The Badboy, the Catfish & Me

Twenty

Before I knew it, it was the day before June. The air was buzzing with conversation about the school year ending in three weeks wherever you went. It was still early, and homeroom was still relatively empty when Ameena made Salah and I sit before we went to our lockers.

"So...um," she absently sketched something in her notebook. "I'm going to prom with a guy my parents are talking to for marriage," she said.

Salah and I shared a loud gasp. Ameena's pale face quickly went red with a blush at our reaction.

"Ameena! I'm happy for you!" I exclaimed, my face beaming from imagining how pretty Ameena would look for the prom and her future wedding. Masha'Allah. Mama said to add that when something good happened or if you found something beautiful so the evil eye wouldn't ruin it. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"I'm not ready to tell," Ameena said, hiding her face behind her notebook.

"You better tell us, girl! We're gonna be your only bridesmaids," Salah teased.

"I have cousins, too, you know!"

The idea of spending prom with someone who loved you left me sighing for the rest of the school day. I wished I could have had the start of a fairytale love life like Ameena's... but I knew it wouldn't be anything like that for me.

That didn't stop me from daydreaming on the bus ride home, imagining what it would be like to wear fancy clothes to a party that Valentino just so happened to show up at. He'd tell me he rekindled his relationship with his mom and sister and now wanted to marry me. Honking from the road broke me out of my thoughts.

I got off at the next stop and looked over the work I'd been doing in class for final grades. Once checked it over, I hastily settled in front of my laptop to log in to CrusadEon Online.

[Heyyy what's up]

Not much

Just finished homework

[Ugh]

Lol my sentiment exactly

But all my teachers are really strict about these senior projects

They tell us we better not catch senioritis soon

Smh

"Interesting," Valentino said, switching to voice chat. "Sounds like you go to my high school," he laughed.

I inhaled sharply. But my anxiousness quickly turned to relief when Valentino didn't press me further.

"I'm not sure if you're familiar with this, but my school offered these additional classes, and it's been paying off. I applied for a couple of sports scholarships, too, and I'm waiting to hear back. I plan on reaching out to my mom for one of them. But I'm seriously done with school."

That's amazing!

I really think you can do it!!

And I'm SO done with school too

I hope it all works out <3

"Yeah, a few more weeks, then GOODBYE, high school!"

Saaaame

By the wayyyyy

R u going to prom?

"Hmm. Actually, I don't even know if I'm going. Maybe I'll ditch prom and hang out in-game with you. I mean..." He paused. "Assuming you're not going to prom, either."

My fingers froze over the keyboard, and my heart pounded wildly in my ears. I assumed Clara would be his prom date...but he'd rather spend his prom with me!