"Your not going home?" The dude asked me now looking at me with a questioning look. I look back at him. Who is he to question me? Not my father I'll tell you that much.
"Um.... Business? Find yours." I said still heading back to my box. He suddenly...
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Andre didn't know what to say or do about what had gone down at Janaya's school. He didn't know whether to get her ice cream for sticking up for herself and her friend or to reprimand her for putting her hands on another child. But regardless he was proud of her, now he knows that she can hold her own.
Janaya was proud of herself for many things, but one of them is getting suspended on the first day of school. That was a new record for her. Kristen was happy that he had his first friend. He was also nervous that the school would call home. He didn't want to deal with people at home.
Kristen was pulled out of his thought by Andre "Let's go kids" he said. He was ready to leave the School. He didn't want to sound boujee, but he didn't want to get touched by some icky kids. They all walked outside even Kristen. He didn't know what he was doing or what was going to happen, but he felt safe with Janaya around. She reminded him of a mother, not his, but one he imagined of having.
"Hey kid do you want to go back in there, do you want me to drop you off at home?" Asked Andre. He didn't know what to do. His late wife usually handled these things when the kids were bad. Kristen didn't say anything, but he grabbed Janaya's hand. Andre saw the movements, and when he didn't see Janaya pull back he raised his eyebrows.
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"Can he come with us, like a small playdate until school ends?" I ask innocently knowing that he couldn't say no. I also added my puppy face for extra measure. He nodded his head while rubbing on his waves. We all hopped in the car, then I realized that we haven't had lunch today.
"Can you take us to go get something to eat?" I question. "I guess, who do you guys want to eat?" He asks then looks at us in the rearview mirror. I turn towards Kristen silently gesturing for him to tell me what he wanted to eat. He didn't get the hint, so I straight up asked him, "What do you want to eat?" He looks at me then he tilts his head up like he's thinking, which he is.
"I want Chick-fil-A," he says, but more like whispers. I realized that he whispers a lot. I didn't want to call him out on it ... yet. We just met, and I don't want to scare my new bestie away.
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Back at the high school Julian, Jahmal, and Jamar were all heading to lunch. They were all lucky enough to have lunch at the same time. They went through the horrible lunch line, then sat down at their usual table to eat the horrible food.
Julian soon got a text message
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After Julian finished texting his dad, he showed the messages to his brothers. They were all slightly surprised that Janaya fought a boy. They were all talking about how they felt about Janaya, well mainly Jahmal and Jamar. Their friends were just sitting around them wondering who they were talking about, well all except Kamari
"Who are you guys talking about?" One of their friends asked. "We were talking about our si- I mean she's not our sister, but she sort of kinda is," Jamar said interrupting himself not knowing how to actually Identify Janaya.
"It's complicated," Jahamal says summing up what everyone thought. They all continued talking until the bell rang. The brothers were very popular at school. They were the 'bad boys and we're proud of it.
After school, they all went home hearing a lot of laughing, one familiar and one not. They walked into the living room to find Janaya, and a boy they had never met before. Suddenly they felt very protective over her like she was a pup in their wolf pack. Which she was.
They all walked in getting the attention of both Janaya and Kristen. Janaya saw them first since she was facing them and Kristens back was to them. "Hey boys!" She said making Kristen turn around a look at them. He was low-key scared because he doesn't have good experiences with men. he knew that with Janaya knowing them he would be okay.
"Hey, Janaya, who's your friend?" asked Jahmal feeling the most protective. "This is my friend Kristen, and Kristen this is the newfound family I told you about." Kristen just nodded his head and silently waved. He felt out of place, intimidated, and a little scared. So, on instinct, he took Janaya's hand in his.
"Let go of her hand," said Jahmal with a small growl. Janaya just wondered why everyone has a problem with her holding her 'child's' hand.
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