After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 24

Aaliyah

I had this permanent, goofy ass smile stuck to my face everywhere I went. It was bad. The rest of our weekend was a success, doing everything we said we were gonna do and then some. Monday morning I was excited to go to school. And that's when I knew Acacia had me sprung.

I strolled in there about 10 minutes before class like usual, and she sat at her desk with those glasses sitting primly on her nose as she wrote something down. "Hi, Ms. King," I grabbed her attention, setting my backpack on my desk.

"Is that who I think it is?" Her eyes never left the paper, but a small smirk crept onto her face.

"Maybe, who you think it is though?" I shoved my hands in my back pockets. She finally glanced in my direction over her glasses. I felt so shy for some reason under her gaze.

"Mhm, just what I thought." She took her glasses off.

"No, keep those on. I like them." I set them back on her face. She scrunched her nose up. I smiled and stood up straight again.

"Good morning," she said. She hooked her finger in a beaconing motion, the way she always did, one eyebrow raised up high. I leaned back over her desk and she pulled me by the chin to her lips that tasted like coffee. "Good morning," she mumbled, "One more." I kissed her again. "God damn."

"What?" I bit my lip as I went to sit down. Her eyes scanned my body over and over. I felt hot.

"Stay after, Okay?" She stood up and walked past me, resting her hand on my shoulder for a quick second. "We can talk later." She went to the board to prep for the lesson as people started to walk in.

"You been getting here so early, damn." Jazmine sat down next to me. "What's up? Why I ain't heard from you?"

"Me and Pac got in a fight," I said, partly changing the subject.

"I heard."

"From him?"

"Yeah."

"What he tell you?" I wondered if he snitched about me and him, about me and Kadeem, about me and Chelsea. I would tell her, eventually, but I wanted to tell her myself and give my fucked up side of the story.

"He said y'all was just beefing, he ain't say nothing else."

I exhaled. "Okay, so, I'll fill you in tonight then. After work, I'm sleeping over your house." I pulled out a notebook. The bell rang. "Or you can pull up, you know, since my parents."

"Bet. Cause I miss you, A. Ion know where you been, who got all your time, but I miss you. I gotta check up on you. You just be going ghost sometimes on a bitch."

I laughed. "Yeah, my bad."

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, please turn your books to page 308. We are starting the next section of chapter 5 today," Acacia announced. Until then, I never got a good look at her yet. Today, it was dress pants, a dark orange turtleneck tucked in, modest heels. It would look stuffy on anyone but her. Her body was still so youthful, and her clothes always clung tight to each and every one of her curves.

"Damn, she is so fine," I mumbled to myself. I decided I would draw her the way she was today.

"I heard that," Jazmine whispered to me. "You still crushing on her?"

"Girl, look at her! Fuck you mean 'still'?" I sucked my teeth, turning to a clean page to draw on in my notebook.

"You a trip."

"Ladies, are we finished?" Acacia asked us, looking over her shoulder with her back still turned.

"Yes, Ms. King," we said in unison.