02

Once the girls got to school, Tasha made it her mission to avoid Steven at all costs. She also made Janelle promise her not to tell him shit if he asked where she was.

As soon as they got inside the school building, Tasha felt trapped. Everything around her gave off an air of rich and snobby. The blonde girls floating through the hallways, the rich boys who paid her no mind, and the lockers that were nothing less than shining.

Unsurprisingly, her sister found her place in this school. Although a lot of Janelle’s friends were rich white girls, even Tasha couldn’t dislike them. On the other side, Tasha’s only friend was Kennedy. And let’s just say Kennedy was…a lot.

Standing at exactly five feet, with the cutest weaves, chubby cheeks and superiority complex, Kennedy was a lot to take in. She was admittedly one of the prettiest girls Tasha had ever met, even if some people tried to diminish her by calling her fat.

Tasha had been there once when a student had insulted Kennedy, and she was so amazed when she watched Kennedy’s unchanging posture, a comeback already on her tongue.

From that moment freshmen year, Tasha declared to Ken they were going to be best friends and Kennedy happily accepted.

« There’s my favorite girlll ! »

One problem with Kennedy though, she was loud. Tasha was too, depending on the occasion, Ken just didn’t care.

« Hey, Ken. » Tasha gave her friend a look. « Lower your damn voice. I’m trying to stay in the background today, you know ? »

Kennedy laughed. Her laugh was never a good thing, never. So, Tasha was already worried.

« Oh no, what’d you do, Kennedy ? » Tasha’s voice sounded as defenseless as she felt.

« It ain’t a big deal, you just might think it is. »

Tasha gave her another look, it told her to just spit shit out.

« Well, my ass might have hinted to Steven where you always hide from him… »

Tasha’s face fell. « No, » she whispered in horror, despair, sorrow, maybe even hopelessness.

Giving the hallway a quick glance looking for Steven, she turned back to her friend and said in a rush, « Crap, I gotta go to homeroom. I can’t be in these hallways. »

« Don’t you have that class with him ? » Kennedy asked, this time whispering.

Tasha nodded. « Yes, but if I can get there before him, I got the advantage. »

Kennedy was confused. What advantage was her friend talking about ? Before she could question Tasha though, the girl had already given her a quick goodbye and walked in a rush to her class.

Ms. Hughes was the only black teacher at Crest High. She had moved to Crest only a few years ago from another school in the area, teaching English. Tasha had huge respect for Ms. Hughes, it was probably hard being the only teacher of color, yet she still managed to stand her ground.

It wasn’t as if students or faculty outright hated her, a matter of fact, Mr. Jacobsen, Crest High’s principal definitely had feelings for Ms. Hughes. Everyone knew.

« Good morning, Ms. Hughes. » Tasha’s smile was bright as she entered her homeroom class.

That didn’t last more than two seconds though, because the person she was supposedly hiding from, was right in her presence. In the class, seating in her seat, a stupid smile on his face.

« Good morning, it is Tasha. Ms. Hughes and I were just discussing you before you came in. » He was always so self-assured, how did he do it ? How was he always so confident ?

Tasha forced her legs to move and she slowly walked inside the room. Her plan was not completely ruined, she still had to ignore him. If she couldn’t hide from him, then the least she could do was fake like he didn’t exist.

« Hello, Tasha. How are you doin’, honey ? » Ms. Hughes asked her sweetly.

Tasha smiled and took a seat, far from her original one occupied by Steven.

« I’m great, Ms. Hughes. How about you ? »

« I got no complaints here, just thankful to be alive. »

Of course, Mr. Jacobsen had to pick that moment to come snatch Ms. Hughes for God-knows-what. Tasha had to admit that her principal was a good looking man, even if a little on the older side.

He was a tall man, white, with salt and pepper hair, glasses, and a killer smile. Truthfully, Tasha was a little surprised that Mr. Jacobsen seemed to have a real interest in Ms. Hughes. In Tasha’s eyes, white men had no eyes for black women.

She tried hard to keep in mind that not every white person was a racist, but with the things she’d seen and the life she’d lived, it had been hard.

« So, it’s only me and you now, huh ? »

Tasha turned to look at Steven. She didn’t want to say anything to him, just wanted to completely ignore him, so she resisted the urge to snap at him.

« Oh, so the princess ain’t talking to me no more. Bet, » again he teased her, hoping to get a reaction.

Tasha really tried not to roll her eyes, she really did, but the fucker was so irritating.

« There she is, » he taunted again, this time getting her eyes on him, just what he wanted.

« I’m not—«  she stopped herself before she could finish the sentence, she was still intent on ignoring him. She didn’t care if it was childish or whatnot, Steven irritated her soul.

Steven was finally tired of her ignoring him. He was gonna get a reaction from her whether she liked it or not. For this, he had to result to the thing that pissed her off the most, and he had just the thing.

Getting up from the chair he was comfortably sitting in, his mission was to touch her hair, he knew that would yield the results he was looking for. At least he hoped so.

Tasha’s eyes never left him as he moved closer to her. Since four years ago as a wide-eyed freshman, she knew not to allow Steven’s body near her own.

« I called you this morning, you sounded a little too busy for me, Tasha. » He got close to her standing in front of her desk, but still, he refrained from getting too close. He knew she would scream if he did.

« I was too busy for you, Steven. I always am. »

He raised his hand, getting in position to complete his mission. He was going to touch her hair, get her riled up, get her fuming, feeling all kinds of emotions. That was indeed the favorite part of his days.

« Don’t you dare, Steven. » He loved it when she called him by his full name, to everyone he was just Steve.

« What you mean, Tasha ? What should I not do ? »

« I swear if you touch my hair, I’mma scream. »

« What if I wanna hear you scream though ? »

She stared at him, showing him how much she really didn’t enjoy his presence. Thank God, at that exact moment, the bell rang.

Students filed in the room, none of them paying attention to the silent war going on between Steven and Tasha. Everyone was too preoccupied with discussing their weekend plans, the Friday giving them the energy they needed to go through the day.

« Yo, Steve ! » someone called out from the back of the class, making Steven’s eyes move away from Tasha’s. « We talking ‘bout the move this weekend. Care to join us ? »

It was hard for Steven to move away from Tasha, she noticed his hesitation, yet at the same time didn’t dwell too much on it. He was gone to the back of the class to his friends as quickly as he entered her life.

She could finally breathe. Yet, somehow she could still feel the weight of his stare on her. The pressure it carried. The steady rhythm it brought to her heart. The strange feelings it evoked in her.