Ideally Yours

2. New Flame

P.E was my least favorite class for many different reasons. Of all my classes, P.E. ranked as the worst - the cacophony of sounds, the inescapable crowds, the anxiety of trying to appear "normal" while following rapid-fire instructions. At least I had my friends to cling to, even if our group's recent expansion still felt tenuous. I huddled on the bench between Angelica and Nala as Alessia animatedly recapped her plans for our upcoming "link up" that weekend.


"You gon roll one up?" Alessia asked Indy, who nodded. She grinned expectantly at us.

I exchanged a confused look with Ange and Nala, the unfamiliar slang washing over me. I opened my mouth to ask for clarification, but movement in my peripheral vision caught my eye.

Immediately, I knew who that better-looking tall girl was; Zuri from middle school. She looked like she was ripped straight out of an anime with mostly bleached hair and dark streaks underneath. It contrasted against her tan skin. The first thing that greeted us was that toned midriff as she spotted me. "Hey, Nia!" Her voice was even deeper (not like a guy's deep, but a more alluring type of deep) than it was when we first met.

Before I could blink, Zuri stood before us, head cocked inquisitively as she took in the unfamiliar new faces. "Okay, I recognize some of y'all but..." Her eyes landed on Ange, who just simply smiled and waved at her with both her hands. With one leg on the bleacher, Zuri sized Ange down and I can tell she was already smitten as she flashed a wide grin. "Hi, you cute thang," Ange covered her face, and even though she has brown skin like Nala's, you knew when she was flustered. I playfully shoved Zuri.


"Okay, Miss Casanova," I joked, and we both laughed. Nala introduced herself and Zuri called her cute too.


"I'm not cute!" Nala said, looking away, just as flustered as Ange. Zuri and I laughed our heads off at these two.


Unable to stop myself, I immediately shot up and flung my arms around Zuri's sturdy frame, squeezing tightly as I fought a wave of emotion. Over Zuri's shoulder, I caught Alessia's raised eyebrows and Bobbie and Indy's lingering stares.

As the period mercifully began winding down, I couldn't hate on P.E. too much - at least on free days like this, Coach pretty much let us do whatever as long as no one got too out of hand.

I slipped away to the locker room, grateful to change out of my clinging athletic wear. Stripping off the sweaty t-shirt and shorts, I shimmied back into my usual soft lilac outfit - a flowy white tee tucked into a denim skirt that brushed the tops of my knees.

This morning, Freya had deftly swept my long, coarse hair up into a sleek high ponytail before I left for school. The look drew a few Ariana Grande jokes from some giggly underclassmen, but I tried not to let it get under my skin too much. Reaching up, I attempted to loosen a few face-framing tendrils, only to end up with a frizzy mess. With a resigned sigh, I yanked out the scrunchie, letting my hair tumble freely down my back once more in gentle waves.

I grabbed the cropped jacket Freya had insisted I borrow, sliding the soft lavender material over my shoulders. She had assured me I could unzip it if the fitted cut felt too constricting. But as I caught my reflection in the steamy mirror, a tiny smile tugged at my lips at how cute I looked.

Giving my hair one last fluffing, I headed for the door, and stepped outside along with the others. For some odd reason, I felt eyes behind me. Then I heard a familiar croaked voice call out from behind me.

"So..."

I turned to see Alessia weaving through the crowd, that ever-present bubbly energy radiating from her as usual. She sidled up beside me, idly twiddling her fingers.

"We're meeting at Zuri's tonight, 7 sharp," her eyes searched mine expectantly. "You coming?"

A flicker of surprise ran through me at the apparent change of plans. But the opportunity to reunite with my oldest friend won out over any annoyance I felt.

"Yeah," I replied with a quick nod, trying to sound nonchalant. Normally, last-minute switches like this would piss me off enough to bail entirely. This time, however, I knew I needed to stay flexible if I wanted to be seen as a chill, dependable addition to the group - not this lame, inflexible weirdo. 

My sweaty palms gripped the straps of my backpack as Alessia's face split into a bright grin. "Alright, cool!" She reached out to give my hand an enthusiastic squeeze.

I fought the urge to recoil from her casual touch, my body going rigid. If I flinched or acted skittish now, I'd be screwed - branded as the perpetual weirdo loner once again in their eyes.

"See you at lunch, babes," Alessia sang out, giving me one last wink before disappearing back into the thick flow of students.

As I continued toward my chorus class, the muffled snickers and mocking tones of nearby classmates reached my ears. Whether they were ridiculing Alessia or my own palpable awkwardness, I couldn't tell. But the crimson flush of humiliation prickled over my skin all the same.

The choir room door finally came into view, and my shoulders immediately loosened at the familiar swell of vocals drifting out. As I stepped inside, Nala's powerful alto rang out over the opening strains of "Indigo" blasting from her phone's tiny speaker. Her favorite Chris Brown song.

Despite his personal controversies, I couldn't deny the guy's vocal talents and versatile range. From the smooth guy-next-door vibes of past hits like "New Flame" and "Take You Down" to the gritty, artistic growth he displayed on more recent releases - that "Under The Influence" track honestly blew me away the first time I heard it. Pretty sure I'd passed out from dancing too hard.

Nala swayed sensuously with the sinuous beat, chin tilted up as if serenading an ethereal lover. Her impassioned runs and riffs transformed the heavily auto-tuned original into something richer, more soulful. I couldn't fight a small smile tugging at my lips.

Across the room, Ange sat cross-legged, chin propped dreamily on her fists as she watched our friend's performance with rapt admiration. No surprise her favorite was the saccharine "Sweet Love" - it perfectly matched her gentle, docile spirit.

As different as our individual tastes could be, it was moments like these that made our contrasting voices blend into sonic symbiosis, our harmonies flowing together like eddying streams into one transcendent current.

A few more stragglers trickled in, abruptly breaking the lull. But I barely registered their arrival. Because making his way through the door with an easy, loose-limbed stride that had my pulse stuttering...was Sparrow Lee.

Sparrow chuckled as he sauntered over to join our little cluster, running a hand through his tousled dark hair. "What is this, a Chris Brown concert?" He teased, flashing that lopsided grin.

I felt my cheeks warming at his presence, equal parts flustered and delighted that he sought us out. Ange let out a soft giggle, waving at him with unbridled enthusiasm. "Good morning, Sparrow."

He returned the greeting with a wink. "I swear I heard like five different songs coming from outside the door."

Face flaming, I rubbed the back of my neck self-consciously and averted my gaze. Nala had paused the track right at the most seductive line - "Make you cry like a baby uh..." Cringing inwardly, I couldn't stop myself from murmuring the lyric aloud, my voice trailing off awkwardly. 

"Baby you can," Sparrow cut in with his honey-like voice, coming closer to me. "Ride it ooh yeah, bring it over to my place."

The three of us joined him and I sang with him the rest of the pre-chorus just as Ms. Reeves bustled through the door, leveling us with a look.

"Well, well, if it isn't Chorus's answer to Brockhampton," she remarked dryly before clapping her hands together. "Y'all better have that same energy for our big Spring Concert coming up in May!"

I felt my stomach swoop - both from the thrill of Sparrow's singing still coursing through me as well as the reminder of how soon our biggest performance was approaching...