Disclaimer: I don't own The Boondocks. If I did, Michael Caesar would have been introduced.
Please read Another's Note at the bottom for additional information.
Chapter 5: Oops
The day started off horribly. Waking up at 5am wasn't Elaine's idea of a good day. The world outside was slowly coming to life as the sun began to rise and knock the chill off the plants. The birds had been up since 4:30 having the time of their lives and annoying the living shit out of Elaine.
Elaine kicked the blankets off of her sweaty body and looked at the ceiling with squinted, groggy eyes. 'The air must have turned off during the night…' Her curly hair had slicked down and stuck to her forehead and her neck, and her tank top clung to her shoulders and the arch in her back. Even her thighs were a little wet. She groaned. Strike one.
Her eyes strained themselves to look at the clock to her left. The brunette groaned even louder. To her dismay, she had woken up 40 minutes before her alarm was set to go off. Elaine attempted to gasp for her calm before it left her for the whole day. Strike two.
Once she found her serenity, she sighed, expelling all the bad energy that was beginning to plague her. "It's okay Laney. I can just lay here and check the news. Yeah." A strained smile crossed her plush lips and she leaned over to her night stand to grab her phone, but she quickly stopped her movement when she felt her shorts sticking to her ass in a nasty way. "Nononononononono..."
A sharp pain shot through her back and reverberated in her lower abdomen. Strike three.
Laney could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes and she stifled a sob as she dragged her body out of her cozy yet now destroyed bed. She turned the lights on and frowned when she saw the deep red spot she had created in the middle of the night. It looked like a murder scene. Elaine growled in grand irritation and began snatching the sheets off hurriedly.
"I swear to God man… This shit looks like a fucking murder scene. If I had suddenly come up missing and they found all this blood, they would automatically assume that I had been slaughtered. There's probably like more blood in my uterus than my entire fucking body." She slung the pillows out of the pillow cases, launching them across the room. "I don't do anything to deserve this bullshit." She balled everything up so the blood wasn't visible and threw the bundle into the corner of her room. Then, she sprinted off into the bathroom.
30 minutes later, Elaine was downstairs in the basement sorting her white clothes from her dark clothes. She was dressed and freshened up from her earlier incident. At 5:26, she was up and ready to start her first day at a new school. Another hour she had to wait before she could walk down to the bus stop.
Her iPhone hung from her back pocket blaring Panic! at The Disco's Emperor's New Clothes. She had began with humming the song until the chorus came around and she couldn't contain her inner panic.
"I'm taking back the crown!~ I'm all dressed up and naked; I see what's mine and take it. OoooOOOH YeeaaaaAH!~" The demonic part of the song played that had a strong tendency to creep her out but she wasn't worry about that because she knew her favorite part was coming up. "OooooOOOOOOOOooooOOOH! Finders keepers, losers weepers…"
The song eventually changed and it got her even more hype and caused her to start dancing a little raunchy. "Yo body on my body, baby. I'm about to catch a body in her baby. Love the way you grind on me." Elaine rolled her hips to the beat and she was popping her ass all the way to the floor. She was so into her movements and imagining someone was actually behind her as she went lower, she didn't even her foot steps behind her.
"Ahem." Elaine jumped up as quickly as she went down and whipped around to see her mom on the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest. Olivia was trying really hard to not smile and released her laughter upon walking in on her daughter finally working what she gave her. "Having fun, Laney?"
Laney turned back around throw one of her socks into her clothes bin and started throwing colors into the water. Her face was hot in embarrassment at having her mom catching her moving in such a sexual way. She didn't need her mom prying into her "sex life." "I was indeed having great fun before you came down here." Olivia smiled and leaned against the banister.
"I heard loud music at 5:30 in the morning in my basement. I had to come check it out. Better be lucky I convinced your dad to stay upstairs. Tsk tsk tsk." The dark haired woman laughed when Elaine dropped the detergent cup into the washer at her words. "At least I know you're using what I have bestowed you with. Let me know when you leave!" She bolted up the stairs before her daughter could retort.
Elaine fished the detergent cup out the machine and rubbed her cheeks with her dry hand. Her mother amazed her on all occasions. There wasn't a day that went by when Mrs. Olivia Jackson didn't take joy in making her daughter nervous and embarrassed. Treat Me Like Somebody had started playing and she went back to humming the sweet sounding melody to calm her nerves.
"Maybe today will be okay after all."
~~OoO~~
"Mom, Dad! I'm leaving! I'll let you guys know if I stay after school." Elaine was nibbling on a piece of warm banana bread as she grabbed her Nike volleyball bag from the side of the door and slung it over her shoulder. Her small turquoise and gray backpack was stuffed with a few notebooks, a binder, pens, and mechanical pencils.
"Love you Laney!" Her parents simultaneously yelled from upstairs.
She lived closer to the bus stop so Elaine didn't feel the need to leave the house until 6:35. In the distance she could already see Huey and Riley sitting in the booth, along with someone else. The girl, she concluded, had two humongous… orange? brown? blonde maybe? ponytails on either side of her head and she was awfully close to Huey, damn near sitting on him if he allowed it. "Maybe it's his girlfriend." She pondered out loud before biting into her treat. No one had noticed her coming until she was right beside them.
"Good morning everyone." All three of them turned and took notice of new presence in their midst.
~~OoO~~
Huey, Riley, and Jazmine ran their eyes over Elaine's form, all with different intentions while doing so. Huey couldn't help but look. She seemed to have combed through her curls and separated them a little. Her hair was parted on the left side and descended to the top of her chest. Elaine wore a black and white short-sleeved stripped crop top that hugged her chest and left little to the imagination, as usual. Her navy blue high waisted jeans fit her hips and thighs lavishly, and Huey almost prayed for her to turn around to see what they did to her backside. She finished off her look with white All Star converse, black winged eyeliner, and wine red matte lipstick. It was then he noticed her ears and belly button were pierced. The smile she flashed him made his heart throb. And his groin.
Overall, she looked very… tantalizing.
Over in Riley's head, he was dissecting her body one clothing item at a time. He felt that she knew that wearing those tight shirts revealed everything she had for public viewing and he didn't mind in the slightest. Her tight waist and round succulent hips looked even better in jeans than shorts. Riley clenched and unclenched his hands, soon putting them in his pocket. He felt a little light headed. Blood rushed too quickly down his body.
Jazmine glared at this new girl. 'Who the hell does she think she is, waltzing over here wearing that short little tight shirt? She's suppose to be new to Woodcrest and she's already showing off for the men.' Jazmine sneered at the girl, already figuring out that she was probably loose and didn't care about herself. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to Huey, about to continue telling him about cheerleading try outs until she saw that he was looking at the girl as hard as Riley was. She saw red.
All she wanted was for Huey to look at her like that. It was a look she couldn't describe. It was like… it was like he was actually admiring this girl. He doesn't even know her! Overcome with the desire to find out what this wanna be black barbie had that she didn't, Jazmine flashed a fake smile at Elaine.
"Hi! You must be new here!" Jazmine hopped up off the bench, taking a step towards the girl whom she didn't realize was a good three inches shorter than she was. The strawberry blonde girl grabbed Laney's hand to shake in greeting, squeezing much tighter than necessary. "I'm Jazmine DuBois, junior, soon to be captain of the cheerleading squad, and hopefully your new best friend."
"Elaine Jackson. You can just call me Laney." Elaine smiled back at Jazmine but hers was equally as fake. Her grip on Jazmine's hand outdid what she attempted to do to her. She could tell right off the bat that this female didn't like her. What gave her away was the way she looked at Laney when she first walked up. Examining her, ridiculing her, and downright disrespecting her being. Elaine had watched enough people and had enough "friends" to know when one of them wasn't fond of her.
"Oh, Elaine! That's such a pretty name." Jazmine ripped her hand away but the smile on her lips remained. This girl's hands were calloused and her biceps looked hard as rocks when her muscles flexed. She wondered if Barbie was a cheerleader.
Huey and Riley felt as if they were watching a soap opera that was in its beginning episodes and not everyone knew what was going to happen. There was obviously some kind of flame ignited between Jazmine and Elaine, and it was ready to burn the whole city down. Their smiles were so fake, they could make a plastic doll look real.
"Such a large sports bag you have." Jazmine commented on the duffel bag hanging from Elaine's side. "What sport do you plan on doing?" She was almost interested to the answer she was going to receive. 'If this bitch does cheer, I'll make her life a living hell as captain.' A smug smile arose on her lips.
Elaine glanced down at her bag, forgetting she was even carrying it. She had carried it for so long, the weight didn't affect her at this point in her life. "Oh, I play volleyball and I do a little bit of gymnastics here and there. You know, gotta keep your body in shape." Elaine may or may not have shrugged her shoulders so her crop top could raise a little more to show her toned stomach.
The strawberry blonde felt a little better knowing the bitch in front of her had no defined interest in cheer. But, she thought she'd push it a little. "Right right. I totally agree. But hey, you should totally do cheer. My squad could use a new addition."
'Your squad? Didn't you just say soon to be captain? Doesn't mean you're captain yet…' Laney laughed a little, treating the request as a joke. "Yeah, no. I'll have to pass Jazmine. It's one thing to be all over a gym floor bending and squatting in revealing, ass hugging spandex. It's a totally different situation when I'm prancing around in a fabric of clothing that is suppose to be called a skirt that is showing my ass cheeks and vagina to the male or female bases below me. You probably don't have a problem with it though." She flashed another smile and snorted at her own joke. Jazmine gasped and her jaw dropped at what she just said.
"Damn." Huey and Riley whispered at the same time. They couldn't believe Laney, the little docile shy girl they met yesterday had that kind of bite in her.
Jazmine couldn't process a comeback quick enough before hearing the screeching of wheels turning the corner too fast and hurdling down the street towards them.
'T-this… this BITCH! How dare she!'
Laney turned her back towards Jazmine and waited for the big yellow bus to stop in front of her.
~~OoO~~
"Oh look at whut we have hur?" An obese, black, balding man with an enlarged eye and blue suit that clearly didn't fit anymore opened the door of the bus and glared at the four of them as they climbed on the bus. He recognized the two little bad black niggas he didn't like, the little mulatto girl with the big hair, but he didn't know this new nigga girl who stepped onto his bus. "And who might you be girl?" The teens that were already on the bus were loud and goofing off. 'All these niggers.'
Elaine stopped in front of the old man and smiled. She could tell this man enjoyed giving everyone a hard time. Her smile kind of dropped when she looked at him harder. 'It's like I've seen him somewhere before..." "My name's Elaine, sir. I just moved here."
"Oh, now we got sum new nigga blood in Woodcrest. All ya'll black nigga boys and black nigga girls destroying our great white community and having all these babies and never knowing who the baby daddy is! Oh, just ruining white society!" Uncle Ruckus placed a hand over his heart like he was really upset at this new development. Elaine's face scrunched up at the man. She decided she was going to dismiss him and continue onto the bus.
The noise that once filled the bus came to a quick silence as Elaine squeezed her way through the isle. Someone cat called at her from the front of the bus when she walked by. Nobody wanted to move their legs out of the isle so when she went by, she kept repeating "excuse me." All the guys were staring at her ass as she walked by. One of them was brave enough to try and trip her and grab onto her ass to "save her." She didn't go very far to the ground, however. Her hand had grabbed the dark skinned male's genitals through his sweatpants and squeezed painfully. She could feel her muscles flex in the back of her hand. The guy squeaked in pain and remained frozen.
"Getting a little handsy, now aren't we? It would be a shame," Elaine twisted her hand to the right slightly and watched the guy lose color from his face, and she smiled evilly. "if your little raisins got plucked." The guy nodded fiercely. "You won't do it again, right?" He nodded quickly once again, his eyes pleading for her to let go. "Okay!" She finally let him go and he fell back into his seat, covering his crotch with his hands. She flashed everyone around her a pretty smile.
Elaine moved through the isle with ease now. No one had tried to trip her again after she show she just put on. Soon, it dawned on her she didn't have anywhere to sit. That was until she saw Huey flagging her down from a seat in the back of the bus. She looked around and caught Jazmine's eye. The blonde was sitting with a group of chattering girls and she didn't look like she'd be fighting with her about who sat with Huey. Elaine shrugged and walked back to Huey's seat, and plopped down in it. She inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled calmly through her mouth.
"That was… something." Huey finally spoke to her for the first time this morning. She had forgotten that he witnessed what she just did to that poor boy and she sunk down into the seat in horror.
The whole bus had seen her.
Her eyes widened.
She's gonna be the talk of the school.
Her breathing hitched in her throat.
Everyone's gonna make fun of her for grabbing some guys nuts and ruin her life.
Without her realizing it, she was about to start hyperventilating.
Huey noticed the signs and snapped his fingers in the front of her face, calling her name. "Elaine. Elaine, you have to breathe." She panicked some more. Was she not breathing? Oh God, she was gonna die and this is how people are going to remember her. "Not fast. In then out. In… then out. In," Huey turned her head so she could watch him. "then out."
She followed his breathing instructions and they held eye contact until she managed to breathe normally. "Better?" Huey had a hint of concern in his eyes. Laney nodded slowly and closed her eyes.
"Sorry… about that. Didn't mean for it to happen twice. It's like sometimes… I forget who I really am and then I'm not so reserved like I should." Her voice came out small again like he remembered her Saturday night. Man, she was shy but she was sort of bipolar about it.
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind so long as I can help. And you just have more dimensions then you typically allow people to know and see." He turned his head so he could look down at her crunched up body in the seat. She opened her eyes and looked up at him and smiled. She thought about the way she acted when no one was round.
"You're probably right. Thanks though."
~~OoO~~
"Here we are. J. Edgar Hoover High School, where the leading population is white slowly followed by mixed." Huey stepped off the bus carrying Elaine's ridiculously heavy bag and she followed closely behind. The heat hit them immediately and Laney sent a silent prayer to whatever god would listen that she didn't sweat. It was only 7am. Why is it so hot?
Huey didn't seem to be bothered.
When he offered to take her bag, she gave a very adamant no until he stopped asking and just took it. He almost regretted it. She swore up and down to Huey that only clothes, shoes, and a volleyball were inside but he was sure she had some weights at least. Not that it bothered him. Carrying this much was nothing.
"Huh, it's pretty damn big. Not as big as my old school but close. How many people go here?" Laney attempted to snatch her bag away from Huey but he merely side stepped her reach and continued walking. She huffed and glared at the back of his afro clad head.
"1,300 maybe. That's a rough estimate. There could be more." He was trying his hardest to block out the voices around him. He usually didn't care about what others did around him but it was pissing him off as to what he heard coming out of their mouths.
'Damn, look at shawty over there.'
'She got a fatty, fo' real. And look at them tits. Jesus, I can see myself now...'
'I wonder where she came from. She don't look like she from around here. Trust me, I would have remembered that booty.'
'Is she walking with Huey? Jazmine is going to have a fit!'
'Her hair is so pretty! Do you think it's her natural color?'
'Her chest and her ass makes her look appealing but her face is gorgeous. She'd drop dead beautiful.'Huey could tolerate that remark because it was true.
'You should see if you can holla. I know she prolly lost and I can be a trusty guide. I'll have her on my dick before the end of the week. Ayo, ma!'
Huey looked back and saw Elaine looking away from the person calling her, or she didn't know he was even trying to talk to her. He took this opportunity and sent his darkest glare to the mixed boy walking up to them. Huey even went to the lengths of slowing his steps so Laney was right beside him. He heard her gasp then she was hooked onto his arm looking up at him with excitement in her eyes.
"Don't tell me… that glass dome is what I think it is." Her eyes gestured to the large sparkling glass dome that reflected the bright sunlight and blinded half of the student body. It almost made the heat feel even more unbearable. Ironically, the domed building was probably the coolest part of the school. [A/N: I don't know about you guys, but the libraries in all the schools I ever attended were extremely cold and was the place to be once classrooms got too hot xD]
"Yeah, that's the library. The school brings in plenty of funding from sports and academics so there's enough money to afford a library of that magnitude." Huey wanted to keep Elaine's attention on the library and him. He wouldn't allow that fool to come try and talk to her when the only thing he was thinking about was having sex with her.
Huey suddenly came to an abrupt stop, jerking Laney to a halt with him. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, Huey? Why are we stopped?" He blinked.
Since when did he become so possessive over something that wasn't his? It kind of maybe him uncomfortable with himself. Imagine what she would probably say if she realized what he was thinking. That's girl repellent right there.
"Aye, ma. I know yo cute self heard me." Huey cursed out loud, forgetting he was on a mission to keep this guy away from here.
Laney turned around and looked at who she assumed was talking to her. He was mixed, she could tell, with a smooth tanned complexion and dark brown hair, and almost as tall as Huey. He flashed her a smile she considered cute and she looked away from him slightly in embarrassment. "Hi."
The guy smiled down at her, looked Huey up and down and seeing their linked arms, then disregarded him. "My name's Branden. I ain't never seen you here before. What's your name?" He folded his arms over his chest and continued giving her a sweet look. She shifted her weight from each foot, causing her hips to sway a little and bump into Huey. Branden took note of the way those hips of her swayed back and forth. He was preparing to have them bouncing up and down above him.
"Elaine. I'd rather be called Laney though." She was biting her lip nervously and clutched Huey's arm a little tighter.
Huey was busy burning a hole into Branden's forehead and trying to make him take a hint but he was sure the hint was understood and clearly ignored. Elaine's delicate touch tightened on him and he looked down at her out of the corner of his eye. It was hard for him to tell whether or not she was embarrassed to have someone suddenly talking to her like this or she was experiencing great discomfort that he even came over to her. Huey growled underneath his breath; he was tired of this already.
"What do you want Branden?" He knew of the guy and he was well aware of his reputation. He got what he wanted from girls and left them to crumble afterward. There were over a thousand people in the school- it's not like dropping girl after girl hurt him in the slightest.
Branden was watching Laney gnaw on her plump bottom lip that look incredible kissable. He licked his own lips, thinking about how he had something he wanted her to put her soft looking lips around. Moments passed before he realized Huey had said something to him and the look on his face was darker than the previous one. Branden scoffed. "I was tryna see if a cute girl like her needed help around the school. It's a pretty big school and you can't just trust anybody to point you down the right path." As he spoke, his eyes drifted back down to the small female who looked away.
"Great. Glad we're on the same page. I'm taking care of her just fine. The last person she needs to be with is you. Come on, Lane." Huey looked down at her with kind eyes. "Let me take you to the office so you can get your schedule and find your locker." She nodded in agreement and a smile returned to her lips as they started walking to the main front doors. Elaine sent a glance back at Branden who was still looking down on her with a sly smile like he was ready to devour her. She straightened up and picked up her pace with Huey.
"Oh Huey, just know I'll be the one taking good care of her in time." Branden put his hands in his pockets and stared at Elaine's jiggling ass walking away from him. "What Branden wants, Branden gets."
~~OoO~~
"So, we have 8 periods in a day?" Elaine questioned as she looked at her freshly printed schedule. There were nine slots, and went in order as: 1st period Poetry, 2nd period Pre-Cal, 3rd period French III, 4th period P.E., 5th period Intro to Business, 6th period Lunch, 7th period Music Appreciation, and 8th free period. She couldn't understand how a school managed to fit nine class hours into a whole school day.
"Technically, we have 7 periods plus lunch. All the Juniors who have completed most of their high school diploma requirements get a free period at the end of the day. We can just leave then." Huey responded while looking down at her schedule. It looked pretty damn similar to his. He glanced in the upper right hand corner to see what locker she was in. '189 in hallway J… that's not entirely far from mine either.' He shifted her sports bag from his right shoulder to his left.
"Oh, okay. What classes do you have?" She prayed for a little miracle that she'd have at least one class with him. He had become her first friend after all and he seemed kind enough to show her the ropes for the first few days until she figured out the system. Glancing upward, she noticed they had entered Hallway J, the hall where her locker is. The numbering continued on from another hallway they hadn't come down. '167, 169, 171? Okay, so it must be far up at the end of the hall.' Huey made another sudden stop in front of 178 and started entering his combination into his lock.
"I have everything you have, including lunch, but I don't take French. I take Spanish and I was put into Music Appreciation by accident. I don't particularly care for the music we study." The locker door swung open and he grabbed a thick 2 subject notebook and his calculus book before shutting the door and locking it. "They tell me I can't retake Civil Rights Movement class again. It's not like anyone in the class even cares about what our grandparents and or parents suffered through." Huey turned around and saw Laney looking up at him appreciation and awe on her face. He raised an eyebrow and signaled for them to keep walking to her locker. "It's not like I picked your schedule or something; you just got lucky."
She laughed and walked beside him looking at her locker combination. "You're gonna be stuck with me. Aren't you sad?" She jokingly nudged his arm with a silly smile on her face. Huey looked down at her out of the corner of his eye then looked straight forward, coming to a stop in front of 189.
"No, actually. I enjoy your company much more than anyone's."
Elaine's schedule flew out of her hands and was carried by the breeze that was flowing through the hall. She scurried after it and grabbed it at the last minute before she ran into a locker. She gingerly turned around and walked back to her locker that he was leaning against, not making eye contact. Huey was looking at her with a question written across his face. Her own face was hot from his words and she really hadn't expected him to say them.
Laney couldn't keep the small smile that she tried to stop. 'He likes my company?'
He had a sinking feeling his words caught her off guard as he had just watched her fumble after a piece of paper that was secured in her hands. This girl had him saying things he didn't think would ever come out of his mouth. He'd have to go home this evening and evaluate himself on his feelings. Whatever those were. He wanted to distance himself from her just a little so she wouldn't get the wrong idea, and for him to start thinking correctly. Oh yes, he had a lot to think about.
Coming out of his thoughts, he heard her locker swing open. She curiously looked in it. Huey almost smiled when he saw the frown appear on her face when she realized she could barely reach the top shelf.
"Schools accommodate those with special needs. I have a special need and it called short stature. Who do I have to talk to to get this shelf lowered?" Laney grumbled under her breath and started putting the few books and notebooks she had onto the lower level. It appeared as though she wasn't going to comment on what he had said about enjoying her company. 'Good, maybe she'll pretend I didn't say anything. Maybe it made her uncomfortable again.' At least he set his plan of staying away from her in motion.
"There's a locker room I can put my bag in, right?" She said as she closed and locked her locker and picked her backpack up.
Huey didn't respond immediately.
He was too distracted by the way she tucked a lock of tawny, curly brown hair with her ring covered hand behind her severely pierced ear. She wore silver hoops in the first lobe hole followed by two diamonds further up her ear. In the cartilage of her ear, she wore a silver band that had a small rose hanging off of it. His eyes roamed down to her belly button where a diamond encrusted anchor was embedded.
Huey was never fond of the idea of having open holes in multiple parts of his body but he had to admit- Laney made it look good. He hummed at his findings, and hoped he hadn't be staring too long.
"Yeah, locker room. I'll show you." He turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction of their lockers.
'Fuck, what part of keep away did we not just discuss, Huey? You're not suppose to be looking at her body like that. SHE WILL GET THE WRONG IDEA.'
His inner thoughts scolded him about his previous actions, and he knew he shouldn't be dragging her along for something that won't progress, but he was a man for god sake. Yes, he paid no attention to other girls, especially Jazmine, because they talked too much, wore too little, and had no intention of actually getting to know him even after all these years.
'Elaine's clothing isn't all that modest, either.'
She wears enough that she wasn't trying to attract attention from the male population but she knew how to make herself look good.
Huey sighed under his breath, rubbing his left temple. On top of trying to analyze the current matter at hand, he began having inner dialogue with himself. No one should be arguing with themselves in their own head. He decided to end it before things went too far.
Behind him, Elaine stared at the back of Huey's head once more. She could be clueless when she wanted to, but she wasn't dumb; he was totally checking her out. She suppressed a giggle and decided it was her turn to take a look. Right now, she was deeply enjoying what was in front of her.
Huey wore dark blue jeans, white and blue Jordans that she assumed were the Air Jordan 6 Sport Blue (she owned a pair), and a solid gray t-shirt that was very tight. She could visibly see the flex of his shoulder blades and other protruding muscles she didn't know the names too. 'Maybe I should have taken anatomy after all.' Her line of sight followed his back to his shoulders down to his massive biceps. He wasn't even flexing but the strain from her gym bag caused his muscles to bulge in his right arm. God, she could even see some of the veins that looked as if they wanted to burst at any minute. The thought was disturbing but the sight was delicious.
Guys did it to her all the time; so she looked down at his ass as he walked. Elaine bit her lipstick caked lips and shook her head in disbelief and amazement. Huey's backside in those jeans made her wonder why God gifted guys with better asses than most girls. Men were simply lacking hips which made them wear belts all the time. Huey neglected to do so, allowing Laney to catch a glimpse of his Calvin Klein waistband.
'Maybe they're briefs. Oh God, what if he's wearing briefs? That's so hot. It would be even better if he had a huge package, too. Jesus, someone save me from my thoughts.' She was blushing madly but thanks to her African American lineage, people around her couldn't tell.
Too busy observing Huey's ass, she hadn't noticed the legs that were connected to his fabulous backside had stopped moving and she slammed into his hard back, catching the strong scent of a masculinity mixed with what must be his body wash and cologne she automatically recognized to be by… Jimmy Choo? 'Dear Lord.'
How had she not noticed sooner? Laney didn't step back until she inhaled deeply, ingraining the memory of his scent into her mind. He turned around to face her with an eyebrow raised.
"You okay? You've been awfully silent." Huey let Elaine's bag slide off his shoulder onto his arm and held it out to her. They stood in front of the girl's locker room and he couldn't exactly carry the bag in for her.
"Mmhm, absolutely fine. I was just thinking about stuff and, uh, looking around." Laney held out her hands to receive her volleyball bag but she didn't look at his face. Her eyes were still downcast to his lower half and her previous thoughts floated back into her head. 'What if he is big? How does he hide it?' She cocked her head to the side, pursed her lips, and looked up at his face with a smile.
"Thanks for showing me the way. I'll be out in a minute. I imagine class starts soon." She pushed open the door to the locker room and was instantly hit with neutral tones of navy blue carpeting and gold lockers with white walls. The locker room also maintained a sweet floral aroma from the mixing of every girl's body spray. The girl's locker room smelled wonderful, as it should. Elaine looked for a locker that didn't have a lock on it or wasn't already filled with clothes. There was one in the back that had nothing in it so she claimed it as her own. Thankfully, they were big enough to fit the large bag she carried.
Locking it with her personal combination lock, Laney turned and proceeded to walk to the door. She stopped midstep when she heard some kind of sound echo from the shower area of the room. She knew better than to go investigate and left. Black people don't investigate strange noises in poorly lit places.
Little did she know, there wasn't a ghost or a dripping faucet back there. Oh no, it was in fact three people- two girls and one boy having a very intimate threesome and only stopped when they heard someone come in.
Branden poked his head out of the stall and saw the retreating back form of Elaine, and he smirked.
"Branden," An unknown girl's high pitched voice whined from within, echoing in the room. "Come on, it's my turn. Class starts soon."
"Yeah, yeah, quit ya complaining. Get against the wall." The girl in front of him had a nice body, kind of skinny, but she had enough for him to grab onto. Branden's smirked widened as he sunk his fingers into the back of her neck and slowly entered her from behind.
The only person he'd be fantasizing would be cute little Elaine.
Huey was still outside leaning against the wall next to the door, running a hand under his chin and along his jaw line feeling stubble already, when Laney exited the locker room. A bell rang and people slowly started clearing out of the hallway.
"We should go. That was the warning bell." Huey pushed off the wall and started walking, expecting her to follow behind him. He got a quarter of the way down the hall when he didn't hear her foot steps and he looked back. She remained in the same place he left her with a small smile on her face and it only brightened when he looked at her. "Are you coming, Ms. Brown?" His deep voice held a teasing tone with his newly introduced British accent that made her smirk and respond with in the accent.
"Why, certainly. Yes, yes. Right away Mr. Newton. I'd hate to have us both late for first hour." The accent was really good, in fact. Better than what Huey could do. Playing along with her act, Huey held out his arm for her to take. She strutted towards him with such elegance that he couldn't tell if she was acting or if it was how she really walked. Laney hooked her arm underneath his and rested her hand on his lower bicep.
"Oh my, what a gentleman. Onward we must gone then, dear."
Huey's only response was a low chuckle.
~~OoO~~
The school day from there flowed calmly and quite enjoyable for Elaine. The poetry teacher, Mrs. Berg, welcomed her warmly. The teacher was kind enough to not have Laney introduce herself in front of the whole class like she would anyone else. Seeing as Huey and Elaine walked in together, she assumed they knew each other, and had the short girl sit beside him. The short girl was very much aware that the men and women of the class were looking at her. Girls glared and made comments under their breath. The guys openly spoke about how it wasn't far that the new cute girl had to sit next to Huey.
Huey was an expert at ignoring people, so that's what he did.
Class was already a month in so it didn't come as a surprise to Elaine that there was a test. Mrs. Berg had explained to her that she was no one obliged to take the accumulative test on Edgar Allan Poe but Laney was intrigued. Who didn't like Edgar Allan Poe? The test itself wasn't difficult; questions of Poe's life were short answers and 2 paragraph essays interpreting some of his poems and short stories.
Laney was most familiar with gothic The Tell-Tale Heart. It was one of her favorites. It was widely misunderstood and thought differently by many people over the years. She herself couldn't completely grasps how the narrator could commit homicide for no apparent reason but is convinced he has done nothing wrong. Eventually, guilt had probably eaten away the inside of this man and he gave himself away to the police.
She was so engaged her in-dept explanation and rendition of the story, she hadn't realized the teacher was standing in front of her, waiting on her test. Laney didn't manage to answer the other questions and she sheepishly handed her paper to Mrs. Berg.
The bell sounded soon after and everyone flocked out of the class quickly.
"God, already? I feel like I just sat down." Grabbing her backpack, Elaine stood and followed Huey to their next class.
"You would think 30 minute classes would be enjoyable, but when it comes to assessments and tests, people panic. Then the school board questions why half the student body is failing." Huey weaved through bodies of passing students swiftly. Three minute passing periods were no joke. Elaine managed to keep up with his long strides easily and continue with their conversation.
Cat calls rang out in the hall as Laney walked. The majority came from guys who had no intention of going to class and others from… girls. Or really cute boys. Probably girls. Some of the girls didn't share the same thoughts. They commented on her clothes, how much makeup she wore, and how many piercings she had. Nothing about the comments were kind.
She knew better than to allow the burning feeling to form in the back of her eyes from their words. People would always have something to say when they really don't bother to get to know a person. It's the circle of life.
Huey may have said something to her on their way to the math room but she didn't hear any of it. He noticed this and remained silent.
Not much teaching was being done in Mr. Martin's class. He had asked for the homework that was passed out on Friday and then issued a packet that he said was due on Wednesday with time to work in class. He wrote notes on the white board that he thought explained would help the class with the problems in the packet they had not gone over yet.
After that, he sat down behind his desk and looked into the back corner of the room at the girl he didn't recognize. Martin watched her as she didn't touch the packet right away, looking ahead at the board with a faraway look on her face. He admired her features. She had big hazel eyes, a round nose, and plump lips colored red. Her dark complexion contrasted with the different shades of brown he saw in her curls.
She was beautiful. Stunning.
Mr. Martin smiled deviously and folded his hands, resting them in his lap. He decided he would have her.
2nd period came to an end a quickly as the first. Laney succeeded in finishing 3 of the 8 pages, and she planned to finish it today. She shoved the packet into her binder and walked to the door but not without making eye contact with Mr. Martin. He smiled at her and she smiled back and left. He intently watched as she left.
"Oh yes, I will have her."
Out in the hall, Huey was talking to a tall, dark skinned male with dreads. Elaine didn't want to interrupt but she really needed to know where the french class was. Huey saw her out of the corner of his eye and shifted his attention to her. He cut her off before she even got the chance to ask her question."French 3 is on the second floor, third door on the right."
She blinked and closed her slightly agape mouth and smiled. "Thank you, Huey." She looks around to find the nearest staircase. "I'll see you in P.E. then."
"Whooaa, so you just not gone introduce me to your new friend, Huey?" The dreadhead gave her a kind lively smile. Huey sighed.
"She's not interested in you, Caesar."
"Who wouldn't be interested in me? Come on, Huey. Stop being like that." The boy named Caesar nudged him playfully. Huey emitted another sigh.
"Elaine, this is Michael Caesar but we just call him Caesar. Caesar, Elaine. Elaine, Caesar. We all have to get to class." He walked around his friend and headed to the Spanish room at the end of the hall. Caesar rolled his eyes at Huey's rude introduction.
"Sooo, yeah, I'm Caesar, Huey's dearest bestfriend and joyful counterpart. What hour do you have lunch?"
Laney shuffled around with the binder in her hands and looked inside. "Uh, 6th period? Yeah, 6th." Her stomach released a low grumbling and she gave a strained smile. "But, I could eat right now."
Caesar laughed loudly, attracting looks from others in the hall. He had very little energy to care what people thought about him, though. "Sweet, so you get to meet the rest of the gang." His brown eyes looked at the wall clock above her head and he took a big step back. "Okay, well you should run to your next class or you gone be late on your first day!" He made a quick sprint down the hall in the direction Huey went in.
Laney turned around and looked at the clock also. 9:02. She panicked and held her binder close to her chest as she ran down the hall and turned onto the stairs. She tracked up two flights, jumping three steps at a time, almost falling and ruining her life. Her eyes zeroed in on the class Huey described with its door partially open. She slowed her pace so she could make sure she didn't look crazy. 'I'm new here. I don't know where all my classes are. Why am I running?' Elaine smiled with that thought in mind and grabbed hold of the door knob, slowly pulling the loudly creaking door open.
All eyes were on her.
'Deep breaths. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic, don't pa-' Her consolation was interrupted by a strong French accent from an old woman who was glaring at her from across the room.
"Pourquoi êtes-vous en retard à ma classe?" [[Why are you late to my class?]]
Elaine blinked, felt her mind go blank, and her heart rate increased. She knew exactly what the teacher said but she couldn't find her words to respond. The whole class was staring at her. She was late to class on her first day. She was already in trouble. She gulped and breathed through her nose and exhaled from her mouth.
"J-Je ne pouvais pas trouver la chambre. Pardon…" [[I couldn't find the room. Sorry.]] Laney spoke softly, and entered the room, shutting the door behind her, quickly moving to an open seat on the far right end of the class in the back.
The teacher, Madame Loisel, watched the soft spoken girl move across the room with aged eyes. She decided she wasn't going to give the girl a hard time today because of fluency of the response she gave her moments ago. Madame Loisel turned her attention back to the board. "Ouvrez vos livres à la page 351." [[Open your books to page 351.]]
Elaine learned the class itself wasn't bad, quite enjoyable, and Madame Loisel turned out to be a very good teacher. She had no problem keeping up. As a freshman, she wanted to take Spanish but the class was full and she ended up in French, which was irritating with the many rules and the letters that weren't pronounced tacked onto words. After 2 years, however, she finally took an interest and learned it seriously.
She was so horrified in the beginning of class, she hadn't realized Jazmine was sitting in the front glancing back at her occasionally. Now, the blonde girl had a reason to bug her and Elaine had every intention of avoiding her.
The bells sounded.
"J'attendre pour vous d'avoir ces pages lues par demain." Madame Loisel spoke from behind her desk. "Si non, ne vous embêtez pas venir en classe." [[I expect for you to have those pages read by tomorrow. If not, don't bother coming to class.]]
Elaine got up and tried to make a sleek escape out of the door with everyone else, undetected.
"Mademoiselle Jackson, come back."
'Fuck.' Laney turned around in the doorway, hearing Jazmine laugh behind her. She stood in front of Mme. Loisel's desk. The woman removed her glasses and brushed a strand of her blonde-metallic hair out of her face. "I don't especially like tardiness in my class. Next time, that door will be shut and locked." She spoken with a strong French accent that Elaine almost had trouble understand in English. Laney nodded in understanding. "I can tell you're an excellent student. Do not have me badger you on something like your attendance. You may leave."
Elaine tried to not make it seem like she was running to her only exit just so she could get the gym. She turned around and looked at her French teacher. "Avoir une belle journée, Mme Loisel." She disappeared around the corner.
When she rounded the pole in the middle of the staircase, Laney saw the outline of an afro leaning against her locker. She picked up her pace and Huey raised his head when he heard her approaching.
"What are you doing standing here?" Huey had moved and watcher her switch out books and notebooks for her afternoon classes. It didn't take her long and she was already closing her backpack when the bell rang. Elaine groaned. "Again?"
"I had a feeling you didn't know where exactly the gym was. And what do you mean again?" They resumed walking side by side.
"I was late to French class and almost died in embarrassment. It was awful. Now I'm late again. TO GYM." She dragged her blue nails down her face and cried out.
Huey hummed at her explanation. He led her down the hall he showed her in the morning, not knowing if she remembered where the locker room was. "Don't worry about it. Just go change quickly and Mr. Carpenter won't even notice you. Go." He shooed her into the locker room and headed to change himself.
Three minutes later, Huey entered the noisy gym to see some of the girls setting up the volleyball net in the middle of the floor. The guys were too busy playing a quick game of basketball to help. The large room was already hot and the industrial fans on each corner did nothing but push around hot air. He wore baggy black basketball shorts and a lose fitted black shirt. Huey knew better than to wear clothes that would show his sweat stains.
He spotted Riley shooting a free throw and heard him holler when it his nothing but net. Everyone around him was hyped up. Huey couldn't quite understand the big rush of excitement in the sport of basketball. That didn't mean he couldn't play, just didn't find it interesting.
"Hu~ey!" A sing-songy high pitched voice called put to him and he could already feel a headache coming on. He tried to pretend he hadn't heard Jazmine call out to him and he started walking to the bleachers.
"Huueeeey, don't ignore me." She had caught up to him and grabbed onto his arm, pushing it between her breasts. She was scantly dressed in very short black Under Armor shorts and a tight white shirt that read BLAZERS on the front, underneath was a lightning bolt. Her clique behind her were dressed similarly. He still couldn't understand why she threw herself all over him when the guys just in this room would die if she touched them.
"Can you let go of me, Jazmine?" He tried pulling his arm out of her grip but it was solid. He attempted to pull harder but he could feel the strain in his shoulder so he stopped. Huey caught Caesar's eye from across the gym and signaled for him to help. The only thing Caesar did was give him a thumbs up and watch.
Huey growled and promised to ruin him later.
"You're always so mean to me, Huey. We could totally be a thing if you'd just stop playing hard to get. We'd be the ultimate couple." She nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder and stroked his bicep. 'Nothing like the feel of a man. And he's all mine for now.'
"Is that the girl from the bus today?" Jazmine ignored her friends and focused on the man she planned on marrying.
"Yeah, it looks like her. Jazzy said she was flirting with Huey." That broke her out of her day dream and she turned to look at the doorway that lead into the girl's locker room.
"What the hell, man?" Jazmine tightened her grip on Huey and glared at Elaine, who was standing halfway in the gym. Huey turned his head and looked over Jazmine's hair to see who had caused her annoyance. He smirked when he saw Elaine.
Elaine bent down and double knotted her shoes. She wore navy blue spandex and a white shirt with blue lettering on the front reading Ocean Side with a volleyball in the middle and on the back Jackson 9 was printed in purple. She had pulled her hair up into a ponytail and restrained by a black headband, leaving a few curls down to fan the sides of her face. She also wore knee pads on her shins.
Jazmine sneered but straightened up her face quickly in case Black Barbie looked her way and how she was hanging off of Huey. She felt pretty smug and started talking about nothing all the while keeping an eye on Elaine.
Laney didn't even look around. She walked straight towards the middle of the gym where some of the girls were starting to hook the net up. There was a girl who had gotten the net tangled and couldn't get it. She looked like a freshman and Elaine felt bad for her. The upperclassmen would be eager to yell at her for messing up such a simple task. Silently, and without drawing attention to herself, she grabbed one end of the net and started pulling on the lose ends. The girl looked up and Laney gave her a small smile.
She had expected to get yelled at, not a smile.
"Is the net ready, Bailey?" A strong voice barked behind the poor girl and she almost dropped the end she was working on. She panicked and was prepared to get yelled at. The net still had knots in it and she hadn't gotten down there. Bailey felt a tug in her hands and looked at the net with wide eyes.
It was no longer tangled. She obviously didn't do it. Bailey peered around for the girl who smiled at her but she couldn't find her at the moment. She had knee pads on so Bailey had a feeling she was going to play with them.
"Hello?! Are you deaf, freshman?"
"Yes! I mean, n-no! The net is ready, Andrea." A tall olive skinned girl snatched the net from her hands and throw an end over one of the poles. Bailey breathed a sigh of relief and backed away, hitting something when she wasn't looking. "I'm so sorry!" Her eyes closed, ready to hear the loud voice of one of her teammates.
"It's okay. You're fine." That didn't sound like anyone on her team. Bailey's eyes open slowly and she saw the girl who had helped her untangle the net. 'She's shorter than I am…'
"You did pretty good with that net. Never seen someone work so fast." The hazel eyed girl smiled at the blonde. "I'm Elaine, but you can call me Laney."
Okay, so she definitely didn't know this girl. "B-bailey. Are you new here? Are you a freshman?" She hoped for a yes. It was awfully lonesome at practice.
"I'm new." Elaine smiled. "But I'm a junior."
"But you're so short…" Bailey gasped in horror. She had just called an upperclassmen short. She was going to die. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it as an insult! I-I just-"
"It's fiiiine," the short girl laughed. Bailey seemed to be more timid than she was. "I get it a lot. Can't be helped that I look like a 7th grader in high school. Someone at my old school once asked if I was lost." Elaine rolled her eyes at the memory. She heard a small giggle out of the blue eyed girl in front of her. At least she got her to laugh. "Let me guess: the upperclassmen are giving you a hard time."
Bailey's laughter stopped. She peered around to see the said girls tightening the net and getting out the balls. She leaned in towards Laney before she spoke. "Just a little. I'm sure they're all really nice but… Haven't gotten to that point yet."
"We're all like that. It takes awhile to warm up to the freshies because we really don't know you. But, now you know me. Plus 1." Elaine held up one finger and smiled behind it.
Elaine was doing a lot more interaction than she actually wanted to. She, however, couldn't bring herself to not comfort the girl who seemed to be scared of everything. Bailey reminded her of herself 3 years ago. Hell, reminded her of herself today. Maybe that's what Alexis saw of her.
Alexis was a senior when Elaine started high school volleyball. Laney had showed up for the varsity practice and the upperclassmen didn't appreciate that at all. They didn't think she had enough skill to make varsity as a freshman. She almost had the same thoughts until Alexis started talking to her.
Alexis was a tall, gorgeous Hispanic girl who was the head captain and ace of the team. She knew her teammates were being harsh to Elaine and she had to let the girl know her presence wasn't undervalued.
"The girls just don't know how to show affection, ya know? Don't worry about them, mija, just keep doing you."
And that's what she did. She became a starter on the Ocean Side Warriors and became the permanent setter after the previous girl tore a ligament in her forearm. Sad and unfortunate, but she was ready.
"Quiet down, everyone!" The balding gym teacher yelled over everyone in the gym and eventually got everyone's attentions. He nodded in approval. "Okay, as you can already tell, it's volleyball week! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I said week, not day." Almost everyone in the room cheered while others groaned. "Mr. White believes that this will be the winning year for the Lady Blazers after being bested in regionals two years in a row. He wants to use this time to show those of you who don't know much about the sport and show some of you that it's worth supporting. You will all be playing and split up into teams with some of the varsity players as your captains. Listen to them. They know what they're doing."
A lot of people were eager to play. Some of the girls present didn't have the courage to actually try out for the team but now they'd have the chance to play in gym and learn some more. They guys weren't all too interested in playing. Their focus was on the volleyball team, who all wore spandex. Booty was everywhere and you couldn't help but stare.
"Alright guys!" The girl named Andrea clapped her hands loudly and called back everyone's attention. "If you don't already know, I am the head captain of the Lazy Blazers volleyball team! We will be splitting people up into groups by skill sets of novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert, with the last two being in the same group. It's never too late to join the team so if you want to join, treat this week like a try out." Three other girls stood alongside Andrea. Elaine assumed they would be the instructors for the skill set levels Andrea had named out.
"If you have never had any experience with volleyball, please come with me." A red head with green eyes waved her hand. Half the class flocked over to her. Jazmine and her friends included. Huey didn't want to be grouped with Jazmine but there was nothing he could do; he's never played before.
"If you've played before but you're not sure about what you can do, follow me" A tall blonde with a french braid running all the way down her back walked to one side of the gym followed by a small group. Bailey smiled at Elaine and walked off.
"If you've played before, know the rules and penalties, but would like to improve on a specific quality, I'm the one who will help you." A short Asian girl spoke softly and not everyone heard what she said until Andrea yelled it out for her. Once they had sorted themselves out, Andrea walked up to the three remaining girls that included Laney. She walked slowly in front and in back of them, inspecting and taking close looks. She hummed every now and then before she stopped in front.
"You with the braid." A skinny white girl stepped forward and looked directly at Andrea. "What's your name, what grade are you in, and how long have you been playing?"
"My name is Kylie Goodwin and I've been playing since the 5th-" Andrea cut her off.
"You can go with the proficient group, Kylie." The girl frowned once she got dismissed, and she left. Andrea moved onto the girl with blemished skin and braces. "What's your name, what grade are you in, and how long have you been playing?"
"M-my name is D-diana Moore and I'm 15 years old and-"
"You can go into the proficient group, too. You," she made eye contact with Elaine and had a smirk on her face. "What's your name, how long have you been playing, and what grade are you?"
Laney smiled at the olive skin girl and repeated back to her, "My name is Elaine Jackson. I've been playing for 10 years and I'm a junior." Andrea was already in the process of dismissing the short girl in front of her like the others until she heard exactly what she said. They shared a stare down, Laney managing not to blink and Andrea narrowed her eyes. Her team stood behind her whispered, conversing about what was happening. Eventually, Andrea smiled at Laney and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
"Well then Elaine, I guess you're the only one that's gonna practice with us." She was walked over to the rest of the volleyball team who had just began to stretch.
"There's no more?" A pretty blonde with long black eyelashes asked. She was only a few inches taller than Elaine, which made her feel good.
"Nope! She's the only one who knows how to follow directions." Andrea looked down at her with a wide smile. "And I hate to have people on my team who don't know how to listen. You start getting stretched and warmed up."
Elaine nodded and raised her arm above her head and pulled it back by the elbow with her other hand. It popped as she progressively pushed down harder, slowly letting go. Bringing the same arm in front, she pushed it down against her chest as far as possible, feeling the burning strain in her back. The same motions were repeated with her other arm.
Andrea and the blonde called Macy watched Elaine while loosening their bodies. "We know she wasn't lying about the 10 year thing. She looks like she knows how to stretch and not to just rush through it." Macy commented as she leaned back onto Andrea, pushing her into the floor, holding her there for ten seconds.
"Mmhmm, and look at her fingers. They're wrapped and her hands are calloused. I think she's a setter." This time she pushed back on Macy. "God knows we need one. No offense but setting isn't your thing."
The blonde hummed and twisted their bodies to the left and right. "I'm a right wing spiker. It's not my fault my brain is programmed for the third touch. And you could go back to being libero, Ms. Ace."
"Ah, libero. I just pray that she is a setter, or our little fantasies are invalid." Andrea let go of Macy and stood up. Her muscles felt lose but her knee still hurt. "I don't give a damn what happens; I'm gonna be the libero of my team for my senior year. No one can stop me. 10 laps now!" She lead the front of the run. No one dared to pass her because they knew it would issue a challenge to the former track runner. Elaine had not obtained this information.
Andrea heard feet coming up behind her then felt a presence right next to her. Elaine ran side by side, matching her pace, while maintaining her breathing. She was mildly impressed that the newbie could keep up when the rest of her team were ready to die by the 6th lap. They were entering the 8th lap and the brown haired girl still kept up with her. The other girls had lagged behind at a slow jog.
Wanting to see if Elaine could hold up to what she thought to be a facade, Andrea broke out into a run. She wanted to see if to see if the girl could continuously sprint for the next 3 rounds without stopping.
Andrea wasn't disappointed.
Elaine was bent over with her hands on her knees trying to breathe. The run itself was quite enjoyable but it had been awhile since she had run that fast without getting a rhythm beforehand. She drank quickly from her water bottle then set it down quickly when Andrea issued a set of drills. Sweat had formed on her forehead and was slowly coasting down her face before Andrea called for everyone to take a quick break.
Laney's muscles burned but felt good. Her blood was really pumping and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. This is what she loved about volleyball- It was so rewarding. You receive a noteworthy challenge, a back breaking yet stimulating workout, and all you have to do is know how to handle a ball. She couldn't see why others couldn't handle the sport.
Speaking of others, she looked around at the groups. The first group that contained people who have never played were going through basic instruction, bumping and passing, positions, signal phrases, and wall jumps. 'Gotta increase that vertical.'
Laney spotted Jazmine receiving a ball that smacked into her left forearm and flew in that direction. Huey caught the soft patted ball with two hands and glared at the strawberry blonde. Jazmine rubbed the back of her head shyly. "S-sorry Huey." He rolled his eyes.
Huey had just completed the fifteen wall jumps he and a few other guys had to do. It was smart, in a way, and he was glad the red head hadn't said anything more than fifteen. Technically, you jumped up 45 times to complete all 15 jumps. Non-stop. He saw other girls stop for a split second and their captain, who he found out is called Stephanie, would stop all her instructions and come watch them do their 15 reps. And if she felt so, she tacked on 5 more.
There's only so much that Huey doesn't understand and the high school sport of volleyball has been added to the list.
[A/N: So, in case some of you guys don't know, a wall jump is the repeated motion of jumping and touching the wall in a specific order. I have always done it like jump as high as you can while tapping the wall in the order of left hand, right hand, both hands. I find it hard to explain so if you want to know more, I'm sure google has something.]
Huey had saw the "expert team" running laps around the gym. Elaine was keeping up with ease with Andrea Wilson, who finished the 100m dash in 11 seconds and jumped 400 hurdles in less than a minute. She set the record as a sophomore and no one yet had beat it. He himself had the strongest urge to try and do it but he couldn't devote his time to a sport this year. His life after high school was being planned this school year. College visits, college registrations, scholarship essays, SAT/ACT testing. He sighed, realizing he hadn't submitted his test scores to Harvard because he needed to talk to the damn school secretary to even get them. [A/N: Yes, Harvard. For right now, Harvard. Bare or is it bear? Idk, BAEAR WITH ME.]
Huey tried to stop himself but he sighed again.
"It's time ladies and gentlemen!" Andrea drew everyone's attention while she wheeled out carts of volleyballs. She stood on one side of the court and her team stood on the others. The group instructors moved people to the sidelines and bleachers. Huey stepped back but he was equally puzzled like the people beside him.
"This is the best part of Blazer practice." She scooped a volleyball out of the bin and started palming it to the floor, getting harder and heavier. "Who wants to go first?"
The team backed away from the boundary lines silently but Elaine didn't move. She didn't move because she hadn't realized everyone left her standing as a sitting duck.
"New girl! I like the passion." Laney looked behind her and saw that she was the only one on the court. She looked at the other girls who were shaking their heads in firm no's to going first. "Good, I'm just gonna serve to you and I want you to receive ever single last one of them. We'll be using the 6-2 rotation. For now, start where you would usually start." Elaine nodded and moved back to right hand corner in the back row.
"This is a game I came up with and I call it Receive or Not Receive." Macy groaned from the other side. "Hey! I don't see you coming up with any catchy names. Anyways," she stopped bouncing the ball. "Elaine right now is standing in Position 1, called right back and it's where you serve from. She is a setter. She will always start right there."
Andrea moved to stand behind the serving line and she wiped the bottom of her shoes on her hands. She looked at the blue and white ball but it was clear she wasn't seeing the ball, but her target spot on the other side of the court. She tossed the ball high into the hair and ran after it, jumping into the air and a loud smack echoed in the gym when her hand made contact and slammed the ball over the net.
Laney had already squatted slightly in preparation to receive the ball, never remaining flat footed, shifting on the balls of her feet to be able to make any quick second decisions. Her legs remained about a shoulder length apart. She placed her weight on her knees, causing her butt to thrust out behind her.
There would have been suggestive words and phrases thrown around but not when the majority of the girls in the room could spike a ball with 99% accuracy.
Seconds ticked by and she waited. She stared Andrea down, blocking out every other side around her. Her main concern was the ball that soon came hurdling at her at high speeds. Her first reaction was to step back with her right leg. There was no way for that ball to be received unless she took it to the face. Laney was already in motion to side step out of the way so the ball could be called out after hitting the mats behind her, but instead the ball dropped a foot in front of her.
The ball had no rotation on it.
Elaine gasped and dived, sliding hard onto her stomach and making hard contact with the floor, she shoved her arms underneath the falling ball and popped it back up into play even though no one else was on the court. The ball floated to the front row next to the net.
The room was silent.
Picking herself off the floor, Laney held her right elbow in her hand. It was throbbing because of how she came down onto the floor. 'That was pretty damn dirty.'
A sudden clap cut through the silence.
"That right there is what we call reaction. Elaine would have lost her team a whole point if she was not aware of her surroundings and noticed the lack of spin. Makes sense that something spinning should move fast right? Without the spin, it'll just drop."
"You hit that way too hard to be a floater." Elaine was mildly interested in the captain's techniques. A float swung at on full speed shouldn't exist. She herself had one in her arsenal of serves but it was nothing like that.
Macy threw her elbow pad to Laney and she sent her a silent thanks. "We gotta look out for each other. Or else, we all wouldn't have elbows left."
Bailey timidly raised her hand and Andrea nodded. "E-Elaine can move from that position in an actual game, right?" Everyone looked at her and she shrunk back after asking her question.
"Why, as a matter of fact, yes. She moves to middle front to be able to set the ball to where ever she wants on the court. If none of you were paying attention, she treated her receive in the situation as if she got first hit, which she shouldn't. She can no longer touch the ball. She popped it back up to the front row so someone else is responsible to get it back over the net." She grabbed another ball from the tote and starting bouncing it. "Okay, for real this time."
Elaine pulled the elbow pad on securely and bent her arm to make sure it wouldn't cut off her circulation. She returned to her squatting position with her hands on her knees. Andrea's face lost its playfulness as she stood behind the service line and wiped her feet on her hands.
The girls yelled. "Ball's up!"
From here until the rest of the class, they played an interesting game of serve and bump. Elaine dove and shuffled as needed to get body underneath the ball. There was very seldom a pause in Andrea's serving. Once a ball came in contact with Laney's arms, she had to forget about it and move onto the next one.
A lot of people had second thoughts about playing volleyball now. The way Laney's arms broke back from the force of the ball made people pale, especially when she managed to keep her elbows locked. The snapping sound of her skin made people cringe.
"Andrea, how about you stop breaking Elaine's arms and let someone else serve and receive?" Macy studied the onlooking students who seemed to be bored. The girl she knew as Jazmine had her back to the court and was talking loudly to her friends. She glared hard, hoping her burn a hole into the back of her head that she could feel. That was until another idea came into her head. Andrea was looking the same way and they both made eye contact, smirking deviously.
"You're right, Mace." She signaled for Bailey and some of the other freshman to start picking up the balls. "Elaine, you're serving. Jazmine!~ You're receiving."
Jazmine stiffened and turned around slowly with a hesitant smile on her face. "But… I have never played before. I don't think I should be the one doing it." Macy and Andrea stood on either side of Jazmine and pulled her to the court.
"Nonsense. We just gave an excellent demonstration. You… did see it, right?" Andrea was looking down at her with a blank stare that ghosted down into her soul. There was nothing friendly about it.
"Of course I saw it! The whole thing. And your… serves. It looked pretty fun." Jazmine smoothly lied. She never liked Andrea or Macy and they clearly didn't like her. As if she cared.
Elaine was standing where Andrea just was but she was spiking the ball repeatedly against the wall. Every time it came back to her it was faster and harder. She stopped and caught it when Jazmine was deposited to the back row on the other side of the court.
"We're glad to hear that." Macy smiled and took steps away from Jazmine with Andrea. Her speech was rushed. "So, like, we don't know how she serves, thereforewearenotliableforwhatcouldpossibilityhappentoyou. Okaybye."
Jazmine was left alone to something she really didn't know how to do. 'No, stop it Jazzy. This can't be that difficult; Barbie was catching the balls just fine. Easy.' She clasps her hands together, trying to remember what annoying red head showed them. With her fingers folded into one another, she shrugged. It looked right. She squatted a little but remained standing flat, like she was docked there and was to never move again. Her arms created a weak platform that was sure to collapse the moment a ball tapped it.
The volleyball team was holding back tears and snickers at the show before them. Thankfully, no one had their phones to put what was about to happen on social media.
Elaine spun the ball between the palms of her hands and stopped it so that she was looking down at the Tachikara tag. She decided against a jump serve and did a solid, heavy overhand with all of her weight pushed into it.
Jazmine made her first mistake by not drop stepping. Instead, she stepped forward.
And then it was too late.
Something that sounded very close to a slap resounded in the gym.
"OW! MY NOSE!"
Laney's eyes widened and her face held a deadpan expression.
"Well, fuck."
A/N: BOOM, chapter 5. Yes, it took me a week and several days to upload this. Wanna know why? Because I'm black.
No, seriously though.
This chapter was suppose to be up on Sunday night but I decided to take my box braids out AND I DIDN'T FINISH UNTIL WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
I had a lot of braids.
Anyways, I really appreciated the feedback I received from Imaginativequeen1. She supported me with three ideas that I plan on carrying over onto the next chapter. So much support *sniffles*
I love it when you guys PM, too. I might not be updating chapters quick but I'm always checking my fanfiction account to see if I got any messages o.o So, ya know, send me some.
If you guys know French and you see that I spelled something wrong or the sentence structure is just all fucked up, please tell me. I'm only in French II and I understand it pretty well; I just can't form sentences very well. And google translate isn't always trust worthy.
Volleyball. Yes. It was my dominate sport at one point in time until I derped out when the new coach decided it'd be cool to run down the beach at 12 in the afternoon. I am black. I could be as black as this font. I don't need anymore blackness, thanks. So, my descriptions may be a bit off and hard to understand buuuuuut, let's hope it gets better cause it's going to play a big role in the story. And softball, too. At a later date.
God, I hate making these long notes. A recent reader of mine pointed out how OC Huey. It can't be helped. 7 years fast forward from the show's timeline and I think he'd be a bit different. That's all.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Would you guys prefer it if I updated quickly with chapters that aren't majorly long or severely short, OR long chapters with stretched out upload dates? With the second option, I'd be prone to maybe having two chapters by then. Dunno, it's up to you guys. I'm gonna let the story sit until next Saturday/Sunday and I'll be checking to see what you guys say!
R.F.F. (Review, Follow, Favorite)