For the Love of My Life

Chapter 2

The halls were crowded. They'd returned right at the start of passing period. The district had made some attempts to update the old campus. There had been some pressure from the community to make improvements with the money they had received from taxes. The interior was receiving a facelift. Old out- of- date paint colors were being revived with "color-pop" accent walls to energize the student body. Ta'niq found it funny how adults thought such simple things could have such a grand effect on student success. You could determine where you were in the building by the fragrances the halls wore. Near the gyms was the smell of sweat and sweaty equipment. The first floor often smelled of the cafeteria not one specific food, but always like a combination of things that were created in the cafeteria. The closer you traveled toward the offices and teacher's lounge, the stronger the aroma of coffee became. Your nose could give you a complete tour of the old, but updated, building.

Ta'niq checked her watch and headed down the coffee hall for her locker. She made sure she didn't go her usual path so she could avoid Dezmon. She needed time to put on her mask and hide her feelings behind a mirage of happiness. She stood at her locker and reapplied her makeup and fixed her hair. She froze when she felt a set of hands on her shoulders.

"You made it back! Hey, what's up? Why so stiff?" Taylor asked, touching Ta'niq's rigid back.

"I wasn't expecting to see you, that's all," Ta'niq said, relaxing.

"Well . . . did you do it? You a woman now?" Taylor probed.

"Girl, no! I told you, I don't think I'm ready for all that. We were just supposed to be hanging out. I told Dez that, too. Don't y'all listen?" Ta'niq slammed her locker shut and saw the surprise on Taylor's face.

"Sor-ry!" Taylor said. "I was just making girlfriend talk. Anyway, I'll see you after school. Mom wants you at her job. See you later." Taylor kissed her best friend gently on the cheek and walked away.

Ta'niq immediately felt guilty for how she'd treated Taylor, but she was dealing with enough stress and didn't want the added irritation of BFF conversations right now. She rushed down the hall and into Mrs. Moore's English class. She slid into her desk and allowed it to swallow her. She sank deep into the seat and camouflaged her face and feelings behind her notebook. She stared at the board and could not believe the journal topic for the day. Where did Mrs. Moore come up with these topics? Sometimes she swore that old lady was spying on her.

The topic read, "Does love hurt? How or why not?"

Ta'niq wrote so fast and so much that in five minutes she'd turned the page and was halfway down the back when the timer buzzed. Mrs. Moore shuffled around the room, marking her gradebook as she read over the shoulders of her students. She stopped at Ta'niq's and smiled.

"Ta'niq, this topic must have struck a nerve. You wrote enough today to make up for the two days you said you had writer's block. Care to share a few of your sentences?" Mrs. Moore asked.

"Well, I really didn't write this for everyone. I just wrote from my 'emotional place' you always refer to. I was just rambling." Ta'niq tried to convince Mrs. Moore that she shouldn't have to read, but, the look on Mrs. Moore's face said it wasn't working. Ta'niq gave in. "Love is the feeling that comes from butterflies dancing in your stomach the first time he says you're pretty. Love is the invisible blanket you wrap your emotions in all day, the one that keeps you warm inside from your toes to your head. Love is the way he protects your ignorance when you can't understand things you've never seen. Love is a big fist that shields you from the weights of the world, one that fights against pain and never does you harm. . . ." Ta'niq hadn't realized she was crying until she saw the drops of tears on her paper. The room grew silent.