill, you told me you had a project for school."

"I do! We brainstormed, but it was hard to settle on something original. There's already so many great inventions. We kept drawing blanks. There was no funny business, mom, I swear. I barely learned his name on Friday."

She reached for her mug again, holding it before her mouth while the steam from its contents covered her nose. "It better not be, Jada–I'm not playing with you."

"I know." I agreed, nodding my head so she knew we were on the same page.

She pursed her lips then took a sip before adding a final statement. " and if y'all need help you need to talk to your teacher about the assignment. That's what she's there for."

"I know, mom." I looked away, frowning when my eyes settled on Julius's grape jelly covered cheeks.

"When are you supposed to be meeting up again?" mom asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged, "I don't know if I even want him to be my partner."

"Why? Was he difficult to work with?"

I picked at my food while I thought about it. "I wouldn't say that.. We're just, I don't know.. different from each other, I guess?"

My mom nodded her head as she processed what I said. She didn't respond right away, instead she started to wash the few dishes left in the sink. With her back turned, you could see the contour of her body through the pink scrubs. She let her hair fall down her back today, pressed silky and straight and The sun shining through the kitchen window made for the prettiest silhouette.

"You look nice today, mom." I said honestly.

Mom dried her hands on the towel beside her then turned back around. Her cheekbones rose with endearment. "Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome."

"Back to you, though. What does being different from each other have to do with anything?"

"I don't know." I shrugged again. "We're from two different sides of the social spectrum."

"So what, Jay. It's not like you have to be friends with this boy once the project is over, but if working with him is too unbearable because of your differences, then ask your teacher to reassign you partners."

I sighed then finished the rest of my food. I guess the best thing for me to do is take my mom's advice and think it over. After all, our time at the park was pretty chill, so he didn't seem so bad.

"I guess you're right." I admitted.

"I know I'm right." she chuckled. She started making her way back up the stairs to finish getting herself ready for the day. "Wash that bowl if you're finished and finished getting ready so I can take you and brother to school. You too Julius, go wipe your mouth. And use a wet rag!"

"Ok mom."

"Ok, mommy!"

~ 3pm ~

"Jada!"

Here it comes.

And right on schedule I'm met with a 120-pound girl crashing her body into mine like a freight train. Her slender arms wrapped around my body like a python and the enthusiastic bouncing could've been enough to make me motion sick.

"Okay okay!" I tried, " At Least let me turn around, you're practically humping my leg at this point."

"My bad. My bad. My bad. I couldn't wait to see you! I got so much shit to tell you." she pulled away still smiling so brightly.

I side eyed her while fixing a few rogue strands of hair. "What, Amaya?"

She stepped, putting more space between us and placed a hand on her hip with lips pursing lips to the side. "Girl! Remember the nigga from the game that was tryna holla?"

"With the big ass teeth?" I scrunch my face.

"Yes!"

"What about him?" I placed the book I had in my open locker.

"Girl! I saw his ass at the mall yesterday! Tell me why he got a baby, and his girl is pregnant. He was all up in Foot Locker playing daddy and shit, and girl, guess who his baby momma is!"

"Who?" I asked, raising a brow through a creased forehead.

"Cheyenne! Big booty Cheyenne!"

"The girl that wanted to fight you last year?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my god! He is so corny." I laughed.

"Corny as fuck! Like you have a whole baby! Musty ass. And his baby momma too with her hoe ass. They both musty"

"Baby probably musty too." I add, wrinkling my nose humorously.

"Aw, Not the baby." She gasped.

Amaya and I laughed together, oblivious to the other students who occupied the school hallways. We continued to crack jokes, ignoring any judgment as we cackled carefree and allowed time to pass.

"I kind of feel bad though," I said, fanning myself as I came back down to baseline.

"I don't. Fuck him and her." she spat, waving off any worry of the two.

"Who are we fucking?" a familiar voice came from behind me.

We were so preoccupied that we didn't notice the footsteps of the familiar voice walking up to us, more specifically me. He stood behind me, towering me as he faced Amaya that made no attempt to hide the once over she gave him.

"Here this nigga go," I said under my breath then I turned around while rolling my eyes. "What do you want, Jungkook?"

He stopped before me and dramatically grabbed his chest as if he just caught a stray bullet. He started to tumble, allowing his knees to buckle like he was facing inescapable death and as amusing as it was it just made me more irritated.

"Can you get up?" I said through clenched teeth, hoping no one else could see this fool.

And he did, rubbing the same area he grabbed like pain still lingered in the unaffected spot. "Damn, you're not happy to see ya boy?"

"No."

He tipped his chin, "Oh yea? Well, what about you?"

Amaya giggled, displaying a smirk on her angelic face and shaking her head to deepen the fake ass wound "You're cute but no. Word on the street is your girlfriend's crazy, and Amaya don't do crazy."

"That's foul." he admitted defeatedly.

"Sorry." Amaya hugged the textbook she had to her chest, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. Her button nose wrinkled as she shrugged her shoulders, sending him off with an empathetic smile that was more counterfeit than the 8 dollar bill. "Jay, I'm going to meet Johnny at the library, just call me later, ok"

"Ok," I agreed, giving me a side hug then gracefully walking off with her locs swaying with her hips.

Jungkook and I both watched her walk away. Once I realized we were both admiring her, my face couldn't contain the cringe. Watching my lab partner eyeball her ass gave me the most diabolical ick.

"Yuck!" I rolled my eyes in disgust and Jungkook pivoted around me, holding the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. "You've been standing here for like 3 mins now and have not once addressed the reason you came to bother me, so I'm going to ask again... What. do. you. want. Jungkook?"

"Damn, I can't come mess with my partner?"

Abruptly, I threw the books in and slammed the locker shut. "I'm leaving."

"Wait! Ok, ok." he laughed, throwing the towel in, "I just want to know what's up with our project."

"What do you mean?" I asked, twisting my face in confusion.

"Are we working on it or not? If you're out, then we need to talk to Miss. Conrad about it so she can reassign us."

My jaw dropped when it dawned on me. I forgot that Miss. Conrad was out today so we were lucky to miss this week's check in.

"Oh yeah! Shit." I sighed, mentally facepalming. "Well, I don't know. What about you; Do you want to switch partners?"

He leaned against the lockers with his hands in his pockets. "I don't really give a shit. It's not like we have any work done anyway. We can keep going or get reassigned. I'm coo with whatever."

His deadpan spoke the truth. He really didn't care.

I sucked my teeth. There was no point in switching partners if it meant I would be at the same point with someone else. There was also no guarantee that I'd be compatible with them anyway. So instead of basing the project on compatibility, I just had to suck up whatever I felt that kept me wanting to exchange.

Running a hand through my blue tresses, I exhaled a defeated sigh. "I guess we might as well keep going then."

"I'm with whatever." he shrugged.

"Ok, so.... when are we going to work on it?" I asked, now standing on the awkward bridge into the next conversation.

"I'm free now. We can head to my parent's spot again. Unless you think you too good."

I couldn't help but to look at him crazy. "What?"

"I'm just playing," he chuckled. "But for real, we should probably go now because I only have like 2 and a half hours."

"I mean..that's fine, but if we're going over there, I'm going to need a ride back home."

"That's not a problem, where do you live?" he asked.

"I live off Sand and Lotus Street." I threw a thumb over my shoulder.

He looked away in thought as if to mentally map out the city. It took him a second and he brought his index finger to his chin like a thought-provoking trigger. His eyebrows shot up when Jimmy kook-Tron had his brain blast, and he snapped his fingers in 'aha."

"You live by the mall?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"My boy Tommy lives over there. I can take you home. Shit, to be honest it's actually closer than my parents' restaurant, you wanna just go to your spot?"

"Eee, I don't know. I need to see if my mom is cool with that first."

"Ask her.

"I don't know, my mom isn't home and she's working, so it's kind of hard to reach her—"

Before I could finish explaining my reluctance, my phone vibrated in my pocket causing me to dig it out and check who it was.

Mom:

I'll be home in 15 mins.

I'm making spaghetti.

I stared blankly. What were the odds? Of course we didn't have to go to my house but given the circumstances it was the most convenient option. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed as preparation to give him the greenlight.

"I guess...We can go to my house."

He sucked his teeth unsatisfied with my reaction. "C'mon Jay, why are you acting like me coming over is a bad thing?"

"I don't usually bring people to my house and stop calling me Jay!" I said.

"Well I'm not people."

I narrowed my eyes. "You are literally, in fact, a person."

"Ok you got me there, but what about your friend Amaya?"

"She's different."

"How so?" he asked, twisting his lips to the side.

I heaved a heavy sigh then turned around to shut my locker. To me, it didn't matter why she was different, she just was. And if the most obvious answer didn't stand out to him, I don't know what will. However, since he insists on knowing the polarity between them, I might as well tell him. With my shoulder against the metal lockers and book bag on the other, I stared up at his face. His big eyes waited for my answer, even though his phone flashed in his sweater pocket like a strobe light.

"Amaya is my friend. We've known each other longer." I stated plainly.

"Aw, we're not friends, Jay?" he asked, poking out his bottom lip in an attempt to gain sympathy points.

"No!"

"Hi, mom. uh...This is my friend, Jungkook," I tried to speak as clearly as possible.

My mother immediately eyed the men's shoes neatly placed by the door, then her overwhelmed daughter with a tall teenage boy sitting next to her in her kitchen. As she made her way further through the house, her tired eyes settled on the work laid across the kitchen table.

"Well hello Jungkook, I assume you are my daughter's project partner?" her brow quirked as she placed her keys down on the side table.

"Yes Ma'am. H-Hello." he answered, His big doe-like eyes staring into hers with apprehension. It was kind of funny.

My mother walked towards us and you can see the kind of day she had by the way she walked. My heart was pumping because I didn't mention to her that he was coming over, so I didn't know how she'd react to his presence. However, I was relieved when she wrapped her arm around my head, pulling me close to place a tender kiss on my crown, and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm about to start dinner, Jungkook are you staying for a plate?"

"Sure," he said, looking between her and I.

"Ok, great. I'm going to change and get started, it won't be long. Jay-Jay, take out that Texas toast, please."

"ok."

She left us, yawning her way through the hallway and up to her room. The interaction was brief but enough to reassure me that I wasn't in trouble. Once we heard the door close, both Jungkook and I determined it was safe to breathe.

"And you thought she was gonna start trippen. Moms love me." He said, the corners of his mouth spreading into a smile.

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