ME

Goodnight Sleep

(De Andre's POV)

I slept like a baby last night. No dreams or chills up my spine. At all. The tea is working wonders on me. I run downstairs dress for the day. Mom is putting food on plates in the dining room. I kiss her on the cheek and sit down at the table. She is holding a pan filled with scrambled eggs and a black spatula.

She smiles.

"You are happy this morning! What ray of sunshine hit you?" she said.

I smiled at her.

"I had a goodnight's sleep. I am just happy to not have those terrible dreams anymore." I said. She looked at me worried. The mouth turned downward.

"What type of dreams?" she asked. I know if I tell her the truth it will worry her even more.

"I had terrible dreams of being chased by a bear." I lied horribly. She detects the lie by a strange expression. I hope she does not push it.

"Go get your sister for breakfast," she said walking back into the kitchen.

I ran upstairs to knock on Amina's door. When I was about to knock, the door flew open. I looked at her with my fist in the air.

"Yes, I am awake. You do not need to give my door FBI knocks," she said. I chuckled at her words.

"Breakfast is ready. Should we let Grandma know?" I asked. She shook her head.

"She has a certain intuition when breakfast is done. It is strange," she said closing the door to join me in the hallway. We walked down the stairs. I sat next to her at the dining table this time.

These past few weeks, I have bonded with Amina. I feel comfortable around her.

"Bacon and eggs again." a voice said. I turned to see Grandma. Yes, the title sounds better than "fictional grandma."

Mom comes to sit at the table with us. We joined hands in the mystical prayer of ancient words. We are together in harmony. We laughed and felt like a family. I know if I do return, it will be hard to forget them.

I know it.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////

We arrived early to school to socialize with friends. Amina went to socialize while I, opened my locker to retrieve my textbooks. I felt a tap on my back and turned around to see Scarlet.

"Hi Scarlet, I have not seen you in a few days. I tried to call--"

"I know, I have not been feeling well. I was wondering if you wanted to meet for lunch?" she said fidgeting.

"Yeah, we have to pick our banned book for class. I think the outline is due next Monday." I said closing my locker.

"Next Tuesday," she murmured. She is a very quiet person.

"I know you want to meet at lunch today but are you free outside of school?" I asked. She looked at the ground.

"I can not stay out too late," she said shyly.

"I understand, we can go to my house or park for the project," I said. She clenches her notebook, staring up at me.

"I need to ask my father. I think he would be fine with it. Can I text you tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah, just let me know how it goes," I said as the first bell rang. My first class today is Gym. Scarlet runs away from me as classrooms open.

//////////////////////////

I am sitting on a cold steel bench in my uniform for class. I changed into grey sweatpants and a blue top. We are all waiting for the tardy teacher. Mr. Cross is his name. He always comes to class five minutes late. The dilemma is either his car or a sick cat named Nemo.

"Hey, Dre." A girl comes to sit next to me on the bench. She has brown curly hair and green eyes. She twirls her hair to pique my interest.

"Hey," I said curtly. She moves closer to me.

"You do not like to talk much, do you? I can fix that for you," she said rubbing my arm.

"Oh," I replied. I am giving her simple words to push her away from me.

"You seem a little shy. I can fix that as well," she flirted.

"Hey, De Andre, thank you for saving me a seat," Stefan said approaching us. I do not remember him being in this period.

"I do not see a seat for you." the flirtatious girl said. Stefan leaned closer to us.

"Well, you are sitting in it," he said seriously. The girl scoffed. Returning to get my attention.

Stefan tapped her shoulder. She turned around to look at him.

"What do you want?" she said annoyed. He looked deep into her eyes.

"Can you please move so, I can sit next to my friend? It is important that I talk to him," he said. The girl broke out of his trance.

"Yeah, I am going to sit with my other friends. See you later Dre," she said hurriedly. Stefan took her place next to me. I feel grateful and annoyed.

Right.

Now.

"So, you enjoyed dinner last night?" Stefan asked me. I shrugged my shoulders looking forward."I thought the whole occasion was eventful," I said.

"The conversations were eventful but the food--"

"Horrible," I said straightforwardly. His laughter made me smirk.

"I wonder if he will show today," he said. I shrugged again.

"You want to work on the project after school today?" he asked.

"I have to look at my schedule," I said.

"Yeah, I understand. At least, you have my number," he said as the gym doors opened. Mr. Cross runs inside sweaty. He takes a sip of his water bottle. He sounds out of breath when he talks.

"Everyone (wheeze) line up (wheeze) we will (wheeze) be playing (wheeze) dodgeball." he blew his whistle. I was one of the first to get up for the lineup. I just needed to get away from Stefan.

He seems too curious. The coach gives us a number to divide us into two big groups.

I was in a group that consisted of students given odd numbers. Stefan was in the latter. I was thankful for that.

The dodgeball game started with the blow of a whistle. Balls are thrown back and forth. I was able to dodge every ball. I threw a few balls, hitting some students. The real battle was down to two students.

Me.

Stefan.

We stared at each other.

Waiting for one small move.