Sweet Cherries

Ch. 17

Ch. 17 *Sabrina's POV*

"Oh my God, finally that damn trip is over," I say at my phone as the person on the other side adjusts their video, "Do you know how much I've wanted to talk to you? I miss you so much."

Even though I sounded annoyed, once the video was stable, I couldn't help but smile as the face of my best friend fills my phone screen. The last time I saw and spoke to Kiah was nearly 3 weeks ago when I left Switzerland. She seems to be sitting on her bed just like me, probably in her room at home and not in the dorms.

We both went to the same International American boarding school in a town outside of Geneva and we've been best friends since 9th grade. I still remember the first time I saw her. For the past couple of days, I was the first student in class, but that day it was Kiah. She was sitting near the windows on her phone. I sat at a desk a couple of rows over, but I decided to talk to her instead of sitting down. She was the only other Black girl, let alone Black Student, in my class and I had no friends. When she looked up the first thing I noticed was her eyes. One bright cerulean blue, one dark russet brown. Within the couple of minutes we talked, I learned so much about her. She was from Chicago, mom was the CEO and founder of My Hair, and came to this school because she kept getting kicked out of her other schools and her step dad suggested it.

"I miss you so much too. The trip was supposed to be a week and a half but we got COVID and had to be quarantined. I don't even understand how, we were in the damn woods."

"Oh damn, someone was probably sick or something. Are you good?"

Kiah adjusts her bright pink bonnet. I almost forgot about the time difference between us— 6 long hours. "Yeah, it wasn't fun, but I'm fine now. You know you're so lucky you didn't have to go. The trip was sucked. No electronics of any kind so I was forced to talk to people I didn't fuck with. I don't know who thought this would have been a good way to end senior year."

"Damn, I can just image, but there has to have been something that was fun."

Kiah pauses for a second, "well we were in beautiful luxurious cabins and the rules were relaxed since we graduated. We had bonfires which were really fun. Wait, guess who's drunk ass tried to sleep with me after the second or third bonfires?"

"I don't know, who?"

"Fucking, uh, African Alex."

"African Alex?" I sit up straighter on my bed. There were two guys named Alexander in our class. One was white and the other African (Ivorian), hence African Alex. Kiah and I are the only ones that call him African Alex, everyone else calls him by his last name, Bamba.

Now, both Alexes are good-looking, but African Alex is on a whole nother level. Man is so fine it hurts. Plus, he's the soccer team captain so you know he's built. And he's also the right amount of bad, you know? Like piercings and tattoos which are against the dress code. He doesn't show them off at school, but sometimes they are visible. At those times he gets dress coded, but that charming snake can slither his way in or out of so many situations.

"You serious? I thought he told us he only liked white girls." That happened at a school party celebrating our new soccer championship in 10th grade. Kiah had a huge crush on African Alex, bigger than mine. Near the end of the event, we pulled him aside and she asked if he wanted to hang out sometime. I was only there for moral support. He laughed then flat out said he only fucked with white girls and left. Kiah cried like a newborn that night and it was the first time I'd ever seen her heartbroken.

Kiah shrugs, "that's why I was confused. After the bonfire, he pulled me aside and started complimenting me. Said shit like "your eyes are beautiful" and "you make everything look good. Then he tried to get me to go to bed with him. The audacity! So I asked him 'aren't you the one that told me and Sabrina that you only fucked with white girls' and he was like 'I only said that to hurt you, so you'd want me more.' When I tell you, I did a Speedy Gonzales."