“Dang, Minx, it takes a little time to put all this fly together.” Mille patted himself down like he had all the juice.
“Boy, let’s go.” She ushered him toward the door and locked up behind them.
After pulling up to the public school that her brother attended, Minx shifted her Jeep into park and turned toward her brother. There were a few staff members outside greeting the kids and patrolling with security as the morning crowd hovered or made their way inside the building. Minx checked her rearview and noticed an unmarked pull in behind her in the drop-off lane.
It was Perez dropping off his daughter. She didn’t even realize that she attended the same school as her brother, butMille perked up in his seat as well. Minx watched her hop out. She was adorable. Her skin was a deep-chocolate, flawless, and she had dimples. Her brown eyes were her asset, and attached to them were the fullest set of natural lashes. She still wore her hair like a girl her age, with two goddess braids draping her back as she adjusted her backpack on her back.
“A’ight, kid. You catching the bus home, right?” Minx asked, watching him gather his backpack.
“Yup. Catch you later. Thanks for the ride, Minx.” He nodded as he got out of the car.
Watching him in awe as he coolly walked up on the curb and greeted some of his homies, Minx smiled. She peeped all the little girls watching too and felt some kind of way about her brother growing up on her.
Mille slapped hands with some of his friends, but he peeped Enika Perez standing off to the side like she always did, solo. He wondered what she was thinking because she was so quiet and stared off and listening to music on her phone most days. The rest of the girls were always in his face, like now, trying to talk to him about some stuff he didn’t really care about. Mille was popular because of his connection to his family. Of course there were always kids that didn’t like you for whatever reason. When you were young, none of that shit mattered. Kids were just jealous and spiteful, especially nowadays with the internet and social media.
“What up, Mille? You ready for the game this week?” his homie, Felix, asked as they huddled near the front doors.
This was typically their spot until the warning bell rang. Since Mille had already eaten breakfast, he didn’t trip off that school-supplied shit. He kept him a bottle of Gatorade though, so he stopped at the vending machine as they made their way inside.
“And that fine sister of yours can’t keep coming up here, or I’m trying to get at her.” Felix tried it with him.
Mille stopped walking and locked eyes with Felix. Gripping the strap to his backpack, draped over one shoulder, Mille shook his head.
“Nah, man, don’t talk about my sister.”
Felix chuckled.
“My bad.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m going to grab some food. I’ll catch you in homeroom.” Felix nodded, falling in with the crowd stepping inside.
Mille turned to go to his locker and bumped right into Enika. He smacked into her so hard that her books fell out of her hands. Everything dropped at her feet, and she immediately scrambled to grab them.
“Sorry,” Mille muttered, dropping down with her to assist her in collecting her things.
“You didn’t see me. It’s fine.” She put her head down.
“Enika, we been in school together since kindergarten. Why you act like you don’t know me?” Mille queried.
Her head snapped in his direction.
“Everybody already acts like they know you. What you need my attention for?” she asked, her voice shaky.
Mille liked her. She was real. She’d been the same since he’d known her. She was sweet, innocent, and stayed out of everyone’s way. Enika was also the daughter of a cop, and that was well known. So attending a public school with the children of some of the deviants he put away was uncomfortable at times. She felt like she was always under scrutiny. She was either too good or too hood, so she did her best to be invisible. Mille was surprised by her words. Both of his brows went up. She had a little bite to her, causing him to smirk.
“Well, how about we walk to class together since we are going the same way?” Mille suggested.
“Why would you risk being seen with me?” she queried, confused by his offer.
Mille shrugged and stuck his bottom lip out.
“Why not?” he fired back at her.
“If you’ve known me so long, then you would know kids don’t like me. I’ve had one friend my entire life, and she moved away right before we started middle school. I’m alone here.”
“What if you didn’t have to be?” Mille spoke up, falling in stride with her.
Enika didn’t know what was going on. Her palms grew sweaty, and her heart rapped loudly against her chest. Mille was adorable. She always thought so. She envied kids like him. He was carefree and outgoing. She was more reserved, always on the sidelines watching everything. She didn’t like attention, and she knew hanging around him was bound to draw some.
“What is this? Some kind of experiment? Trying to make friends with the school nerd?”
