Fast Life (7 page)

“You know he dumped her
sanfi
ass a long time ago,” Quentin said with a laugh.

“What the hell is a
sanfi?
” Kyra asked. She had never heard the term before in her life.

“
Sanfi
is when you are dishonest, manipulative and will sweet-talk anybody. A gold digger, you know.” Angel was first to offer an explanation.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, she's a newbie. She's not up on that slang yet.”

The voice originated from behind her. Kyra spun around and set eyes on Justin, who was without a smile. He greeted everyone except Kyra and took a seat next to Michael. His arrival changed the whole mood of the table.

“I'm going to play some ball,” Michael announced. He stood up from the table and began to dribble the orange ball.

“Baby, do you want to go back by the pond and relax?” Quentin asked. Angel nodded and said a quiet goodbye to Kyra as she walked off with her boyfriend, giving in to his loving tone. Everyone had practically run off to give Justin and Kyra some privacy.

“So who's Veronica?” Kyra blurted out as she ran her finger around the rim of her soda can.

“She's my ex. Why?”

“Oh, I was just wonderin'.”

“Yeah, okay, but now it's my turn to ask you a question. Would I be wrong to assume that little Ms. Chicago didn't think us island folk knew any slang or talked without an accent?” She was silent as he went on. “It's all right. It's a common misconception. It's just that I could read your type from the day at the market.”

“Please, you don't know about my type.”

“Oh, is that right?” He smiled at her spunk.

“That's what I said, ain't it?”

“Well, even though I would
beg
to differ, that's not what's important right now. I just want to know when you want me to tutor you?”

“
Psh,
you're not
really
tutorin' me. I'll ask Angel or somethin'. There's no way you're about to be up in my house…in my room. No, no and no.”

“But Ms. Kingsley said so. Anyway, there are such things as libraries, you know? I mean, who said we had to do it at your house? I think you want me to do it at your house, don't you?”

“Say what? No! Ugh, yeah, right!” She was trying to hold back her smile. “I didn't even know if you guys
had
a library around here. Remember, I'm new? And besides, where else would we go? Your little shack by the swamp?”

“So I see you got jokes. Do you got a man, too?”

“Oh, so now what? You wanna try and holla!” She let a laugh slip through.

“No. I just want to ask him how he puts up with all that attitude of yours.”

“Whateva.”

“But naw, on the real, I'm just tryin' to get to know you.” He took a seat closer to her.

“Mmm, hmm, sure you are.”

“You want to know what I think, Kyra?”

“Not really, but I feel like you're goin' to say it anyway, so go ahead,
Justin
.”

“I think that you want me to come to your house and that you want me to holla at you. You want me to come over to your house and tutor you on all kinds of stuff.” Justin moved in so close to Kyra's face she could feel his breath on her lips as he spoke. The way he looked in her eyes, it was if he was trying to seduce her. It was working.

“Ugh! Bye!”

She threw away her garbage and headed for the school building. As she neared the school doors, her path was blocked. Kyra sized up each of the three girls in front of her.

Kyra assumed the girl who stood front and center was the leader of the clique by her in-your-face stance. She was tall and thin but had a large bust. Her silky jet-black hair was long and curled at the tips. Her lips were thick and full, and her cheekbones, as well as the rest of her facial features, were well defined. She had long, curly eyelashes, and her jealous eyes were a pure shade of brown. The girl was beautiful, but Kyra would never admit that to anyone.

“Who do you think you are?” the leader said in a voice loaded with attitude.

“Excuse me? I dunno who you think you are, but you need to move up out my way and you need to do it now.” Kyra was quick to shoot back a similar attitude almost instinctively. She was never one to run from a confrontation.

“Obviously you don't know who we are. This is my friend Nicole,” she said, pointing to the mixed-looking girl, “and this is Bridgette.” She pointed to the girl with too much makeup. “And me, I'm Veronica,” she introduced herself, placing her hand on her chest.

“Okay…so what's your point?”

“My point is that me and my girls run this school. So don't think that you're about to come down here regulating shit, because you're not. You're nothing but a newbie, and you need to keep in line, because if you step out you
will
get dealt with and it
won't
be pretty.” Veronica bravely stepped into Kyra's face as she made her threat. In truth, she was all talk and no action, but to protect her status and image she made sure to pretend otherwise. It worked on her other peers, but Kyra wasn't having it.

“Hold up. First off, I dunno who the fuck you're threatenin'. Second off, this school you runnin' ain't nothing' to be proud of, and if I wanted to, I could run this in a day. Yeah I'm a newbie, but don't you ever come over here with some bullshit like this, 'cause others up in here may be scared of y'all, but I'm not. Don't even jump stupid with me. You don't know me. So now if you will excuse me…” Kyra growled back, attempting to pass the girls when Veronica stopped her with a shove to the shoulder.

“Bitch, who do you think you're talking to?”

“You and your punk-ass crew. And don't touch me again if you want to have that hand still attached to your skinny little body.”

“We should whoop your ass right now for everyone to see.”

“Trick, I wish you would even
flinch
at me.” She moved so close to Veronica they could've kissed. She meant every word.

“Ha! Please. It's three against one. You don't want none. Face it, you don't want drama. Just keep your place and keep your distance from my man.” Veronica backed up and placed her hand on her hip. Kyra's being so close to her made her uncomfortable.

“And who the fuck is desperate enough to go out with you?” Kyra scoffed.

“Justin Hartwell. Don't act like you don't know who he is. You were just over there with him. I saw you.” Just then it clicked for Kyra. This was the same Veronica mentioned at lunch.

“What the…? I should slap you just for sayin' some dumb shit like that. Let me lay it out for you: I don't like him. You can have him.”

“Oh, don't worry, I've already got him. And keep your ass away from Michael, too. My girl Nicole is with him.” Veronica snottily nodded back to her friend.

“Watch your mouth. I hate to do it, but I will beat all y'all on my first day of school.”

Kyra was about to swing on Veronica when Quentin and Angel showed up and stepped between the girls to avoid the conflict.

“Don't start any stuff with her. You know she's new, Veronica. You're not even with Justin anymore, so you need to let it go,” Angel said.

“Little girl, don't come over here trying to speak to me on some shit you don't even know about. Just let your little friend know she needs to watch her back as well as her mouth,” Veronica threatened as she and her crew continued to walk toward the building. The bell rang, and the rowdy crowd began to file back into school.

“I'm glad we have an understanding!” Bridgette yelled from the doors. She wanted to make sure Kyra heard her.

“Ooo, I'm gonna beat her ass!” Kyra raged through clenched teeth. Bridgette giggled before she disappeared inside. She had elicited just the reaction she had been seeking.

“Don't pay them any mind. Just don't play into their games. They do it to everyone on their first day, and Veronica definitely does it to anyone she even
sees
within a few feet of Justin,” Angel said.

“Yeah, she still claims him, even though they've been over. Don't even worry about it,” Quentin said.

“But she's disrespectin' me, bottom line. I ain't no ho, and I sure ain't quick to back down. If she wants some, she can come get some.”

“Don't fight her, Kyra. She's not even worth the trouble. She thinks that just because her family has money that makes her better than everyone else, and it doesn't.”

“Did I miss something?” Michael walked up slowly, zipping his pants.

“Mike, man, where were you?” Quentin asked, noticing his friend's unzipped khakis. Quentin quickly excused himself from the company of the females to hear another one of his friend's scandalous tales of sexual conquest.

“Are you all right?” Angel turned her concerned look back to her new friend.

“Yeah, I'm fine. They're nothin', like you said.”

“Okay, good. Let's get back in before we're late.” Angel sighed and flashed a reassuring smile before they rushed back inside.

For the rest of the day, Kyra half listened to the lessons. She could see Justin frequently looking over at her, but she would only glare back, and he would look away.

T
he final bell of the day hadn't even finished ringing before Kyra was out the door. She brushed by the crowd into the sun and its suffocating heat to start her brisk walk home up the tree-lined lane. She had reached the middle of the path when she felt someone clutching her elbow. She spun around with her eyes narrowed, expecting a fight.

“Are you okay?”

“Do I seem okay? Go on somewhere. You're causin' more trouble than you're worth,” Kyra snapped at Justin.

“Veronica is nothing to trip off of, trust me. She's just too red eye of you. That's all.”

“Red eye?” Kyra asked.

“Oh, my bad. Red eye means she's jealous of you.”

Just then, Richard, Veronica and her girls sped by in her car. Kyra heard the music blare, and the car stirred up dust in the air as they rolled past. She bent down quickly and picked up a large rock to pitch, but Justin's hand grabbed hers. He slowly brought her hand toward the ground and let the rock fall. His hand replaced the hard mass as he locked eyes with her.

“Let me go.” Kyra snatched her hand away and continued to walk. Justin kept up with her.

“So…wasn't that that one boy from our class in the car with her?” Kyra asked after walking a few steps. Once her anger subsided, she slowed her pace to listen to Justin.

“Yeah, he's her brother. Richard Pierce. Their father owns some resorts on a few islands. So that pretty much makes them uptown rich—you know, in other words, stuck-up as hell.”

“That would explain the car, then, too.”

“Basically.”

“So now what I'm wonderin' is why on earth did you two ever break up? You guys seem meant for each other. She's stuck-up and you're just…you. So, hey, I don't see why y'all didn't click.”

“Hey, sometimes things just don't work out. She just still tries to claim me because she knows she messed up and she doesn't want to see me with someone else. And her brother, Richard—if you're even thinking about dealing with him, be careful.”

“Yo, chill, motor mouth, I was just wonderin' if they were related or not. I never said I wanted to holla at the boy.”

“Did you just call me a motor mouth?”

“Sure did.”

“So you're saying I talk shit?”

“No, chill. I'm just saying that it sounds like you like to gossip.”

“Okay, new girl, let me set you straight on something. I'm just trying to look out for you.”

“Don't get no attitude, I was just sayin'.”

They walked to the end of the lane in silence.

“Thanks, then…I guess,” Kyra said.

“You're welcome. So…where do you stay?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Damn, you're so feisty! I like that. It's cute.”

“Ugh, Justin, stop!” She laughed.

“Nah, I'm just messing with you. I
was
going to walk you home, but…”

“A'ight that's cool but don't try no funny stuff. No, you can't come in to get a drink or use my bathroom, understand?”

“Okay.” He held his hands up in surrender.

“Your house is really nice.”

“Thank you, and thanks for walkin' me home. That was fun.”

“You're welcome. But I'm going to get going, so I'll see you at school tomorrow. And don't forget about me tutoring you. When should we start?”

“How about I just let you know. I'll call you or somethin'.”

“But you don't have my number.”

“Then give it to me.”

“Okay…” Justin reached into his backpack and retrieved a pen and paper, then scribbled down his number. He had been caught off guard by Kyra's forwardness but was pleased by it, as well.

“Here. Let me give you mine, too.” She neatly jotted down her digits before passing the scrap of paper to him.

“Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. First light. Bye, baby girl.” He gently tipped her chin and headed up the street on his way home. Kyra could feel the goose bumps on her skin from when he had called her baby girl. Makai always called her that.

Kyra unlocked the door and walked into the air-conditioned house. The cool air flowed over her body as she took a seat in the living room and picked up the phone. She was going to call Makai.

She called all his numbers but got no answer. She called over and over, until the sound of the ringing was stuck in her head and gave her a headache. Whatever he was doing, she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't right.

Kyra leaned back into the cushions of the couch. She missed her boyfriend and her friends, and she seemed to worry more now than she ever had before. She felt stressed and overwhelmed from having to adjust to so much “new.” Everything was new. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye.

I just wish that I was back where I was last Monday, where the only thing I had to worry about was how much my feet hurt
. That was the last thought to cross Kyra's mind before she had no worries and was gone to the world, and to her problems in it.