M A N I F E S T || MJ

4.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson catches the bag of chips that Aiyden tosses to him and squeezes them open, fingers reaching in the shiny bag and pulling out a yellow circle crisp. He places it in his mouth and chews and then hums, the saltiness easing his hunger. His mood seems to lift by each bite that he takes.

Aiyden was splayed lazily on a worn green bean bag and now after finishing passing out the snacks that were kept in the secret cubby hole, he claps his hand loudly as he gathers everyone's attention. Zuri, November, and Jaden's eyes swings towards him while Michael continues to eat, focus already conveniently on his friend.

"Alright!" Aiyden drawls. No one says anything as they wait for him to speak and he notices, dipping a hand in his chip bag.

"What? I ain't want nothin'." He continues, causing November to roll her eyes and Zuri to throw a plush pillow at the tuft of hair on his head.

"Just want to be the center of attention as always." November says, tossing her long silky hair behind a small shoulder.

Zuri sticks her tongue out at Aiyden. "Right. Wanting to be seen and heard, lil' boy."

Aiyden raises his hands in the air and cackles as Jaden's focus returns back to the black journal that he was scribbling in with a pen. "I'm just foolin'! Dang, can't I let the suspense build up?" He mock frowns as he crunches down on his snack, his brown eyes sparkling.

Michael continues to eat his own share of food, at peace with himself and loving the warm sun that was sliding through the walls and lighting upon his face. He closes his eyes for a brief moment in contemplation and then reopens them.

November primly eats her chips, nose upturned as she gives Aiyden a once over. "No, you can't. Who you trynna be, Jaden or what?"

Jaden's head pops back up as he looks around, confusion on his face as Aiyden acts offended on his behalf.

"Whatcha say?" Jaden asks as he momentarily looks between the two.

Aiyden points a warning finger towards November. "Don't cha be talkin' bout my main man Jay! I have you know that being dramatic shows that you're creative--and what was you saying earlier? Girl, you know that you'd soon as be the center of attention as the sky is blue." AJ gives a look of solidarity support towards Jaden, who cracks a smile and shakes his head.

That one was actually funny and it was true in the case that November does have a tendency to be in the thicket of things. Michael laughs at the comment as he scrunches up the empty chip bag, tossing it in the cardboard bag that was sitting by the door, makeshift as a trash can. He settles back down into his own second hand bean bag and looks over fast enough to see that November was shooting him a dirty look. He ends up chuckling again at her surly expression but then stops when she rolls her eyes. What was her problem? He wasn't the only one that laughed.

"Whatever. What did you have to say that was so special anyway?" November asks in a tone that says she was trying to be nice and was barely succeeding.

Aiyden unscrews the water bottle that was sitting by his feet and takes a drink. "Oh, nothing, honestly. Just wondering what milestone we're gonna tackle this summer." He says once he was done, gulping after a big breath.