It had been about three weeks since Imani had blown into town. She and Chad had been hanging out a lot. They'd hung out after school sometimes too. Taylor seemed to be getting jealous but as dense as Chad was he didn't notice.

Gabriella talked to Taylor by her locker. "What is up with Chad? He hasn't hung out with me all week. He's been hanging out with that new girl in our homeroom," Taylor asked her best friend as she reached into her locker and got out her Spanish III book.

"I'm sure he's just busy. He's just being friendly and showing her around school. Kind of like what Troy did for me when I came," Gabriella said quaintly, trying to give Chad the benefit of the doubt. Right after she said that Troy came up behind her and kissed her on the cheek.

"But what happened to you and Troy after that. You started dating," Taylor said looking at Troy as he moved his lips from Gabriella's cheek to her neck. Gabriella started to giggle as she pushed him away from him and reminded him they were at school and Miss Darbus was watching them closely.

Chad walked over to his friends. "Hey, guys. Hey, Taylor," Chad said kissing Taylor's cheek. Taylor still had a disgusted reaction to the kiss even though she enjoyed it.

Gabriella sensed her friend's unhappiness and motioned for her and Troy to leave them alone.

Chad reached into his bag but was interrupted by Taylor talking. He slid it into his pocket so she could talk.

Taylor moved away from him to talk to him face to face. "What's been up with you, lately? You haven't called or talked to me in almost a week. You didn't even text me like you said you would."

"I've been," Chad took a deep breath, "busy."

"'Busy?' Busy with what or more like who? You've been hanging out with that new girl in class a lot," Taylor said hoping Chad would catch the hint that she was getting a little jealous. She said it in the "yeah, I'm jealous, but I have the right to be" tone.

"Are you jealous of Imani?"

Taylor smacked herself in the head with her palm. "Yeah, I'm jealous," Taylor almost yelled losing her calm and collected tone for a second but quickly regained herself. "We haven't talked at all. We need to talk hardly at all and my sister says…"

"Your sister always gives you boyfriend advice. Exactly how many boyfriends has she had, because the crazy stuff you tell me, she says about 'what boys should and shouldn't do…' I could guess not very many."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Taylor looked at him confused and angry all at the same time.

"Nothing, nothing at all," he sighed.

"We need to continue this conversation later. I'm going to be late for class messing around with you," Taylor said in a fierce tone, slamming her locker door in his face, making Chad jump. The she walked away in the opposite direction. She calmed herself enough to say, "I'll call you later, ok" from over her shoulder.

Chad walked down the hallway. He hid behind the wall in front of an empty classroom. He saw Imani coming and waited for the right time and grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her into the classroom and closed the door. "Listen, I really screwed up with Taylor."

"What 'cha do?" Imani asked curiously as she sat down on the top of the teacher's desk. "Something stupid I'm guessing."

"Well Taylor started yelling at me and then she said she was jealous. Then she said her sister told her something about boyfriends and then I told her that her sister's boyfriend rules are dumb."

Imani struck him in the side with her purse. "Stupid! You don't ever diss your girlfriend family. Not even if she disses them herself. Especially not their siblings. Duh"

"Before she walked off she said she'd call me."

"You need to get her something nice."

"You mean like this," Chad said as he showed Imani a beautiful ring. It was heart-shaped diamond with 2 small ones off-setting the larger one on a gold band.

"Ooh, that's cute. Let me try it on." She said as she pulled the ring out of the black case and sliding it onto her slender caramel colored finger. "Did you know you were gonna screw up… because this thing is at least $1000."

"Now don't tell her about it. I want it to be special and I don't want her to think I got her this just because I did something stupid."

"Who knew under that wild hair and inside of the little brain was a romantic side of Chad Danforth. It's none of my business but, how could you afford this?" she asked She took it off and put it back in the case, and then Chad put it in his backpack.

"I had a summer job at the Lava Springs Country Club. I bought a cheap car so I could buy something for her. I put it in the bank so I could keep adding to it. Then last week I went to the jewelry store and it was $1670. I was going to give it to her a few minutes ago until was started arguing."

"Good luck, with you love-life," Imani smiled as she got off the desk and walked out of the room. Chad walked out a few seconds later and into the gym for free period. The team had decided that they would have an extra practice that day. The team went into the locker room to change and start the practice.

Imani thought the gym would be empty so she grabbed the rack with balls on it and started shooting. She dragged the rack to the three point line. She shot one and Swish! The second one went up and she made that one too. She was just on it today. Imani shot a few more as she rotated around the three-point-line when she was about to shoot the last ball on the rack, she heard quiet whispers and turned around to see the whole East High senior varsity basketball team looking at her. She smiled and put the ball back on the rack. "My bad, I thought the gym would be closed free period."

"Wow, you're pretty good," Jason said looking at the team.

"Yeah, you are," Zeke replied after Jason.

"We'll were pulling an extra practice so if you don't mind…" Coach Jack Bolton began.

"Oh. Like I said my bad. Let me get my bag and I'm out." Imani said ignoring the fact that Coach Bolton was getting an attitude. She walked over to the bench and grabbed her blue Louis Vuitton then she walked purposely passed the team to harmlessly flirt. She waved gently. She noticed a few guys on the team followed her with their eyes. She was a pro at flirting to make her seem like a tease. She winked slyly at them and blew them a light kiss. "Later, Wildcats," She said as she squeezed out off the door.

"Bye," a few of the guys on the team answered; they talked almost transfixed.

"Now that your flirt secession is over," Coach Bolton glared at the few guys who played into her flirting. "Five laps around the gym, now!!" The guys groaned as the started to run around the gym.

Since basketball was not in the plans for that day Imani had to come up with something else to do for the next 20 minutes. Her time in the gym killed the first 10 minutes of free period. She decided to go into the auditorium to see what she could do in there. No one was in there. That was good. She walked over to the piano and played a beginning chord to warm up her voice. After she was warmed up she played an introductory accompaniment. She took a deep breath but right before she started to sing her phone started to ring:

"Shawty had them Apple Bottom jeans (jeans), boots with the furs (with the fur) the whole club was lookin' at her. She hit the flo' (she hit the flo') next thing you know. Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low. Them baggy sweat pants and the Reeboks with the straps (with the straps) turned around and gave that big booty a smack. (Hey!) She hit the flo' (she hit the flo') next thing you know. Shawty got low, low… " Imani reached into her purse and answered the phone. "Yo, what up this ya' girl Mani"

"Hey, sweetheart," a familiar voice said.

"Hey, daddy, what's up? I guess you got my text," she piped cheerfully.

"Yeah. I'm glad you're doing well. You never told me why you wanted to leave and go back to Albuquerque. When I got home from my trip in New York, I saw a note saying you had just up and left. You said just to trust you,"

"And I do need to be trusted. Believe me it's better for me to be here than still in Burbank,"

"Is there something wrong with you?" her father asked concerned.

"No, I'm fine. There is nothing wrong," she lied into the phone.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she lied again.

"If you ever need anything just call me or come home. Did something happen at school while I was gone?" her father asked.

Yes. She thought. "No," she lied the third time. She was one of the prettiest, smartest, richest, most popular girls in school. Unlike most of the rich girls at school she was down-to-earth and wasn't snobby. And if you didn't know who her dad was you'd think she was just another girl who lived in LA. She used slang most of the time. She was good at basketball and she could sing.

Imani was sure of fact the she left hurt her father. She didn't want to lie to him did but it was the best way to go about things. She didn't want to jeopardize anything for him.

"You know, you and the record label are all I have and now that you're gone…" his voice trailed. "Did I do something?"

She wanted to hang up the phone right then. He was hurting and now it was making her hurt. She knew it was for the best. "You didn't do anything," she breathed out after a few moments of silence. She wanted to scream. "Daddy, I gotta go." She didn't want to talk to him anymore. "Could you put some money in my account?"

"Sure, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you, too," she said as she pressed the red button to hang up. She wanted to cry. She was in such a good mood, but hearing her dad's sadness made her sad. She wiped the appearing tears from her face and continued playing the piano. This had never happened to her but for the first time in her life she was so sad she didn't even want to sing. She crashed her head against the keys of the piano making disharmonic chord.

Kelsi heard the noise and walked out from behind the curtain. "Was that you?" Kelsi asked timidly.

"Yeah," Imani said looking up. She began to play the same introduction she started before her father called. She played the whole song but she was too upset to sing the words. Imani grabbed her bag and left. She pushed her cell phone deep into her jean capri pocket. She wanted to go home; and not her stupid hotel room. She decided that it would be best if she cut off verbal communication with her dad. Texting and IM were the only way now. If she heard his voice she would miss him, and if she missed him, she would crack. She couldn't crack. She was very emotionally unstable, but she didn't like to let it show she played it off by being flirty or getting angry instead of showing sadness. She knew that was the next thing coming, getting angry. She might go off on the next person who said something to her for no apparent reason.

Imani's spent the rest of the very secluded and reserved. Usually she would have talked the whole day. She also didn't flirt back when a new boy in her 4th period flirted with her. She was so happy when the last bell rang. She ran to her locker to get her stuff and hurried to leave. She walked quickly to her car. She didn't bother to open the door she used a button on her key to lay down the top so she could just jump into the car. She put the key into ignition and drove back to the hotel room. She walked to the freezer/ mini fridge and grabbed the tub of Häagen Dazs Brown Fudge Sundae ice cream. She reached on top of the fridge to get a spoon. She plopped onto the bed and started to eat. Ice cream helped her cope with sadness. She finished most of the pint and put it on the night-stand. She lied down on the mattress and covered her head with the sheet and comforter. She tried to think about how she had gotten herself there. She didn't want to think about it. It was awful story. She had a flashback to a few months when she lived in Burbank, California.

A few months ago…

Imani and her friends were sitting at a cheap small restaurant in western Los Angeles. Jazmine and Rocsi were twins and had been her friends nice she'd moved to California when she was eight. They looked just alike. "Oh look, girl it's ya' man," Jazmine said as she drank her Coke talking to Imani.

"What you talkin' about. You know I don't go out with nobody," Imani laughed as she pushed a stray piece of hair out of her face trying not to smile at the boy her friends were talking about and the same boy who was looking directly at her. She waved at him.

He seamed to notice her wave because he winked back at her. She then smiled.

"See, Jaz, that's what we was talking about. She so sprung right now she don't even know what I just said," Rocsi said looking at Imani. "Mani, what I just say?"

"Huh?! What 'cha say," Imani said shaking herself back to earth.

"Exactly what I said," Rocsi smirked proving her point.

"So…" Jazmine

"So what?" Imani asked.

"So you goin' ask him out or are you just gonna sit there and think about him," Jazmine asked.

"Why would I ask him out? He probably don't even like me like that." She said hotly. "Even though he is so fine," she said in a soft suppressed moan to herself. Then she grabbed the straw and put it into her mouth and started to suck up her Sprite out of the can to avoid smiling and give her friends the satisfaction of being right.

"You know, Mani, he is kinda cute," Jazmine smiled.

"But you better watch out 'cause I heard that Tyesha (Tī-e-sha) want him back," Rocsi advised her friend. The thing is: she'd known Imani for so long Tyesha wouldn't be a problem, because when Imani wanted something, nothing could keep her from getting it.

"I ain't scared of that trick. She'll go after anyone who will let her lay on her back," Imani spat to Rocsi.

"…or get on her knees," Jazmine continued Imani's statement. Imani then held her hand out to give Jazmine a high-five.

"Y'all wrong for that…Even though, you probably right," Rocsi said drinking her Coke.

Next Day….

Imani pulled into the parking lot in her car with her friends. Jazmine was in the back and Rocsi in the passenger seat. The bell had just rang when the pulled up. "Now, who fault it this?" Imani asked annoyed to her friends.

"If Jazmine hadn't put on my outfit," Rocsi began, "I wouldn't have had to change."

"The only the only thing different about yo' outfits are the pants. You wearing a skirt and Jaz is wearing shorts. You're also wearing different shoes. Like it matters though, people still can't tell you apart unless you talk," Imani rolled her eyes and took the keys out of the car. "You're identical twins, damn it. I swear you two are impossible."

The three girls walked into the doors. It wasn't like it was their first time being late. Hell, if there were an award for being late all the time they'd have it in the bag. They were so good they didn't even get in trouble for it. For Imani it didn't mean much. She knew half of the curriculum already. Her teachers thought of her as the model student, her friends thought of her as the coolest girl around, the boys though of her as a dream girl. Her dad thought of her as the best girl in the world. She didn't think highly of herself. She was just a normal girl.