The Key to her Heart

Chapter One

The school bell rang and the halls filled with students immediately. I was walking down the hall with my head hung low when I heard someone call my name.
"Hey, yo Alex!"
I turn around and see my homeboy Rodgers running towards me. I then let my head hang low again as I slow my pace to let Rodgers catch up to me. His hand gripped my shoulder a little harshly.
"Wassup man!" Rodgers said.
"Nothing much, you?" I reply.
"Not a thing." Rodgers said.
He had his basketball trapped between his forearm and hip.
"Ay, yo, have you seen that new girl on Instagram?" Rodgers asked.
"What girl?" I asked as we approached a staircase.
Rodgers looks at me with a blank stare.
"Bro—are you—please tell me your joking!" He said.
"I wish I could."
"Bro."
Rodgers pulls out his phone from his pocket and goes to Instagram. He scrolls through his feed for a little bit and then shows me a picture of a hot girl in a bikini, taking a mirror pic.
"I would love to be her panties!" Rodgers said.
"She looks like a model." I said.
"So? She's hot!"
"Right."
We get to the bottom of the stairs and make a left. We both have English class next. It's not boring . . . it's just slow paced, also the teacher had a nice ass. When we enter the classroom I discover that we have a substitute teacher. My blood starts to pump with excitement because this meant that this period is going to be FUN!
I take my seat that was a few feet away from the teachers desk and Rodgers sits next to me.
"This isn't your assigned seat." I tease in a whisper.
"Shut the fuck up." Rodgers says, looking at the teacher.
I laugh.
Rodgers starts scrolling through his Instagram feed again and I see him like one of his sisters posts and damn did she look good.
"Bro is that your sister?" I asked.
When I had asked the question he had already passed the post. He looks at me and scrolls back to her post.
"Yeah, lucky ass got to go to Hawaii for vacation." Rodgers said.
She is lucky but that's not the point. I study the picture. She was sitting in a ivory white hammock and is wearing a pink polka dot two piece bikini that looked like it was from Victoria's Secret, a huge straw hat, and some sunglasses that made her look cute.
"Damn." I mumble.
I feel myself getting hard. Fuck!
"Wow, watch it dimwit that's my sister!" Rodgers said snatching his phone away so I couldn't see his screen anymore.
He's frowning now (the way he did when his ex-girlfriend slapped him for 'no apparent reason').
"I know." I say.
I know it's weird to date your friends sister but I remember having a crush on Jasmine when I was in first grade and she was in the third grade.
"So back off!"
I also remember how protective Rodgers is of her. I mean how could you forget when he's still protective of her. The girl is twenty and he's seventeen.
"I'm too young for her remember?" I state.
"Shut the hell up we both know that if she wasn't my sister you'd have her sucking you off every night." Rodgers said.
I'll give him this . . . he has a point! I mean the girl is smokin', like how could you not want to be in her pants every night!? But I play it cool and slouch in my seat, arms folded across my chest.
"Nope! I'm not that kind of guy." I said.
"Not that-" Rodgers said, not believing his ears. "Not that kind of guy? Dude we've been friends for a good nine years I know you bro!"
Smiling I shrug, this would be way cooler if I had sunglasses! 
"Whatever."
The bell rings and that's when the substitute gets up from the desk. He walks to the board and starts writing his name on it.
"My name is Mr. Algotory and I will be your teacher today."
"What happened to Ms. Machantry?" Rodgers asked, still on his phone.
"That is a great question sir and I will answer that when you get off your phone." Mr. Algotry said.
"Oh right, sorry." Rodgers said 'innocently' like he didn't know that being on his phone was against the rules.
He turns his screen off and puts his phone away in his pants pocket and looks at Mr. Algotory.
"Your teacher, Ms. Machantry had a doctors appointment and couldn't be here for your period so I am here to fill in for her."
The class is silent. To me it was an awkward silence because everyone was staring at one another. I was looking around and caught the weird girl making goo-goo eyes at me, a smile stretched across her face. A smile that made me very uncomfortable. I smiled and waved at her awkwardly.
Even though she's halfway across the room I hear her chuckle and wave back, her smile growing into a grin. I gulp and preyed that she won't eat me alive after school. But then I was saved by Mr. Algotory.
"Alright before we get started with class I would like to take attendance." He said, making his way to his desk.
He pulled out a folder and opened it and putting on his glasses he calls off names. For the most part most of my classmates were here. After everyone was marked present Mr. Algotory reads off what is expected of us for today's class.
"Alright it says here that you all have essays due tomorrow and that you need to be working on that." Mr. Algotory said, squinting at the piece of (crumbled) paper in his hand. "It says that the only one done is someone named . . . Karen?"
He looks out at the class.
"Is there a Karen in here."
"Present." A soft girls voice said.
In the corner of the room (on the other side of the room) was Karen, the shy girl. She was wearing a grey t-shirt and a peachy-pink, white, and black marble skirt. Her shoes were just plain light pink converses. The girl might have been shy but she had some taste in fashion. She is also probably the only girl who has never came up to me and asked me to make out with her and for me to take her virginity.
I bet she would be tight too.
"Right . . . so it seems like you have free time for fifty minutes sweetie." Mr. Algotory said.
Karen smiles at him and opens the thick book that sat on her desk. She was an interesting girl because she never spoke to anyone and was always reading romance novels and to me that is what makes a girl attractive.
"The rest of you get to work!" Mr. Algotory said.
He then walked back to the desk and sat down while the rest of the class starts fumbling in their bags.
"Ay, bro did you finish the essay?"'Rodgers asked.
"Somewhat, why?" I replied.
"Let me copy you!" Rodgers begged.
"Where's yours?" I asked.
"I don't have one."
"What do you mean?"
"I never started it and I forgot the shit was due tomorrow."
I sigh.
"Let me finish it and I'll give it to you."
"Alright bet."
"Bet." I say.
"Thanks G, you a real one."
Rodgers then sits back in his seat and pulls out his phone. The truth is I didn't even have the damn paper ready. I think I started on it. I open my bag and and begin to search for my English folder. After finding it in the forest that grew in my backpack I sit it on my desk and begin to go through it.
I see an essay prompt and I get excited. I read the prompt and soon find out that it is a prompt from my very first essay that I did at the beginning of the year. Damn it! I search through my folder again and find another prompt but it was for the previous essay we did. Where is the prompt for the essay due tomorrow? Starting to think I soon realize that I gave my essay prompt to a girl who loves writing.
She worked at a local gas station down the street (the gas station I used to hang out at a lot). I start to relax and when I do I remember I promised the girl money after she wrote my essay. I think I promised her one hundred and fifty dollars for writing it and then if I get a good grade on it I'd give her an extra fifty bucks. Do I even have the money? Looking through my bag I start looking for wallet.
I couldn't find it after a while so I start to panic. Where could it be? I dig deeper into my bag and stab my nail bed with one of my mechanical pencils.
"Fuck!" I groan.
Some students turn to look at me, including the teacher. I smile oddly at them and they all return to their own business. I pull my hand out of the bag and look at my finger. It was bleeding, but just a little bit.
"You good G?" Rodgers asked.
"Yeah." I replied, before sticking my hand back in my bag.
I then see a piece of leather under my seat. I cock my head to the side (almost falling out my chair) and see that it's my wallet. Holy shit! Thank goodness I saw it before anyone else did. I grab it off the floor and open it. There's no denying that I had money but it wasn't enough.
Goddamnit! I don't know how Imma pay this girl.
"Hey, we going shopping today!" Rodgers yells.
"Shut the hell up!" I say through gritted teeth, trying to hide my wallet.
"How much you got, bro?" Rodgers asked, his eyes locked on the green in my wallet.
Noticing that Rodgers won't shut up about my money I put it away.
"None of your goddamn business." I reply, trying to sound stealthy.
"Can I get some?"
"No!" I hiss.
"Why not—" he gasps. "You have a hot chick you're about to take out tonight, huh?"
"Yeah because it's Friday." I said sarcastically.
"Dude, no it's not!" Rodgers said. "It's fucking Tuesday, bummer bro. Why would you take a girl out to eat on a Tuesday?"
"My point exactly." I mumble.
"Well if you're not taking a girl out on a date then I don't see the problem of sharing the money with me." Rodgers said. "C'mon I'm your homie!"
"No, Rodgers, it's my money not yours." I say.
"Oh, is it your hard earned money?" Rodgers asked.
"Yes!" I hiss.
Rodgers chuckled.
"What'd you do wash a girls car damn there naked?" He asked.
Damn, he knows me so well. But it was hard work the girls car was beyond filthy!
"Your silence is telling me that I'm right." Rodgers said. "And I'd hate to break it to ya . . . that's not hard work."
"Bro if you'd seen her car you'd say it was hard work."
Rodgers bursts out in laughter and was laughing loudly. I look to my right to see if the teacher was going to say anything but he was sleep. I wonder how long he's been passed out.
"Why was her car that dirty?!" He asked.
I remember sneaking a picture of the car when the girl wasn't looking so I start fishing in my jean shorts  for my phone. I grab my phone from my pocket and turn the screen on. I go to my photos and search through them not realizing that most of the pictures I have are nudes and Rodgers nosy self was looking.
"She got a fat ass." Rodgers commented.
"Ay! My eyes only!" I said, trying to hide my screen.
"But sharing is caring."
"Not with my girls."
"Your girls?" Rodgers asked. "Boy you've never had girlfriend!"
I snort.
"So you think." I said.
I don't know if this counts but back in middle school I asked a girl out and we only lasted for forty-eight hours and then we broke up because she cheated on me.
"Wait . . . so you've dated a girl before?" Rodgers asked in kind of a hush voice, surprise clear in his voice.
"It's none of your damn business!" I hiss.
"Okay, okay I'll back off." Rodgers said.

The rest of the day went by slow which was a little annoying to me because I just wanted to go home. When the final bell rang I almost sprint out into the hallway, on my way to the parking lot. When I'm standing a few yards away from my car I notice the girl I asked to write my essay walking down the sidewalk. She had her earbuds in and was wearing some boyband t-shirt. The girl had her jet black hair up in a ponytail and it swayed violently as she made her way to the bus stop.
"Hey!" I yell, hoping she heard me through her earbuds.
She didn't. So I start to climb the school gates. Thankfully the annoying security guards didn't see me and try to lecture me about the cons of climbing the fence. I jump off the gate and land in front of the girl. She stops mouthing the lyrics to the song she was listening to and looked at me abruptly.
"Hey Alex." The girl said, slowly taking out her earbuds.
She knows my name which makes me feel bad because I don't know hers. I just know her by The girl who is supposed to write my English essay.
"Hey." I say.
"Wassup?"
"I, uh, need my essay." I replied.
"Essay? Hm—essay." She mumbles as she begins to think.
Her thinking face reminds me of some fictional character who is very sarcastic and is about to explain to her boyfriend why she's leaving him.
"My english essay." I remind her.
"Oh, right!" She yells, kind of scarring me.
"I have one more paragraph to write and I will be done."
"Okay, well I need it tomorrow because that's when it's due." I inform her.
"Okay, I'll have it ready by tomorrow." She said. "What period do you have your English class?"
"Seventh." I reply.
"Okay, I'll give it to you during study hall or lunch . . . which do you prefer?"
"Lunch will do." I say.
"Okay what lunch do you have?" She asked.
"Second."
"Sss, Ooh, I have first so I can-"
"What class do you have after lunch, I can drop by and get it."
"Spanish."
"Teacher?"
"Mr. Carson."
"Okay, I think I know where he is."
"How do you plan on getting it from me when I'm going to be in class?" The girl asked.
"I come by the door look through the window, get your attention, you ask to go to the restroom, and you bring it to me on your way to the restroom." I explain.
"Okay." The girl said slowly.
She put one earbud in and starts to walk backwards in a slow pace.
"We'll do that." She said. "I have to go before I miss the bus."
"Alright, please don't forget." I said.
She waved me goodbye and I wave back a slight smile on my face. That's when I realized that I forgot to tell her that I'll have the money for her when she gives me my essay . . . hopefully.