Never Knew I Needed

Chapter 8- All Eyes on You

Lailah                                                 

D'Angelo Jevon "DJ" Hardwick was the first guy friend that I made when I moved to Sacramento. I never had guy friends before, because I wasn't good at talking to boys. He was a basketball player, the "star of the team" they called him. He was also super nice to me. I met him during science class when he and I were put in the same group. Our group of five was assigned to do a presentation on earthquakes, yet instead of talking, we had to sing. Anyway, DJ had sat next to me and he was all smiles, such a flirt but he was cool. DJ and his friend, Keagan Millis, who was also in the group, came up with the idea for us to do a remake of "Shake It" by Metro Station, referencing terms like seismic waves, faults and fridges. There was a solo in the song that Keagan wanted one of the girls to sing. He nor DJ could sing, the two other girls in our group said they wouldn't, and I just didn't want to do a solo in front of my class. Then, Haley, who overheard our conversation, walked over to our table and told the entire group that I could sing. Everyone's eyes darted to me and I sat there in shock, because I didn't know what to say. DJ showing interest to hear me sing, ended up assigning me to sing the solo and butterflies went crazy in my stomach. 

When the day of the presentation came, I was a mess before it was our turn. I was shaking, I had sweaty palms, and I forgot the lyrics. After Haley's group finished their presentation on hurricanes, in which they did remix to "Hurricane" by Brigit Mendler, it was our group's turn. DJ noticed how nervous I was and gave me a pep talk, telling me that he believed in me and he was excited for me to sing. That was the moment I developed a crush on him. After his pep talk, I actually felt better, confident and I sung the solo the whole way through without forgetting words or my voice cracking. According to my group I was "amazing" and when the entire class, did a standing ovation for me, I was overjoyed. Following that day, I felt like I was finally fitting into the school. I had made more friends and I was friends with my crush. Unfortunately, DJ and I's friendship came to an end when he suddenly stop talking to me or even acknowledging me at school. He became this guy that I never wanted to be with. 

Once we got to high school, DJ pretended it like he didn't betray me by stop being my friend. Whenever we'd come across each other, especially in front of his friends, he acted like cared about me. He would brag, hug, and has even tried to kiss me. I wasn't surprised when he asked me to go get dinner and a movie with him. I told him I'd let him know but my answer was no. I refused to ever go out with him until he changed his ways. But he probably never would. Sadly, most of the guys I had been asked out by have only wanted to get in my pants or wanted to be with me in case I "got rich from my singing talents". Just pathetic.

I wondered if the new guy was different from ninety-eight percent of the guys at the school. I highly doubted it, but a girl could dream. After lunch, I walked to Spanish class with Haley and Kiara. We took seats towards the front, closet to the teachers desk, so we could talk to Señorita Garcia. She was twenty-five years old, the youngest teacher at the school. She was beautiful, smart, classy, and fun, just like Mr. Santonio. They would be great together. 

Haley, Kiara and I took are seats, Haley sitting in front of me and Kiara sitting beside me. We all took out our notebooks are turned to Señorita Longoria.

"Hola, Señorita!" Kiara asked, "Como estás hoy?" 

"Hola, Kiara, lo estoy hacienda bien! Y usted?" She asked.

"Muy bien." Kiara said and she smiled in response. Kiara is from Mexico and even when her and her family moved to America, they never let her forget her culture and where she came from. She spoke in her native language, celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month, and almost all of her outfits included a part of her culture in them, such as the embroidered floral halter dress she wore for the first day back. I loved that.