INTOXICATED

01.

INTOXICATED

Jace Carson stares out the passenger window thinking about how his ranking dropped to #4. Disappointed in himself, he sighs as he realized his mom was getting out of the now parked car.

"mommy, i don't see it in here" an unfamiliar voice rang through Jace's ears. He furrowed his eyebrows looking around to find the person who was attached to the soft angelic voice.

His eyes landed on a 5'6 brownskin girl dressed in a cropped white shirt with light grey sweatpants paired with white crocs. Her natural hair is what intrigued him. It was in a messy afro ponytail puff as it was covering some of her face due to having so much.

Gazing at the young girl soon came to an end when he realized he was caught. She held a mug on her face causing Jace to look away.

"Mom who's that?" Jace asked his mother as they entered the house. His mom smacked her lips as she side eyed him.

"Boy I just told you in the car that we got new neighbors. We are going over there tomorrow to greet them."

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The Next Day...A'Zanae sighed as she sat on her bed. She hated moving & not because she was around an unfamiliar atmosphere but because she hated to unpack.

Humming to Nobody Hold Me by Nba Youngboy, she colored as she sat at her desk. The sun threatening to spill into her room but denied by the blackout curtains just how she liked.

"Come in." She spoke over the music as she heard knocking at her door. Her father, Ma'Kai, peeked his head in the room and smiled at his beautiful daughter.

"Don't forget the neighbors are coming over here soon. Come help your mom with the cooking please" A'Zanae nodded walking out of the room with her father

"Nae, start on the mac & cheese please." Her mother, Reneé, said. A'Zanae quietly walked over to the stove to let it heat up before she put the elbow noodles in a pot with water. Glancing at the time, she saw it was 5:46pm & the neighbor would be over at 8:30pm

A'Zanae's parents worried about her often. She didn't talk much anymore which was expected due to her being diagnosed with selective mutism 4 months ago.

"Hey Nae" her sister, Samaje, greeted as she walked in the house with groceries in her hands. A'Zanae simply waved at her sister then continued what she was doing.

"Why doesn't Malakai have to help?" A'Zanae mumbled. Even though she loved to cook, she hated when her brother never had to help in the kitchen.

"Girl you know that boy can't cook" Everyone laughed but A'Zanae. Malakai had them fooled. They thought he couldn't cook but how convenient he knew how to cook when he was hungry and home alone.

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It was nearing 8:30 and A'Zanae was finishing up her homemade beignets. Her mother thought it was a good idea to let the neighbors taste southern food. Hearing the doorbell ring, she quickly walked off to her room to change her clothes.

10 minutes had passed and she was fully clothed in a brown maxi dress with her curly hair out.She had refilled her lashes earlier and only needed to apply lipgloss.

"A'Zanae!" She heard her father yell from downstairs. She quickly applied her lipgloss then sped walked out the room & down the stairs

"Sorry" She mumbled to her father as he embraced her into a hug.

"it's okay Lovebug" He smiled at her then looked at the guests. She sat down and made her plate as she was starving. Not forgetting to pray over her food before she dug in.

"This is my other daughter A'Zanae, she's the same age as Jace." Her mother explained. A'Zanae looked up and finally took in the appearance of the guests. The family was good looking, especially the mom. What caught her attention was that the boy now known as Jace was the same boy staring at her last night.

"Say hi A'Zanae. it's okay" Her father rubbed her hand in support. Although the tension was comfortable, the 14 year old girl just couldn't bring herself to speak so she just waved.

"Sorry, she has selective mutism. She's genuinely being nice by waving." Reneé spoke not wanting the guests to feel unwelcomed. Jace's mom nodded and smiled at A'Zanae.

"Okay girl you don't gotta put my business out there" A'Zanae thought to herself as she side eyed her mom

It was around 9:15 and everyone was laughing but A'zanae. It's not because she wasn't having a good time because she was, she just wasn't the bubbly little girl she once was.

"Nae, how about you show Jace your awards from sports. He plays basketball too" Her father suggested. A'Zanae sighed. She never understood why her parents forced her to do things that made her uncomfortable.

She simply stood up and walked upstairs not caring if the boy was following her. Jace was hot on her tail. The girl intrigued him.

As the boy entered her room he noticed it wasn't your average teenage girls room. It was all black but with kid stuff. Her room consisted of black walls, black bed, even black curtains but she had hello kitty, lighting mcqueen, & princess & the frog stuff everywhere.

Examining her awards as music lowly played in the background, he realized she was a multitalented athlete.

"So you play volleyball, Basketball, dance, cheerleading, & run track?" Jace asked. He wanted so badly for A'Zanae to talk again but he didn't know how. She nodded to his question as she walked to her desk to color.

She noticed Jace standing awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She moved all her materials to the floor and sat down. She nudged Jace signaling for him to color with her.

"So....Why don't you talk?" Jace asked and she just shook her head letting him know she didn't want to answer that.

"Ok sorry. I like your hair." Jace admired her hair. It was very thick & long. She also had some of her hair dyed honey blonde.

"Thank you." She said softly and smiled. She loved her hair, it was her favorite feature of herself. Jace also smiled, happy that he made progress.

Jace's mom walked into the room and smiled at the sight. Although Jenna had just met the family, she loved the aura they brought.

"Come on Jace, we leaving. It was nice meeting you A'Zanae!" The young girl smiled back at the older woman and waved. Jenna soon walked back downstairs as Jace stood up.

"Bye A'Zanae"

"Bye Jace"

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As jace laid in his bed fresh out the shower, he scrolled on his phone when his mind drifted off to A'Zanae. Jace could tell she had been through some things just by looking at her eyes but he couldn't tell what. Wanting to know more about the girl, he switched to the safari app to learn more about her diagnosis.

⌕ What is Selective mutism?

1. Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder in which a person who is otherwise capable of speech becomes unable to speak when exposed to specific situations, specific places, or to specific people, one or multiple of which serving as triggers. This is caused by the freeze response.

Reading the definition on safari made Jace want to be her friend even more. She needed someone to be there for her and he was determined that it was him.