Author's Note: Shit, man. My bad for the uncalled absence. Let's just say I've been stuck on a long-ass writer's block and the piling life problems kept worsening the condition. But because it's summer and have all the time in the world to write, I decided to finish this update up, which should've been posted a looong time ago. Literally. I started this like 3 months ago, and yet it's now that I complete the chapter. Yeah. I think I should see a writing doctor and ask him what the friggin-fuck is wrong with me lol. But anyways, you all came here for a reason...to read. So, here's the long awaited chapter ;).

Disclaimer: By now, you should already know.

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Chapter 26: Lunch Time Part 2

Riley

"Say what?" I couldn't believe what I just heard.

Dewey let out an annoyed sigh. "Riley, you heard me well and clear."

"Can you just re-explain all of dis shit again. I think Imma bout to get a migraine."

"Okay, I did exactly what you told me to do. I managed to get closer to Mitsuki, but it'll take some time to get info out of her," he explained. "My interaction with her today might have been short, but I took it as an opportunity to observe her psychologically."

I was really pissed. "What do you mean time? I ain't got time for her bitchiness. I just wanna know if she da one who exposed Ci-" I immediately kept my big mouth shut as Dewey gave me a confused look. I promised Cindy I'd tell nobody 'bout her secret. Girlfriend or not, she still someone I care about. "I mean, spread the false rumor about Cindy."

"You're not the only one, Riley. I, too, wanna know what's up with her and Cindy. But it'll just take time. She just isn't the type of person to welcome others in her personal life, with open arms, ya know," he said carefully. "Just give me at least a few weeks, and I'll get something."

"A few weeks?!"

In spite of anger, I banged my fist against the wall that was right behind us. We secluded ourselves in a school corner, that was far away from the cafeteria. We could have gone back to the supply closet, where we first initiated our plan, but bruh, if you knew how much of a struggle it was to climb up them long flight of stairs, hm.

I tried to maintain my collectedness, because acting up was gonna do nun'. I specifically chose him, out of all the other people, because I knew he could get close enough to the bitch, with no problem. He was the only male she tolerated. It was risky to let him in the plan, as he held feelings for Cindy. But he was all I got.

Dewey's gaze sharpened. "Yeah, a few weeks. She's a girl with personal problems to which she keeps them in her heart. She has obviously trust issues. All I can do for now, is play as her 'close friend' and I'll get her trust. And that's when I'll strike."

I rolled my eyes, not liking the fact that I'd have to wait longer for some answers. Ya know Reezy don't do waiting. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever it takes to get some answers about that rumour."

"But ya know..." Dewey trailed off, rubbing his chin, as he delved into the subject. "Let's say Mitsuki did spread that rumour, wouldn't she have told one of her close friends about it?"

Fully understanding where he was getting at, I immediately snapped my fingers. "Yeah, she used to hang out with dat brunette chick who looked like she got gang-banged by Crayola."

He snorted. "Gang-banged by crayola?"

"Yeah nigga. I swear, I ain't even exaggeratin. You'll get what I mean once ya see her," I crinkled my nose. He just got enrolled into this school, so he obviously hadn't seen nor met her yet. Though, once he does, he'll regret. "Anyway, her name is Brittany. But she hasn't been comin to school for a while, well, after her beatdown with Ze."

Dewey did a double take. "W-wait, my poor, little baby cousin, Zonnique, got into a school fight?"

"...Yeah..." I shifted anxiously. I felt bad for him. Knowing that your own blood was in a fight, and lost, must'd sting really bad.

But it wasn't the case as his goofy-ass smile showed up on his face. "Did she lose?"

Euh, what? "..Uhm, yeah?"

He fist-pumped up in the air, "Yaas!"

I shot him a confused look and he chuckled. "Nigga, ya know dat gay sound dat just came out of ya chapped lips. Ya? Well, don't ever do that again."

"Sorry, it's just I did a bet with Zonni and since she lost, I win that $50!"

I gasped. "Nigga, I think I'm constipated, because I 'ont give a shiiiit."

Dewey pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "Ya don't have to be mean," he mumbled.

"Anywho," I dismissed with a swat of hand, "Since you's already dealing with Mitsuki, I'm gonna deal with Brittany. She has to know at least something."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Dewey lifted his hand up for, what I assumed was, a high-five. "We make a great team, partner-in-crime."

I looked at his hand with the most boring look. "...Yeah, bye." I turned on the balls of my feet and walked away, not giving a shit if I left him hanging.

He was being delusional if he thought we were friends, especially after what he and Cairo had done to me and Huey, back when we was young in Chicago. I dunno about Huey, but I was over that. However, that didn't mean I wanna be friends with 'em again. They gotta prove to me, not just to me but also to Huey, that they wouldn't pull a bitch move.

Dewey was getting there, he was showing a faint sign of loyalty.

Can't say the same for Cairo.

He was in my black list.

Simply because I had a feeling he was part of the reason why Cindy had been acting up lately. And I don't trust dat nigga. Word.

I took a right turn in a hallway, taking my time. I was heading down to the cafeteria. I might as well, Ming and Caesar were probably waiting for my return. I stopped my tracks. Then again...

Knowing Caesar, they were probably trying to get to know each other, in this instant. They were alone in the cafeteria. So, it was a possibility that it could be happening.

Fuck it, I ain't going back there and see their gay-ass love fest.

I did a quick 180 turn and walked on the opposite side of the hallway, no longer heading to the cafeteria. Not even a few minutes passed and I was already on the edge of cracking from boredom. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had a driver's license. I swear, once I turn 16, Imma get that license.

This boredom cannot go on any longer, yo.

My locker happened to be located in the same hallway to which I was currently walking in, so I headed over there and with a quick turn of my lock, I opened it. My hand reached for something that was buried under the pile of papers and books.

Anastasia told me to read it once I was mature enough, in other words, later. But I had nothing else to do at this moment and I wanted to know answers...about my Mom.

I never really had the chance to read the journal with Huey and Granddad always around me, not minding their own business. They still knew nothing of this diary's existence and I wanna keep it that way. I knew it wouldn't be fair for them, especially for Huey, but they at least remembered her. I didn't. I didn't even have a clue on how she looked like.

After a moment of searching, I finally found my Momma's journal and was just about to pull it out, until I heard someone heading my way. In a slick move, I hid the book back in the pile of garbage and closed my locker. I leaned against it, keeping myself cool, and folded my arms against my chest.

I turned to face the approaching person, and it happened to be some chick who was in my Math class. She looked really scared, tho.

"Riley! You have to come with me," she pointed towards the hallway that was on the right, "...You're brother is fighting with Cairo."

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Jazmine

I sipped on my grande Chestnut Preline Decaf. "That slut only did one thing right...convincing the principal to have a small Starbuck cafe in school grounds."

"You betcha," Cindy agreed, calmly enjoying her Vanilla Bean Frap.

As you could probably guess, we were in the school's Starbucks cafe, enjoying our yummy, treats. It just opened up, like, not too long ago, and the cafe was already swarmed by hundredths of students, more specifically, white females. Then again, it wasn't a surprise, we are talking about Starbucks here. The white girls' shrine of all time.

And the white side of me can confirm that.

Well, if my biological mother was white anyway.

I placed my hot drink back on on the table, satisfied. "Okay, so we have to get Mitsuki, we've been letting her bitchiness get to us for too damn long."

Cindy nodded, her gaze sharpened. "Damn right! And I think I know how we can destroy her no good ass."

"How so?"

Her lips ever so slowly formed a smirk that screamed trouble. "We blow da bitch up with a grenade launcher."

I deadpanned, actually giving the idea a thought, but quickly shook it out of my head. "...Cindy. We can't blow up a person, no matter how much of a Satan they are."

"Aw, come on!" she whined, frowning. "I bet the students up in here do it!"

"...That's the thing. We're not rich enough to get away with murder. And besides, it's wrong."

Cindy hung her head low, disappointed. "Fuck."

I apologetically patted her on the shoulder. "There, there. I know, we'd be doing the world a big favour, but we just can't," I said, "We're too young to go to jail and get anally-raped, if that's possible."

"...Fine," she muffled.

I folded my arms, with a conniving smile. "But I know another way we can get her."

At that said, her head was lifted up faster than a rocket ship. "Go on."

I giggled, out of nervousness. It was weird. I wasn't used to being the mastermind. Riley was usually the one to come up with plans, when it came to schemes. In all the wacky adventures I'd been in, I was always the little scared girl who'd hide behind Huey and Riley, and cry for my parents. And in the end, I'd get all the benefits showered on me, without budging from my hiding spot.

I swear, it was a damn miracle that I didn't lose my friends.

The number of times I'd stalk (yes, unfortunately) Huey.

The number of times I'd steal Cindy's chicken.

And the number of times I'd ruin Riley's fundraiser schemes.

My innocence was a pain in the butt.

God, what did they see in me? I was a horrible la-

Snap. "Jazz, you mind-speakin' to the readers again," Cindy snapped her fingers, all the while her face was all up in my space.

I widened my eyes for a sec, then calmed down, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, force of habit." She shot me a No Shit type of look, but I waved it off. "Anyway, since she got a hold of your secret, why can't we do the same to her? We find someone who is willing to sneak into her house and from there, they could find all the dirt. With her dark secrets, we can blackmail her into leaving us alone...or we can use it against her and make her suffer. Really, it's your choice."

"We make dat blond thostitude suffer," she blurted out.

I flinched. Ouch. She said thostitude. She was clearly mad at Mitsuki. I cleared my throat, "Okay, so, yeah. The only problem here is finding someone who is willing to sneak in."

"Why not Hiro? He lives with da bitch!" she urged.

My mouth made an o. "...Ohh yeah. I even forgot they were related too."

"Yeah well, you ain't the only one. We all have the tendency to do that. Just think about it, they ain't even look anything alike. I swear," she said, "They act differently, they share no common likings and they hate each other. Hell, if they have the chance to kill each other, I can guarantee yo ass they won't hesitate ta do the deed. Then again, he's dealin with Mitsuki, so I don't blame the poor fella."

"Hmm," I pursed my lips, thinking to myself.

Their hatred for each other was so deep, deeper than the ocean. It was...abnormal. The first time I'd met Hiro, I asked him if he had any older or younger siblings and he said no. We never see them exchange words in school grounds. All of us (save for Zonnique and Caesar since they knew him longer than us) had to find out by catching him ride the limo with Mitsuki as they were heading home.

Obviously, they shared both a family issue.

Hiro hadn't explained to us why he hated Mitsuki to that extent, but sooner or later, he would.

I had no business to intrude in their family affair, it was up to them to fix it.

Only them.

"Anyway, I'll ask him if he could help us. If not, then we're gonna have to find someone else," I elucidated. "Is everything all good?"

Cindy nodded, "Hell yeah. But I can tell this will take time to work."

"I guess, but then again, the plan has to be executed before the talent show, which is going to be held in two weeks. I know deep in my gut that Mitsuki is going to sabotage my part."

"Say word?!"

I sighed, "I swear, it was supposed to be held like weeks ago! But noo, the poor little princess wasn't ready, so she kept convincing the principal into pushing the date."

"Dat chick has to go down! She only got that much power in her so-called kingdom," Cindy did air-quotes, "because she popped out of a rich pussy. I dunno why the students of WA are being her bitches!"

"And teachers too," I added.

"See what I mean?! Even da teachers! Granted, they the total definitions of douchebag and Paris Hilton, but come on! They gotta have some self-respect too. Everytime she be snapping her fingers, they immediately come and bow down ta her like she sum Beyonce type of queen."

I understood her frustration. "But then again, we're not in some normal high school. We are in a wealthy school where every individual's status is based on their wealth. The more richer you are, the higher you are in the social ladder. And apparently, Mitsuki is the richest in school. So that automatically makes her untouchable."

This part of the conversation kind of reminded me of my parents. They weren't really obsessed with their social status, but you can say they suffered from the pressure of it, and maintaining the image of being the perfect lawyers with a perfect family.

If I could recall from what I'd noticed in my childhood, my Mo- Sara would always attend those fancy tea parties Mr. Wuncler used to do, she hated that type of social event too. But she always went anyway, just to mask our family's imperfections and not risk her reputation of being the well-off mother and wife of a well-paid attorney.

Maybe that was when the downfall of her marriage with Da- Tom began...

Pound.

I jumped in my seat, startled by the sound, and was faced with Cindy who slammed her fist on our table, determination set in her eyes. "Rich school or not, we need to teach dat bitch a lesson."

I nodded and planted my fist on hers. I narrowed my eyebrows whilst sporting a smile. "You got that right, Cin."

We were ready to throw our hands in the air and do some kind of cheer you'd find in a high school musical movie (well...I'd do it anyway. Cin would had just looked at me like I was a retard), until a girl rushed into the cafe and stopped by our table. I widened my eyes.

I recognized her. And from Cindy's dilating irises, she recognized her too. She was in Cindy's French class with Mr. Madeleine.

The poor girl must have ran so much, by the way she was struggling to catch her breath.

"Are you okay? Just take it easy," I comforted.

However, her frown didn't budge. "Jazmine...Cindy...you have to...come with me," she urged in between breaths.

Cindy moved an eyebrow up with a quirk, "Why tho? You gonna pay us?"

I glared at her, and then hit her on the shoulder.

"What? My ass is jobless and I damn need new shoes."

I ignored her and focused on the main issue. "Sweetie, tell us what's wrong."

"Huey's in a fight with Cairo, like right now!"

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Huey

I retaliated with a swift roundhouse-kick to his abdomen, sending him flying across the hallway, which was now crowded by Riley, cheering students...and strangely teachers. I didn't have time to wonder why they didn't stop the fight, when Cairo recovered quick from that hit as he stood back on his feet. He obviously had some fighting experience, nobody other than Riley could recover from that kick. It...surprised me. But I didn't show it.

"What's up Huey?" Cairo spat blood, as he lifted both his hands up in fists. "Can't accept the truth?"

"What truth? You were spreading false rumors!"

He coughed, "That ain't what yo woman said."

I took my shoe off and threw it to Cairo's face, leaving a red shoe-print on his cheek, just right. "Why are you exactly here, in Woodcrest Academy?"

I could hear Riley from the distance cracking into a fit of laughter. "Nigga, you just pimp-slapped by McHater's shoe!"

"Ouch," Cairo rubbed his red cheek, scrunching his face while doing so. "Really, man? Did you just slap me with a shoe?"

"Answer the damn question. Now," I ordered.

Cairo snorted, "Nah."

I lunged at him, my fist flying through the air for his face, but he surprisingly dodged it with a quick step to the left, and then grabbed my fist. The inside of my stomach tightened, my instincts kicking in. He was going to flip me, and my observation was correct as he turned his back on me with a hold of my arm and swung me over his shoulder.

"McHater, go kick his ass! Come on!" shouted Riley. "If you lose, I ain't gonna be yo brotha no mo', I swear!"

Nice way of supporting me, Riley...

I was fast enough to gracefully land on my free hand and flipped myself back on my feet, now standing across from Cairo. I don't ever remember him being decent in fighting. Last time I checked, when we were friends back in Chicago, I was the one doing the battling for him. "I see someone's been taking fighting lessons."

His eyes were in slits, "Well, I had no choice, seeing as my best friend abandoned me with niggas who'd always beat the livin' black outta me."

I rolled my eyes, "Stop lying. What about the group of guys who helped you insult my family, at Moe Jackson's funeral?"

Cairo's face grew dark. "You thought them bustas were my friends? I wasn't lucky as you, having a chance to start anew and make friends and have a sexy-ass, Beyonce-lookin' girlfriend."

He lunged at me and tackled me to the ground, unable to land a punch as I kept blocking them. This was troublesome. He was always provoking me, every time. Wherever I go, he comes and destroys the little peace I have left in my mind. Was he this hungry for attention? If it wasn't for my attention, then what did he want?

"Y'all look really gay, foreal."

We froze on the spot and simultaneously looked up, seeing Riley shaking his head with a laughing smirk. We looked back at each other, Cairo holding a disgusted face as he realized he was sitting on top of me, and I paled as his face was too close to mines. He was going to say something, surely an insult, but he couldn't.

After all, it was quite a challenge to speak when you get a fist on your face, sending you flying against the wall.

Cairo groggily sat up, his back on the wall for support. "I'm never gonna beat you at fighting, aren't I?" he cursed under his breath, with a roll of his eyes. "...No matter how much I practice, you always win, because you're Huey-fucking-Freeman."

"Your skills have gotten better," I admitted, then narrowed my eyes. "But you're lacking maturity."

"Me, lacking maturity?" I sensed a wave of anger washing over him, as soon as he shot up to his feet, darting an accusatory finger at me. "Says the nigga who punched me out of nowhere because he still trippin' over what happened, years ago."

"Oh please. You saw that coming, with that head-butt stunt you pulled. What made you think I'd forget about that?"

"How am I suppose to forgive a guy, my so-called best friend, when he abandoned me. You knew well what happens behind closed doors in my place. You knew the hell I had to go through in school, with them bullies. You knew how broken I was when I lost him!"

Guilt immediately got to my core. I let my hands fall to my sides, no longer in fists.

Cairo didn't stop there, he continued. "And yet, you didn't tell me that you were going to move away, knowing I needed you. You were the only nigga I could rely on, you were always there defending me. I thought we were like brothas." I flinched. "But I see that was all a fuckin lie."

"Stop talking."

Cairo threw a hand over to me as he faced the crowd. "Again with the emotionless face. See what I mean people? Every time he has to deal with an emotional issue, he always gotta turn off his humanity, just to not feel the guilt or pain anymore," he shot me a piercing side-glance. "After all, that's what he did when his fathe-"

I cracked.

I just couldn't let Riley hear the rest of Cairo's sentence. Not now. He was still too young to understand what happened to our Dad. I tackled Cairo into the ground and swung a barrage of punches at his face. I couldn't think straight anymore. I was blinded by anger. There were moments when Cairo would try to block my attacks, but it'd only fail, miserably.

At this rate, I don't think I was going to stop.

I was afraid of that.

But he did deserve it.

So, meh.

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Ming

I stepped out of the cafeteria, my long hair swinging from left and right, and vice-versa. I rolled my eyes as I blew a long strand out of my view, for the billionth time. I hated long hair, I had always wanted to have that wild Kylie Jenner look, but I doubt I could achieve that.

Besides, my grandfather had taken a liking of it. He claimed I looked like his late-daughter.

Whatever. If it got him to start seeing me in a different light, then so be it.

Yeh-yeh has always seen me as a failure, ever since the kickball tournament. He flew me back to China, and never wanted to speak to me again. I apparently shamed the name of Duo. His words, not mines.

But he had some business with Sr. Wuncler, so he flew back to Maryland, and I came along. It was my chance to prove him wrong. I was not a failure, but success. I was going to show him that, through education. Like all Asian parents and grandparents, they expected their kids to get fully involved into school, and become an accountant, lawyer, engineer, doctor, etc.

Thus, I decided to enrol in Woodcrest Academy, one of US' best schools.

I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. "So, since you obviously know Riley, I'm guessing that you're also cool with Huey and Jazmine."

I forgot about Caesar for a minute there, with how it was quiet back in the cafeteria, when we didn't speak and just focused on our food. I should feel bad for rudely closing the conversation when he asked how I knew Dewey, but it was none of his business. He didn't need to know my connection with Dewey, it'd just lead him into figuring out that I also knew personally Cairo. And I'd rather kill myself than let that happen.

I turned and faced the nosy Brooklyn boy whilst I walked backwards. "Well, kinda. After how much of a bitch I acted with Huey, I doubt he'd take the time of the day to talk to me. Whereas Jazmine, she tried to be best-friends with me, but I rudely refused."

Caesar gawked, "Why tho? She's the sweetest thing ever."

"Exactly my point," I giggled as he made a confused face, "She's too much of sweetie pie. I'm not used to that kind of innocence, trust me."

He looked up and down, mischievously. "You're the rough kind of gal, aren't you?"

I returned the same look, with a brief smile. "I see that look you're giving me. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Caesar gave me a friendly tap on the shoulder and my left cheek twitched by his action. Lesson number one readers, my pet peeve was when guys hit, punch or even, tap me on the shoulder like I was one of their home-boys or part of their clique. "Don't flatter yourself. You wish I was thinking about you like that," he boasted.

I was still walking backwards, facing him. I could see my reflection in his eyes. Wow. I really nailed my bored look. I had low eyes, no smile and my hair was tamed...but annoyingly long. "Wow. You got me. You secretly turn me on."

He widened his eyes, "Foreal?!"

Poor soul. "Sarcasm, young one. Remember that."

His mouth immediately closed into a thin line, indignantly. "Harsh."

"That's my middle name." My two fingers wiggled a small peace-sign.

Caesar just had a moment of revelation, or even illumination, from how his mouth fell once again. "Seriously?"

My shoulders fell and I stopped my tracks, out of hopelessness. Was he serious? "For the love of God-"

He cracked into a fit of laughter, "I was joking, ma."

I was ready to fight back with a good comeback and wipe that grin off his face, but screams and chants caught our attention. I turned around to see what was going on. "Hey, what's going on over there?" Caesar pointed up ahead, where there was a sea of students crowding around two very familiar boys who were fighting. One of them had a humongous afro, and from there, I immediately knew who he was.

I sighed, "Oh, I don't know Caesar. Maybe, there's, um, a party, perhaps..?"

"Ming, I doubt it's a party. It's more like a fight," he said matter-of-factly, like he hadn't just asked a stupid question seconds ago. He knew it was a fight, so why did he had to ask, like he ain't noticed one of the boys just gave a right-hook to the other's jaw.

I sunk my shoulders low, "Of course it's a fight. I was being sarcastic."

"But wh-"

"Because I want to make you realize how ridiculous your question was."

"..Oh," he said, thoughtfully. "My bad..?"

I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go and check it out. I wanna see who's winning."

I heard Caesar snort, "And not out of worry for their well-being?"

I waved him off, "And that too." Not really, actually.

We headed straight to the school's little spectacle, pushing and kicking past the idiotic students, which was hard by the way. This was like Beijing all over again, I swear! Just when Caesar and I thought we made it to the front, there came another group of individuals blocking our way from the spectacle. However, we miraculously managed to get to the front, and the both of us stood there, in shock from what we were watching.

We were both speechless, but not for the same reasons.

I glanced at Caesar from the corners of my eyes. He was shocked because Mr. Too Good for Trouble, as in Huey Freeman, was in a school fight.

I, on the other hand, was petrified...because of him.

"Cairo..." I surprised myself by being a little sad. But why should I be surprised? The guy I thought I'd never have to see again was now attending the same school as me. Funny. I came here in Woodcrest Academy for a fresh start, but how could I do that with him back in my life?

He must have heard me, because he turned to my direction so fast, I'm sad his neck didn't snap. "Ming?!" he groggily, but with all his might, pushed Huey off of him. "What are you doing here?!"

"I go here..."

Cairo had that owl look for a slight second. "WHAT? Since whe-"

Thank goodness for Huey, he made Cairo shut up by executing a superb roundhouse-kick to his leg, making him fall flat on his face. The fallen bastard didn't move or anything. The crowd immediately stopped cheering as they grew worried. I peered over to Cairo, and poked him, repetitively. "He's alive people."

Groans of disappointment were cued amongst the crowd and they all dispersed back to their classrooms and whatnot. I snorted. What a nice crowd we have here.

My focus was back on Cairo, whilst I shook my head in disgust. Cairo. Cairo Jackson. Let's see. He was one hell of a backstabber who could string along a girl's feeling and crush her till she was left with nothing but hatred, and get her involved into many illegal drug schemes in the process. Yup. That was about as much details I could tell you guys about him. I kicked him, because his existence annoyed me that much. But he didn't react from the pain. The guy was really knocked out.

Damn, Freeman really kicked his ass.

I turned away from my ex-boyfriend and faced Huey who was nonchalantly talking to Caesar and Riley, like he hadn't just beat up Cairo a few seconds ago. "Freeman, I didn't peg you as the prep type." I'd never imagine him here being in this kind of school. Granted he was impeccably intelligent and talented, it just didn't seem like his type of style to be in this snobby environment.

I pointed towards Cairo's direction, "So...what do we do now?"

"You're all coming to my office...now."

We all turned to face the assistant principal who was standing near us, by the row of lockers. He...honestly didn't look intimidating. He seemed like the wimpy kind of guy who'd suck another dude's dick. The only thing that intimidated us was the fact he was the school's assistant principal, inasmuch he held the power to our fate in this school. I sucked on my teeth, pissed. Not even an hour in WA, and I was already in trouble...for doing nothing.

I glanced at the boys, what? Riley and Caesar were nonchalantly texting away on their phones. They weren't worried, sad nor angry by this predicament.

I approached and nudged Huey. "So...what's going to happen to us?"

He shrugged, "Who knows."

"And what about the fallen bastard? Do we leave him on the floor like that?"

Huey gave me a look that screamed are you kidding me, but in his indifferent fashion. "Do you want him to come with us?"

I thought about it for a second, I really did. But all I could say was, "Let him keep kissing the floor, it's the only thing in this entire universe that tolerates his existence."

He gave me a mere blink, "Well Ming, this may be a start of a good friendship." I smirked. I knew we could get passed the whole kickball ordeal. "But I'm still mad at you for breaking my arm."

I deadpanned, "You just won't let go, will you?"

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Dewey

Poke.

Poke.

I poked his side with the tip of my shoe, as curiosity got to me. Why the hell is the nigga still on the floor?

Poke.

I guess the rumors were true, Cairo really was in a fight with Huey, and his dumb-ass lost. Tragic. After all the training he'd been doing back in Chicago, he still hadn't surpassed Freeman. I ticked my tongue, disappointed. As his best-friend, I should be lending him a hand, and get him back on his feet, but at this very moment, I was debating whether I should take a picture of his current state and post it on Snapchat and Instagram.

Go ahead, call me a bad friend, but if you all were in my position, you'd be doing the same thing.

Poke.

I ceased the constant poking, and sighed. Thanks a lot, you guys. You got a brotha feeling guilty here, and now I was obligated to do the "right" thing, even though leaving him unconscious on the floor was the right thing. "Ay, Cairo," I crouched by him and slapped the knocked out brotha on the back of his head.

Sleepily, he grumbled and swatted my hand away from his head. I quirked an eyebrow at that. Oh? So instead of getting his ass back in class, he decided to fake himself as the victim and pretend to be unconscious. I too can play that game.

So, I heaved a breath and cupped my mouth, as though I was using a megaphone. "Cairo, sum nigga is stealing your weed stash in your locker."

Cairo made no move to get up.

I rolled my eyes, and tried again. "Your parents found out about your drug dealing business."

"..."

"Huey is coming for your ass again."

"..."

"Uhh...Jazmine wants to give you head..?"

Cairo immediately sat up, "Come to Daddy!" He opened and blinked, only to realize that Jazmine was nowhere in sight. "Fuck my life."

"I'm sorry to say this, but you're delusional." I howled in laughter, pushing my glasses to the bridge of my nose, in order to keep them from falling.

He sucked on his teeth, "It can happen, dumbass..."

"...Yeah, in your dreams man."

He flipped the bird then got back on his feet, though he almost lost his balance while doing so. He still was probably dizzy from his beat-down. "Damn, that nigga went Hulk on me."

"Hell, you can say that again."

He smiled stupidly, "Damn, that nigga went Hulk on me."

I deadpanned, "Fool, that was an expression."

He put his hands up, in defense. "Hey, can't ya take a joke?"

My face went blank. "Not from you anyway." Still in a crouching position, I pulled my bag from my back and rummaged through its content, pulling out a cool water bottle and a bottle of Advil. "Here take these," I tossed them to Cairo.

With a grab of the items, Cairo shot me a look. "How ya know I was gonna need these..?"

I rolled my eyes. No offense, but I knew his ass was gonna get killed after the fight. He was fighting against Huey for Jesus Christ, he was gonna need all the medical attention he could get, even if it was just gonna be an Advil. "I dunno, just a lucky guess."

"Liar," he called out bullshit.

"Lie or truth, it still doesn't change the fact that Huey beat your ass."

Cairo grumbled, and unscrewed the cap of the water bottle. He had this thoughtful, serious look and boy, will that be a sight that I would never forget. After years of being his little partner-in-crime, I knew damn well he wasn't the serious type, but the kind of guy to just go with the flow and not think too much, no matter how troublesome the situation may seem. He was the daredevil, the one person who wouldn't blink an eye if he was dared to confront a bully, knowing that he'd get his ass handed.

So he shouldn't be having this troubled look.

I sighed.

But I knew exactly why he had that troubled look. "So I take it that you saw Ming, right?"

He awoke from his dark thoughts, a look of sadness flashing across his face. "You saw her too, huh?"

I got up from the floor, nonchalantly dusting off my knees. "Yeah. After 2 years, she went through a major upgrade..." I wasn't exaggerating too. We'd known her from back in middle school, and she didn't have those curves, nor that butt and those boobs. Also, she wasn't that mean-looking, she used to be sweet, warm and innocent.

That incident from 2 years ago, not only changed Cairo, but sadly her too.

A faint sign of blush showed up on his cheeks. "Yeah, she was beautiful, and still is..."

I held myself from cringing. It was disturbing watching your boy go soft, for a girl. Just a few weeks ago, the man was saying about how he wanna be Woodcrest Academy "pussy slayer" and bang all the female students (excluding Mitsuki, I called dibs on her...).

"Cairo, you need to move on," I reminded him. "Remember what happened two years ago? If we hadn't stopped that shit on time, the both of you wouldn't be here, standing and alive."

The redness from his cheeks drained away at the mention of the past. "I know. I promised myself that I would cut her off, for the best of us. But it's so hard. She was that ride or die that niggas would be fantasizing about. She'd take hits and bullshit from haters and tell me that she'd take more damage if it was for me. She's had my back since day one, and I broke her heart in the end..."

I shook my head, feeling guilty for him. Here we go again, him acting a white love-sick chick. It had been years and he still wouldn't forget about Ming. Even though she still held a grudge, she moved on from him, and if she can do that, then he should be able to do the same. He deserved to be free and happy.

She may had been his first everything, but like a wise man said, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

I closed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, flashing a supportive grin to him. "As usual, I have to be here to pick up the pieces of your broken heart and throw it in the garbage."

He cocked his head to one side. "Say what?'

"You wanna go leave this place and smoke for a bit?" I asked, flashing a supportive smirk, willing to rebel just for his sake.

Cairo widened his eyes then gasped, "Dewey Johnson wants to skip and smoke the kush?" Cue his over-dramatic gasp. "Well, somebody punch me, because we have a rebel over here."

I punched him on the arm. "Idiot," I laughed a little, gaining a playful glare.

"Ya know, when I said punch me, I didn't mean literally," he rubbed the spot where I had punched him. "You really can't take a joke, damn."

We both started our walk towards the nearest exit, taking our time as we conversed from his horrible sense of humor to my lack of awareness. Cairo could be a major pain in the ass, but he wouldn't be himself if he wasn't. I'd rather deal with his jack-ass attitude, then to see him sad like a kicked puppy. He was my boy and it was my duty to help him up when there come times that he'd be down in the dumps. He'd do the same for me, except in his own style.

"Yoo, do you see a shoeprint on my cheek?"

I stole a glance at his face. "No," I lied.

I guess you can say that we got each other's backs.

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Caesar

Why am I here, I thought with a lazy sigh.

The assistant principal's office was plain in comparison to the other areas of this school. The majority of the walls were decorated by his family photos and certificates, and in the right corner of the room, there was a bookshelf with a brown sofa and a coffee table. It was like his little personal library. The gang (well, Huey, Riley, Ming and I) sat before the assistant principal, who looked very disappointed.

"I am greatly disappointed in all of you. This school establishment does not tolerate fights, especially when we are in the process of welcoming new students."

Ming awkwardly lifted a hand up, "I can confirm that." That comment gained her a glare.

"Miss Long Duo, I advise that you remain quiet. You're in no position to speak."

"Come on?! I just got here, and I was only watching the fight. Nothing more."

The assistant principal didn't want to deal anymore of her smart-ass attitude, judging by his frustrated wave of dismissal, and therefore he turned away from Ming and his angry eyes were now set on Huey, Riley and I. "Boys. Explain. NOW."

Riley crossed his arms. "This sum bullshit. Dis was all that gay-ass Cairo's fault! He da one who started the fight!"

I nodded in agreement. I gotta admit, it was a bitch of him to start the fight then put all the fault on us. "Exactly! He should be also seated in this office, assuming his consequences."

The room has gotten very loud seeing as Riley was deeply disputing with the assistant principal, whereas Huey shook his head, surely wondering how the hell he ended up in this awkward predicament. Regardless, I caught on to Ming's whispered words.

"He's the type of guy who never assumes his consequences..."

From the corner of my eyes, I watched Ming carefully whilst she glared a hole on a wall adjacent to her. Earlier when the fight began, I noticed the way she and Cairo made eye-contact. They had history. Obviously. But what pushed her into holding a grudge on him? Then again, knowing the bastard, he had somehow hurt her, which must'd permanently ruined their relationship. But how? Why?

And more importantly, how the hell did they even had a relationship together?

"Michael Caesar."

What does he want now? Can't he see I was in the middle of thinking? I thought, but masked my frustration and faced the assistant principal. "Yeah?"

"I hope you heard me crystal clear, you along the rest of you will be spending the rest of the day in detention."

"Ah hell naw!" Riley angrily kicked the foot of the table, and one of the glass trophies that decorated the table fell off from the impact and shattered to the ground. That was probably gonna gain him another day in detention. "Did sum bullshit, I'm getting the fuck outta here." Right before he stood up, he pried his fingers from the lip of the desk long enough to clear it with one violent sweep of his arms.

Papers and documents of all shapes and sizes flew off its surface and snowed down around us in deceptively slow and gentle arcs.

With ease, I stretched an arm up in the air and grabbed a few, and brought them down to my eye level. The urge to keep my stomach from emptying its contents (today's lunch - pity, I actually enjoyed eating that) was getting harder by the second as my eyes witnessed the horror - of these pictures.

What the hell? First, the assistant principal screws with Mr. Madeleine (Cindy and Zonnique's French teacher).

And now -

"You fucking with the faggot-ass teacha's wife!" Riley took the words right of my mouth.

The assistant principal's embarrassed glare confirmed so. "Students, this is not what it looks like..."

"Then explain ta me why yo dick is doing her?" Riley retorted, but with an evil smirk. I sense a blackmail coming soon... "We can make a deal that will both benefit us..."

The assistant principal huffed and puffed as his face turned red, his anger getting to him. "First Cindy McPhearson, and now you Riley Freeman? I will no longer allow students to walk on me like a doormat, which includes you!"

Riley growled, "Funny, cuz yo get-up is sayin otherwise, and I thought fo'sho you'd look good by a door."

Offended, the school authority bit back a tear. "That's it! Ever since I stepped foot in this establishment, I've been getting nothing but disrespect, and I'm sick of it."

"It ain't my fault that you can't control yo truffle-buttered dick," he threw shade, and not to be an instigator or anything like that, but god-damn, that shade made me wanna cry for the man. Then again, I doubted I need to do that, seeing as his white-ass was already ruining his suit with his tears.

As a matter of fact, he yanked his school name tag from the breast of his suit and threw it on the ground, and to top it off, he stumped on it multiple times. "That's it, I can no longer tolerate this school's bunch of nincompoops-"

Riley lifted a finger, about to add a comment. "Who da fuck still says nincompoop?"

The school authority slowly turned to face Riley with the deadliest glare known to mankind. Damn. He mad as hell. His fingers were twitching, probably trying to control themselves from strangling the boy. "Because of you, I quit!"

Everyone was so quiet after that. The only sound heard was the former assistant principal's huffs and puffs and the occasional footsteps heard from behind the door. The gang and I were blinking, unable to understand what has just happened. That didn't stop Huey from increasing the major awkwardness.

"So, does that mean we don't have detention anymore?"

We received yet another death glare from him, right before he kicked the foot of the table and marched right out of the office, for good.

I gave Huey a look. Wait a go, man.

It was like he read my mind, because he gave me a shrug, like he didn't do anything wrong.

Ming, who was watching the whole time, widened her eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with this school?"

We all turned to her with a bored look. "Welcome to Rich School."

Author's Note: So basically, this chapter is like a filler but at the same time, it's not. The little hatred that's going on between Cairo and Huey and Cairo and Ming is deeper than it seems, and as we go on through this book, you'll see. I thought this chapter should focus on Dewey, Cairo and Ming, as my way of introducing new characters into this ball of craziness, and trust me, more characters from the show will be appearing soon (hint, hint).

Anyway, this chapter should've been updated months ago, as I have already written 85% of it, like 2-3 months ago. It's just I was either too busy to write the other 15%, or something had come up, thus breaking my writing momentum.

So, as an apology, I added extra 2 scenes below, just to make this chapter at least 10 000 words. See y'all soon, and enjoy the little scenes. Oh and I'll edit-in the shout-outs later since I have work soon and it's like 3 AM right now.

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Cindy

I grabbed a stool and placed it in front of the school kitchen oven. I looked over my shoulder, only to see Jazmine shaking her head. "You do realize that we missed the fight, all because you wanted to get some more chicken."

I waved her off, "Girl, we all know yo bae beat Cairo's skinny ass. We just gonna have to pray dat lightskin foo's head ain't gonna crack open, after a punch." I turned back around and faced the cupboard, drooling over the idea of me eating more finger-lickin' chicken.

I felt a ray of heat on my back. I rolled my eyes. It was definitely Jazz's glare. I don't see why she was trippin over a one-sided fight. "Tsk, by praying you mean eating chicken?"

"Amen to that, Jazz." I opened the cupboard, the drool seeping from the corner of my mouth. "I finally see the light."

"Correction: You're seeing an aluminium tray of fried chicken wings that screams murder and animal abuse," she smart-assed.

I carefully grabbed the tray, while I made sure to step down from the stool without falling on my ass. "I see yo man's negativity rubbed off on you. I don't know if you're either becoming crazy like Zonnique or emotionless like Huey."

Walking towards Jazmine, I set down the hot tray on the kitchen isle that was situated right behind her. She snorted, "What do you mean? I'm still the same ol' Jazmine, ya know?" she crossed her arms on her chest.

My gut said otherwise. Ever since her biological mother came in the picture, she'd been acting out. Jazmine let me in on her current problems when we chilled in Starbucks for a while. From everything she told me, I feel like she was too quick to judge her parents like that. She already had this idea that either her mother acted out as a whore before her birth or her Dad was the unfaithful one. She never gave her parents the chance to explain themselves.

It was a good thing that Jazmine decided to distance herself from her fam, at least to calm down from the heat. But as her friend, I worry for her, na'mean? Little by little, she was starting to lose herself, and that was a dangerous sign. It could lead her into doing something regrettable, in the long run. I mean, look at me. I was the perfect example to that statement, and I wouldn't be able to watch her experience the same downfall as me.

"Well hun, it seems like you're losing a grip of yourself," I braced myself for the explosion of emotions that was bound to come. The mention of her family problems was taboo.

She threw her head back, and let out an annoyed groan. Told y'all. She already turnt up. "Why does everyone keep telling me that? First, Ceasar and now you?" she threw her head back forward, puffing a bang out of her view. "Look, let me handle by myself. I'm perfectly fine. I may be in a tight situation at this moment with my family, but it'll soon blow away with time."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Mad or not, you betta not be using that tone on me Jazz. I'm sayin this because you's like a sista to me, except from another motha-"

"Ohh, the irony," she muttered. Normally, I would have busted her ass for interrupting me, but Imma let that pass for once, because I was in a calm mood at this moment, with my tray of friend goodness waiting for me.

"Anywayss," I shot her a look, daring her to interrupt me again. "You can't keep ignoring your family. You're gonna to have to face them sooner or later. Related or not, they are still your fam. They raised you. They gave you a roof to live in, and they feed you love too. It may seem weird, but maybe there was a reason to all of this happening. You outta talk to them, when you're ready, of course."

She dropped her mad look, and replaced it with a defeated, guilty one. She looked down on the floor, rubbing her arm. "Cin-"

I sadly smiled. "Not many people have a family. I may have my Mom, but I lost my Dad years ago. Sometimes, I envy you for having a father figure in your life."

Jazmine flinched. I know I was wrong for using the You have a father and I don't card, but I want my girl to remain in talking terms with her Pops. "I'll think about it."

I nodded, willing to take her answer as a maybe. She may be too stubborn to admit, but she'll always need her Pops, no matter what. "Now," I grabbed the aluminum tray, filled with my goodies. "Let's cut the gay, emotional moment and get movin' before someone catches us he-"

Click.

The lights suddenly were turned on, the darkness long gone. Jazmine and I both froze and exchanged anxious looks.

"Jazz, please tell it was you who turned on the lights," I gulped.

Jazmine slowly shook and held a cry-baby frown, "It wasn't me, Cin."

"It was me."

Our guts told us to not turn around and will ourselves to see who did it, but we did it anyway. To our unfortunate, it was the lunch lady, who was standing by the kitchen staff doorway and boy, did she look hella mad. In fact, she was holding a broom, and from the way she swung it back and forth between her hands, it seemed like it was gonna be her weapon.

I straightened up and the grip on my temporary prized possession tightened. Oh shit. "Jazz, when I say go, run as fast as you can. Not cougar fast, but like you-was-gettin-chased-by-the-popo fast. Aight?"

"Huh?" she looked at me with that innocent, confused look. Poor girl. She had never been in a situation where she outran the popo, did she?

I focused on the lunch lady, then pointed to a random direction. "Lunch lady, look! There's a bird."

She narrowed her eyes into slits. "Do you take me as a fool?"

I darted my finger at the same direction. "But that birdie called you fat!"

"What?!" She looked at the direction where I was pointing. "Where's that puta of a bird. I'll cook it and serve it as tomorrow's mystery meat."

As soon as she lost focus on us, I didn't waste my breath on yelling out loud, "GO!" Jazmine and I made a mad dash past fatso and towards our only exit towards freedom. I gotta admit, we was running fast. The whole time we were running through the quiet school hallways, we didn't look back and pushed ourselves to not stop, no matter what. I didn't care if the lunch lady was chasing us at this moment or calling the surveillance team on us, but all I was thinking about was protecting my tray of chicken wings, yo. Oh, and eating them once we reached a safe destination.

I looked to the side, watching Jazmine struggling to breathe. "Look what you've made me become Cin! A criminal!"

"Oh stop tripping girl. It's not like there's anybody chasing us."

She looked at me like I just jinxed our asses. "Look again."

I looked and damn my mouth for jinxing us. There was literally a mob of surveillance crew members, teachers and the angry lunch lady chasing after us, except instead of holding torches and wood-sticks, they were holding brooms or their newspaper. What the fuck. One of them was holding a megaphone to his mouth. "Cindy McPhearson. Jazmine DuBois. Please come back to us with our lunch, or else you'll have detention."

Still running as fast as I could, I held the tray of chicken wings against my chest. "You'll never take us alive!" I screamed, defiantly. "THUG LIFE!"

"God, why am I friends with this rebel again?" I watched Jazmine look up at the ceiling, shaking her head with a look of hopelessness.

I sucked on teeth, "Girl, run faster or you won't get any chicken from me."

She whaled, "I need new friends!"

"Oh, shut up before I make you trip and fall."

"Screw you Cin."

"Yeah, love you too. Now get your emotional ass on gear, damn."

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:)