SEVENTEEN | ON HOLD

18

(Ace)
2 Weeks Later

Today finna be a good day.

I parked in my usual spot about two blocks away from the school.

"You ready to go in yet?" I turned the car off and took the key out the ignition.

"I'm not done eating," Nee answered before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Aight, we can go when you done."

"Ace, you can go inside without me, just gimme the car keys and go," shorty said before taking a bite of her breakfast sandwich.

"Nah, I'm good right here," I say. "By the way I needa ask you sumn important."

"What?" She asked with her hand blocking her mouth.

"My moms wants us to live together," I let her know.

Her eyes widened. "...what?"

"Don't think too much, it's not finna happen. I just wanted to tell you what she thinks," I say with a shrug at the end.

"How you know it's 'not finna happen'?" She finished chewing.

"Cause I shut her down on the spot."

"That's it? Just because you 'shut her down' doesn't mean she'll drop it," she says, putting the rest of the sandwich back in the wrapper.

"You done eating after one bite?" I asked her, watching her out it back in the paperbag. "And even if she don't drop it and pulls strings and we actually end up living together, what would be the problem wit that? Cause we defo not strangers."

"Money~, Ace. Money. None of us work so who's gonna pay living expenses," she reaches for my sprite. Before her lips could even touch the straw, I stopped her.

"Put it down," I said. "You know you not supposed to be havin no damn soda."

She kissed her teeth before she pleaded. "Can I just take a sip? ... Please?"

I put my hand on the cup. "Aight, take a sip."

She took a awfully long sip but I yanked that shit out her mouth before it could go any further.

"Damn. You coulda waited till I was done taking my sip," she says, using a napkin to clean her mouth.

I put my sprite back in the cup holder. "Anyways, back to the conversation."

"What conversation? I closed it up with the expenses line."

"What living expenses? We gon be set if we have to move in togeth-"

"Ace, why are we even talking about this? You said you told your mom to forget about it..."

"You was the one that wanted to stretch shit out, I ain't do nothin," I let her know. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," she stuffs the paper bag in her bookbag.

"Aight, let's go."

We both got out of the car allowing me to lock it. We made it into the school's indoor cafeteria to meet everyone at the table.

"Wassup," I dapped Rio and I dapped up Jay. Darnell wasn't here yet.

"Why y'all quiet?" Nee asked, taking a seat next to Nina.

"Facts. Why y'all dead today?" I added.

"Darnell outed y'all," Armani blurted out.

"Watchu mean 'outed'?" I sat down.