"Heads up!"
I whip around and barely dodge getting a football to the face. I pick up the ball and chuck it back towards Marcus, who is too busy laughing to see it coming, and gets hit in the gut.
"Payback!" I call to him, but he's too out of breath to reply. I wait at the edge of the school parking lot for him to catch up.
"I had to check your reflexes man. Ain't played in a while, you don't want to get rusty." He says as we do our handshake.
"Then what's your excuse?" I ask, still chuckling.
He shrugs, unconcerned. "I was distracted, I got a solid excuse."
We start walking toward my car, and I hear someone call my name. I turn back toward the school and see Ana walking out the expansive glass front doors with Freddie and Naomi close behind. I wave and pause, waiting for her to catch up.
"Isn't that Luis' girl?" Marcus asks, and I try not to flinch at the implication.
"I know her as my tutor," I reply rolling my eyes.
She joins us and I make the necessary introductions.
"Marcus, this is Ana, Ana this is my friend Marcus."
"Hi," she says, slightly out of breath with a small grin on her face, her cheeks slightly red, hair windblown.
"Zamari, do you want to keep coming to the study sessions next week? I was just about to text you when I saw you walking."
"I think I should be able to, after second period?"
"Yea, same time as usual."
"Alright, thanks. I'll see you Monday."
"Okay, see you. Bye Marcus, nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too," Marcus replies, but his eyes are on me.
I ignore the creepy stare Marcus is giving me as she jogs back to catch up with her friends, and I linger a second before turning the direction of the car.
"Can you stop eyeing me like that?" I say, whacking Marcus across the shoulder.
He laughs and mildly shoves me before walking around the car to get in the passenger side. I unlock my door but leave him locked out. He tries the door and does a double-take when it doesn't open. I give him an innocent look and he flips me off, making me laugh. I unlock his door and smile proudly when he mutters "dumbass" under his breath.
I turn the car on, open the windows and pull out my phone to text Jade to hurry her ass up. She had a meeting with the teachers today about her work so now I have to wait for her. While I have my phone out I realize Marcus is giving me a look again. I turn to him with a barely repressed eye roll.
"Can I help you?"
"I can't help but notice your interest in Luis' girl."
As always, it rubs against my nerves that Ana is constantly referred to as that asshats girl.
"Don't even start with that, Jade already felt the need to talk to me about how fucked I'll be if I try to make a move on Ana."
"Yea but imagine the look on his face." He says, a devilish look in his eyes, while I rolled mine.
"Not happening. She don't go for my type." She's too smart for that. I add silently.
"You go for hers?" He asks, his expression serious for once.
I shrug, hoping the subject will soon change. "What's not to like?"
"You like them complicated?"
"I like them real."
"Be careful man, you're entering dangerous territory."
Frustration starts welling up in me at his sudden interest in my nonexistent relationship with Ana.
"She's taken, man, it's not like my interest in her really matters at this point."
He shakes his head. "Girls like that man, you won't get out whole."
"I'm not even sure I want to know what you mean by that."
Before he can try to start explaining, a nearby group of people catches my eye and I nudge Marcus, nodding toward them as I say, "Speak of the devil."
On the other side of a car in the parking lot, straight ahead of us, I see Luis standing next to an open trunk with a group of three other guys I don't recognize as anyone from our school. The gathering is just big enough to be ignored as just another group of teenagers.
"Are they..?" Marcus starts at the same moment that Luis pulls a bundle out of the trunk, passing it to one of the guys, who pries it open slightly before nodding to his buddies and palming something to Luis that I barely catch a flash of but appears to be green. Luis smoothly pockets it and closes the trunk, the guys dispersing too casually to be normal.
Marcus and I make eye contact, about to react when the back door of the car swings open. I yelp in surprise before realizing it's Jade. She laughs, mocking the noise I made.
I roll my eyes as I sway, "Took your damn time getting here." But glancing at Marcus, who appears to be thinking along the same lines as me; what the hell just happened?
YOU ARE READING
Salted Wound
Teen FictionAnastacia Flores doesn't live a perfect life, but she pushes herself into her education to have a bright future and become a teacher. She is loved and supported by her family, her boyfriend, Luis, and her best friends. Zamari Sabian is a deviant wh...
