Before I Bury You | Book I of The Burial Series

Trigger Truce.

Mohatu

I strived to ignore all of the outlandish stares seeping into my skin, the sultry whispers of gossip awakening my self consciousness. From my peripheral, I could see kids putting their hands to their mouths as they whispered to their peers, keeping their eyes on me as I fought to distract myself.

"Jazmine..."

"Adrian..."

"Crazy..." they muttered to each other quietly.

Ah-weh, Mohatu. You have most definitely made a name for yourself.

I quickened my pace as I headed toward the cafeteria, tightly grasping the handle of my backpack in nervousness, "Mohatu!"

I stopped in my tracks immediately, swinging my head around the follow the high pitched voice. It was Michelle.

My body relaxed in relief, an unfinished smile worming across my lips. "Hey!" I waved to her as she came beside me. She was slightly frantic, but in a curious toddler kind of way. She hugged me, putting her hands on my forearms. We walked into the lunch room, and I could already feel everyone gawking at me. Fixing to rebuild my mental fortress, we sat down at the first bench that presented itself to us. She took the seat right in front of me, folding her hands in concern. "Girl, what happened in AP History?! Mad heads are sayin' you dragged that dysfunctional ass hoe," she leaned, shaking her head as as she lifted her hand. "And y'all almost fought." she continued, taking out her bottle of pink lemonade Brisk. Hunching in distress and awkwardness, I put my hand to my forehead, circling a particular spot on my skin 

with my middle finger while I tried to keep focus, "I don't know, man. All I wanted to do was get this project done, and he came at me wild disrespectful. I lowkey lost it, like, I don't know. Ms. Carter was like 'Oh, that's just how he talks.'" I shrugged as I completed my brief explanation. "Damn, that's crazy. It be like that forreal sometimes. I know it's hard to believe, but niggas really don't know what they be saying. From the few times I did hear him speak, it sounds like that's how he refers to girls in general. He says things like "latina bitches" and stuff like that all the time." she said, hoisting her shoulders upward in caution. "But, don't sweat it, though, mama. Just get the project done and then you won't have to deal with him anymore." she lectured, resting her hand onto the flattened surface of the lunch table. I swung my backpack from my shoulder, unzipping it in search of my water bottle. I wasn't in the mood to eat today, even though my mom had taken the time to make my lunch. "And girl," I added on, loosening the cap of my water bottle, "The weirdest thing happened after. Ms. Carter made us stay back. She said we still had to work on the project together. After she left, Adrian did too, and so I was all by myself." I explained, inhaling a cute sip of water. "And as I'm gettin' my shit ready, I turn around and Asha--..."

The change in her facial expression made cease my rambling. I followed her anxious and alert eyes, looking to my upper right above my shoulder.

To my surprise and slight dismay, Adrian stood right behind me, staring down at me with unnecessary heat. I blinked feverishly in a mixture of perplexity, and disorientation, looking up at him, waiting for him to open his mouth.

"I need to get the fuck up outta here," he stated earnestly, standing there...just standing there. His cocky and egotistical demeanor revived my agaitation, and so caused an extra ass response, "Don't we all, friend?" I retorted sassily, setting my water bottle to the side. He sighed in irritation, shifting his weight from his right leg to his left, "This bitch.." I heard him mumble, dragging his fingers heavily around the perimeter of his mouth. I chose to ignore it for the sake of this project getting done. "I'm just tryna do this shit, my nigga that's all. I just want my grade, so I can pass, graduate and be out." He said, raising his hands up in surrender. "So here's what's gonna happen. We go to your crib, and we get that shit done in one sitting. That way, we ain't gotta talk no more after that." He suggested, extending his hand, then reverting it back to his sides. I gave his words no thought, only paying attention to the fact that we wouldn't have to interact after this one meeting. I get to keep my face essentially.