Disclaimer: Smoking and use of derogatory terms such as N-Word

The final bell of the day sounded through the halls obnoxiously loud. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and followed the crowd of equally tired and cranky teens making their way towards the nearest exit.

Today was like any other day: uneventful, slow, and boring. Even the members of the pep squad that read the morning announcements weren't as lively. I guess with finals and coming up and brewing senioritis, your mood will go based on the day.

On the other hand though, upon leaving my classroom, I did notice that my infamous project partner and his friends seemed to have woken up in a better mood than the rest of the student body. Since we've become acquainted, I've come accustomed to his upbeat rhythm, but today he seemed actually cheerful.

As I placed my books in the locker, my brow raised like a hook when the sound of his boyish laughter caught my attention.  Whatever they were talking about seemed to be more amusing than learning about the wonders of budgeting. So of course, like the nosey neighbor I was, I tuned in a listening ear.

"Oh yea bro! That shit was wild. Did you see it?"

"Fuck no. You think I want to see that?" My partner laughed.

"What? Scared you might be into it. Gay ass." His counterpart joked.

"Shiiiiiidddd....maybe."

"Naw, bro pause" his friend snickered, laughing through his words.

I rolled my eyes at their unprofound banter, and continued to stuff my locker.  There wasn't more I needed to listen to nor did I want to. However, I could tell they concluded their conversation and expressed an 'until next time. By the time I was done. And as soon as I slammed my locker shut for the day, a near 6' foot fair skinned FUcK smiling down my face sent my heart on vacation.

The way I gripped my heart could have me sent to the office for holding handfuls of my tit in a public space. My chest heaved as I caught my breath, and the deadliest glare aimed straight at the culprit.

"Aw, my bad jay."

"Out of my face!" I hissed, a stubby finger laced with poison stabbed his nose, flattening the nostrils.

He stared down at it with amusement swimming in his eyes and spoke with a nasally tone ."What, you got asthma or something?"

"No, you weirdo! Who the heck walks up on someone like that?"

"Me."

"Well don't!" Using the same finger, I pushed harder into his bulbous nose tip, then released it using the momentum to push off his head.

"Damn, Jay." His face sank like a pouting puppy while he rubbed the growing red spot. "That actually hurt. I said my bad.'

I adjusted my bag strap onto my shoulder feeling slightly bad for my actions. "Yeah, well my bad. What did you want anyway?'

"I just wanted to see what was up with my fav small fry... Aaaand to tell you that we can't work on the project today."

"Ok." I said plainly needing no further explanation (even though i'd probably get one anyway.)

"Yeah, me and the gang are hanging out later on. But If you want to, you can bring the books n'shit and come hang with us. Steph will be there. It'll be cool for y'all to get to know each other a little better. Totally up to you though.'' He shrugged.

My mouth opened and closed as I was taken aback by the unexpected invite. There was no need for me to engage with his friends or his girlfriend. With growing anxiety, I  twirled a loose piece of thread I managed to find hanging on the strap of my bag, "Uh, no I think I'm good. I don't really know any of them and I'd just stand out and be in the way."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at me, but whatever thought he had passed, "How would you get in the way of us hanging out? It'll only be like 5 of us, plus everyone's cool. If anything, when we smoke just sit out of the rotation unless you want toâ€" but like i said, up to you.

"...why do I feel like I'm being peer pressured?" I asked, side eyeing him with playful suspicion.

"Maybe you are." He said, grabbing his vibrating phone from his pocket. He quickly typed away at it while I waited quietly, then immediately stuffed it back in its dark denim prison with haste. "But Aye, I gotta do something real quick. Hit me if you change your mind, yeah?"

"I probably won't." I said to him as he started to walk backward with a growing knowing smile.

"Whatever you say, Jay." He picked up his pace to a back peddle, arms spread wide. "Like I said, just Hit me."

"Don't call me that."

By now he was already down the hall and nearly crashing into people from lack of awareness. "You got it, Jay Jay! Hey and tell your mom to make me some more spaghetti please!"

"Ugh."

Never in my entire life would I have thought or seen myself wedged in the tiniest backseat know to man. To makes it worse, the atmospheric pressure radiating from the front passenger seat made it even harder to breath. One hair flip and I was done. As much as I tried to mindlessly scroll through my social media till we reached our destination, I couldn't help but listen to the conversation my driver and his deity had.

"Hey, we should go to farmer's market this weekend with my mom." Her voice was softer  than beanie babies.

Yet my driver's couldnt sound even less uninterested. "For what, Stephanie?"

"Because they have those apples that I like, and I've been trying to encorporate more fruit in my diet." She layed her head gentle against his shoulder, nowhere near worried about the hair that started to pool in my lap.

"Babe, Your diet is already plant based. If you do that you'll officially be an herbivore." Despite the joke he made, his tone never transitioned into a humorous sound. "And I think your hair is falling on Jay."

She shifted herself to look back briefly, locking eyes with me and her hair on my thighs. Does she acknowledge me directly?

No.

"Oops, My bad. Sorry Jada." She made an effort to emphasize the rest of my name unlike her boyfriend.

"I-it's cool...at least it smells good." I shrugged.

"Well duh." She laughed. "It's called taking a shower."

Her comment sounded more snooty than she possibly meant, so I tried my best to hide the effect it had on me. "Right."

As for Jungkook, he remained quiet while completing his task of getting us to wherever we were going safely. Quickly after, his shift had ended when the car came to a steady stop and swiftly turned the car off. The keys sat in his lap as exhaled an exasperated sigh like he's been working all day. He turned to look at Steph who watched him idly, then he turned to look at me who watched him in confusion.

One blink

Two blinks

And.

"We're here !!" He shouts obnoxiously, humoring Stephanie and annoying me further.

"Gee,  I didn't notice." I said, my eyes wide to Mimic his big bright ones.

"Baby, you're so goofy." She giggled, a content smile on her face.

"Something like that." I muttered as I exited the car.

The house was nice, but was foreign to me. If I paid more attention to my surroundings I would've had a better idea of where we were or atleast what side of town we were on. So I hesitated when it came to walking through the grass like jk and Steph. I didn't know these people and the last thing I'd want is to be disrespectful.

"Girl come on. Why are you acting scared?" Stephanie said with her back to me. 

I cocked a brow as I stepped around the plants in the yard they nearly trampled "Im am not scared. I just don't see the point of walking through what looks like a well kept garden. You don't think it's rude?"

Jungkook looked around him as if the plants themselves were just now appearing around him. "Damn. I didn't even think about that.

"Who cares, they've never tripped over us walking through them before." Stephanie scoffed.

"Personally, I don't think that matters. It's still rude."

Yet Stephanie could still give two shits about what I had to say. If anything, her way of telling me she heard what I said was banging on the front door like she was the police with a search warrant. 

Even Jungkook frowned. "Steph, dial it back, yeah?"

"What am I doing? I'm just—

"Who knocking on my door like a nigga owe them some money?"

"Hey Oscar." The two said in unison, but with contrasting excitement.

This Oscar character was loud, seemed to be friendly despite answering the door like a regular everyday hood menace. He held the door open wide enough for me to see his form, but that was all I had access to. He was tall and seemed to be pretty stout. The white T that he wore fits his torso snug and his curly hair fell around his eyes that lit up when he noticed my smaller frame behind the twin towers in front of me.

"Oh shit, What's good little blue?" He nudged his chin in greeting and a smile spread across his full lips.

I couldn't help but raise a brow at the sudden nickname. "Little blue?"

He chuckled. No further explanation. Just Jungkook and Stephanie stepping past him as he opened the door wider. And to my dismay, Jungkook trips over the knife in my pride and wedges it deeper.

"Oh yeah, Os," his voice carried from inside, "That's small fry, my Econ partner. Small fry, that's Oscar."

"Nice to meet you. I'm jada." I said, sure of the red hue staining my cheeks.

"Oscar." He smiled wide, welcoming me to his home. "Come in, I don't bite. My hamster does, though"

"Uh, Ok."

Walking right underneath his arm that held the door open like a walk way that was perfectly designed for me. He smelled like a fresh bar of dove soap and herbal crisp. However, I'm sure the herbal crisp is an everyday scent for him though.

The door closed behind the both of us, its weight causing it to slam shut and I to jump. And of course my action didn't go unnoticed. As I walked further into the house I caught a glimpse of a side eye.

"Don't be scared Jayla, it's just the door.." Stephanie's pointed out, but I didn't retain anything after the obvious name error.

I tucked my lips in, biting back the 'Girl, fuck you' I wish I had the guts to say and settled for a deep breath.

"Her names Jada, Steph." Oscar spoke up in my defense, kicking his shoes off near the door.

"Oop. My bad girl, I keep forgetting. It's ja-da, got it." she said.

"You knew that, Stop acting." he said, walking past the both of us, His voice wasn't as light hearted as earlier.

"I'm not."

"Yes you is. Anyway, come on shorty."

By the way she laughed it off and regarded Oscar, I could tell she didn't give a damn about what he said or my name.

I kicked my shoes off and followed suit. Where was I going? I don't know, but I assumed a downstairs basement or something since everyone took the hallway stairs down to the dimly lit abyss.

As I walked further down the stairs I looked around in awe at the different color lights bouncing against the walls and low rap music that got louder with each step. That smell of Marijuana was more potent than the small air wick plug in I saw on my way in. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, all eyes were on me. Some are more recognizable than others.

My mama didn't raise a rude bitch, so of course I spoke and addressed the group of humans I've yet to meet (even though their stares could intimidate a lion).

Attempting to mask my nervousness, I blinked away any signs of discomfort and raised my hand in greeting.

"H-hey." I waved.

From the corner of the room, a cloud of smoke sitting in a love seat. "Wassup."

I waited for the smoke to dissipate so I could see the face of the croak, but I was met with a jungkook palm on the top of my head.

"Everybody this is Jada; Jay this is Scotty, Daina, you met Os, and you know Gage." He said, moving my head in the direction of each person.

"Hi Scotty. Daina (I'm guessing the smoke cloud from early) And I think I remember Gage?" I said.

"It's cool if you don't. What's good, Jada." His eyes did a thing as he unveiled the braces on his teeth.

"Hi again." Who am I kidding? I definitely remembered that smile.

"Steph and I have adopted a child for the day so be nice."

Of course I rolled my eyes. It's an action I do quite often when he speaks. Despite it being a joke, I didn't find it humorous, and from the look on Stephanie's face, I doubt she did either.

"Get off of me." I scoffed, swatting his hand away.

"Yeah Jungkook, don't be a dick." Oscar said plopping down on the old couch across from Stephanie.

Jungkook chuckled, "I wasn't being a dick. Was that dickish, Steph?"

From her seat next to Gage, she displayed visible irritation and it was infectious because as soon as she responded the light mood from before vanished and Jungkook's smile faded.

"No, but it wasn't funny. I don't have any fucking kids nor do I want any."

"O..Kay. Got it. No kids now or later. Understood. Don't have to be so sensitive about it."

"I'm not being sensitive."

"Right, Stephanie."

While they went back and forth, the others had tuned out or turned up the music. There was no reason to engage. I learned that on the way here and it's another reason I still felt out of place. That is until Oscar encouraged me to have a seat next to him and enjoy the ride for the rest of the day.

About an hour into our hang out session, I've learned a few things: Stephanie and Jungkook have a dysfunctional relationship, Oscar is the eldest of the group, Daina hates Scotty, Scotty is a hopeless romantic who has the hots for Daina, Gage is still foine, Jk and I will never finish this project, and being contact high is a weird yet satisfying sensation.

My comfort levels have increased since but part of me still feels out of place simply because everyone else here is either over 5'5, in shape, or just plain skinny. I on the other hand fit none of those descriptions and I stand out like a sore thumb, really living up to the name 'Little blue'.

I'm not the only one who sticks out, though.

Daina is fairly generous with her blunts, but She's not much of a conventionalist. I learned It's easy to pinpoint all the voices in a setting this intimate. I can also tell who has had their eyes on me the most, and Gage is the winner. I don't know why,  but I can certainly feel it. I guess he is just as confused about me being her as I am.

Oh well, I mind my business and he minds his.. kind of.

A Respected Time skip 😘

"Hey, Jada." The sound of Gage's deep voice startled me from my deep thoughts.

"Yea?" I said, my blue ponytail whipping my neck.

"You've been quiet over there, what you up to?" he asked.

I used my finger to tuck and stray hairs away then moistened my lips. "Oh Um, I'm just researching different marketing strategies for our project. We haven't got much done yet."

"That's funny you say that, " he laughed, his fingers doing damage against the video game controller, "My partner and I haven't even started. Since mrs. Conrad wasn't in school for the first day of check-ins, we were safe."

"Oh, yeah, I feel the same. Luckily for us, we have an idea of what we're building."

From the other couch across the room, Jungkook raised a concern. "We do?"

"Yes! Well.. I think? I thought we agreed on building that automatic toothbrush flosser thingy you were saying."

"I mean yeah, but you didn't sound so thrilled at the idea." he scoffed.

"Yeah, well—

"So what, babe, she still agreed to your idea." Stephanie chimed in.

"And Why should I be pleased with someone settling for me?" He raised a brow.

I saw the opening and took the floor again. "I'm not settling, I'm just saying we've already agreed even if it's not ideal for me."

"So in other words...Settling." he shrugged.

"How is that settling?" I asked, folding my laptop down to see his stupid face.

"How isn't it?"

"I can see the potential, but it isn't settling at all. It's simply coming to an agreement."

"Oh, please. Don't be delusional, Jay Jay."

"I'm not being delusional. How about you don't be so obtuse, Jay kay."

"Oooo, big words." he dramatically rolled his eyes.

"Obtuse is 5th grade vocabulary, dipshit." Daina snickered from her seat on the couch

"So what, the context isn't the same." he said matter of factly. "And don't be so quick to settle Jada, if you want to change the project idea then go ahead."

"I am NOT settling!"  Now I was getting frustrated.

And like the savior and elder he was, Oscar put an end to the argument that seemed never ending.

"Okay, Yaaaahh, we get it.  Both of you shut up, you sound like my grandparents. Blowing my high."

"So an old married couple?" Daina requested clarification whilst twirling a drumstick around her black painted fingernails.

"Yeah!"

"I wouldn't say that, but this argument is stupid." Stephanie had a point. This argument was stupid and it's another reason why we can't get anything done. All we do is bicker and fuss about not knowing what to do while we shoot down each other's ideas.

"Man, yall reaching. Moral of the story is we're not as far into our project as we should be." Jungkook said, setting his controller to the side, accepting defeat against Gage.

So I turned my attention back to Gage, the one who was supposed to have my attention this whole conversation. I offered him a sympathetic smile which he returned.

"So.. that pretty much explains how things are going." I chuckle, unsure of what to say now.

"Nah, I get it. Kook's got a habit of bullshitting, so just bare with em'."

"I've noticed."

"Aye, fuck you." Jungkook shouts, turning his body to punch Gage in the Knee. "If anybody bullshit's anything, it's you."

Gage winced at the love tap . "Ah, Bitch."

"And forget you, too Jay."

"What? What did I do?" I asked, my voice going up in pitch.

"You're short."

My jaw dropped. What was there left to say? I've fallen victim to my own phenotype. However, Gage quickly dismissed him and his bull crap.

"Man, shut up. Anyway, I think it's cool what yall got going so far.. At Least what I saw from your notes. You have pretty handwriting too." 

"Oh, uh thank you." By instinct I looked down at the notebook beside me, perfectly color coded and labeled to my liking. I thought it was a weird observation at first, but maybe it was because I've never been complimented on something as insignificant.

"You good."

"Aye, Gage. You should tell her your favorite color is blue too." Scotty laughed, his snort being funnier than his actual joke.

"Why should he tell me that?" I asked.
He laughed again. "I don't know, ask yourself, Bluey locks."

"Chill out, bro. It aint that deep." Gage said.

I on the other hand felt the childish burn on my cheeks that threatened to rise. Subconsciously, I finger combed the blue locks that hung from my ponytail. Of course the action didn't go unnoticed by someone who's radar I seem to be on lately.

"Jada, you should take that information with a grain of salt." Stephanie's twisted lips brought me back to earth.

"What? Why do you say that?" I laughed, starting to feel a pit in my stomach.

She turned her eyes away in an 'I know something you don't' fashion, not to mention the lack of response making it even less reassuring.  She looked at Scotty first, who shook his head and laughed for a third time then looked at Gage. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but chuckled afterward. In my mind I tried to rationalize why they would be acting like this but I figured you would see them turn into panicked thoughts on my face.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Stephanie's lips curved into a smile.

"Because just yesterday Gage told Naomi Thompson that his favorite color was red." she smirked

"Naomi?"  I looked at her as I browsed the mental files of classmates.

Naomi Thompson..

Naomi Thompson..?

And then like a light bulb going off, an image of a red haired, freckled face, button nose nymph with lips like angelina flooded my mind. Both Stephanie and Scotty bursted in a fit of giggles, even causing Oscar to crack a smile. Daina's expression remained stoic looking between the two then at Jungkook who sat quietly rocking around from the movement of their immature humor.

I couldn't help but to look at Gage who drew his lips between his teeth and shrugged. My smile slipped as I couldn't contain the embarrassment anymore. What made me more self-conscious was that I wasn't fully aware of the reason why I felt embarrassed, but I knew that I didn't know how to hide it anymore. I tried to join in on their laughter, maybe offer a little chuckle, but I felt like crawling in a hole and hoping someone would fill it with dirt.

"It's ok, little blue. He's a dog ass nigga anyway." Oscar said, a lowly attempt to make this situation lighter. However, it felt more insulting because it insinuated that I wanted him or cared if he was into me, even if I was attracted to him.

The laughing continued the more they teased Gage. They even started naming other girls from our school he's attempted to talk to or has sweet talked to in the past. But still, with all of his business being out there, he still laughed with them.

The longer I sat there quietly, I could've sworn I felt my eye twitch. It wasn't until Daina sat up, stretching her body from being cooped up in the chair, then walked off.

"This is weird asf." she mumbled, walking in front of the tv causing jungkook to lean around so he could see the game. "Aye, Jada. I'm finna' get something to drink, you coming?"

"Yes! I mean, uh sure." I answered, swiftly slid off the couch with my knee accidentally knocking Jungkook in the back of the head

"Damn, Jay!" he winced.

"Sorry." I wrinkled my nose with a lopsided grin. I was sorry, but I was more excited to get the hell out of this basement and it showed as I scurried away, feeling the movement of my butt jiggle as I followed Daina up the stairs