The Players Club

twenty four.

Yazmin's eyes were focused on the textbook in front of her as she sat outside at the bench near the basketball court of the school. There weren't many students outside, given that it was lunch and the majority of the kids went off of school grounds to get food. The food wasn't completely bad at the private school- It would be a shame when parents paid an arm and a leg just for their kids to attend- but there were better food stores a few blocks away .

School was on its way to an end and Yazmin knew that she needed to buckle down. Her parents were very strict when it came to her grades. She also had high expectations for herself when it came to school. It wasn't hard for her to admit that she was getting a bit distracted with her social life.

"Yaz!"

She turned around and smiled at the sight of her best friend walking towards her. Slowly, her smile turned into a deep frown at the sight of two girls walking alongside Penny. Yazmin used to hang out with them and had been friends with them since she was in middle school. It didn't take her that long to realize that they had their own perceptions of black people, and continuously tried to place them onto her. That was how her entire childhood was. Of course everyone wasn't like that. There were some people that didn't make racist remarks and didn't judge her character based on her appearance. She was also blessed to have a few people like Ron that understood what she was going through, because he was going through the same thing.

Yazmin sighed with relief when she noticed the girls walked off, leaving Penny alone.

She slipped into the seat in front of Yazmin and smiled widely.

"Hey. I was looking for you earlier."

"I got caught up in the library. What're you doing out here?"

"I needed some fresh air and some space."

Penny nodded. "So, prom is coming up... Have you thought about what you wanted to wear?"

"No," Yazmin shook her head. She'd been thinking about prom for weeks. It was just around the corner and she hadn't thought about anything that revolved around it. People were beginning to plan prom proposals, which made it known that it was time to buckle down on figuring things out.

"Well, I want to get through these tests before I think about prom."

"You know you're passing with flying colours. You're one of the smartest people in this school," Penny scoffed.

Yazmin waved her off and continued writing. Penny bit her lip with nervousness as she watched her friend heavily.

"I hope that you're still not mad at me for what I said."

"No, I'm not. You feel how you feel and I feel how I feel about it." Yazmin looked up at her and rested her hand against Penny's. "You wouldn't be Penny if you didn't state your unsolicited opinions."

Penny released a long breath and threw her head back. "Oh, thank God. I can't be at odds with my best friend. Who am I gonna complain to and bother when I'm bored?"

"Ron."

"Ron can barely stay here for an hour before he decides to skip."

"That is Ron for you."

Suddenly, the bell rang and the students began to make their way towards the doors to head back into the school. Yazmin closed her books and placed her pens inside of her expensive bag.

"What're you doing after school?"

The girls walked towards the doors and shoved their way through.

"I have some things to do for Mama Meii. Why?"