Dear Dakota | Academic Rivalry Story

Four | Target

N Y L A D Y L A N S

"Nyla!" Dakota complains, rubbing the side of his head. "What was that for?" He asks when I sit next to him on our bus seat. Instead of responding I put my headphones in my ears and leaned my head against the seat, closing my eyes. "Delaney what the fu-"

I open my eyes fast and have to stifle my laugh. She is completely soaked from head to toe because of the heavy rain outside.

Dakota and I took the route to the buses that allow us to stay dry for ninety-nine percent of the time.

She sits down- let me rephrase that. Delaney full-on slips and lands back first on her seat. Now she is the one complaining. "Oww." She laughs and winces at the same time. "That hurt."

I get startled when another crash of lightning strikes a few feet away from our bus. I lower myself down so I am completely hidden behind the seat in front of me.

"Well well well we got another one." Dakota laughs when Atlas, the youngest of us four, sits next to Delaney- also completely soaked. Atlas flips him off while shaking his back and forth. The rainwater from his hair spraying right onto my face.

"And we have to walk home in this disaster. D, your house is closest I am hiding in there." He says, wiping his face off with the bottom of his shirt.

I look over at Dakota who is looking at his sister weirdly. "Did mom tell you to bring an umbrella today?" He asks her and she shrugs.

"Even if she did, I probably didn't hear her. Dad was talking to Julian on the phone."

That causes Atlas' head to pop up. "You were too busy eating toast this morning. Also, what was my dad talking to yours about?"

"Did you forget your dads and moms are best friends?" I ask, bewildered and he palms himself in the face. The bus finally begins to move once the last bit of Freshman enter the bus.

I go back to my music when the bus screeches to a stop. I almost fly forward but Dakota's hand extends in front of my chest. "Get off your phone while it's thundering. Did you not hear you could get electrocuted?"

I roll my eyes. "No, I won't. But since you asked ever so nicely," I put my phone in my bag, "I will put it away."

He shakes his head, looking out of the window to his right and I sneak my phone back out.

"Nyla." He warns and I put my hands up, showing him they're empty.

"Okay. Fine, fine."

I cross my hands over my chest and wait for the other buses in front of us to start moving. I fold my jacket into a pillow shape and rest it on Dakota's shoulder. "Wake me up when we get to the neighborhood. Night."

"We live two minutes-"

"Shh!" Delaney and Atlas hush. "She is sleeping."

Dakota puts his hands up in surrender. "My apologies." He looks down at me then looks away. "You remember the quiz we took today?" Dakota whispers and I nod.

I do. I bombed it. It was my first day back and I knew none of the material our sixth-period teacher gave us.

"Mhmm, I passed."

"How do you know? We are in the same class."

"Our teacher told me my grade." No, she didn't. "It is in the grade book."

Dakota takes his phone out to check but I snatch it from his hand. "No phones while it is thundering, Reid." He takes a deep breath, frustrated out of his mind. I could smile right now. This is my favorite thing to do to him. "Here." I hand him his phone back.