Daya

39| TMZ

Our dad dropped us off a little too early, and I ditch my sacred space in the library and follow Vince into the empty patio.  We sit at a table with our binders open, and our 99 cent pencil cases open with all of our supplies. The library was probably the better way to go as LA has decided to be cold, but we're sharing a hot green grande tea and trying to cover our hands with our hoodies.

"Do you have .7 lead?" I ask Vince. I push the eraser on my pencil and the smallest spec of lead falls out onto the floor.

Vince lets out a sigh and pulls out a case with one stick of lead in it.

"Thank you." I take the stick of lead out and push it right into my pencil.

"No problem." We stay with our heads in our binders until Vince abruptly closes his mess of a binder and I look up.

"Your done studying?" I ask. I take a sip of the tea and leave the tiniest sliver for Vince who's been drinking most of the tea like it's a tequila shot.
"Yup I pay attention in class so I don't have to cram like the rest of these fools." Vince puts his binder in his backpack.

I keep mine wide open as in the words of one of my elementary school teachers pop in my head there is know such thing as being done with studying. Plus dad has made it perfectly clear that even though people are unraveling their bunch of lights, buying their christmas trees to early, and wearing santa hats Christmas doesn't begin for the Price household until we get good grades on our finals.

"If you say so."

"Have you talked to that boy ?" Vince takes the last sliver of the tea and throws the cup into a trash can four feet away. His tone makes me want to smack him in the face, but he put his phone down so he's clearly interested.

Ziyah deserves to have a name, and I probably believe this because he kissed a girl who will never have any feelings for him.

"Ziyah and two days ago," I say. I've contemplated talking to him again, mostly about him kissing a girl who doesn't like guys, but I've been too busy finishing touches on my short film and getting excited for Christmas.

"You shouldn't talk to him." Vince doesn't have anger in his tone, and he's as chill as he was when he told me about his breakup.

I don't get why he's so kumbaya when last week he was yelling and telling me to break up with him. I'm not saying he should be furious and seek vengeance, because with football he doesn't have the energy, but he could crack a smile or something.

"Why?"

"Because," Vince looks around the patio for his answer. "You don't need a boyfriend." Again I've told him this at the stairs I don't want a boyfriend I want a fantasy. Someone whose lips are an electrical fence to anyone else's but mine with the exception of his mother.

"Hmm ok." My teeth begin to chatter and I'm glad I have the cold to blame it on, instead of my thoughts about Ziyah.

"Yeah Hmm ok."

I pick my head up from my lined paper and instead of looking at Vince my eyes go right behind him to Vicki. She's on the other side of the patio, but she sees my glance and separates herself from the group she's with. Instead of ducking to the bathroom she starts walking towards us.

She doesn't look bad in leggings and a loose sweater. Her hair has its usual bounce and I hate to say it but she looks better than Vince who's smashed his hair with a beanie that he threw his hoodie over.
Vicki is now halfway towards us and Vince has no clue as he sits on his phone. "Have you talked to Vicki?"

Vince lets out a sigh and shuffles in his seat. "Nah."
"Now's your chance." I point behind him and he turns to make eye contact with Vicki. Vince looks back at me and shakes his head then takes off his hoodie and beanie. He ruffles his hands through his hair and plasters a smile on his face.

"Hey can I talk to you for a second?" Vicki says and gives me a sympathetic glance. It's not needed because this mini conversation was getting awkward.
"Uhh," Vince looks over at me and I get up. "Yeah sure."

I'd wave at him, but Vicki has already sat down and gained all of his attention.

Following my usual schedule I head to my locker and of course on my way spot Ziyah, but he ignores my gaze and I keep walking. I desperately want to go up to him and ask if he just chose a random girl to kiss to get me off his back, but I keep that scene in my mind.

I can't imagine what answer he would give, the only words I can picture coming out of his mouth are Daya you're beautiful. Those words warm my cheeks, but when I get tired of hearing his voice in my head the Daya you're beautiful comes from Vince not Ziyah.

I take my Julius Caesar book for my English class out of my locker, but don't get up when I hear loud voices from the boys bathroom. The bathroom is so close their words are perfectly clear and loud even over the hand dryer.

"Ayyy Man Vince is wildin, his sister is cute, but she ain't cute enough for all of that," one husky voice says. All of what? Now I'm definitely eavesdropping and standing along my locker which oddly doesn't gain any attention from the people passing the halls.
"What do you mean, what's Mr.Comeback been up to?" A familiar voice asks. It takes a second, but I connect the smooth tone to Chase.

"Bruh you know your boy Lucas?" The first guy speaks again, and I identify him as Darian. Yea I know Lucas get to the point.

"Oh yeah homeboy with the curly fry dreads."

"Yeah he was messing with Jessica and Vince popped off on his ass on Friday," Darian says. The last person Vince popped off on was Dani yesterday when she threw away the oranges thinking they were rotten when they were in fact blood oranges. Vince has been holding in, but also releasing so much anger these past weeks him popping off on someone out of nowhere was inevitable.

"Oh god no," I whisper and slap my hand to my forehead. Some freshmen who's half my size walks out of the bathroom and I jump. Thank god Chase and Darian are weird and continue to have their conversation in the bathroom.

"So that's why he broke up with Vicki because he still has feelings for that weirdo?" Chase your sizzling and all but dumb, Vince can't go from Vicki to Jessica that would be such a step down the ladder.

"Nah, he broke up with Vicki cause homie wanna experience the single life for a bit, and that has nothing to do with Jessica. Her ass came crying to Vince right after he broke up with Vicki saying Lucas called her a slut and that's why he popped off."

Vince has called Jessica that word so many times, come on Darian go a little more in depth. Maybe he wasn't popping off on Lucas and in reality roasting him on his dreads. I kind of wish I didn't start eavesdropping and instead just had the balls (literally) to walk into the bathroom and get all of the information.

"So what does the sister being cute have to do with it?"

Chase said I'm cute! Chase said I'm cute, he still got a girl but he sort of said I'm cute, I yell in my head. His words don't hold the same significance as Ziyah saying I'm beautiful though.

Now I'm on the edge of my seat because I can't think of any reason I would be involved in this situation.

"Boy does it look like I'm TMZ ask Mr.Comeback himself I just came to take a piss, you wanna be in everyone's business go start a talk show." They both burst into laughter and when I hear the sound of footsteps I quickly rush down the hall. This is the first time I've wanted to hear someone deliberately talk about me behind my back.

As I walk to my first period there are so many thoughts swarming in my head about the conversation I just overheard and my conversation with Harper yesterday. I'm so in my head when my geometry teacher has to call my name twice to give me my test. I take it, and my lips turn up at the sight of a B+ at the top of my paper.

Great now that I've got a good grade I can give myself the gift of finding out about what happened Friday between Vince and Lucas. The right thing would be to ask Vince and have an open conversation with him, but he is too good at flipping the truth around. When he had his seizure and I had my worries about him being off the field for good, one of my first thoughts that was forced in my head when I was in the hospital was if he's not going to play football he would make a great politician.