The Loony Garden (StemxStud)

15

After breakfast in our respective rooms, I got ready for work an hour early and spent the rest of the time going over things through Danitha's file that I had taken out of my car and looking into Mia Trinidad. Basketball player. Nice girl. Decent social media status. Then I looked in deeper and then I knew this would be the area that I needed my brother's help in.

I called up my cousin and he put me on the phone with him.

"Hey big bro, what's up?"

"Nothing much, nothing much," he said nonchalantly as if he were still hanging out somewhere that he could leave. "I need some help, bro," I told him and went out to my car to have my conversation. I didn't need D in my business especially if she might corrupt what Danitha and I have with her depression. I had never met anybody so sad without reason.

"So lemme start this off with D. She's here, I think she's been going through some tough times, mentally and stuff, you know, but that's for her to talk to you about. I'm tryna straighten her out, maybe make her more like me. I'm becoming a better person. Tryna get her a job. Shit, once she's settled in her own place with a good income flow maybe even help find her some love. But anyways, I need sumin on Mia Trinidad. You know her?"

"Shiit. She had the biggest basketball scandal of all. A fucking sisterhood cult, shit. Sex tapes to threaten people if they left. That bitch was bat shit crazy, of course, it never got into public eye but all the underground people know about it. Why?"

"Well, I need to look into her."

"Be careful what people you tell that to. Remember young shorty still alive and she got mad people behind her. Even more than me." And again, this is where I questioned what my brother really did. Sorry D, our brother.

"Look, I'm looking into her for somebody," I told him with a sigh.

"Are you sure they ain settin you up?" he asked seriously.

"Yes," I sighed, looking back up at the house to see D momentarily peeking out.

"Ahh, I see," he chuckled, "is it a girl?"

I wanted to blush so bad.

The feeling never came. My emotions turned on and off at their disposal.

"Yes, brother. Yes, it is."

"Don't get caught up," he told me in a warning tone then after a second, "but I'll see what I can find on little miss crazy. Please don't get me killed looking into this person, Laila."

That's what he always said when I asked him to look into somebody, but this time I felt it more deeply.