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JALEN SHOVED HIS DIRTY CLOTHES INTO HIS CLOSET then closed the door.
His parents and his little sister were gone on a day trip to Fresno, his hometown which meant an empty house.
Which meant it was finally time for Noelani to come over.
He picked up some empty chip bags, water bottles and bodyarmor juice bottles and chucked them in his large trash can by the door.
Then Jalen set to making his bed, smoothing the duvet and readjusting the pillows against his headboard.
To top it off, Jalen sprayed some tropical scented Febreze in the air then connected his phone to Bluetooth speaker.
Jalen heard the doorbell ring from the downstairs.
Jalen wipes his suddenly clammy hands on the side of his black t-shirt then hurried down the stairs.
Jalen pauses to take a deep breath then opens the door.
Noelani was standing on the porch in a jean jacket, a baby pink Champion hoodie and matching sweatpants. On her feet were a pair of white Chuck Taylors and some of the top half of her curly hair was pulled into a ponytail, creating a casual updo.
"Hey, kid." Noelani smiled as she stepped into the house.
"What's good?" Jalen grinned as he pulled her in for an embrace.
"Where's your parents?" She asked as Jalen closed the door.
"It's just us tonight."
Noelani raised an eyebrow at his words.
Jalen held out a hand and she took it with no hesitation, "Come on."
Jalen led her up the stairs back to his room, dimly lit.
"Oh, baby, this shit is a mess..." Noelani trailed off, her eyes on the cluttered dresser top.
"I spent an hour cleaning this shit." Jalen groaned, laying against his pillows.
Noelani took her shoes off, "Did you even vacuum?"
Jalen rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and Noelani started to shrug off her jacket.
She walked around his room looking at all of the basketball awards placed sporadically.
