Teenage Fever

Red

My mind was so preoccupied. A lot was going on at once. We had the middle school gym teachers bring over the kids to play capture the flag with group C. We had ice cream. All my thoughts were surrounded on D and playing with him, eating ice cream with him. Then what went down in the lounge area which though was awkward... bomb sex still ensued. All this to say that I completely forgot about Tahj. I only mention this because I briefly saw him in the hall go from one room to another. Any second later and he probably would have ran into me and D.

"How have things been with that?" D asked as he subtly got me alone near the soda machine.
"Very quiet."
Tahj didn't play capture the flag with us, instead he went with Dana'i and Stacey.
D peeks his head around the corner before looking back at me.
"Guess that's a good thing."

The day wound down to an end not too long after that conversation.
"Mr. Les," Triana lightly sung.
I was walking towards her desk with D besides me.
"Triana," I powerfully sung back.
"How was your game?"
"A workout," I replied and took the papers she handed at me.
"I also received a call from Mr. Morris."
My head snapped to attention.
"He says his son, Tahj, won't be attending the summer program anymore. I think today was his last day."

I slowly look over to D, as he's watching me the kids get released for the day and are walking passed us, loudly talking.
I don't know why this news that Triana gave me unnerved me but it did. Even D looked questioningly.

Then a bunch of shrieking came out of nowhere from the students.
"Brieeeeeeeeeee," I cried because I rely on that girl for everything and sure enough out of nowhere she comes around the corner, always seeming to be at my beck and call.
"On it!" She called and raced outside where the commotion was happening.
"Is it a fight?" D asked.
Triana stood up to get a better look but that was hard to do with all the kids blocking the entrance.
"Probably," I said and rolled my eyes.

We were having a good day. A good week. I hope none of these high schoolers were bullying these middle schoolers. As soon as I thought that D quickly went to make his way through the crowd. I followed.

"Break it up, excuse me," I spoke as I tried to shuffle through.

As soon as I get outside I notice Brie and the scary look on her face. Her face looked pale and in fright. My eyes then glimpse to the right and see one of the middle schoolers sitting on the ground. D rushes over and I start to but Brie reaches out to me and stops me.
"No," she tells me and points to something else.
That's when the gasps from the kids become audible.

"What is going on out here?" Mrs. Davis says as she barges onto the scene.

Now my life was truly flashing before my eyes. I looked to D and noticed his attention slowly moving from the unharmed, uninjured, unbothered kid who was just either tying his shoe or playing around to his car. Or what is now his car.

"Fuck," I finally exhaled.

D's car was vandalized. Red paint was poured all over a majority of it but what was also as bad was the words written all over the windshield and hood in red.

Mr. Les fucks high schoolers

No words were spoken for a long time. Before Mrs. Davis closed the door I saw Jerome walk by with Marcus giving me a look. The look made me feel ashamed.

"I don't know what's happened here," Mrs. Davis said as she walked to her desk. "But I have parents who've seen this message and have Triana taking calls left and right with these concerned parents."
"Mrs. Davi-"
Her look silenced me.
"I have no choice but to let you go. That will be all that I'm doing for the time being."
"Mrs. Davis, please, I will tell and explain everything."
"Yes, you will. To myself and the board Monday morning. I don't see your employment status changing there after, so like I said, I will have to let you go."

Feeling crushed was an understatement.

Jackson found me in our office packing and rushed over to me.
"I will try everything that I can to make sure you don't lose this job, Les. I will talk to Mrs. Davis and let her know everything."
Though I didn't know how much help he would be because I was feeling defeated, I sighed and thanked him. Brie walked in at that moment looking concerned.
"I'm so sorry, Les."
"Nah, we gonna correct this," Jackson said. "That little fuck face ain't getting away with this."
Brie looked startled.
"You think it's Tahj?"
"She knows the situation by now I'm assuming," Jackson said to me.
I was not feeling the history lesson suggestion right now.
"I'll talk to the both of y'all later but thank you."
With that I carried myself and stuff on out.

I knew that D was beyond infuriated. I never seen him this angry and I hated the sight of it. He was quiet the whole entire time he drove. He's a good driver too. Couldn't be me, I could barely see out the windshield but he was intensely staring out past those red words. And once again I felt terrible for putting him in a position like this.

He had waited outside for me the whole time. Now, I didn't know where he was driving to but we were entering downtown.

"I need a nice long walk," he says after 10 minutes of silence. "I called my car man, he's gonna look at the car."

And we're going to walk back to his place. Fine by me, truthfully.

The walk was mostly silent as well.
"You hungry?" He asked me after a couple of blocks.
I lightly chuckle.
"Such a question to be asking me at a time like this."
He heavily sighs.
"I take it they fired you."
"They 'let me go'."
"Ahhhhh," he sighs.

I shake my head, my mind was all over the place, deep in thought, thinking ahead. I wasn't questioning this being Tahj's doing. I won't be seeing him again at the center so this was the perfect time for him to do this and ruin my life, fucking spiteful little dog shit under my foot.

"Really thought I had him there for a second," D said.
"Nah, I think you did. At some point he must of saw us outside."

I could see it now. His face looking over towards the window watching us playing capture the flag. The paint could have come from the storage room since the kids are always graffitiing the walls in the halls for decorative purposes. I'm just not sure if he did this before or after I saw him in the hall.

"So what now? I mean, I want to break his jaw."
I chuckle.
"I wait til Monday to explain everything, probably apologize for making the center look so bad and still not have my job back."

D shakes his head angrily in response.

My mom can always sense when something's wrong. Haven't heard from her in like two weeks or so but sure enough she calls me today.

"Something's wrong, Les, talk to me."
"I just feel defeated mom. I dealt with the wrong person and I'm paying for it," I broke down.
She sighed.
"Don't beat yourself up over these things, baby. It happens. How you respond to them is what matters. You don't ever talk like this, Leslie, this is not you. You're stronger than that."
"I know, ma."
"I know you know. Now fix it."