Just Friends

Chapter I: The Wrong Idea?

Mayari Sekani Thompson

"Y'all are too cute!!" My mother says snapping pictures at all different angles.

"Come now, Mell. Leave them children be, they gone be late." Siah's mom, Ms. Sherry says trying to take the phone away from my mom.

Ms. Sherry and my mom have been friends since middle school. Of course they had other friends even friends they had known since pre school. But people are weird from what my mom says, so they stopped being friends with them and stuck by each other.

"Yeah, much love mama Mell. But we gotta go." Ms. Sherry smacks the back of Messiah's head making him groan and hold on to it, as if that will ease the pain.

"Boy don't be rushing people. And I'm gone beat my brother ass if he keep teaching you to talk like him. Talk bout some "MuCh LoVe MaMa MeLl." Ms. Sherry says making stupid faces as she mocks him.

I laugh at them while my mom still takes pictures. These gone be so embarrassing to look back on when i'm older.

"What you laughing at, lil girl? Huh?" Messiah starts slowly walking towards me with this specific look on his face. A look I've grown familiar with. Before he can even get close enough I put my hands up and surrender. Call me whatever you wanna call me but I refuse to be tickled.

"Okayyyyy! Siah I wasn't laughing at you!!" I say waving my imaginary white flag.

"Mell, girl what's wrong? Why you crying? You better not be pregnant again." Ms. Sherry says making me and Siah stop talking and look at them.

I hope when i'm older I find a friend like Ms. Sherry.

"No, it's damn sure ain't that. Hallelujah! It's just our babies they are graduating elementary. Tomorrow they gone be twenty, married and with three bad ass kids." My mom says crying harder.

Ms. Sherry stares at my mom for a few seconds then busts out laughing. "You deadass?" My mom just nods and Ms. Sherry does everything she can to not bust out laughing again at her friend.

"Shitttt I can't wait till they graduate from highschool! Messiah already a damn headache now, just wait he finna be like a migraine when he older..."

"Yariiiiii!!!! Get ya ass up!" Messiah yells opening my curtains. He's a morning person so he's also my personal alarm clock for school. Only sad part about this alarm clock is that it doesn't have an off button.

"Hush up, you yelling like it's not... 7:02 in the am." I sit up rubbing the holy hell out of my eyes and I feel the bed dip down next to me.

"You was been supposed to be up shawty. Don't you got cheerleading practice this morning?"

...

...

"Cheerleading practice..?" Aw man.

I quickly get up making the blanket twist around my ankle. Purposely tripping me in the process and I fall face first on the floor with a loud thud.

"I got that on camera." He says rewatching the video over and over again. All you can hear is the sound of me hitting the floor.

I stick up my middle finger as I walk to the bathroom carefully.

——————-

"Y'all dodo birds are late." Tj says with a goofy smile and a ugly face.

Tj is Siah's best friend in the whole wide world. They met at the neighborhood play ground years ago and been like glue ever since. Naturally, Tj became like an older brother figure to me. Which i've always liked since I have no biological siblings.