The Choices We Made [Hiatus]

Sunday 7:30pm

It was late, I looked down at my Apple Watch, 7:24 to be exact. I had to be home before 7:30, or I may run into some fiery anger tonight. Lucky for me I was going to be late, again for the 2nd time this week.

"Hey Daia," Said a warm voice from behind me, I turned to see a guy of around seventeen walking towards me with hazel eyes and slight chiseled feature. "Me?" I look behind me and next to me as if he wasn't staring right at me. "Yea you, what are you doing out so late? You know creeps like to pounce on innocent high school girls at this time of night." On this slowly darkening sidewalk, I could easily tell who this beautiful person was, Remi Hayes, point guard for Los Altos High basketball team. He'd also been my best friend before we separated in the fourth grade. "I'll be fine," I say smiling.

I rolled my eyes as he started walking next to me "We live next door, silly." He must've seen my confusion and eyebrow raise, even on this sunset-stricken sidewalk. We started bounding up a steep Los Altos Hills sidewalk, I had just left the local library since I had to get a new issue of Vogue.

Remi brushed my hand as he reached into his pocket for his phone, I studied his golden brown curly hair which you wouldn't notice the golden part on the now-dark sidewalk. Remi's a year older than me since his birthday was in January. His mom is of Asian descent and his dad is African American. He obviously got all of the good genes. "If you want we can stop by my place first" he offers. I shake my head because his mom was probably at my house anyway. My mom always volunteers our house for parent-led PTA meetings. This gets on my nerves because of all the parents in one place trying to pry out of me what their kid is like at school or how I'm doing in school. If they wanted to know so bad they wouldn't plan out their kid's life out like half the parents that go to the meeting do, including my own. I noticed how Remi's eyes squint at his phone as he was confused about something,

"What do you say when a girl says 'no I'm ok' even if they just explained to you how bad of a day they had?" he asks me after a while of the sound of texts being sent and received.

"Well, how bad of a day was it?" I ask since I have no clue, when I tell somebody I'm fine that usually means what I said, instead of in the case when I text Adalie such a "basic" text.

"I'd say a 6," he says he doesn't sound sure but I answer anyway,

"Just ask if they're sure they're ok, usually when you double-check they know you care," I say in my best, I know what I'm talking about voice when I really don't.

"Mk," he says distractedly, We stop at a crosswalk but he keeps walking as the light for cars to start crossing turns green and the walk sign disappears so I ignore the butterflies that have been in my stomach since his lips uttered my name and grab his arm and jerk him back gently. His head snaps up and sees as a car honks at him, he waves at the apologetically and steps back "Whoa, thanks D" he says relieved. I smile since whatever I may say next will probably make this conversation more awkward than it is right now.

. . .

We make it to my house and I'm looking to see any of the usual cars I would see in the driveway but they're gone till I realize the meetings over at 7:45 on the dot. I turn to see Remi with his hands in his pockets looking at me and then my house. "I haven't been here in a while.." he says softly and I take this as my clue to finally say something "Thanks for dropping me off" He scratches the back of his neck. Did he purposefully run into me on the way home? I start to walk off but something grabs my hand and I'm pulled back and I'm looking straight at him, I'm so close I can smell the coconut shampoo he used today and the subtle notes of cologne decorated onto his shirt. "Here," he mumbles and puts a slip of paper into my hand. Then he lets go, looks at me for a moment, and walks down the street, slowly disappearing from my view. I fumble with the slip of paper and turn on my heel towards my house.