Huey was in a fucked up mood. It wasn't just because he came in early as fuck and still had to go to school after his shift. And strangely enough, not even forgetting to take Jazmine to the mall made him this annoyed. It was Pen and his stupid baby mama drama that he was constantly bringing up to his job, which was Huey's job as well.

When Huey agreed to take Erica's shift so that she could take her daughter to the doctor for a chest infection, he didn't know that this nigga would be working the same damn shift. For about thirty minutes, Pen had been outside arguing on the phone with his baby mama while Huey was inside with a long line of people who either wanted to buy some shit, get their shit looked at, or fixed.

"So, is this like the Geek Squad?" The man in front of Huey asks after the teen says his usual work-approved spiel of 'Welcome to computer wizards, how can I help you today?' The original line was 'How may I be of service to you,' and after he threatened to contact the NAACP and the local news station, Jeff, the store manager, agreed to spruce up the old welcome and give it a more modern spin. Huey will not be of servitude to anyone.

Avery was lucky he liked his job. Huey is the assistant store manager and earns a decent amount of money and authority. Currently, he is listening to his next customer complain about why his phone hasn't 'turned on' in two days while simultaneously showing him a physically turned-on phone. Huey calmly explains that this store does not have the authority to restore someone's actual phone service while simultaneously contemplating writing his negligent co-worker up.

Clearing his throat, Huey carries on with the customers without breaking face. Five minutes later, Pen runs back inside and behind the glass table and starts doing his job.

After getting through the line of customers, Huey decides to step out for his break. It was 10:30, and he had to leave in about an hour so he could make it to his A.P. calculus class.

"Aye, man, mind if I smoke?" Pen asks as he lights up his black and mild. Huey doesn't know why he even asked if he was gonna spark up anyway.

Instead of replying, Huey tries to ignore Pen's presence altogether. He goes through his phone and answers a few messages and emails. However, he was also painfully aware that he hadn't received any messages from Jazmine even after he dropped her phone off to her dad this morning.

Huey reneged on his promise to take her to the mall. But he gave her the 'okay' to bake cookies and make signs for his next rally in downtown Woodcrest. His message was sent but never even opened. Huey feels like she could've at least read his message but quickly brushes it off. Her direct ignorance meant she was mad at him.

Frankly, he was used to the strawberry blonde being upset or mad at him. They didn't always agree on things, and that was fine, but lately, they've been on opposing sides so often that this little disagreement bothered him. Plus, Huey still didn't have an answer to who the FUCK was texting her the other day.

The afro-headed boy would be lying if he said he didn't keep tabs on the girl. He pays attention to Jazmine more than he likes to. He's always too aware of her.

"Hey, man, can I ask you a question?"

"No."

"What, Huey, c'mon, man, let me pick that big brain of yours for a minute. Pause."

Huey sighs loudly, wishing he could be somewhere else, maybe in bed reading a book. Maybe with a particular strawberry blonde.

"Go ahead."

"Have you ever been in love?" Huey sucks his teeth, and Pen rushes in, "Nah, Nah, fo'real, hear me out. I got two baby mamas, and I was just thinking." He takes a drag and lets the smoke filter from his mouth before speaking.

"I'on think I was ever in love with either of them. I think they were in love with me, and I loved the way it made me feel, but I couldn't really… reciprocate those feelings. It's like I love them, I do, but I guess I didn't know them that well to get into something too deep, you feel me."

"Don't get me wrong, sex with them was bomb, still is, and I chose them to spare my seed. I used to hear that shit all the time from my uncles. It was like an urban tale that, as a man, we choose the woman. The moment we choose that woman to have our baby. And I ain't believe in none of that old school folklore shit until it happened to me.

I consciously remember feeling myself choose my first baby mama during sex. It's crazy because, I mean, I ran through my fair share of bodies and ain't feel a lick of what I felt when I conceived my kids. It was like all of a sudden, all this shit I was carrying on my back had disappeared, my mind was clear, it felt like I was fucking in the air, like straight floating nigga.

All I could think was how I never wanted that shit to stop; it was amazing. My guard wasn't up, It felt like I ain't have rent due next week, and I wasn't a hundred dollars short. Hell, my mama hadn't even put me out when I was sixteen, and I wasn't still hurt bout' that shit. All my problems in those moments were gone, all that weight. I felt free. I felt chosen."

Huey just listens to Pen contemplating his words, wondering not for the first time if Pen was insane. However, in some way he finds himself relating to the man's words. He has his share of girls, but it never goes beyond the physical.

They were a way to release the pent-up emotions and feelings he couldn't readily show to others. And to say the least, he fucking enjoyed having sex. He wasn't addicted by any means, but once he started having it, he realized its necessity in the real world.

He only came close to that feeling Pen described with one other person, but it never peaked.

"But aye," Pen continues, flicking his cigarette bud. "I'm just jaw-jackin'. I'mma go ahead back inside."

Huey takes out his phone once more and types up a text before pressing send and going back in to finish his shift.

(*)

Carlos finally showed up to relieve Huey and start his shift at around 11, and now all the young man wants to do is…honestly, relieve some tension. His phone was never dry, but lately, he hasn't been interested in any of the girls hitting his line.

As he made a right turn on Oak St., he slowed to a stop as the light turned green and eventually red. The street wasn't crowded, minus a couple of cars on different sides of the intersection, so he wasn't worried about anyone beeping their horns aggressively.

His fingers itch for his phone. A few seconds later, Huey finds himself picking up the phone from the center console and dialing a familiar number. The girl picks up almost instantly.

"I'm done with work; you wanna chill?"

"I thought you were coming to school afterward?"

"Nah, 'm tired I can come scoop you though."

There is a pause in the conversation, and the light turns green again; Huey proceeds forward.

"I got a test in math today that I can't miss. Sorry."

"Nah, you're good."

"But aren't you going to Cindy's party tonight? We can go together."

"Cool, so I'll come get you at around eight."

"It's a dat-deal," Melanie says, and Huey grins at the girl's slip up, finally pulling onto his street. They exchange quick goodbyes, and Huey pulls up to his house and turns into the empty driveway.

Huey's silently relieved that he will have the house to himself for a few hours considering Riley's at school and his grandad is participating in a chess tournament with Ruckus at the park.

Preparing to have the best sleep he's had in a while, Huey locks his car doors and proceeds to unlock the house door. Within seconds the lock clicks, and Huey can practically feel his bed calling him when there's a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, Huey, how are ya?" Tom greets.

Huey's eyes scan the older man, trying to figure out what he wants. "My Grandad isn't here."

"Oh, I know, I actually wanted to uhm," Tom starts nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"What?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?" Huey looks at Tom strangely, but with a sigh to signal how exhausting this whole thing is, he lets the man in any way.

Tom heads to the kitchen table, and Huey goes to the kitchen to grab a water bottle. "Do you want water," He calls to Tom.

"Y-yeah, water would be fine."

Huey shuts the refrigerator and joins Tom at the kitchen table, passing him his water on his way to his seat. Tom cracks the top and takes a long sip, and Huey stares at the man across from him impatiently.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Tom?"

"Jazmine."

Huey's expression turns to one of mild surprise. "What about Jazmine?" He was a little surprised the prosecutor wasn't here to talk about his recent demonstration at the capital. He's always trying to talk to him about various 'legal' ways to get their message across, but at his core, Huey was going to be him.

"She's been acting a bit strange lately. Hasn't she? I'm a little worried about her behavior."

"Behavior?" Huey questions, finally drinking from his water bottle.

"Yeah, she's been staying out late and talking on the phone at all hours of the night, and let me tell you, she worked up an impressive phone bill this month-"

"I'll pay for it," Huey offers with a shrug, and Tom laughs.

"That's kind of you, but it's taken care of. The point is I just wanted to know if she's seeing someone. Is there a special guy in her life?"

Huey continues to stare at Tom like he is an idiot. Mainly because he truly believed the man was at this point. He was wasting the time he could be using to sleep. Huey feels it's almost preposterous for Tom to ask him if his daughter is seeing someone.

"Well, shouldn't you ask her yourself?" Huey says before taking a long swig of his water.

"You're right, but you guys are close, and I thought I'd pick your brain to see if you knew anything."

"Not a thing."

"See," Tom starts, and Huey can tell that he's about to try to change tactics. "I trust you, Huey. You care about Jazmine. And even though you may not be the…friendliest of characters, you have always treated Jazmine respectfully. She respects your opinion and holds it in high regard, maybe even higher than mine. So, with that being said, I know that she wouldn't keep something like this from you."

Huey processes Tom's words and almost feels bad for the man. Truth is, Jazmine had been acting weird with him, and he knows it didn't help that he didn't keep his promise to take her to the mall today. Still, the young man couldn't imagine Jazmine hiding anything from him.

Jazmine being in a possible relationship made him roll his eyes. Deep down inside, the boy knew something was amiss, but he didn't want to think about what he would do if he ever caught the girl with someone else.

"Is that it, Tom?" Huey finally asks, already done with this conversation, lest he gets even more annoyed than he is already. Huey stands up, and Tom soon follows suit.

"I know, I sound like the crazy dad who's desperately worried about his teenage daughter."

"Isn't that exactly what this is?" Huey states, and Tom just bursts into laughter.

"I'm just curious. Sarah and I have been working late hours, and it's been a little difficult for Jazmine to speak to us about things that aren't waffles, lemonade, and going to the movies." Tom sighs, and Huey surprisingly feels sorry for the attorney. And this makes Huey feel uncomfortable as the father continues.

"It's like, we ask about school and its one-word answers, we ask about her social life, and she changes the subject. I just ask if you could keep an eye on her."

"You want me to watch your daughter?"

"Well, it sounds odd when you put it like that."

"It is odd," Huey remarks, even though he does the same thing without being asked to.

"Yeah…would you, Huey? I trust that you could keep her out of trouble."

Huey stares at Tom for a moment before rolling his eyes and walking towards the door to let the grown man out. "Fine," Huey says almost reluctantly.

It wasn't his fault that Tom wasn't spending enough time with his daughter. There were too many nights Huey had come home from work to see that the Dubois driveway was empty. Too many nights, the Strawberry blonde spent the night in his bed.

Tom finally makes his exit, and as soon as the door shuts, Huey stretches the kink out of his shoulder. He locks the door and begins his trek upstairs to finally get some sleep. However, he doesn't even make it halfway before the door opens back up, revealing the older boy's grandfather.

"Did I just see Tom come out of here? What did he want? He didn't ask about no money, did he?"

"No, Grandad-"

"And you didn't tell him about my trip to Vegas, did you?"

"No-"

"Shoot, you know that fool still ain't forget about my last 'doing it big' trip. He still asking when we going."

Huey just turns around and continues climbing the steps, only to be stopped again. "Now, I know you not about to go to sleep."

"Yes, Grandad, I was."

"Uh uh, nope. Come on back down here and help me pick and clean these turnip greens. It'll make you lazy. Trust me, yo grandma worked forty years, then one day, she started napping, and I ended up picking up an extra shift at work."

Huey internally groans, hating that he even entertained Tom in the first place when he could've been asleep.

"Boy!" Robert calls as he walks down the corridor.

"Here I come, Grandad."

The bell rang about ten minutes ago, and Hiro is leaning against the cement wall watching as students continue to pour out of the school doors. To Hiro, it is just the usual shit going on. There are people horse playing, slap boxing, hollering, and screaming. Most people are raving about the upcoming Halloween.

Then there were the normal people who just kicked up at their usual posts by the lockers and outside, chatting it up with friends or waiting on their ride. He was one of those people who was never in a rush to leave, but today he had an excuse not to jump in his ride after almost everybody cleared school premises and went to kick it elsewhere.

He decided to go to the debate club meeting today. Well, 'decided' was a stretch for him, considering that Ms. Bentley practically hounded him down after class to remind him to come. She practically broke his arm off with sheer force as she grabbed him before he could exit class, so he agreed to the meeting. One meeting.

Posted up outside, Hiro just kicks it with a few of his friends, his pearly whites flashing as he laughs at something one of them says. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Turning in that direction, he spots Candice staring at him; she quickly looks away and continues to talk with her friends.

Hiro ignores the shady looks and tells his friends he'll hit them up later about his lil gig up in Rose Blossom Hills. It was a party for a girl named CJ. It's on the west side of town, so he's thinking about scooping up this lil shorty he's been talking to off and on.

Hiro can still feel Candice's eyes following him as he goes back inside the school, the heavy metal door slamming loudly behind him. Hiro can't help but wonder if that door has always been that loud. He's stayed after school before, but it wasn't a school affair.

He even had to come early a few times to DJ for some school-approved events. Even then, a few strangers and faculty were getting their lesson plans and things ready for the next day. This afternoon, the halls were empty; he could even hear the sound of his Jordans hitting the linoleum floor as he wandered the hall.

Hiro isn't in a rush to go to this club meeting. Plus…he hates being early. His parents always preach about being early and doing things in a timely manner, but they also tell him not to do drugs, and Hiro smokes weed every day. Just thinking about the blunt he had already rolled up in his glove compartment made his fingers itch.

That seemed like enough incentive to get the teen to finally head on down to Ms. Bentley's classroom and get this shit over and done with. Upon entering the classroom, Hiro notices the small group of individuals. By small, Hiro meant about six people.

"Wow, I don't know how I'mma even find a seat in here." Hiro pretends to scan the twenty empty seats in the room.

"Ha ha, you're such a comedian," Candice comments from her seat right in front of the class as usual. Her sarcasm doesn't escape him, but he just brushes it off again, not wanting to give her his attention as he takes his seat somewhere in the middle.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, I would like to introduce our visitor for today." Ms. Bentley motions to Hiro, and he just raises his eyebrows. He immediately wants to know why he has to introduce himself, and he already knows all six people. He stands up and goes along with it anyway.

"I'm Hiro; I'm pretty sure you all already know that. And my favorite color is blue," He tags on sarcastically. It gains some chuckles from the group minus Candice, of course. They greet him before turning their attention back to the teacher.

"Okay, well, I know that some of you want to pick up where we left off last week with our discussion about technology and its harmful effects and benefits in today's society, but we're going to change gears. Today, we will discuss the true impact social media has on relationships in the modern world.

"Who wants to share their stance first?"

'And, of course, Candice's hand pops up first,' Hiro thinks as the girl flips her jumbo box braids over her shoulder.

"I think social media has been the leading force in creating unrealistic expectations and views on women. Men too."

"I agree; it's like as soon as I open up my Instagram, I see a video of some girl getting beat up or arguing with her man, and I'm like, is this even real life? Why is this the type of shi-stuff that pops up on my feed," Tasha Reynolds comments.

"Tasha, didn't you just get suspended two weeks ago for fighting Malory King in the girl's bathroom?" Alvin Denis throws in from the back of the class.

Tasha sucks her teeth. "But we not talking about me! Ms. Bentley!"

"But it's relevant, though!" Alvin disputes.

"Tasha, Alvin has a point. Alvin, you may continue."

Alvin snickers and prepares to eat Tasha's ass up as he adjusts his glasses up his nose. "Plus, your feed is not randomized. Social media tracks the things that you watch, interact with, who you follow, and so forth. And I think it's fair to show all those things considering that it is happening every day. Right here in this school which is only a bite-size portion of our community."

"But do we honestly need to be able to see those things? These are negative representations that have real effects on our lives and how we view women and men," Candice adds.

"If you felt bold enough to post it, that's your problem," Alice Dawson speaks up, pushing her mousy bangs out of her eyes for the thousandth time.

Hiro can't help but laugh at Alvin's comments, along with a few others that just fuel Tasha.

"Anyway, that's not all we do. It's like, the videos or pictures of us going to church, volunteering, or spending time with family don't gather the same attention."

"Does it get the same attention in real life?"

"No. That's the problem."

"I think social media is not a direct reflection of real life," Larry Elton pitches in calmly.

"What do you think, Hiro?" Allison (Alice's twin) says, and Hiro suddenly feels all eyes on him. Sitting up, he clears his throat before giving his opinion.

"I think that people are not themselves on social media because it doesn't get clicks and likes. Most people would get 'canceled' if they were themselves. And though social media does not show all good things, it still does good.

I don't know bout' y'all, but I like reading multiple threads and seeing new perspectives because somewhere, there's a tiny piece of useful information. And it may be toxic, but I like it when I see other ordinary people blasting their business."

"I can agree that social media provokes good conversation," Alice agrees.

"We're getting way off topic, so to steer us back to the original question, I would like to say that social media creates unrealistic relationship expectations because we only see the best of people's relationships," Candice redirects.

"I think we were getting to that, and our conversation was on topic," Hiro says. " And what's wrong with wanting to see the best parts of someone's relationship? Maybe it could inspire us to want for better, do better, and be better people in relationships."

"But that's not real. We all go through things, and social media can make us feel alone in relationships and as if no one can relate to the real things people are feeling. Or that we are somehow wrong for going through issues."

"So, you think people should post the bad parts of their relationship?"

"No! But let's normalize the everyday struggle within our relationships."

"Honestly, I don't want to see all that on my timeline. Especially if it can't be in its raw form. I think we want social media to do the jobs that our friends and family should be doing in our lives. I appreciate the conversation being held about relationships through audio and even video form, but for us to feel that validation, we need to talk to and observe the people around us."

It was like ping pong at this point, Hiro and Candice going back and forth with comments thrown in from the spectators in the room.

"Candice, have you ever been in a relationship?" Hiro suddenly asks, and he'd be lying if he didn't get a little satisfaction from catching Candice off guard. She looks a little bit taken aback before answering.

"Yes."

"Are your parents in a relationship?"

"Relationships." Hiro notices Candice's hesitation but presses on.

"That's not what I asked. I meant relationship as in singular. Are they still together?"

"What does that have to do with this? What does it matter if they are in a relationship or with other people?"

"You're deflecting, but I only ask this to prove that you have a bias. Your personal experience affects your viewpoint on this situation and your culture. So does mine."

"My parents have been together for thirty years and are very traditional people, so public displays were not a thing; I never even saw my parents show affection in front of others. I'm pretty sure that they've gone through a lot of shi- stuff during their thirty years together. So, does it make them less relatable or loving if they don't show those struggles or sit down and package it in a more politically correct way?"

"But what about those of us that need it? The people that need guidance because our parents aren't exactly available or the best of people."

Suddenly, an alarm goes off, and Ms. Bentley picks up her phone and turns it off. "That's time. Good discussion, everyone."

Candice quickly grabs her bag and exits as the group says their goodbyes and even tells Hiro he should come back next week.

"Yeah, we enjoyed your perspective," Larry says, and Alvin pats him on his shoulder in agreement.

"Alright ya'll, come on, I gotta lock up."

"Where you in a rush to, Ms. Bentley?" Tasha asks.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I gotta date."

"Well, good luck Ms. Bentley; we're rooting for you!" Alice says, moving her bangs out of the way again.

"Thank you, baby. And Hiro, you definitely should come back next week. We need more people like you here to share their opinions."

"And knock Candice off her high horse," Allison comments on her way out the door.

"Don't worry about Candice," Ms. Bentley tacks on. "She'll come around."

Hiro doubts it, but he doesn't care and finally bids everyone adieu as they exit the school doors.

And as soon as he pulls off of school property, Hiro lights his blunt, feeling like he needs one to chill out. He enjoyed the meeting, but Candice…was a piece of work. The girl doesn't back down, but neither does he.