Finally, it was over.

Exam number one completed, and in the books, it was time to move on. Odion took a huge sigh of relief, making his way toward the front of the school. A refreshing breeze kissed his face as he opened the doors.

Any information that’d been memorized before the exam was now forgotten, and for good a reason too. Although Odion admired King Mansa Musa for being one of—if not—the richest man in human history, remembering the events leading up to his death wouldn’t have benefited his personal life in any way, especially since many historians and scholars had debated his death.

Odion spotted Toki on the bench near the stairway, shoving a tangerine slice into his mouth. He ogled at the two girls who walked by. With the dance coming up, hopefully, he’d already asked someone to be his date.

“How’d it go?” Toki asked, shoving the last tangerine slice into his mouth.

Odion shrugged, covering his mouth for a yawn. “It was all right,” he said half-asleep, eyes still burning from a lack of it. “I answered every question, which is the main thing.”

Toki nodded. “How many pages?”

“Fourteen,” Odion said, staring at nothing in particular. He wished he’d been under the sheets of his bed right now. “Fourteen pages of bullshit.”

Toki broke into a series of laughter. “Was it that bad?”

“Aren’t they all?” Odion looked back at him without cracking a smile. “I ain’t gonna remember half of what I just memorized.”

Toki’s laughter gradually simmered. “You never know. It might come in handy later on down the line.” Toki looked away to the side, waving to a female Odion hadn’t recognized. She held her binders tightly close to her chest, shyly returning the gesture.

“Who’s she?” Odion bobbed his head in her direction.

A sudden twinkle appeared behind Toki’s smile. “Yasmina,” he said with a touch of grace.

Yasmina? Odion rubbed his eyes to have a better look. “And you know her from where?” Odion maintained eye contact with her as she brushed strands of pink highlights away from her eyes.

“I’m taking her to the dance.” Toki’s cheeks flushed.

“And you didn’t tell me about her earlier because …” Odion said, waiting for an answer.

Toki shrugged. “I didn’t want to talk about it until it was official. It was a slow process between us, and I wanted our relationship to flow naturally. If I told you beforehand, I might’ve jinxed myself, and I didn’t want that.”

It was a little bit upsetting Toki withheld information like that considering they were best friends, but understandable. At first glance, she did seem to fit Toki’s profile of a female worthy of his time and not the gobble-necks found scattered around if you looked hard enough. She was slim, had relatively short hair down to her neck, and seemed like she had a flamboyant personality from the bright-colored attire that matched her hair.

“You okay, man?” Toki asked, resting a hand over his shoulder. “I know you’re tired and all, but you seem a little out of it this morning.”

Odion waited a few seconds before responding, his thoughts all over the place. “A lot of shit’s been happening over these last couple weeks, and …” Odion paused, struggling to find words.

“It’s the Serenity situation, isn’t it?”

Odion looked into his eyes, nodding.

“You try texting her?” Toki asked.

“Nah.” Odion shook his head. “I think she blocked me on Instagram.”

Toki’s mouth dropped. “For real?”

Odion nodded, looking across the field, then toward the plaza and beyond. “It is what it is. I ain’t chasing after her. If she don’t wanna talk to me no more, ain’t nothing I can do about it.”

“Damn, man,” Toki said. “Don’t give up hope. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. Just give her some time, you know. What’s the saying about the heart grows fonder of someone over time?” Toki looked toward the skies, his face deep in thought.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Odion said, filling in the silence.

“That’s the one!” Toki snapped his fingers and nodded. “With you guys keeping a distance from each other, perhaps she’ll grow fonder of your presence over time.”

Odion didn’t necessarily share Toki’s optimism. “Like I said before, it is what it is. If she comes around, great. If she doesn’t, then like she told me last week, it’s best we go our own separate ways,” he said. “My foster-mom made sure and warned me not to get too caught up in someone who doesn’t value me as a human being.” Odion and Toki took a walk toward the stairway and sat. “I tried helping her, and she didn’t want it. I went even as far as getting my ass whooped so that she wouldn’t have to suffer any more abuse.” Odion raised both of his hands and leaned back. “I can only do so much.”

“I can hear the disappointment in your voice,” Toki said.

“I am disappointed,” Odion replied. “When you care about someone only for them to tell you they think it’s best we go our own separate ways. It is disappointing, and I’m not gonna sit here and act like it isn’t.”

Toki placed a comforting hand over Odion’s shoulder. “What did Apollo say when you asked him about what happened?”

Just hearing his name caused Odion to grind his teeth together. This essentially was all his fault. Had he not gotten himself involved in the matter, Serenity wouldn’t have been acting this way. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s living in his own world right now. A complete basket-case he is.” Both Odion and Toki shifted among the stairs, allowing a group of students to pass by.

“Hey Salamar,” Toki called, “how’d you do on the exam?”

Salamar turned and stuck out his thumb. “Aced that bitch, bro! BRING ON THE BIG DANCE!” He yelled with excitement, blond hair glistening in the sunlight, friends howling in the air along with him. “Hey Odion, I bet I’ll be able to get more numbers than you will.”

Odion twisted his face. “If it makes you sleep better at night, sure.” Salamar laughed and headed toward the field and onto the sidewalk, still howling up a storm as if he were a rabid dog. “He’s a strange one,” Odion said, watching him and his friends cross the street. “I’ve always wondered if that nigga was half-retarded.” He pointed to his head. “I’ve never seen anyone act like they were a literal dog before.”

“Yeah, he comes across as strange to most people, and he plays off the big dumb jock role like nobody else, but he’s actually hilarious if you ever get to know him properly.” Toki smiled. “Anyway, what are your plans for the dance now that Serenity seems to be off the table?”

Odion picked up a rock that was resting beside him and chucked it, watching it bounce off a few steps before hitting the ground. “I might not even go to tell you the truth. What’s the point?”

“Ah, c’mon, bro,” Toki said with heavy disappointment. “It’s going to be wack if you’re not there.”

“You already got a date.” Odion turned to look at him. “You two go and enjoy yourselves. If anyone’s deserving of a girlfriend, it’s you.”

Toki raised his palm. “Slow your roll, chief,” he said. “I only asked her to be my date for the dance. Never once have we discussed being a ‘couple.’” He used finger quotes, and Odion looked at him like he was talking shit. “Okay, maybe I brought it up once, but it was only in passing.” He laughed.

“Yeah, y’all go out and enjoy yourselves. I’ll figure something out.”

Toki nudged him on his shoulder, bobbing his head in the direction of a familiar-looking student in the distance. “Isn’t that—”

“Patrick,” Odion said, springing to his feet. His eyes widened as he watched him come out of the woods, vengeance coursing through his veins. Odion sprinted down the stairs.

“Hey, wait up,” Toki said.

Odion stopped and monitored his direction closely, like a tiger waiting for the right moment to maul its prey. “I’m going after him.”

“What do you plan to do?” Toki asked, sounding a bit concerned about the matter.

“If you come along, I’ll show you.” Odion started to walk, maintaining a proper distance as not to get caught.

“I don’t plan on getting suspended with two more exams to go and the dance coming up,” Toki said, pausing for a moment. “I mean, is it really worth it? Going through all this trouble to exact revenge on kids who aren’t going anywhere in life?” Toki flung his hands in the air and then brought them down to his hips as if to suggest Odion was making a wrong decision.

“I’m not forcing you to join me. If you wanna come, then come. If not, go home.” Odion turned around. “Either way, he’s getting dealt with.”

Odion continued along the grassy fields and onto the sidewalk. Patrick seemed like he was heading toward the plaza down the street. Odion quickened the pace. Losing him wasn’t an option. As he got to the end of the street, Patrick stopped and looked both ways before running across against traffic. It’d be a shame if he’d got hit by a car before catching this ass whooping.

“Odion, wait!” Toki said, jogging toward him.

“Hurry up!” Odion turned, gesturing him over with his hand.

“Where is he?”

“Over there.” Odion bobbed his head in the direction of the playground located across from the plaza. That would’ve been perfect if it happened to be empty.

“Are we crossing?” Toki asked, the lights still green with twelve seconds left to cross.

“No,” Odion said. “We’ll walk down a bit further and cross closer toward the playground.”

Odion and Toki cautiously jogged across the street, looking both ways for any incoming vehicles. As soon as they got to the playground, a mother of two was sitting on a bench, watching her children play on the teeter-totter.

“There are kids here, dude,” Toki said. “Whatever you’re planning has to wait.”

There wasn’t a chance that was happening. Don’t these damn kids have school? Odion clenched his teeth together, frustration boiling over as Patrick strolled toward a pathway leading into a residential area. He must’ve lived nearby, which meant time was running out.

“Follow me,” Odion said, pacing toward Patrick, keeping a close eye on his whereabouts. “Keep an eye out and let me know if anyone’s coming. I’ll catch him midway through the path and bang him out there.”

Odion sped up a little quicker and went ahead of Toki, closing the distance between himself and Patrick.

“Wait, don’t you want to think this through?” Toki said.

Odion didn’t reply, making a fist, readying himself for the attack. “Hey, cocksucker,” he called, throwing a running elbow to the back of Patrick’s neck. He staggered toward the ground before he could even turn around to see who it was.

Odion felt Patrick’s weight from under him as he grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the fence. His head bounced off chain-wire upon impact. Patrick staggered to the ground once more, his hands covering his head as Odion rushed him with several kicks to his stomach and face. The feeling of his foot sinking into his gut was supremely satisfying.

“Get up, you fat fuck!” Odion launched a few more kicks to his head, watching it swing back every time he landed. “Your mother should’ve swallowed you.”

Patrick squirmed, pain rolling through his face while blood bubbled from his nose and into his mouth.

“You pussies really thought you were gonna get away with what you did to me?” Odion crashed a knee over his chest, listening to the sweet sounds of Patrick gasping for air. “Tell that cunt, Donovan, I’m coming for his ass.” Odion dug into his pockets, looking for anything of value, and saw he had a hidden blade attached to his belt buckle. “This is mine now.”

Running footsteps came from behind him. “Odion, hurry up, they’re people coming!” Toki said, tugging on his shirt. “C’mon, man, we have to get out of here!”

Odion whipped out his iPhone, snapped a picture, and then spat on his face before escaping into the residential area, leaving Patrick on the floor agonizing in pain.

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