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Una
Rubbing my templeswith my fingers did nothing to ease the tension migraine brewing. I sighed and closed my eyes, resting my elbows on the table for better leverage.
“What’s wrong?” Mali asked, plopping down on the bench next to me. We sat in the corner, away from others. Not that it did any good for my head at the moment.
The noise of the cafeteria had no effect on my headache. It was all internal stress. Nothing I could pop some ibuprofen for or anything.
“People,” I answered, lowering my head to the table and cradling it in my arms.
Malia popped a chip into her mouth, washing it down with a gulp of soda. “Ain’t it always. What’s the deal today? Or should I say, deals? You’ve been taking on too much lately, Una.”
I huffed out a breath. “I haven’t taken onenough. Papa Tony is holding my car for ransom at this point. I need an extra hundred now, and I don’t have that. Plus, I have to finish out the contract for Ar—for someone tonight. It’s been bugging me for a week or so now and I need to get rid of it.”
“You’re paid up front. Why let just one bother you?” Malia’s dark hair plus her ever-present smoky eye looked amazing, but definitely threw off some wicked vibes. That, added with her love of being snarky and menacing completed her reputation. She didn’t hold back with her wit and brutal honesty either, which made her seem ruder than she really was deep down.
I sucked in a breath, my jaw tensing as I thought about the contract. “I just need to get it over with. I regrettably allowed this one to pay half and half.”
Why I let Aria do that was beyond me. Stupid familial loyalty or something.
Sitting up, I gathered my braids into my black scrunchie to keep them out of my face. They desperately needed a change. I was over the blonde with the purple and black. Even though they were my signature colors, I felt a pull toward blue lately. Not the teal I had previously, but maybe a dark sky blue mixed in with a darker brown? I could always go a bit shorter too.
Or maybe it was time to let my natural hair shine and do away with the braids all together…
“Una?Una?” A hand snapped in front of my face. I jerked, my eyes automatically narrowing in anger.
“What?” I exclaimed, only to find Ali settling in at the table. “Sorry.”
Before he did anything, I reached into my backpack and grabbed the bag of Skittles I swiped from home this morning and tossed them at him. Keeping Ali fed with his favorite candy was the best way to keep him happy.
“What’s gotten into you today?” he asked, popping the lid on his water bottle.
“No—”
“She has a contract to finish,” Malia answered for me. I glared at her. She didn’t know that the contract in question dealt with Ali. No one besides me and Aria did.
“Speaking of,” I started, looking over at my friend. “Gotta cancel tonight. I’ll meet you guys at the party instead?”
Ali crooked his head, as if trying to read me. I kept my face as neutral as possible, not wanting to give anything away. “You’re the one that wanted to go to the diner to begin with. Back to original plans then? Mali, you still want a ride?”
“So you two aren’t going to Tremaine’s at all?” I asked, after Malia and Ali made their arrangements. I had to be sure they would go nowhere near there tonight in order to pull off my plan for Aria.
“Nah,” Ali said, chomping down on his burger. “We’ll just hit the party.”
“Where is it anyway? Without the Wolves hosting, where are we going?” I asked. The where and when’s weren’t my main focus with parties. I always seemed to end up in the right spot.
“Some Fairview jock, I think,” Malia said. “I’ll text you the address later.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course it is.”
Ali popped an eyebrow. “That going to be a problem? I mean, is the whole ‘your dad is the coach’ thing still an issue?”
“No. It’ll be fine. I’ll meet there. Gotta go.” I jumped up and fled before they asked more questions.
Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen Aria get up to leave the cafeteria. I needed to catch up with her.
“Aria,” I called as soon as we were both into the hallway and out of ear shot. Without acknowledging her, I jerked my chin toward the corner down the hallway, where we could have a little privacy.
“Tonight. Tremaine’s Diner. Seven pm.”
