Eighteen
1757 Words
“Any questions?” The homeroom teacher asked as she paced in front of the class.
When the students said nothing, she continued. “Currently, four of you are failing my class, and that may mean having to repeat some courses to obtain the missing credits. Since the Government has practically liberated you by removing the mid-term and end-of-year exams, this is the final week of testing for the school district. You may use this period as you see fit to catch up on missed or overdue assignments.”
Phoenix turned to look at Memphis, who was already leaning over his book trying to get his work done. Though he hadn’t seen much of the guy lately, he knew that the end of the school year was always hard for him.
“Nice shiner,” he said with a laugh.
“Thanks,” Memphis murmured. “I’ll be sure to let Kenni know what you think of it.”
The smile fell from his face as Phoenix scowled at his friend. “She hit you? Dude, that’s not okay.”
“Don’t worry about it. Found out the hard way she doesn’t like getting babied and got a black eye out of it. I’m not bothered by it, so let it go.”
Shaking his head, Phoenix didn’t mention it again. His hand shooting into the air, he got the attention of their Science teacher.
“Yes, Mr. Callumsson?”
“Ma’am, could those of us that don’t have any work to catch up on buddy up with those who are having issues?” He asked, a plan to get the truth already formulating in his head.
She nodded, “Certainly. As long as you all keep it down and do your work, that will be fine.”
Scooting his desk closer, he pulled the book closer only to realize that Memphis was technically cheating. “Dude!”
Memphis snickered as Phoenix pulled the paper out to look at it. Licking his lips, his eyes dancing with humour, he shook his head. “Not what you think. This is one class I got major trouble with, so she wrote me out some examples for the answers so that I can find them on my own. It’s just formulas.”
“So, what really happened on her B-day?”
“Already told you the truth, so stop wasting time on something that’s over and done with. Ken and I got a good thing going, and I got your pretty little girlfriend to thank for that. If she hadn’t kicked my ass, I wouldn’t have my feisty little chaud ange de la mort.”
Phoenix heard Andromeda snicker, trying her best not to get in the middle of their chat. “I’m sorry, but did you really just refer to my bestie as a hot angel of death?”
“You ain’t deaf or dumb, Nix.”
“Don’t make me hurt you,” his friend whispered.
Unbothered by the younger teens words, Memphis laughed under his breath. There were lines they didn’t cross, and this was why. Just being in a relationship with Kennedy had the whole mob on pins and needles, but he knew that they could make it work.
They had to.
Yes, he was desperate, but that only led him to wanting her more. It only gave him more to look forward to when dealing with her. “So, how are the wedding preps going?”
“They’re going,” Phoenix replied.
Stopping, Memphis raised his head enough to look at the young heir sitting next to him. The way that the strawberry-blond waves fell around Nix’s face gave nothing away about his true heritage, not that any of them cared about that s**t. His father had been concerned that he would be the only Black kid in the crew, but, in the end, he started calling them Trail Mix: complete with smarties, some nuts, and a few M&M’s.
“Can you keep a secret?” Memphis asked quietly.
“Who exactly do you think you’re talking to?” Nix shot back. “Yeah, I can keep a secret. Why?”
Nervously glancing around, Memphis chewed his bottom lip. “Um, the thing is, how do I, um, ask when she’s… you know…”
Confused, Phoenix stared at him in awe. His brain working to decipher the words, he felt his face go bright red as he thought about it. “Are you seriously asking me if my closest friend and Aunt is ready for intimacy?”
“Really? You can’t just say it out loud? s*x, Phoenix. The word is s*x, and yes, that’s what I’m trying to ask.” Memphis grunted, doing another problem on the page without help. Leaning back, he tried his best not to think about the way everything was playing out. A thought hit him out of the blue, and he started laughing quietly. “Yo, Nix?”
“What now?” The heir snapped.
“You call Ken your Aunt, right?”
Phoenix rolled his eyes, thinking that there had to be a reason behind the stupidity of the question. “Yeah, because she’s my aunt-by-marriage.”
Laughing, Memphis shook his head. “See, I got a little laugh thinking about a certain situation. So, um, won’t that make me your future uncle if me and Ken end up married?”
Pissed that his friend had pointed it out to him like that, Phoenix moved his desk back and pouted comically in his seat. Crossing his arms, the heir did his best to ignore Memphis while the latter couldn’t stop laughing quietly. Glaring at the clock, he willed the day to go by faster until he remembered that their date tonight would be shadowed by Memphis and Kennedy.
He glared over at the guy next to him, “Don’t you ever breathe a word of that to Kenni. Understand me, Slade? I’ll beat yo black ass blue.”
“You got some fighting to do then,” Memphis said, snickering as the bell rang. “Ken was the one that brought the idea up. Listen, since my B-day is coming up, can you drop her some hints for it for me? I want whatever she does to be a surprise.”
His brows shooting up, Phoenix grinned. “Well, then. That makes me wonder what happened for hers.”
“We had fun, went back to my house, then crashed in my room. She wore one of my shirts to bed, too,” Memphis said. Not noticing the dark look Phoenix was giving him, he moved to his locker and grabbed his bookbag. The end of the day had come, but their real work was just beginning.
“I’m sorry. You what with Kennedy?”
Memphis rolled his eyes, now knowing what his girlfriend was talking about when it came to the Boss’s protective streak. “I just helped her into something more comfortable than what she was wearing, and we fell asleep. Nothing happened, Nix, so chill the hell out. It’s not like I snapped a pic and spread it all over the school like Mike Dann did earlier this year. That guy was an absolute douche.”
“That’s all that happened, too.”
Turning, Phoenix locked eyes with an angry Kennedy as she arrived. “Sky left with Russ, Luke, and Jax. Mark is meeting us at the shooting range, and I’m about to beat my bestie for his stupidity.”
“Please don’t,” Andromeda pleaded. Phoenix smiled, loving that she came to his rescue until she spoke again. “That’s my job now, remember? I got you, babes. Phoenix Evan Callumsson, do you need to visit the hospital?”
“Oh s**t, she Government-named him.” Memphis gasped, backing away.
“Damn, girl,” Kennedy cackled. “That’s one way to make him walk straight. Now, if he starts acting like a possessive dog, run out and buy some chew toys, a dog bed, and a flea collar, then tell him to sleep on the floor.”
Feeling targeted, Phoenix scrambled to find a solution. There was really only one way out of the situation, however, and it involved coughing up an apology. Clearing his throat, he said, “Sorry, man. I didn’t realize I left my nose in your business.”
“Nah, man. We’re good, Nix. Thanks for the apology, bruh, but Ken and I got to head home,” Memphis replied, shaking Phoenix’s hand. “Your woman is rocking her new tude, by the way. Rom, you’re strong enough now.”
Later, when training was over, Kennedy and Memphis went to his room to study. His father was out on a mission, meaning there would be no constant popping in and out to “check in on them”. Grinning, he shook his head as he finished the last assignment to hand in the next day.
“Tell me straight, what do you want for your birthday?” She asked suddenly.
Cornered, he had no idea what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind. “You.”
“Huh?” Her confusion was clear.
Eyes wide, Memphis scrambled to find a suitable explanation that wouldn’t show how sexually strapped for attention he really was. “I’m sorry, that sounded so f*****g wrong. It’s not what I meant, Ken. I meant that I want to spend time with you.”
She nodded, putting her books away before sitting on his bed. Crossing her legs, she frowned. “Hey, you wanna do something?”
“Like what?”
“Horror movie marathon.” She mentioned casually.
A grin split his face. Running from the room, he dashed over the stairs to grab snacks while she picked apart his movie collection. Stopping at the base of the stairs, he realized that she never told him what she liked to eat. Yet, this was exactly why he paid such close attention to her growing up.
Going back to the room, he saw her setting up the movie Sinister. “Nice, I’ve been meaning to watch that.”
“Sweet, you grabbed black liquorish Twizzlers!” She squealed happily. Spotting his share, she grimaced, “Ew, Caramel.”
“You really hate it, don’t you?” He laughed.
“I’d rather eat Phoenix’s cooking,” she deadpanned, making him laugh. “And we both know he can’t cook.”
Shaking his head, he joined her on the bed.
- Writer
