Messiah GXG : BOOK ONE (Completed) The Other Side Of The Game Series

TEN

G R A C E

My strides pulled me through the quiet halls carefully as my eyes remained planted on the typed words on the paper resting in the file in my hands.

"Are we having lunch together?" Denise asked from beside me.

"It really depends on how this class goes," I answered, distractingly, the fact fueled by the parts of my attention that were busy aiding my task of reading.

"So that's a no?" She asked but it met my ears in more of a statement-like manner, and the fact had me shifting my eyes onto her with a slight laugh.

"Why does it have to be no?"

"Cause those kids are gonna tear you up in this damn socialization class," She answered amusedly.

"They aren't that bad,"

"Yeah you would say that wouldn't you?" She replied. "They your babies after all,"

"They are," I agreed with a smile as a sudden wave of noise erupted through the previously quiet halls. It started as a whisper but the closer we got to my classroom door, the louder it got.

"Good luck," She voiced as I redirected my steps to the door while she continued her journey down the hall, and I simply sighed before lifting a hand to push the door open.

The various sounds of the noisy classroom grew louder as I entered the space with a push of the door closed behind me. My presence had gone unknown by the majority, but as I moved over to my desk that fact changed, which had the students quieting down, at least some.

About three out of the five remained talking as I leaned against the front of my desk with one hand continuing to hold the file, while the other hand planted itself on the wooden desk behind me.

"Good morning," I greeted and my words were the silencer for the rest as they all replied with their own greetings, some voices loud while others were merely murmurs. "Antawn and Keneta get off the desk and into your seats,"

"Ms Conley you late," Deshane announced as he leaned his chair back.

"I know, I was busy arranging for you guys to get some new books," I answered him with a statement that was directed to all. "And stop leaning the chair back before you fall and hurt yourself,"

"That mean you got detention," He replied as he complied with my instruction which had the chair returning to the floor with a hit against the floor beneath it.

"Detention," I repeated with a smile. "And why is that?"

"Isn't that what y'all do when we make a mistake, punish us?"

"For the month that you guys have been at the school, have you ever been punished?" I asked, already knowing the answer since that wasn't the way things were done at Sankofa High.

"Not yet," He replied and I smiled.

"I already told you guys, that there are no suspensions, and explosions given here," I voiced, repeating the statement I said to the many classes I had before them. Repeating the statement that I have been saying to them ever since they arrived here a month ago, but it wasn't clicking, at least not yet.

"What if I stab somebody in the class?" He asked as I pushed myself off the desk, and I went unphased since I had heard and experienced worse in the time I spent working here.

"You would go to prison asshole," I heard Tanisha call out at him as I began to move around my desk, and the comment had me looking back at her.

"Tanisha,"

"I'm sorry Ms Conley but he being stupid," She apologized and defended in the same statement as I moved to sit at my desk.

"I know your non reading ass ain't talking to me," He fired back as the door opened to reveal the rest of my colleagues, two security guards, Jeff and Samuel, from Sankofa security company, which was also founded by the owner of the school to protect the community and its people, and the psychologist, Leann Roberts.

Deshane's words earned a round of amusement-fueled comments and sounds from his classmates except one, which I knew would present itself as fuel to the lowly burning fire between them.

"That's why your parents ain't want you," She fired back and he jumped up from his seat, but before he could go any further Jeff quickly grabbed onto him.

"Tanisha you need to apologize," I told her as I settled into the reality of the quick escalation from playful to full blown anger.

"Why I gotta be the one to apologize?"

"You're not the only one but you called him out his name first, so you have to apologize first,"

"So,"

"Okay, put it like this," I expressed while standing up from my seat that I recently sat in. "If the both of you were to get stabbed the same way, but he got stabbed first, who would die first?"

"Him," She replied even though her hard stare on him didn't flatten.

"So to save you both, you would have to heal his stab wound so he could heal yours right?" I asked her, and my question earned her gaze but the anger was still present, even though it held hands with curiosity now. "So it's the same thing with emotions, you hurt him first so you need to help him before he can help you because he is hurt,"

"I ain't hurt," Deshane voiced defensively.

"Either way she is going to apologize for her words and you are going to do the same,"

"I ain't doing shit," He stated and I sighed.

"Alright so instead Jeff is going to bring you both outside until you calmed down,"

"See I knew your ass was gon punish us," He stated. "That's all you grown-ups do, lie,"

"This is not punishment, y'all are both angry and until it can be resolved I won't have you both sitting here like everything is fine when it's not because that will only lead to a physical fight, like what almost happened a minute ago," I explained. "Jeff is only going to bring you guys outside where you can be alone with fresh air, when you both feel better and feel like you guys can be next to each other without hurting each other, you can come back. Whether that's a minute from now, or an hour from now, you decide on what's best for you,"

"Aitte," He stated while trying to pull his arm from Jeff's hold with a hard stare still on Tanisha.

"Jeff let him go," I guided while sitting in my seat. "I trust him,"

At my words, Deshane's eyes snapped to me with a sense of softness, which only seemed to last a second before they returned cold as Jeff released him.

"Let go of her as well," I told the other guard and he did just that. "You both can come back when you feel you are ready, and if you need me or Ms Roberts to come see you, just tell Jeff,"

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