Motive

48 Hours

Picture above will make sense in about 2 seconds.

~Mary Jay~

You know, this is a situation I never imagined myself in.

I've not spoken to my family in a week, my laundry smells like weed, my best friends are hungover, and the guy I'm supposed to hate has feelings for me.

And I want a cheeseburger.

Did I mention how confusing this week has been?

So now, I'm sitting on the floor of my dance teachers classroom, getting my hair braided.

Don't judge me, I needed someone to talk to who wasn't hungover or running an illegal business.

It smells like coconuts and shea butter. Mmm.

Ms. Lara swiped her finger through the edge control again, "Wait, so he told you this when he was drunk?"

I looked at her through the dance mirror, "Yup."

She scoffed, "Oh, then baby, he was telling you the truth."

I hit her calf, "Ms. Lara!"

She looked at me, "What? It's true. Drunk words are sober thoughts. Sometimes."

"That's bs."

"You're lucky you don't drink, otherwise, you probably would've told him the same. And instead, this conversation would be about how to know you're in love."

"If I drunk, I probably wouldn't even be here. I'd be hungover or dead."

She shrugged, "You're not wrong."

I sighed and sunk further into the floor. We'd been here for about an hour, just talking back and forth. Ms. Lara told me she learned how to braid when she was just a little girl. Her and her cousins were from Africa but got separated when she was 6. Now, she lives in America and writes to them weekly.

The last time I got my hair braided was when I was 4, right after my dad died. He used to do my hair for me and my mom would do my outfits; it was a teamwork thing. When he died, my mom would book appointments every month for about 4 months, but then she spiraled and stopped making them. I had to learn to take care of my curls on my own.

Music played softly in the background and it reminded me of my dad even more. I loved my moms side of the family, but it felt great to keep in touch with my dad somewhat. Even if it was through memory.

"What should I do, Ms. Lara?"

"I think you need to talk it out when you're ready. You're obviously going through other things besides your relationship with him and it can be a lot. If he does really have feelings for you, he'll be willing to wait until you're ready."

"I know, I just didn't expect him to tell me last night. We had literally just pulled out of the McDonalds drive thru."

She giggled, "Boys are special. They have a specific way of conveying their feelings. It's not always healthy, and they need to work on it. But I think he just had a genuine moment with you and felt like he needed to say it."

"Exactly. Do you think we'd make a good couple?"

"You know how they say opposites attract?"

I nodded, "Mhm."

"They never tell you about how similarities do too. I think you and Mateo are the perfect example of that."

I scrunched my face, "We're not similar."

"You can continue lying to yourself, but everyone around you can see through your poker face, honey."

"Pft, whatever."