Daya

34| The Kiss

Instead of leaning against my locker and waiting for Ziyah to ditch his friends I joined Navia and Harper for lunch at their table at the patio. I already talked to Ziyah at nutrition and we had a great conversation about how close Christmas is and how slow time will go because of finals. We talked for just a short bit then he went back to his friends after giving me a nice kiss that I felt self conscious about because of Vince's comment.

"Daya can you tell Madame I'm here," Harper says as the bell rings and I begin to get up. Navia and Harper remain seated with their bodies entwined. They did this the whole lunch on top of sharing each other's food, and me sitting across from them didn't stop their PDA.

"Ok," I say.

"Oh wait," Harper says right as I start walking.

"Yes."

"I was going to ask you this before, but Navia distracted me," Harper turns to Navia and gives her a playful smile. "Where has your brother been? He wasn't here this whole lunch time." Harper gestures over to the tables across the patio where the football players and overall sports teams resign, also known as the main attraction of the cafeteria. They're all dressed in their blue game day sweaters and in one big crowd not going to class. Harper's right Vince isn't there, but due to us not completely reconciling last night I turn away from the table where he usually sits.

"He's benched this game so he probably just doesn't want to be around all of the pre game stuff," I say. I made that line up to give Harper a quick answer, but now that I repeat it in my head it sounds like the obvious answer.

"He's the quarterback benched or not benched he should still be here, and he was there this whole week" Navia says while keeping a bright smile. I do want to go to class, and exchange smirks with Ziyah, but now I have this sisterly urge to defend Vince's justifiable absence from his lunch table.

"He's probably avoiding Vicki then." Now that was a bullshit lie because when I sat down for lunch the first thing I noticed was Vicki was sitting deep inside the cafeteria. The whole school pretty much knows about the breakup and the separation of them at lunch that started when Vince came back was the definitive action. Harper and Navia have been too busy in their happy relationship to notice this and their faces turn red while their mouths go agape. Wow these girls are out of the loop.

"They broke up!" they shout in unison. My english teacher knows this, where were you guys?

"Yup," I nod. As Navia and Harper sigh at the lost of the school's cutest couple  I take the chance to scurry to french class.

I get to French and I'm one of the early ones which I liked before, but these past weeks I've gotten used to walking in class beside Ziyah. As my classmates stroll in I keep my eyes on the door, in a subtle way, but the bell rings and there is no sign of Ziyah. The late bloomers come which includes Harper, and my eyes don't leave the door. I do my warm up, but I keep my eyes on Ziyah's empty seat.

"Anyone absent today class?" Madame ask and scans the rows with her seating chart in hand.

"That junior who sits in the back," a kid in the front of the class says. Madame looks at Ziyah's seat then scribbles something down on her clipboard.

Out of nowhere my teeth began to shatter, not because of the AC, but because I saw and kissed Ziyah today so he should be here. I need to get it together, by that I mean my teeth because the shattering is getting worse. Madame calls some of us up to the board and when Unna is about to go up and ask the class for help the door creaks open.  I turn my head and Ziyah walks to his seat in a way that's the opposite of his chill saunter.

"Mr. Daniels do you have an excuse?" Madame asks and looks up from her computer.

"No mam," Ziyah says. He takes out his notebook and when he lifts his head up he catches my eyes on him. I wave and he doesn't return the favor, instead he turns back and starts writing.

I can't keep my eyes off of him the whole period and he for the first class ever keeps his eyes on the board. He's traded his cute smirk for an unsettling serious face, and it doesn't look that good on him. The tables have turned and it's now my turn to cheer him up.

"The weekend is here baby," Unna says and the bell rings to confirm her statement. In reality we do have 6th period, but like me she has 6th period p.e, so yeah the weekend is here.

Ziyah rushes out of the door, but his fast walk isn't as fast as mine so I try and follow him. We're both in the crowded hallway and my hand is going to touch his shoulder, but a girl comes up to him and I back away. She's a short strawberry blonde in baggy pants and shirt with freckles dashing her cheeks. I don't know her name, but I've seen her around with a skateboard and vape pen.

I stand along the wall and wait for them to separate, but they don't and my stomach gets all tight. It's not the light feeling of butterflies, but something I want to cut out of my abdomen. He's talking to another girl Daya just talking, he's not even your boyfriend chill.

Making my stomach hurt more Ziyah and the girl move against a set of lockers and he whispers something in her ear, and she nods. Don't be the jealous girl Daya, just stand here and wait so you can ask him if he's ok. Students pass through the halls separating them and me as we're on opposite sides of the hall., but Ziyah turns away from the now beautiful supermodel like girl and makes eye contact with me.

He doesn't smirk, or come over and kiss me and grab my waist instead he leans in and kisses the girl. My feet glue to the ground and what is one quick peck on the lips to me is a full on makeout session that's engraved in my brain. You're supposed to be kissing me! Daya you can't get mad did you guys ever say you were exclusive? No, don't get hurt Daya remember all the advice you got.

In a matter of seconds Ziyah and the girl are gone and I'm stomping to the girls bathroom. I'm not going to cry, because I don't care, and Ziyah is my friend we don't have an agreement that we only can kiss each other. I get to the bathroom, but stop at the sight of Vicki and Jada. Jada's arms are wrapped around Vicki and Vicki's head is buried in her sweater.

"Daya what's up with you?" Jada asks while stroking Vicki's curls. Vicki releases herself from Jada's grasp and turns to look at me with dry tears down her usually glowing face.

"Vicki I'm sorry about you and Vince," I say. The sight of her tears is making the tightness in my stomach go away, but only a little. 

"It's ok it's not your fault," Vicki says and her face goes back to normal.

"So what's up with you stormed in her all king kong like, spill," Jada says.

"Ziyah looked right at me and kissed another girl." No tears hit my face, but the feeling in my stomach is now at it's worse. With no questions or comments Jada and Vicki rush over to me and engulf me in a hug. In this hug Vicki begins to cry, and I hope it's not because of my resemblance to Vince, and rather because we're in a bathroom that smells like a public school bathroom.

"Let's have a sleepover, tomorrow" Vicki cries when we separate.

"Yay but no sad girl sob story shit," Jada says. Smiles spread across their faces and they're directed at me.

"She's right no sad girl stuff, and ill ask my mom," I say. Vicki and Jada jump up and down then bring me into another hug. This time my stomach pain is gone and a smile comes across my face because my brother just broke Vicki's heart and she found it in herself to invite me to my first sleepover. 

When I get to my mom's she does her version of jumping up and down when I tell her about the sleepover, Vince on the other hand shrugs and shows no emotions. The little sister in me doesn't want to go, but Vince did break up with her. At least now we're both not really attached to someone because I don't bother texting Ziyah and he doesn't show up on my phone.