Andre held onto the hand of his little brother and sister as they drove on the train. The next stop was where he and Natoya saw eachother every morning. At 7:34 AM before school. But this time Andre wasn't paying attention.
He was scrolling through an app, scoffing as he looked at a highlight for later. Apparently there was going to be some sort of party at the nearby skate park. Andre wasn't much into skating... But... it had free food. Hot dogs. He wondered how much of a good idea it would be to sneak some back home. Claim it was lunch food or something. It would have to be after basketball practice.
"... Andre?" He looked up to find the face of the soft tone that called his name as the bus quickly took off, and met the eyes of Natoya. He was about to say something before she was shoved into an unsuspecting man who looked quite startled- then angry.
"Yo. Leave the girl alone, she didn't mean to." He quickly reached out, grabbing onto Natoya's hand after he released Dominic, and pulled her over to him. The man, at first, shuffled in their direction, but turned back around. He probably didn't want to start drama on a bus just because of a girl's clumbsiness. The second he turned around Andre glanced over at Natoya. "You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm good." She laughed, and he could feel his face grow ever-so-slightly red. He didn't mean to, but she had the nicest laugh he ever heard. He caught himself zoning out as they broke eye contact, and he followed her gaze to meet Dominic's, staring at her.
"Oh, yeah. Natoya, this is Dominic and Mileva, Dominic, Mileva- Natoya." She never really formally met his siblings. The past week his mother was taking them to school. But now with her new job, it was resigned to Andre.
"Andy talks about you a l-"
"Alright then-" Andre quickly covered Mileva's mouth, and he gave Dominic a cold look as he giggled, only making him more happy. Then he shook his head and looked back at Natoya, who was giving her a playful smile. He returned the smile, trying his best not to look as flustered as he felt. "Don't mind her.." Andre slightly laughed to ease the awkwardness.
"Kids, am I right." Natoya replied, and Andre shook his head again. He knew Natoya was an only child. She didn't even know any of her cousins. She was bewildered anytime he spoke about his experiences with his little siblings.
"Your mom lets them do that?" She'd ask with a shocked face. "I mean. He was eight at the time."
"So... I gotta drop them off, but we can walk the rest of the way if you'd like?"
"Is it far?" Natoya asked, her voice lightly filled with concern.
"Oh, no not at all. I normally walk there anyway." Andre laughed, which caused her to smile. Natoya had a very angelic smile. It was very practiced yet it almost seemed natural. She seemed like a very angelic girl, but that could just be the catholic school she used to go to prior to moving to [town].
When the bus finally stopped, Andre took both of his siblings hands and motioned for Natoya to follow him. They walked past a fast-food place, cars lining it's entire drive-through. Most likely some of his classmates were in those cars, impatient with their parents who didn't want to make breakfast. They passed by the bus barn, the one with a parking lot filled with buses of all sorts of conditions. In [town] the [other high school] would donate their old buses to Monarch High School. It was those buses they used on their trips to different sporting and academic events.
Natoya followed Andre and his family to a red brick building, where she waited outside. He quickly brought his siblings inside, and followed their standard procedure for checking the children in. He didn't want to leave her alone outside for too long, she was new to the area. And she looked new to the area. All sorts of people preyed on those types of teenagers.
"Bye!"
"I'll pick you up soon, alright?" Andre replied, waving at his little siblings as he walked both of them to their classes, and rushed back outside to meet back with Natoya. She was leaning against the wall, right next to a banner titled "ENROLLING NOW!" with a phone number to the elementary school his little siblings would be attending. "MONARCH FAMILY LEARNING COMPLEX" with a little design, four puzzle pieces with stickmen drawn inside of them.
He sighed, followed with an awkward laugh as she followed him down 7th Street. He wanted to look back at the elementary school. Soon it wouldn't be an elementary school he was dropping them off at. Soon his little brother would be enrolled in the same middle school he attended, using the homework he stored in milk crates to cheat on the assignments that never changed because of how little the teachers get paid to care.
"What's wrong?"
"Aha." Andre laughed and shook his head. He looked forward, focused on the road we began to walk down. "They just grow up quickly."
"How old are they- if you don't mind me asking?"
"Yeah, no problem. Dominic's the middle child. He's..." Andre hung his head back as he did the mental math.. He was five when Dominic was born, and seven when Mileva was born. Their birthdays had passed. So they were... "[age – 5]-years-old. Mileva is just a few years younger than him, at [age – 7]."
"And you're [age]."
"It's sort of a long story." But it really wasn't. His mother imigrated to the United States with her father, and he was born on American soil. His father left, but came back nine months before Dominic was born, just to leave again after. The same thing happened with Mileva, except this time his promises became bigger, and his manipulation stronger, and he, Dominic and his mother all moved to [state] where he left, again, after learning Mileva was going to be born.
"I'm not judging, don't worry." Natoya said, and he could tell she meant it. Most people did. He felt the hair on his arms stand up as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder while they walk through.
"Yeah, yeah. sure." He replied, ruffling her hair before she pushed his hand away, and the two laughed and continued to talk while they passed the banners that lined the street post and graffiti lined the walls of nearby buildings. Clear cut signs that they were getting closer to Monarch High School.
"This way," Andre pulled her down a separate street, and a chain fence separated them from the high school they were going to attend. The fence was covered by some green plastic, and a sign attached to the fence with some plastic strips wrote a warning to anyone who did not have the approval of the administration before they entered the school's grounds.
"W-What are you doing?" She stuttered as he put his foot onto a gap in the fence.
"Jumping it, c'mon." He chuckled at her widened eyes as she climbed over the fence. He balanced himself in the middle, and offered his hand to help her up. She hesitantly looked inbetween him and the fence, then took his hand and quickly climbed over the fence alongside him.
They walked past a shed right before they'd be able to entered the concrete building where several kids were being dropped off by their parents early. Natoya looked looked her watch, the one her father gave her, and he hesitated.
"I would take that off if I were you," Andre warned, motioning to the watch. She looked back at its silver plate and didn't need further explanation why. This wasn't the type of school that would help against thievery, especially if one wasn't smart enough to dress appropriately. Naotya nodded and slid the watch off. Andre stopped her as she was about to drop it in her backpack. "I'll give it back to you after class, a'ight? It's safe with me. Trust."
Natoya was hesitant, but Andre would hate for someone to see this exchange and target her. They didn't have a lot of classes together. And her last class was with a certain individual Andre couldn't stand. He was known to be a kleptomaniac, and a sneaky one at that. But after s econd, she softly nodded, and took a deep breath as she gave it to him. He handled it with the same amount of care she gave it to him in, and softly put it in his backpack, in a place it wouldn't get damaged. He tried offering her a reassuring smile, and she seemed to be a bit more confident in him as the two walked into the building.
They were hit with the sharp smell of perfume and cologne. As expected, Natoya sneezed in response.
"Bless you," Andre chuckled, and Natoya covered her nose to try and get herself to stop, however, it only made her sneeze again. "Bless you," Andre repeated with a bit of a laugh.
"Thank you," She laughed before following her through the hallway to their first class.
He kept himself from laughing as he thought about her first day. He was the first person she saw, and she must've found comfort in that but was clearly apprehensive. She was disoriented, and he took the initiative to bring her to the receptionist lady that stood behind the glass. After an frustrating explanation of the situation, the lady finally budged and shuffled through the papers, letting out a huge sigh as she continued growing more and more dramatic. Then, she must've found something because she pulled out a file and began pulling papers out of it, stringing them along the already messy desk.
"Here."
"Is that all she needs?" Andre had asked as she handed him the ugly cyan paper with the school's logo stamped on the back. Tables lined with Monday-Friday, and periods 1-6 with a lunch period in the middle. The design was terrible as the background for the lunch column had a black background with black letters
He remembered when her smile slowly faded as she looked at the words on the first column for first period.
"What's wrong"
"What did you say that one guy's name was? The one that almost failed an entire class because he had a monotone voice?"
"Mr. Mornthorn- do you have him?" Andre smiled as he thought back to the way she slowly nodded, and tilted her head in an exasperated way. "At 8:30?"
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"Yep..."
"Loser."
"Don't you have him too?"
"Well, at least I can show you to your first class," Andre had said optimistically.
"Woo hoo," She replied in the same exhausted tone he had when he first had Mr. Mornthorn.
"What are you smiling about?" Natoya asked, and he glanced over with a small smile. "You hate this class."
"The only thing better than getting to watch all the transfer students die out in Mornthorn's class, is watching you die out in his class." He said, a cocky undertone. At the beginning of the semester they made a bet as to who would last longer in the class. Natoya, was of course, winning that bet. But he'd never let her know that.
"Did you see that thing going on at [skatepark]?"
"Yeah, I did." Andre replied as he pulled out his chair. "Are you considering going?"
Natoya blushed as she sat in her seat, slightly scooting closer to Andre after they were both settled, so nobody else could hear her. "That guy I was telling you about is going there."
Andre raised a brow. Natoya had told him about some guy she was trying to be friends with every day she went to the library. Andre himself never cared for books, so he never considered going with her, and even if he did he wouldn't. Natoya didn't talk a lot about the guys she was interested in. Mostly because she had her eyes set on whoever this mystery guy was. And Andre figured that's what she liked about him. The mystery.
"Welcome." Said a voice as he entered the class, two kids shoving past each other as they entered not two seconds later. "Please find a seat."
Andre couldn't help but feel a bit jealous as she talked to him about the guy. Not in a feelings sort of way, like he liked her. That'd be insane. No. But he couldn't really figure out why he was jealous. And he didn't really want to find out either.
The teacher, an old man with heavy bags under his eyes and glasses that constantly drooped down his face began reading a list of names off his very messy desk covered with school supplies.
"Adam Amber."
"Here." There was a long pause as he looked around the room, then back at his list and checked it off.
"Jess?"
"Yeah, I know..." Natoya was blushing as Andre looked at her apprehensively. He knew a Jess a while back. Arrogant bastard he was.
"Orion Burnest."
"Here."
But Natoya seemed to like this guy. He apparently was 'attractive' or at least Natoya tried to defend her claim on it. Something about grey hair, and dark eyes... or the other way around... most definitely the other way around.
"Andre Vincent." He cringed as he heard the last name. It wasn't his mothers. He sighed and glanced at the teacher.
"Here."
"Do I have everyone...?" There was a bit of silence, and Natoya was about to raise her hand as the teacher made eye contact with Andre. His eyes slowly blinking expectedly.
"No sir." Andre said, probably the hundreth time this semester. "Natoya D'Angelos."
"The new student?"
"Yes sir."
"Welcome to Monarch High School... Make yourself at home."
It was the same script over and over, drawing attention to Natoya over and over. The two waited a minute before they went back to their conversation.
"You don't look like the type of girl who likes to skate."
"Oh shut up." Natoya scoffed, and leaned back on her seat to pout. Andre scoffed.
"I'm joking, I'm joking."
From what Andre knew, Jess liked books and was very analytical. Andre knew Natoya liked fantasy and poems. Jess seemed to like... historical fiction. At some point Natoya droped the information that he was reading some book about some family and Andre was able to make fun of it for ten minutes until he couldn't think of anything else to say. Natoya was smiling the entire time but acted like she was so defensive about this random guy she barely knew.
Over the past few weeks she started talking more and more about how she felt about him. Andre could tell she wanted to talk about it, but only did so anytime he talked about a girl he liked. To save herself the embarrassment of looking obsessive. So he told her old stories, from middle school, and eventually tried to ask out a girl he was apprehensive about whether or not he liked her. She turned him down, which Andre could understand.
Her name was Jona, she liked chess. She didn't like sports. She did everything she could to get out of the games they were forced to play in PE. She, of course, could've turned him down because he put her on the spot. She was one of the shy girls in the class, but he did everything he could to make sure she didn't feel like he was being invasive.
At some point later in the week some guy was making her uncomfortable. Andre waited until Natoya gave him the thumbsup to defend Jona, and that was the last interaction they had, by then Andre didn't really care for her anymore. Sometimes he forgot he ever even 'liked' her.
After that class was over the two went their separate ways to their other classes. Any class they'd meet up again Jess was mentioned, Andre almost felt like he was in a three way relationship with how much he was learning about this dude he didn't even know. Lucky guy.
The rest of the school day drained Andre. He rubbed his eyes and layed his head on the desk and counted the clock down until the end of the day, where he'd spend the athletic period and an hour in basketball practice until he and Natoya would get to leave. Usually he'd pick up his little siblings, but today he'd walk Natoya home after she waited for him to get out of practice. He'd approach her after changing in the locker room, and she'd be leaning against a wall, in the shade, on her phone.
"Ready?"
"Let's go."
They'd get up and start heading back to her apartment complex, talking about the day. Jess. And...
"I wasn't going to throw a ball at you, but it was self-defense."
"It was not self-defense!" Natoya shouted back playfully as she leaned into Andre. He scoffed and put his arm over her shoulder, trapping her for a moment before she yanked back to get released from his hold.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me you weren't going to throw that ball in my face." He said, a smile painted across his face as she looked him in the eyes, and smiled back. Then, Natoya rolled her eyes, shaking her head as they continued walking through the street. Andre couldn't lie. When he first met Natoya he thought that she had a thing for him. Turned out she was just naturally flirty. He didn't mind too much, and the two continued having their friendship. He didn't really know how he felt about her romantically. He felt bad sometimes about originally thinking she was trying to make a move on him, and he could apologize but he didn't want to make it awkward.
"Anyway." She said, pushing him into a building as he scoffed. "Do you at least want to check out that skate park?"
"Do you want to check out the skate park?" He asked sarcastically. He knew her answer. Of course she'd want to check out the skate park. He'd shake his head and sigh. "Alright, let's go. Text your dad or something."
"Oh, shut up!" He'd raise his hands defensively in the air as Natoya scolded him with just a look.
"I'm just sayin'." He'd reply, narrowly dodging another shove she'd throw into him. He enjoyed the little interactions they had. His favorite so far was when his little sister was interrogating her about living in france. She heard her accent, and automatically assumed she lived in france.
"Did you like it there?"
"... Sort of..."
"Why did you come here instead?"
"I wanted to live with my dad."
"Why did you want to live with your dad?"
"Alllright." Andre had inturrupted, his little sister giggling as he gave Natoya an apologetic look but she just looked entertained. She loved his little siblings. Originally he'd walk with them infront, not to far and close enough for him to do something if anything happened, while blocking the street from Natoya. Over time things started to get more personal. She talked about her home situation, her mom and dad, how they got divorced when she was younger, around ten or eleven. He spoke briefly about his father and she dropped the bomb that she ran away from home.
"Doesn't sound like it was unfamiliar territory," He'd say after she talked about the story of why she ran away. Her argument with her mother, buying a plane ticket, the entire trip back.
"No, not at all. I always ran away from her. It's just this time I went across the US."
"Do you normally take to running away from your problems?" He teased.
"Do you normally take to..."
"Uh huh?"
"What are you smiling about?"
Andre looked down to see Natoya, with the same smile on her face. "I can't believe I'm going with you to a skatepark to flirt with-"
"Oh shut up!"
The two continued walking down the street until they finally got to that skatepark Natoya wanted to go to so badly. He'd been here before with Dominic. Cheap place with barely anything interesting. They passed a variety of different places, most Natoya hadn't seen yet. A drive-in restaurant, a drive in movie theatre, a historical, little white house that was now used as a museum. An expensive black car, sitting right outside a supermarket, with a man in a black suit opening the door for a teenager with black hair, formal attire, and a bulky backpack.
"I'll text you when I need you."
"Yes sir."
Andre hated those snobish teenagers that ruined the city they lived in. Especially one particular family, but he never really paid too much attention to them. His mother knew them, though, and she was terrified of them. Andre never knew why. Even his own fragile mother could probably beat up one of their scrawny little kids... But then would come the law... That was probably why. He and Natoya would laugh about these teenagers. Their superior private schools and accelerated course work. The way their parents would pay to put them through college and to buy their degree. How they'd never actually have to work a hard day in their life.
"Wanna grab a drink?"
He hesitated before he answered, looking at the car. "Yeah." He replied to break the silence that was about to begin. "Sure."
The two approached the light, and pressed the button to cross. Once cleared, they crossed the street and started walking towards the building
[idk some way they meet Jess]
"Oh. Andre, this is Jess." Natoya said, very briefly as her face had a very faint glow of red.
"Andre, nice to meet you." Andre offered his hand to shake but Jess seemed reluculant.
"You too." He said, no longer visiblly hesitating before he shook Andre's hand. Andre didn't like this guy. He had bad vibes about him. The way he looked at him. It was like a threat. He was probably overanalyzing it.
[scene later]
"We could..." Natoya began, feeling her throat go dry as she spoke, and made a motion to the shopping cart they were aproaching.
"Steal it?" Jess asked with a hesitant laugh.
"Not steal." Andre added. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we borrowed it."
"They're like, $300." Jess replied.
Andre looked around, observing the area. There were very few cars, and the workers had already gathered up most of the carts. It was just this lone, forgotten one, like a sheep in wolves territory.
"We look suspicious standing out here, doing nothing."
"Okay, let's go." Natoya quickly pushed the cart towards the street, Andre and Jess exchanged nervous glances before Andre's broke into a smile and followed her.
"Hurry up! Let's go!" He said, goofing off as he helped push the cart faster past the parking lot.
Jess scoffed, and shook his head before he followed after them, grabbing one of the sides and running along with both of them. The sun was starting to go down... Surely they just looked like a bunch of teenagers goofing off.
"We gotta avoid the main roads." Jess concluded, pushing the cart into Andre as they took a sharp turn away from the main road.
"Slow down!" Natoya said as she sprinted alongside them. Andre laughed and pushed against the cart to slow it down.
"Hop on!" He laughed, and Natoya smiled, hesitantly before she jumped onto the cart.
Adrenaline was pumping through their veins as Andre and Jess pushed the cart down the street, approaching a long, drawn out hill that would lead them right to the skate park. As if they were all suddenly telepathic, Jess and Andre both stepped onto the chassis of the cart, Jess clutching onto the sides as Natoya held him down, and Andre onto the pack, holding onto the handles as they careened down the hill, hurtling at a speeds all of them were far too uncomfortable with.