* All characters in this story are of legal age. *
"WAKE UP JALEEL!!"
"HUH?!!" I was jolted awake finding myself looking at Ricky's face. My heart leapt into my throat with an audible hiccup before I realized I wasn't still in his sister's bed.
"Come on man, we 've gotta hit the road or we'll be late for school!" He helped me sit up on the couch as I recalled crashing from exertion and raw emotion into the early hours of the morning.
"Hope?" His hand collided with the base of my skull in a disparaging slap as he tossed a shirt in my lap dragging me off the couch intent on getting me to his bathroom.
"She's gone back to college, texted me this morning before she noped out. Come on bro, you gotta wash up!!" I was shoved into the bathroom before Ricky slammed the door shut going about his business.
I instantly felt a pang of emotion at her absence remembering the unwanted words of sage advice that followed a night that should've been one for the cannon. Part of me wished she'd never shared those aspects of her sexual history, but it seemed cathartic for Holly Arias. She was helping herself as much as me. She wanted to everything wipe clean somehow. It also explained her determination to invade her little brother's circle since returning home.
Hope was reeling from tragedy and a decision that was shaking the foundations of her being. Somehow, my own situation triggered this overwhelming maternal instinct that made her want to smother the vestiges of Kimberly Bivens out of me. Holly wanted to wipe her clean from me, physically and spiritually. I wondered if she would be able to move past the affair with her professor.
"HEY JALEEL, HURRY IT THE FUCK UP; WE GOTTA GO, MAN!!" Ricky's voice intruded through the door. Luckily, I still had some clothing over his home from previous sleepovers when we were gaming. Our peers were quick to notice repeat fashion choices and I didn't want to be heckled.
Ricky drove like a beast while I remained zoned out replaying my wild night with his older sister. She was on a whole other level from Kimberly Bivens physically speaking. Whereas my former "girlfriend" was slim, deceptively curvy, and sleek; Hope Arias was definitively in the early stages of becoming voluptuous. That visual esthetic that a lot of brothers would kill for in no uncertain terms. She was light honey, pretty face, hellacious hips, and ass. The fact that she could cook and fuck like a wild beast was an added plus.
"Jaleel, I know what you did with my sister."
"HUH?!!" I flinched in my seat riding shotgun to school as Ricky side eyed me. It was overcast and rainy outside, a perfect setting for some bullshit.
"Man, you gotta be more responsible; I don't like taking shit to a friend, my best friend and all. You didn't have to stay up gaming all night with my sister." My raised brows and shocked expression obviously went over his clueless head.
"Yeah, uhm sorry I got caught up."
"You were knocked out cold; if you hadn't woke up, I was gonna pour a pot of cold water on your face."
"You would've got knocked out too, fool!"
"Fuck you man." We playfully traded horseplay punched to each other's shoulders as we neared the school.
I stared ahead out the window noticing a caravan of three school buses in front of our school. There were crowds of students milling about as we pulled up behind a few cars waiting to pull into the student parking lot.
"What's going on out here?"
"Damn man, Kimberly really got your head screwed up; it's a game day. A really big game day and some people are leaving for a half day. Speaking of your malicious better half, here man." Ricky produced my phone from his pocket.
"What're you doing with my phone?"
"Hope left it on the coffee table and before you ask; no, I didn't look at the video of your girl twerking that ass. It's locked; that's some foul shit right there Jaleel. I thought we people, man."
"I don't lock my phone." I tried to open my phone finding it indeed, locked. Ricky's aloof older sister was obviously the culprit, but I didn't understand her reasoning.
"Hope is a fucking weirdo; I'm gonna call her and get the lock code."
"Yeah." I wondered why she'd gone to the trouble of locking my phone. It didn't make sense. I figured it was part of her plan to discourage me from obsessing over my ex-girlfriend.
We were finally able to turn into the school parking lot finding it difficult because of the students milling about. School spirit was deceptively the culprit, but truthfully days like these were used by many to hook up. I'd hooked up with Kimberly on one such day months earlier. Unfortunately, it turned out to be glorified fooling around only after I'd been tricked into going shopping with her at a mall. Her real friends chickened out leaving me as her default ride or die. I chafed at the memory recalling the sight of her in stark white demi cup brassiere and bikini panties. I chaffed at the thought realizing she'd been wearing part of that ensemble when I discovered her cheating.
"EARTH TO JALEEL!!" Ricky snapped his fingers right in front of my face, getting me out of the memory.
"What, Ricky?"
"Get out." He deadpanned as I realized we were parked.
I had zoned out and staring at his face brought up guilty feelings of sleeping with his sister during the night. I felt several pangs of guilt wash over me as he pushed his driver's side door open. The parking lot school entrance was congested with people, but our collective hearts skipped a beat at the sight to the football team members holding court on either side of the double doors. Light flecks of rain were starting to fall as we queued up behind our peers waiting to enter the building. Some of those assholes were selectively singling out victims with slaps to the backs of their necks while some girls laughed.
"Fuck that noise." Ricky was wearing a big, fluffy Howard University hoodie which he used to cover his head. I was screwed personally speaking but resolved to hold the line instead of falling to my old standby of going into another entrance.
"OWWW!!" A hand collided with the back of my neck before I even got close to the entrance. I instinctively whipped about finding Charmaine, Treena and some other members of the cheerleading squad I didn't know.
"WHAT, YOU GOTTA PROBLEM, SNITCH?!!" This aggressive women didn't miss a beat since our initial flare up one day prior. She looked to be spoiling for a fight.
"No, why you hitting me?"
Treena snickered like the weaselly jackal she was reminding why I hated these two types of bullies. The worst type of bully always showed up with a second who would usually do most of the instigating while getting none of the blow back. Today was no different.
"You in the way, SNITCH!!" Charmaine swiped me aside roughly continuing onward with her duck-like entourage in tow.
It chaffed my ego, but I was glad we hadn't come to blows. I glanced back finding the reason for her sudden departure in the nearby presence of one of the female gym teachers. This particular teacher was in charge of the cheerleading team.
"HEY MAAAN, WHAT THE-?!!" As soon as one situation ended, another started with Ricky attacked by McKenzie this time. The albino football player yanked the hoodie from his head simultaneously slapping at the back of my friend's scalp, laughing evilly.
"Leave him alone Rob."
"LEAVE HIM ALONE ROB-Worried I'm gonna steal your girlfriend, huh?!! You and Titty going steady, huh nigga?!!" He was laughing in my face as I imagined shooting him in the face with a non-existent pistol.
"DO YOU MIND, ROB?!!" Ricky jostled in his grasp trying to shake free, but the demonic looking jock had a handful of his hoodie, bringing his other hand up grabbing his throat.
"WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE ME OR SOMETHING, TITTY?!!" Ricky was shook against his will, the more muscular jock going dangerous as some of his teammates laughed. If it came down to a scrap, all three of us would be fighting.
"MCKENZIE!!" The gym teacher yelled ten feet away surrounded by other students and one, enamored male substitute teacher. I didn't know her name, but the gym teacher was attractive and thick with a school track suit molded to her curves.
"I'M JUST PLAYING WITH HIM, PAM!!" Rob McKenzie was a major douche, entitled enough to think he was on a first name basis with faculty.
"Robert, put that student down and-GET OVER HERE!!" There was no way this woman would say that to thuggish Rob McKenzie if they met on the streets. But she spoke with authority and he knew she worked closely with the football coach.
Ricky was suddenly shoved into me hard enough to make us topple over while a good portion of the other students laughed and snickered. I got most of the impact as Ricky landed deadweight on top smashing me into the pavement. Some of our shitty peers actually stepped over our bodies walking into the school. McKenzie reluctantly walked off with the gym teacher and a few students.
"Hey man, you okay?" Ricky was obviously shook from his interaction with the bully.
"Fine."
"Well, at least he ain't gonna be there when we go to gym later." It was a "looking at the bright side" observation, but Ricky looked offended.
"Whatever, I'll catch you later." He stalked off leaving me standing there.
Ten minutes later I walked into Algebra 2 finding some students hovering around Mr. Harvey. These were a smattering of athletes and otherwise connected people with our football team. I didn't give them a second thought as I noticed Charmaine and Treena already seated. Treena's jackal like persona took away from her beauty while Charmaine glowered. I negotiated my seat from the opposite side of the aisle knowingly feeding her opinion of herself as an antagonist. Her eyes followed me to my seat as I noticed Kimberly Bivens.
Oddly enough, her face was buried in her text book almost purposely. She was wearing a long sleeved business shirt and tie over a tight jean mini skirt and ankle boots. I thought it weird because she wasn't wearing her cheerleader regalia on a game day like her associates.
"Sit the fuck down, bitch." Treena whispered getting a few snickers from surrounding students.
I took my seat definitely feeling it from the girl who counted herself as one of Kimberly's tight inner circle. I knew different though. Kim considered her a hanger on, for the most part along with Charmaine.
Kimberly never looked up even though her friend's antics elicited snickering and indifferent chortling. In the past, she was usually an active participant, but she remained focused on her text book. It read as forced indifference, especially after we'd talked. She'd sent those video clips to demoralize me, but unintentionally helped me when Hope got involved in my situation.
In part, she was the catalyst for the mind blowing sex I'd experienced not twenty-four hours, earlier. Charmaine was still shooting me looks and this didn't bode well for my immediate future. She had it in her head that I'd snitched on her for bullying which resulted in her joining me in the study hall. Before I knew it, the bell was sounding signaling the end of the period.
