Best Friends

1

Middle School, 7th grade, 13 years old

"Mani, Malachi keeps staring at you." I said to my friend as we were working on our project together in history class. She scoffed at me.

"And he can keep staring. He dates Camila and his shoes are dirty." She said. I made a face at her.

"What? His shoes?"

"Yeah! My aunt says you can tell a lot about a man from his shoes." She said. I giggled loudly and Mrs. Wilson looked up from her computer and gave me a look. I mouthed a sorry and looked back down at my paper. I felt my cheeks heat up and cursed myself for not being quieter. I was more of a soft spoken, timid kind of person while Normani, my bestie, was the total opposite. She claimed I needed to come out of my shell but, I didn't know what shell she was talking about cause I just act like this.

"Lauryn?" I heard a male's voice say. I looked up to see the brown haired, light skinned, blue eyed devil named Sammy. He was good looking and knew it. He tried to hook up with damn near all the girls in the seventh grade class, and I heard even some of the eighth graders.

"Uh huh. Bye demon." Mani said before I could even get out a "what do you want?" He made a face at her then smiled with perfect teeth.

"I can't talk to McClain alone, Kordei?" He asked, in a voice that was unnaturally deep for a 13 year old.

"You sure can't." She said.

"Wow, what are y'all, together or something? That's hot." He said, making a couple of his friends giggle behind him. I felt my face start to heat up again, so I looked down at the work I was supposed to be doing instead of listening to him anymore.

"Uhm, it's called having a best friend. Are you with Brandon? Y'all are always together. A little suspicious if you ask me." She said, making me chuckle as I colored in Harriet Tubman's face that I'd drawn. We did our black history project on her.

"Well nobody asked you, dyke. I was talking to Lauryn to see if she wanted to go to the winter extravaganza with me." He said. I looked up at him and he was smiling at me. Normani scoffed and stood up. Okay, here we go.

"Who THE FUCK are you talking to SAMANTHA? You better get the fuck on back to your seat before I knock you smooth the fuck out!" She yelled. He laughed and Mrs. Wilson was now on her way over here.

"Wow the dyke got big mad!" He said.

"Office. Now Sam. Normani, to A.C, now. You too Lauryn. I'm tired of the shenanigans every single day." She said. Sammy shrugged and strutted out the class like he was the coolest thing walking, while I silently grabbed my bag and left the class with Normani.

"Why didn't you say something Lauryn?" Normani asked me angrily.

"I.. I didn't know what to say."

"Do you ever? Find your voice sometimes Kitten." She said, not harsh at all. The Kitten nickname is from my.. Softness, she said. She's been calling me that since like third grade. We arrived at A.C and Mr. Blankenship just shook his head when we sat down at a table and started silently doing our work. This was every week. I would get in trouble with Normani, even if I didn't say anything. Guilty by association I suppose.
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"Were you gonna say yes Kitten?" Mani asked me.

"Say yes to what?" I asked. We were currently at my house, watching TV in the basement that my dad had turned into a sort of cinema. There was a big, comfy sectional, a popcorn machine, and a huge mounted TV. We were watching Aladdin for the hundredth time, discussing school and the winter dance tomorrow.

"To Sammy. Would you have said yes to him if I wasn't there?" She asked. I made a face.

"Ew. No. Sammy is a ass and a hoe. He was just with Jessica Pratt last week." I said. Mani snickered and turned her attention to the tv.