O5.
Maree
My alarm clock blared, signaling that it was time for me to get up for school. I went to sleep late last night for no particular reason and now I'm paying the price. Just as I was about to hit my snooze button in efforts of getting fifteen more minutes of sleep, my mom barged into my bedroom.
"Ree, get up. When you're late, I'm late so come on." she ordered. I sucked my teeth and threw the covers off of my frail body. I treaded to the bathroom and quickly did my morning routine. While scanning my closet, I decided on some sweats, a white v-neck, and my Concords. It was a real basic outfit but I wasn't trying to impress anyone at that bullshit school.
I grabbed all of my essentials before making my way down the steps and to the kitchen. My breakfast consisted of strawberry yogurt, a granola bar, and vitamin water. Instead of waiting for my mother, I grabbed the keys and went to sit in the car. She really pissed me off last night. I have no desire to be friendly with her after what she did to Chris.
Moments later, my mother walked out of the house. She locked up before getting in the car. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and faced the window.
"Someone's eager to go to school, huh?" she joked, taking the keys from the middle console. I scoffed and continued to ignore her advances to speak with me. She noticed my behavior and shrugged it off. My mom can be as childish as well… a child. Everything she does or says is considered right and anyone who dares to go against her is wrong.
We drove to my school in mere silence. The only audible noise was the murmur of the car's radio. It was actually a very pleasant silence. Her mouth was the last thing that I wanted to hear. Of course, my happiness was ruined when she began to speak.
"Ree, I apologize. I'm your mother and I behaved like a child. You know how I get though. Either way, it was uncalled for and I'm apologizing for it." she sighed. I sensed the genuine tone and sincerity in her words but that was directed to the wrong person.
"You should be apologizing to Chris. Not me." I stated.
"Fine, I'll apologize to the man. I still feel very strong about the points that I made last night though."she huffed, pulling up to my school. Was it ever really that serious?
"Alright, mother. I'll see you later." I said while pulling the handle to the car door. I stepped out and reached in to retrieve my bag.
"I love you, Ree." she smiled.
"Mhm." I replied back. I closed the door and watched as she sped off. Glancing at John Marshall High School, I sighed and trotted inside. Another day in hell.
Chris
"Serial killers such as Manson, take a more manipulative approach to murder. As opposed to committing the horrid actions themselves, they convince others to go through with it. I personally don't believe that his minions had mental disorders." I explained to the class. Professor Kennedy decided to make us do a presentation in place of an exam.
"So, you think those people just killed because he ordered them to do it?" A student in the class asked.
"No, that's just it. He didn't order them. He manipulated them. Manson told those people what they wanted to hear. If you wanted to hear that you were beautiful, he told you that you were beautiful. By raising a person's self esteem, you have then acquire their trust. They'll want to do anything that you desire because you made them feel better than anyone has ever made them feel. All you have to do is feed them what they want, verbally that is." I chuckled, earning a few laughs from the class. The bell rang, indicating that class was over.
"Hey, Chris. Can I see you for a minute?" Professor asked. I nodded and walked towards him after grabbing my bag.
"Yes, Professor?" I asked.
"I just wanted to tell you that your presentation was fantastic. I'd love for you to do some public speaking. On Friday, we're having this gathering at the school about the mental illnesses behind killers. I want you to present." he smiled. I rubbed the back of my neck and shook my head.
"Sir, I-I don—"
"It'll boost your grade. Not that you need much help when it comes to academics but who would say no to more grades in the system? Come on." he laughed. I gave a weak chuckle before looking down.
"Can I get back to you before Friday?" I asked.
"Absolutely, Chris. I hope you can attend and present. It'll be fun." he smirked. Nodding, I walked out of the lecture hall. Me being 'Mr. Yes', I'll probably commit to this stupid shit. Presenting in front of classmates is different because it's required. This however, is not required but I just can't say 'no'. Speaking in front of people is one of my many weaknesses.
I walked through the student parking lot and to my Bentley. Once I was situated inside, I drove towards Red Lobster. I had to meet Rick there to discuss my 'behavior'. Sighing, I pulled into the parking lot and found a reasonable spot. I walked in the building and scanned the area. Rick's fat ass could normally be spotted from a mile away. Now all of a sudden he wanna be in hiding.
"Yo, my man." he gave a hearty chuckle, slapping me on my shoulder. I mugged his rather large frame before walking up to the hostess.
"Hi, welcome to Red Lobster. How many are you seating?" she asked nicely. I stared at Rick's stomach for about five seconds before looking back at her.
"A whole damn family." I let out an ugly laugh, making the hostess turn red. She know she wanted to laugh but I guess that was unprofessional. "Nah, just two." She seated us at a table and gave us our menus.
"You gon' stop crackin' on my weight, brah." Rick stated seriously.
"Look, it's funny to me so I'll do what I want." I shrugged, browsing through the many options. Once I figured out what I wanted, I fanned down the waitress.
"Are you ready to order?" she asked with a small smile.
"Yeah, uh, I want a full shrimp alfredo, a ceaser salad with ranch dressing, since no one asked me what I wanted to start with. Some uh, crab legs and keep the biscuits comin'. Oh, I want a Sprite too." I handed her my menu. She nodded and jotted down all of my requests. She turned to Rick and I waited out of amusement for his order.
"I'll just take a full cajun shrimp pasta and some iced tea." he said in a deep voice before sliding over his menu. He looked at me and shook his head.
"And I'm the fat one?" he laughed, making me do the same. "How you been man?"
"Cool. I can't complain." I shrugged.
"You been takin' them meds? And I mean both of them. I can tell you skipped out on one." he said, squinting at me. Sucking my teeth, I fanned him off.
"I need a fill up on my prescription. I'm gonna stop by CVS and get it once I'm out of here." I sighed truthfully. I always make sure that I have a surplus amount of medication for my bipolar disorder around because when I don't take those, things get hectic. As far as the personality disorder goes, I can miss those occasionally. Now, it's time for a bit of a refill.
Once our food came, I dug in. Like, I was ferociously eating this pasta. It's like I haven't ate in years. When I glanced up from my half finished plate, Rick was smiling at me.
"Nigga, whatchu lookin' at me like that for? I ain't with that gay shit, now." I asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Shut up, Chris. You just need to calm down before you choke. Anyway, you got another court hearing tomorrow. Don't dodge this one, Chris. They won't hesitate to lock you up, I'm tellin' you." he advised. I nodded and waved him off. Truthfully, I didn't give a fuck.
"Look, it happened years ago. I was a minor with a mental problem. Ever since then, I showed the utmost amount of remorse for my actions. Why can't they just drop it?" I asked with a bit of concern in my voice.
"I don't even know, man. All this state hoppin' though, gon' make them suspicious. You need to live a stable life and just focus on school and gettin' a job. If they see that you've changed, then this little probation thing can be gone. Just stay out of trouble." he said sternly. I nodded and licked over my lips. I'm sure I can stay out of trouble.
Maree
Closing the front door, I leaned against it. School was a drag. Jael decided to skip school and not even give me a heads up. So basically, I had to endure this dreadful day all by myself. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water before going into the living room. Instead of being the procrastinator that I am, I wanted to get my homework done ahead of time.
While working on the overly complicated arithmetic, my doorbell rang. I was excited that a visitor had arrived because I needed a distraction from this stuff. I opened it without even checking to see who it was. Surely enough, it was a face that I wanted to see.
"Hey, Chris. What's up?" I smiled, opening the door wider.
"I was hoping maybe we can hang out today. J-just chill." he chuckled with a hint of nervousness in his voice. To me, his shy personality is the cutest even though he has no reason to behave that way around me.
"Sure, come in. I'm working on my calculus right now." I huffed, plopping down on the couch. He sat beside me and watched as I did my homework. Math has to be my weakest subject next to Chemistry. I'm just not good with numbers and equations.
"Number six is wrong." he said, pointing at my answer. I sighed and erased all the process that I had made. A part of me knew that it was wrong. I just put down a bunch of random numbers and prayed that I wasn't called on in class to answer it.
"Can you help me fix it then?" I asked, looking up at him. Once again, this hypnotic feeling came over me and I couldn't stop staring. His eyes were the average human eye color, dark brown, but they pulled me in. Maybe it was the way he looked at me. Either way, his eyes are captivating.
"S-sure. Let me see your pencil." he said before licking over his lips. I smiled and handed him my led pencil. "I'll do a problem first and you watch. Then, I can help you with the next one. Then, you'll do the last one on your own." I nodded in understanding and moved closer to him. Our bodies were now touching, shoulder to shoulder. He coughed before pulling a pair of glasses from his pocket.
"You wear glasses? I would have never guessed it." I smirked.
"Yeah, I had contacts but they irritate my eyes like hell." he said before putting them on. They slide down the brim of his nose, only for him to push them up with his index finger. Cutest thing ever, might I add.
"Aight, watch me. If you have any questions, feel free to stop me and ask." he smiled. I nodded and watched as he started scribbling some numbers down. It made sense at first until he got to a certain part.
"Chris? If 'b' stands for radius, then what does the 'r' stand for?" I asked in confusion.
"The 'b' stands for radius of the base and 'r' stands for radius at the midsection." he explained. I tilted my head to the side, showing the apparent confusion on my face. He only chuckled and shook his head. "This is about to be a long lesson."
— Time Skip —
"That's correct, Maree. See, you doin' it on ya own now." he laughed. I let out this weird ass squeal but I don't care; I was excited. Never once did math become so clear to me. I just hope this understanding nature that I had developed lasts until the day of the test.
"Thank you, Chrissy." I smiled, hugging his torso. He laughed loudly and looked down at me.
"Chrissy? Really?" he chuckled.
"I like that name for you. Get used to it." I smirked at him. I walked into the kitchen with him on my heels. The kitchen clock read 4:36 PM, meaning my mother would be home in about twenty minutes.
"Chris, I never asked you how your day was." I stated, hopping onto the counter.
"It was alright. Nothin' significant happened today. I went to school, Red Lobster, and then CVS." he shrugged as if he didn't just say Red Lobster.
"Bro, Red Lobster is my life. You didn't even send me an invite." I gasped.
"I went with my friend, Rick. Next time, I'll make sure that you get an invite." he smirked.
"Good. Nothin' happened at school? Isn't college supposed to be wild and fun?" I asked, earning a loud laugh from Chris. I honestly loved seeing him laugh so much. The more time we've spent together, the more comfortable he seems to get.
"Campus life is wild and fun. Sittin' in lecture hall is calm and a learning experience. But I presented a project today and got invited to an event at the school on Friday. Professor wants me to make a presentation but I don't wanna do it." he mumbled.
"Why not?" I pouted.
"I'm not good with standing in front of people. I get nervous and shit. I don't wanna embarrass myself." he shrugged.
"Please do it. I know you'll do great. I'll come to support you on it." I suggested. He looked up at me for a second and smiled brightly.
"You'll come?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Chris. I'll be in the front row… or wherever they seat me." I laughed, making him do the same.
"Thanks, Ree. That means a lot." he grinned.
"Don't mention it, Chrissy." I giggled, hopping down from the counter. Shaking his head, he grabbed his jacket and turned to face me.
"Well, I gotta get home and hit the books. I might not be home when you get home from school. I got some important legal stuff to handle." he sighed. My face scrunched up in confusion. What the hell could the law want with him?
"Well, alright. You should take my number. You know, I might wanna text you sometime." I mumbled, hoping he wouldn't turn my offer down. He nodded and retrieved his Blackberry from his pocket, making me smile. I entered my contact in his phone before handing it back.
"I'll walk you to the door." I yawned. Once we stopped by the exit, I hugged him tightly. Being in Chris' arms is like heaven. He's so strong yet delicate whenever we hug. Unfortunately, this euphoria couldn't last forever. We pulled away and he walked outside.
"Bye, Ree. I'll text you later." he smiled.
"Bye, Chris." I cheesed a little too hard. He laughed and headed on his way across the street. Jesus, Chris doesn't know what he's doing to me.