“Trying to make friends with a girl I’ve always wanted to know. I want to know what you be thinking about when you staring off. I watch you read, and you get so lost in a book it’s like the rest of us are gone. This ain’t no stunt. I just want to talk to you.”
Although he came off completely genuine, she found more skepticism in that than anything.
“I guess.” She rolled her eyes and they continued to move along down the hallway toward their first class of the day.
For the first time, Mille spent one-on-one time with Enika, and was grateful for it. Arriving in homeroom before everyone else, they chopped it up on some regular stuff. Mille knew that Enika was smart as hell too. He wasn’t dumb, but he wanted to be good in school and be able to get a scholarship when he was older. Mille was already thinking ahead to his future.
His parents, Minx, and Rose were always telling him that college was a good look for him, especially if he wanted to play basketball. By the time lunch hit, Mille and Enika were damn near hip to hip. He walked her from one class to the next, standing at her locker, and enjoying chilling with her. He had friends, but it was different with her. She listened and had a conversation with him about topics he knew nothing about but was suddenly interested in.
Enika hadn’t even realized how she had let her guard down around him until they got to lunch and were seated across from each other. She stirred her mashed potatoes and stared across at him as he dug into his salad, wolfing that shit down. Mille was handsome. His skin was smooth and dark like cherrywood. His eyes dark and rounded, just like his dad’s. She knew the stories about Maximiliano Ward. He was a serious man. She also knew that he was a gangster, at least that was what everyone said. She didn’t get those vibes from Mille though. He was humble. He dressed fly and kept himself together, but he wasn’t cocky with it like the other boys around. He also was respectful to girls, unlike most of the fools he ran with.
“Why you sitting there looking at me like that?” Mille queried, frowning back at her while his jaw held the salad on pause.
She snickered and lowered her eyes back to her own food. Shaking her head, she sensed that he was still studying her.
“Nothing. You are just… not what I always thought you were,” Enika replied, a pink flush coming and going from her cheeks.
“What did you think I was?” Mille asked, using a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth while he finished chewing.
“I don’t know. You live in Kansas City. You know how people talk,” she replied, shrugging.
“Yeah, I know,” Mille said tiredly.
His family’s name rang bells around here. Sometimes he wished they weren’t so infamous. There was no escaping it. It definitely had its pros and cons. He wouldn’t want to be a part of any other family, but sometimes things got to be a little too much for him.
“We have known each other almost all our lives. I just never knew you I guess.” Enika shrugged.
“Yo, Mille, you the opps now and shit?” Cole, one of the seventh graders in school, taunted, coming up behind him.
Mille didn’t even turn to him. He kept his eyes on his salad. Enika didn’t say anything, but she waited to see how Mille would react. He kind of turned in his seat, finding Cole behind him, along with his so-called friend Felix and a few others that Cole ran with. He searched all of their smug faces.
“I’m chilling, Cole. What’s up?” Mille asked, squinting at him.
“Trying to figure out why you been hanging with this crack baby all day.” Cole joked, waving a hand toward Enika.
Embarrassed, her cheeks turned red, and she tried avoiding the stares coming her way. Mille was on his feet so fast that it startled her. Cole was only a few inches taller than him, but he wasn’t scared of anyone. One thing Max taught him was to never fear another human being.
“Why you even worried about it? Why don’t you go to your table, sit down, and get yourself something to eat?” Mille suggested, nodding to an empty table behind them
Cole chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at his crew backing them. When he turned back to Mille, he shoved him with both hands, making him stumble back into the table. Enika gasped, shocked at what unfolded in front of her. Mille stumbled, but he didn’t fall as he bumped the table. His reflexes took over, and as soon as he brought himself off the table, he took off on Cole.
He hit him with a right hook, then a left, until they were in full squabble mode. For Cole to be older than Mille, the kid was whooping on his ass with everything that he had. The cafeteria turned into their arena, and soon a crowd gathered until security pushed their way through and separated the two boys. Cole had a bloody nose and busted lip, with rage flickering through his eyes as one of the guards held him back.
“Let me go so I can get to this nigga!” Cole barked, wiggling in the guards hold trying to break free.
“Let’s get you both to the principal’s office. How about that?” Officer Graham replied, dragging Cole in one direction while the other guard tugged Mille along.
“A’ight, let’s go, little killa,” he teased Mille.
Enika wasn’t sure what to do. She was in shock as they carted both boys toward the office. Mille was hurt standing up for her, and suddenly, all eyes turned to her in accusation. She finished her food and decided to head to her next class early.
It was almost12:30 in the afternoon when Minx got the call from Mille’s school. She’d been in the middle of getting her nails filled when she got the message. Annoyed that she had to cut her day of pampering short, she got into her car and drove back across town to see what her little brother had gotten into. Mille was hardly ever in trouble, so Minx was curious as hell when the principal called and told her she needed to get there since they couldn’t reach her parents. Arriving outside the front entrance of the school, Minx parked and hopped out of the car.
She walked the familiar halls of the school, remembering when she used to attend. When Minx entered the office, she was thrown when she heard Rose’s voice. Her heart rapped loudlyagainst her eardrums, and all she saw was the back of him while he stood at the desk talking to the secretary.
“Well, where is he?” she heard him demand, as the office door slammed shut behind her.
Rose turned, and when he saw her, she saw something flicker behind his intense stare. She cleared her throat and managed to find her footing over to the desk, joining him at his side.
