CHAPTER ONE
point of view | zayne ali
...
i curled my index finger and flicked my cold nose, sniffing in. i dropped my hands to my sides glancing at the other silent students waiting at the bus stop. my hood over my head, my ear buds in my ears playing damage by H.E.R. the angelic voice ringing in my ears always set me in, put me in a positive mood. i licked my lips and stared at the ground mouthing the lyrics to myself.
i heard the rumble of the bus approaching and i slowly began to turn down my volume so people on the bus wouldnt be able to hear my music blasting in my ears. the bus came to a rolling stop, the door opening with a squeak. in sync all the high schoolers of the neighbor hood began walking towards the bus door. we narrowed into a line and began to step onto the bus.
i kept my gaze low, avoiding the eyes of the smiling bus driver. i turned walking down the bus aisle, not too far down. slightly in the middle and flopped into the seat, scooting all the way to the window. my book bag pushing my large build forward. my knees squeezed tightly into the seat. i grunted quietly and took off the straps of my book back giving me more space. placing the book bag to my left, resting it on my side. a humid morning, today was. the condensation on the window was blurring my view of the outside. i tilted my head against the window as the bus doors closed and we began moving. the song changed to 20/20 by lil tjay. i sniffed inward dazing off not excited for another day of school.
...
i lifted my phone up, my music still playing in my ears. 8 : 17 am, the time read. i shut my phone off and pushed open the court yard doors, entering the school. i had three minutes until class started, i had honors geometry first, mrs. willy was my teacher. very cheerful. i enjoyed her because she never pushed anyone to answer who didnt want to, she didnt call on people who werent raising their hand.
due to my large build i had to carefully watch my step. being 6ft 3 and pretty fit i tended to trample and flat tire many people whilst walking through the hallways. my arm dragged against the wall before my eyes became familiar with the hallway. i automatically turned to my left stepping into my class. my eyes glanced over all the desks, filled with students before glancing at the teacher who sent me a friendly smile.
"good morning, zayne," she greeted kindly "i hope you're have a lovely morning."
i gave her a nod with an awkward half smile before making my way across the classroom to take my seat. i began taking off my book bag as i took a seat. i placed my bag by my feet and unzipped it, pulling out my binder and pencil pouch. the bell rang once carter pollis walked into the class.
"i made it, mrs. willy," he said with a smirk "im not late today!"
she chuckled as he began to take his seat towards the front of the classroom stating, "nice! try to keep it up all week, yeah?"
he scoffed and his buddy jordan snickered as well "ill try."
i sat back in my chair focusing on lil uzi rapping, "anthony davis, dont deal with the pelicans."
...
i enjoyed my second block, honors literature. my teacher, mrs. steven was a kind woman. she was very good at explaining things, and even better at reading out loud. she never made us talk aloud to the class either. i liked staying in my corner seat. i enjoyed my ten minuets of independent reading. then we moved onto vocab practice, over all a chill class.
...
the bell rang and i was walking to my third block to drop off my book bag and head to lunch. as always coach gambrew, my honors chemistry teacher stood by the door. his arms crossed. he was talking to a student when i walked into the class and set my book bag on my seat. i turned around, exiting the class, turning my music up and walking down the hallway.
i began for the staircase that took you down stairs. i took a decent walk towards the courtyard. the courtyard connected to multiple parts of the school, one of them being the lunch room. i turned the corner and began straight avoiding eye contact with any and everyone.
the chatting of students was basically non existent as i mumbled whats crackin's lyrics under my breath and pushed the double doors open into the court yard. a nice breeze pressed my curly hair back a little. i shook my head and began crossing the court yard, my pace quick. i heard someone call my name, but i ignored them knowing that last time i gave someone my attention they asked me for answers. always something. no one ever wants me for me. i pushed open the lunch doors heading for the salad line.
...
after shaking the salad getting the ranch thoroughly mixed in i set the salad on the table. i was in the back table of the library. i wasnt allowed to eat here, but i did it anyway. i hated being around so many loud people. call me loser or a nerd all you want.
ironically a person caught my attention, i glanced up to see a girl. either a junior or a like me a senior walking towards the back area. she had brown curly hair. she only wore mascara, mascara that made her eyes look lovely. lips that sat still, giving her face a mean look. a rbf if you will. her style was cute. baggy black jeans with a over sized white collared shirt. she set her phone on the table and pulled out the chair diagonal from me. despite the fact she was awfully gorgeous for the girls in the school, i hated how she chose to sit by me.
"out of every seat in the library why did you chose to sit near me? " i thought to myself, sullenly. "stop looking at her, fuck head. she can see you through her peripheral vision." i moved my gaze from her and opened my salad and began eating it. pyramids by frank ocean now playing causing a shiver to run up my spine. i mouthed the lyrics before taking another bite into my salad. i felt eyes on me and i glanced at the girl and my face got a little hot making eye contact with her.
i looked away from her back at my salad and slowly continued to eat. i glanced back at her to find her still staring at me, smiling slightly.
"fuck are you staring at? " i thought grumpily "see this is why i fucking hat-" before i could finish my thought her voice broke the silence her and i had been sharing.
"you have very pretty eyes," she stated calmly. i looked up at her making eye contact with her large coffee hue eyes "what are they green? or hazel?"
i sat up in my chair immensely taken back by the words she had uttered.
"what did she want from me? " i questioned myself cynically "i dont remember seeing her before. i know id remember a head full of curls like hers, a pretty face like hers. why did she say that? why do people thing its okay to fucking fake compliment people like that. and she asked me what color like she fucking cares or something."
"green." i mumbled looking away from her angelic stare. i heard something hit the table and i glanced at the end of the table where she was sitting. her bracelet hit the table. her nails painted black, four rings in total. each middle and index finger of hers held a ring.
"where are you from?" she catechized. i lifted my gaze from her hands briefly looking at her lips, then looking at her eyes. i diverted my gaze to my hands. "like your ethnicity."
"God, she was good at eye contact." i mentally noted, sighing before opening my mouth to answer her.
"my mom is from egypt and my dad is from morocco," i answered truthfully. making sure no interest to keep the conversation going would be assumed. "theyre both in north africa."
"im moroccan too," she answered and i glanced at her feeling an odd connection because of that "but im 100%. my mom and dad are both from there. im north african too."
"why was she still talking to me? " i asked myself "didnt she get the hint that a guy choosing to eat alone in the library in the back corner wanted to be UNBOTHERED? "
"cool." i stated dryly. she made a sound, either a laugh or clearing her throat. i glanced at her. she focused back on her binder with notes from geometry, leaning on her fist.
...
authors note: new book omg. im so nervous!
also my birthday is tmrwww ((((:
