I waited for my mum after school but she was running late, she happened to always get here exactly as the school bell rang but she wasn't here yet. I called a few times but no answer, it kept going straight to voicemail.

I'm sure you're wondering why a senior in high school had to wait for her mum to pick her up. Well, that's one of the downsides of moving around a lot. For one, I didn't have a car and before the frequent moving began, I hadn't gotten my license and I sure as hell wasn't getting one as long as we were still on the run.

Well that, minus the fact that my mom doesn't think I should learn how to drive until I was 18 cause she had a stubborn sister, who in the excitement of learning how to drive at 17, took a wrong turn in her early driving days and plunged into a ditch.

The front of the car was crushed and the glass had shattered, but lucky for her, she got out with only a broken left leg and cuts from the glass. She used crutches for 6 months before recovering and even then, she still limped when walking, for another month before she was totally and completely recovered.

My mum was the one who got her out of the car that fateful day, so my fear stricken mother made the big decision, then and there, not to let any of her children learn to drive before they were 18, thereby ruining my life. Lucky for me, I'd be 18 in a few months, so bye mom taxi and hello, Mercedes!

My eyes roamed the parking lot as I waited for her. I spotted a group of cheerleaders at the far end and of course Cynthia was there as well. She was the cause of my ruined shirt and there she was giggling nasally.

The honk of my mom's car snapped me out of the deadly thoughts I was having towards Cynthia and I walked over to my ride.

"I'm so sorry, I'm late honey" my mum said as I got in "a friend of mine at the office was a little under the weather so she couldn't come and I had to do her share of the work"

"You could've at least called or picked your calls, mom" I complained.

"I know, I'm sorry, as soon as I was done, I drove over as fast as I could" she apologised.

"It's fine but I'm telling you, this wouldn't happen if you just allow me to learn to drive" I said "You wouldn't have to worry about picking me up from school and I wouldn't have to wait after school. It's a win win"

"You'd be eighteen in a few months Dani, wait a little longer"

"Fine" I gave up. The drive home was a silent but comfortable one and soon we pulled into our driveway.

"Dani!" Tyler, my six year old brother exclaimed as he ran up to me as soon as I opened the front door.

"Hey Ty," I said picking him up "How was school today?"

"Not too good" he said "Miss. Summers gave me lots of homework to do and Marie was late to come pick me up". Marie was our help around the house. She was mainly Tyler's nanny but she did the chores too.

"Really? Mum was also late to pick me up" I said making him gasp.

"Bad Marie, bad mom" he replied, making my mom and I chuckle.

"Alright Ty, go on and finish your homework" I said handing him over to Marie "Hi Marie"

"Hello Daniella. How was school today?" She asked.

"Fine, thank you" I replied. I jogged up the stairs to my room and plopped on my bed thinking of the long day I just had.

* * * * *

I got to school a tiny bit late the next day cause I woke up late. My mum was so mad, but I managed to pacify her on the way to school. Phew! My mum's a dragon when she was mad like that. I most probably got my bad temper from her.

I rushed into the class feeling a bit flustered and walked straight to an empty chair by the window. Yes, I love seats by the window, I could easily busy myself with what's happening outside once the teacher starts to bore me.

"You're early" a voice said from behind me and I turned around to see Blake.

"Oh hi, I didn't know you offered French" I replied.

"Well, I do" he replied.

"Are you any good?" I asked.

"Comment, s'il vous plait" he replied "Does that answer your question?"

"What?" I replied confused. He just said 'How, please'. What's that supposed to mean?

"It's French for 'yes, I do'" he said with a serious face. I almost burst out laughing. Almost.

"No, it's not" I replied, an amused smile on my face.

"Well it should be" he replied shrugging.

"Okay, you suck at French" I replied chuckling.

"No shit" he said rolling his eyes.

"Then why bother offering it?"

"Well, my uncle says we have to learn at least one foreign language and French happens to be less of a headache compared to Spanish and Italian, so I chose French" he replied.

"And I'm nailing it" he added sarcastically.

"Oh, that's nice, my mom could care less if I spoke Arabic" I said, making him chuckle "I'm quite good though, at French, I could teach you"

"I just might take you up on that" he replied, just as the teacher noticed me turning back and scolded me. Now that was embarrassing.

The rest of the class was like being in a bad musical with the different pronunciations of those french words but the side remarks Blake was giving made it bearable. He really sucked at French.

I had a free period after this class, so once the class was over, I made my way over to the library. I thought I would get some peace and quiet and maybe study a little but as soon as I stepped in, I walked back out, it was too quiet. Knowing myself, if I dared to try to study there, I'd fall asleep in two minutes.

I decided to go to the gym instead. The top of the bleachers would do just fine. I walked in and saw some of the members of the basketball team practicing. The coach was nowhere in sight, so I guess they also had a free period.

I climbed to the top of the bleachers and watched them play. After sometime, I brought out my large physics textbook and I started to read all about rockets. I looked up some minutes later to see Steve had joined them. Ugh! Now my mood's ruined. I then plugged in my earphones, put Family by The Chainsmokers on repeat and continue reading.

My reading was interrupted when the hard ball hit me on the head. I lost my balance and fell backwards.

"Oops, my bad" I heard Steve say as I stood up, brushing myself off. I looked straight at him with a deathly glare. "Sorry new girl, pass the ball back would ya?"

"Of course" I replied, a fake smile plastered on my face. He might have done it accidentally but I still hated him for ruining my shirt, so I picked up the ball, bounced it three times and aimed right at his forehead. He barely caught it and he looked surprised.

"Whoa, nice throw, new girl" said one of the jocks.

"Thanks and it's Daniella, not new girl" I replied and sat down.

"Sure, nice throw Daniella" he rephrased stressing my name.

"That was nothing" Steve scoffed, just as I was about to reply "and nobody cares about your name".

"And nobody cares if you exist" is what I wanted to say but instead I rolled my eyes, plugged in my earphones and continued reading.

I was again deep into my knowledge of rockets - did you know that the first example of rocket science was from a wooden duck in ancient Greece? How about that?

Anyways, I was deep into my knowledge of rockets when I looked up randomly to see Blake had walked in.

I wonder if he was on the team? Well, my question was answered when he dropped his backpack on a chair at the bottom of the bleachers and joined in on a match I didn't even notice they had started.

Suddenly, rockets weren't so fascinating anymore and I started to focus on the game. I loved basketball. I was a huge fan of LA Lakers. My dad and I used go to almost all of their games, well, that was until my life turned upside down. I couldn't even remember the last time I went to a game.

Saying Blake was good was an understatement, he was just as good as Steve, maybe even better. Okay maybe I'm being a little biased cause I don't like Steve but who cares. I wonder why he wasn't the captain.

I watched him dribble past all the guys on the opposing team and land a slam dunk. I was up on my feet before I knew it, my fists in the air. Only when I started to get ugly stares from some girls on the other side of the bleachers, did I realize I was the only one cheering. Oops.

* * * * *
R.I.P Kobe. 🙏🏽

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