The Word

Chapter 4

When I get on the bus for school the next day I sigh as I see that Zion, unsuprisingly, isn't on the bus. I roll my eyes hard and flop into the seat. I check my phone again to see if he's texted me, but he hasn't. The only notifications on my phone are the ones from duolingo. I roll my eyes again and huff as I finally look away from my phone in defeat. I zone out and stare off for awhile and refocus to Kaliph staring back at me.

"What," I deadpan, already irritated.

"Nothing, you just look upset," he says, seeming slightly concerned. I soften a bit and pause for a moment. I was not expecting sincerity of all things.

"I'm sorry, I'm fine. Thank you though," I say back. There's no reason to be a dick if he genuinely cares. He smiles a little and I realize he has at least one deep dimple. It suits him.

"No problem," he responds before turning around in his seat and going back to whatever he was doing. I sigh and look down at my phone again. The screen lights up and I jump a little but its only spam emails. Annoyed, I turn my phone off and put it back in my bag. There's no point in waiting on a text I'm clearly not getting. I look out the window and see Dahlyia get on the bus and notice Zion isn't there behind her. She notices my frown and sits beside me.

"What's wrong?," she questions before firing off a million more. "Wait were the clothes bad? Did your skin react badly to them? or was it about Zion? Oh. my. god," she pauses and looks around before whispering," Was the sex bad?". I look at her serious expression and burst into laughter. She looks genuinely confused which makes me laugh even harder. Eventually, I'm doubled over and my stomach hurts a little. She pulls me up and looks at me with pure unsurprised disappointment before chuckling herself.

"Ok maybe not, but for real what happened?," she says, crossing her arms.

I sigh and explain the story to her. I tell her about the effort I put into the outfit, how excited I was and how sad I was when he wasn't willing to do something else despite having nothing but time. After listening, she's silent for a long time.

"I get why you feel that way and your feelings are completely valid, but he must've been really bummed out. He probably put a lot of time and energy into planning that for you and paintballing isn't cheap,"she says thoughtfully.

"But I offered to pay him back and I offered to pay for wherever we went next,"I counter. She thinks again before she responds.

"Ok, so say you would have taken him somewhere, right? Would you have felt any better if he went with you while he was still upset?"she ask softly.

"No," I say quietly and sigh,"I probably would've been even angrier"

"Exactly. I think he knew that and he wanted to give himself a chance to calm down. Yes, he should have communicated that but he was ultimately thinking of what was best for you,"she finishes firmly. I think about what she's said and I decide she's right.

"Ok, thanks for talking to me about it. It's been bothering me for the longest and I feel way better now,"I respond and smile. She smiles back and gives me a gentle hug.

"Of course. Always,"she says as she loops her pinkie with mine.

"Always," I respond as I kiss my thumb. I smile again as we pull up to the school. Grabbing my things, I rush to the cafeteria to sit with everyone and tell them about what happened. I make my way towards our table when Zion walks up to me.

"Hi,"he says quietly.
"Hi. Is your phone broken?" I ask sarcastically. He sighs and rolls his eyes at me.

"No, Janiyah, my phone is not broken,"he responds dryly.

"Wait...wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so rude, I just feel a little....disappointed. I get that you might need space, but when have I ever made you feel like you can't communicate that?" I ask sincerely.

"Never, but I was just.....I don't know. I was frustrated. I had to do a lot just to get the reservation, let alone pay for it. They charge for guns, bullets, air and gear. That shit was expensive, Ny. Even if you did show up in the wrong outfit, we could've figured it out. But, you showed up 15 minutes late. It's like you didn't find it as important as everything else. You're a punctual person and the one time I ask you to do something and be here a certain time, you show up late,"he finishes with a sigh. I soften a little as I see him run his hands through his locs. I can tell he feels really strongly about this.

"Ok I acknowledge all of that and I meant it when I said I'd pay you back. I was gonna do that regardless. Just send me the price. But, if you want to plan something else or even have me plan it, I promise to be on time and follow dress code. Ok?", I look up at him hopefully and he smiles. He rolls his eyes again playfully this time and pulls me close to him.

"Ok," he says and hugs me tightly. I break away and look up at him for a moment. He smiles down at me and kisses my forehead softly. Feeling a bit better, I walk over to my friends and sit down.

"You guys are sickening," Zel says seriously, pushing her curly brown hair out of her face. I laugh as it falls directly where it was before.

"Girl bye, you could have anyone you want. You the only one out here with a million and one options, but not giving nobody the time of day," Dahlyia responds quickly.

"Im sorry, who's talking again? The same one that's been rejecting guys since birth but always complaining about being single?," Zel calls her out smoothly and laughs when she rolls her eyes.

"Why are y'all getting on each other so bad right now, its too early for this," Ny says, doubled over in laughter.

"Oh, so you want to speak up now? How you dark-skin and tall with long hair, but still get no bitches?", Zay asks, clasping his hands together dramatically while waiting for an answer.

Everybody bursts out laughing and Ny nods in silent acceptance as he waits for everyone to calm down.

"Ok. Ok. I can't even lie, that was funny. You got jokes. But since we asking questions.....How long its gon' take you to finally get with Dahlyia?," Ny fires back without missing a beat. Everyone dies at this and before long nobody can speak because they're all laughing. A few moments go by before anyone can speak again.

"I'm tired of y'all," Zay says laughingly as the bell rings.

We all start gathering our stuff as we begin making our way to class.

"And next time we're at breakfast, it better not turn into a roast session," I say as we all part ways.