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ty simpkins as young jj marsai martin as young popi
༄‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊༄
Popi Heyward cried every time she got sent out of class.
Which happened a lot.
She spoke out of turn, challenged her teacher, corrected other students, and was overall an amazing student. There was nothing schools hated more than a student who knew more than them.
So when the girl challenged the notes on the board and introduced her own knowledge, her teacher felt the need to sit her in the hallway.
"Since you know so much," the stressed teacher blew out frustration through his nose. "You can go do a worksheet in the hallway while I teach the lesser,"
He hadn't meant to be rude, Popi's mother had reassured her after it happened multiple times. They just aren't used to kids being so vocal in education. You are going amazing places, Popi, never stop being who you are.
That didn't stop the waterworks as she shuffled through the desks with everyone watching her.
Sitting on the floor, her back crumpling the art on the walls, Popi wiped off her glasses that fogged up. A door slamming opposite of her caught her attention immediately.
JJ Maybank threw himself onto the floor beside his classroom with a fire burning in his eyes. His bruised arms starkly contrasted the white floor. The tip of his nose was beginning to turn a bright red color and the color was spreading down his neck. He blinked multiple times, frustration clear in the inability to lose the tears in his eyes.
Popi knows JJ.
JJ knows Popi.
They have been friends since they were in kindergarten. Both pairs are fused to leave the other so the group grew on each other easily. They announced themselves to be the Fantastic Four.
"Why are you out here," JJ rasped out, roughly rubbing his face.
"I know too much," Popi whimpered softly, writing on the paper. "I talk too much. I'm too opinionated. No one cares this much about school,"
"Jesus," JJ laughed bitterly. "Pop, who told you that?"
"Me," Her glasses came off again for a cleaning. "I tell myself that all that time,"
"Well stop!" He almost screamed, tears in his eyes again. "You're exactly who you've always been. Nothing wrong with you talking and having your own opinion,"
"Why are you crying?" Popi focused on JJ easily, knowing his signs for crying.
"My dad ruined my class copy of "The Outsiders" because he thought I sold his pills," JJ told the truth. "I don't have the money to get a new one yet and I couldn't do the reading."
"Did you yell," She softly asked, knowing JJ's tactics after being interrogated.
"She accused me of selling it!" He cried into his hand. "Saying that if I don't start doing my work I'm not going to live up to anything. I'm trying, Pop, I'm trying so hard."
At that moment, the tears in Popi Heyward's eyes were blinked away. She vowed at that moment she would do anything to help out the blond boy live up to everything he had ever said about her.
The two friends made a pact, tapping their feet together from across the hallway, that they would leave the Banks together. They will put extra time into school and studying to make the grades to get into a highly respected college far away from their homes.
JJ's grades slowly went up with Popi's help. There was still no way for him to finish every assignment stacked upon him and work, but he was trying a lot harder. He was putting in more effort knowing that someone was relying on him and she lived up to her title of 'know-it-all'. School days were filled with sleep-glazed eyes since both of them had stayed up after working to prepair for tests and projects.
While JJ's grades never succedded B's and C's, his teachers noticed the change in the Maybanks boy. No longer did they warn the next teachers about the blond, instead raved about his change and willingness to complete most the work.
༄‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊༄
yeah, so I miss writing my babies a lot!
more shorts to come since i'm procrastinating in school
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