𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬

Chapter Ten.

        

     THE FOLLOWING MORNING after the party, Jojo brought everyone together at the gathering area, all of the students walking over, "alright, everyone, take a seat. Space yourselves out." She tells the students, as Romeo sat down with Missy and Sasha. "Make sure you leave enough room for your chakras." Mr. Voss then laughs at his own joke.

"So, today's guided meditation is about connecting with your higher self. I want stillness. I want calm. I want--" the speaker beeps and a voice plays, "device connected." It startles Miss Obah. "Huh?" She says, then the song began, Another Toy by SPEED blares loudly from it. She rushes to turn it off as Ant laughs. "Who hurt you, miss?" He asked and Spider does the rock and roll sign with both of his hands as he screams, his tongue out.

She stops the music, "sorry about that." She chuckles. "Alright, everyone, let's close our eyes." She says to the students. "Closing your eyes. Come on. Darren, close your eyes. Alright." She says once everyone listened and had their eyes closed. She begins, "so, let's think of this as a palate cleanser. A way to hit refresh on the term." A little chime comes, from her hitting a little bowl.

"Let's take a deep breath in." Everyone inhales. "Hold for three seconds and release." Everyone exhales. "I want you to imagine a beach, the waves gently lapping the shore. Now focus on the soles of your feet sinking into the sand. The water touching your toes. Now, look across the blue water, and feel the breeze brush against your cheek." The woman gets interrupted when the speaker goes off. "Device disconnected. New device connected."

A voice comes from the speaker. "Remind me why we don't think it's Spider again?" It's Amerie speaking. "Because he's pathologically afraid of birds. It's called ornithophobia." Quinni's voice comes next. "Turn it off." Amerie says now, looking panicked. "Hmm. So who else?" Harper spoke next on the recording playing over the speaker as Amerie quickly got up, but Spider moves quicker than her.

"What about Ant?"

"Spencer!" Jojo says as the blond boy grabbed the speaker and ran off with it. "Ant is way too stupid to pull something like this off." Harper's voice says. "Spencer, can I please have the speaker?" Jojo asked but the boy kept running away from Amerie. "Rowan?"

"Farmer wants a husband?"

"Makes no sense. It was his first day when we found the dead bird." Everyone else just watches Amerie chase Spider around. "That's what happens." He tells her. "Spider!" She shouted at him. "Sasha's coming for captaincy and is desperate AF." Amerie now says over the recording. "It's about your friends." Spider calls out to Amerie. "Turn it off!"

"And Missy does whatever Sasha tells her to do." Harper says over the recording now. "The fuck?" Missy says angrily. "Spencer, that's enough." Missy says but the recording was still going. "Stevie's almost too depressed to even do anything like this." Amerie says on the recording and Romeo quickly glanced over at the girl sitting in the far back.

"And Romeo's too much of a nerd, he'd be too scared of the consequences." He immediately spun around upon hearing that, glaring. "Could it be Malakai?" Harper now asked Amerie. "Spencer, stop it!" Jojo exclaims at the boy now up at the front and jumping up so Amerie can't reach the speaker. "Oh, you mean the guy who gaslit me into thinking I wanted an open relationship while he was trying to decide if he liked boys? Who knows what he's capable of." The Wadia girl drops down to her knees, looking over at Malakai now.

"Classic Amerie."

"Spencer!" Jojo scolded and Voss whistles, grabbing the speaker from the blond boy. "Enough!" He shouted, the recording still going as he now throws the speaker. "Oh! That's my speaker..." Jojo says, watching her speaker now disappear into the bushes.