The Purge

Love Is...

"I don't like that girl...", Amanda scoffed, unknowingly tugging Kiyah towards the car, who was being caused to take one step in the place of her usual three "She's just not right" 

Roc rolled his eyes. It was not the first time he had heard this in the past 5 minutes of him leaving the gym and he knew for sure that it wouldn't be the last. His patience was wearing thin and before he could even control his tongue, the sharpest words he had uttered to Amanda flew out of his mouth:

"Shut. UP! Your so jealous of Lianne, just hush up about her!" 

Ray, Kiyah and Amanda halted to a stop in the car park as the words struck them like a tonne of bricks. Members of the public stared on in amazement and nosiness at the four of them. Even Roc seemed surprised at his own outburst, holding his lips loosely and hanging his head. 

"That was out of order bruh" Ray snapped back, dropping his bag on the ground and staring intently into Roc's eyes. Everything about them screamed guilt, but nobody offered sympathy. Even Kiyah shyed away from him, huddling behind Amanda's knees and peering cautiously between the gap in her legs. 

"Psh. Whatever...I just don't get why she can't be happy that I'm interested in someone that's not her" Roc snapped back, darting a look at Amanda who's eyes were brimming with tears. 

"I'm not even jea-" Amanda stuttered, her voice threatened to waver by the tears in her throat. "-You know what Roc, I don't even care. You can hang with whoever you want. I'm not here for you" She took Kiyah's hand and led her to the car with the remaining dignity she had left. After strapping Kiyah into her booster seat, she huddled next to her and let the tears roll down her dewy cheeks. It wasn't that Roc was interested in someone else that hurt the most, it was knowing that he refused her insight and would suffer greatly if she let him breath. 

"Miss Marks..." Kiyah whispered above the sobs of her teacher "Don't cry" She took Amanda's moist face in her hands and held it between her tiny fingers, fixing Amanda's eyes to her own. "Roccy Monster didn't mean it...I know he loves you, I've seen all of your hugs" she giggled. Amanda too laughed, wiping her tears with the back of her sleeve. 

"I don't think so Kiyah...love is a lot more than giving somebody a hug. Roc doesn't even come close to loving me" Amanda replied.

"Oh...", Kiyah shrugged "So What is love Miss Marks?". Amanda raised her eyebrows; It wasn't everyday one of her students asked her to define love, a word she barely knew about. 

"Well," Amanda began, taking a deep breath, "You know somebody loves you when they always want you around. When they talk about that person all the time and perhaps they might get a little jealous if someone else is around them, (give them funny looks, that sort of thing). Love is when a person is willing to sacrifice everything for the other person, and just wants the other to be happy...I think that's the jist of it". Kiyah grinned and thought about the definition for a moment. Just as Roc and Ray opened the front doors of the car, Kiyah cupped her hands to Amanda's ear and whispered something quizically into it: 

"I think Ray Ray loves you"