"RISE AND SHINEEEEE!"
My best friend Talia screamed as she all but kicked my door down and jumped on top of me, making me release a groan.
"Get off me Tal" I moaned out in pain, as she laughed at my expense.
However, one good elbow to her side and Talia was off me, releasing a groan of her own.
Serves her right
"How did you even get in here?" I questioned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, getting out of bed.
"Your mom let me in." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was, but I just woke up and my brain needs some time to adjust.
"By the way, she said she's working the overnight shift and won't be home tonight." Talia stated as she scrambled over to my closet to grab my uniform.
Yes, my school had a uniform, much to my dismay.
The uniform wasn't too bad though. It was black bottoms with a black blazer with red trimming that had the school's crest on it, a white top underneath, and a red tie. Girls had the option of wearing skirts but they had to come to our fingertips.
Specific, I know
However, with my height of 5'8 skirts reached me mid-thigh. But with height comes long limbs, so I'm never dress-coded.
Looking over at Talia I saw she was wearing a pleated black skirt, that reached mid-thigh as she was the same height as me, she had the school blazer unbuttoned, leaving it open, a white crop top underneath and had a red tie loosely tied around her neck. She paired her outfit with fishnet tights, a silver chain, silver rings, and white combat boots.
What stood out the most was the barbie pink hair that fell down her back in waves. The color complimenting her dark skin perfectly.
Talia absolutely despises our school uniform and says that it prohibits her from expressing herself which is a crime to an artist such as herself.
Her words, not mine.
So, Talia takes it upon herself to have a new hairstyle every week, as a way to express herself.
Grabbing the clothes Talia pulled out for me, I made my way over to the bathroom.
After brushing my teeth, washing my face, and changing my clothes, I made my way back into my room.
Entering the room I found Talia lying down on my bed, scrolling through her phone.
Leaving her there, I walked over to my dresser to quickly do my hair.
After completing my daily hair routine,I began to style my hair. I split my hair down the middle, using gel to slick back my hair into a low bun.
Moving from the dresser, I stood in front of my full-length mirror to take in my appearance.
I wore a skirt similar to Talia with a white turtle neck shirt tucked into it. My blazer fit snugly to my body as I snapped the button close. I decided to ditch my red tie as it's not mandatory to wear. Finally, I paired the outfit with my silver hoop earrings and my silver chain necklace that had a ballerina attached to it.
Looking down at the necklace a smiled graced my face.
"Hey, Jesse before I leave I wanted to give you something," Myles said, running his hand through his hair, indicting his nervousness.
"Myles, you didn't have to get me anything," I whispered in shock as I took the small box from his hands.
Opening the box I found the most stunning necklace of my life. It was a silver necklace that had a ballerina attached to it.
My eyes began to tear up, as this is the greatest gift anyone could ever give me.
"WHy-Why are you crying? Do you not like it? I still have the receipt, we can return it and get some - OOF" I cut off his panicked rant with a bone-crushing hug.
His arms instantly wrapped around me, his head sitting on a type of mine, which was nuzzled into his chest.
"No, I love it, Thank you," I whispered gently, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me.
"I'm glad you do, you'll always be my Twinkle Toes," Myles whispered, the nickname causing my heart to flutter.
Since that day I have always worn this necklace.
"Ready to go?" Talia asked, causing the memory to float to the back of my mind, locked away with all the other memories of him.
"I'm ready," I said, stepping away from my mirror.
Slipping on my white air force 1's, I made sure to grab my dance bag and book bag before we made our way out.
We jammed out to Good Days by SZA on the way to school making sure to pick up some Dunkin Donuts on the way.
Parking towards the front of the school, I took the last bite of my breakfast sandwich.
Grabbing my things I made my way out of the car.
A cool breeze caressed my face as I rounded my way to the front of her car. It was fairly warm outside considering we just came back from winter break. I guess those are the perks of living in California.
"Jameson High School, home to privileged and spoiled brats who ride of their daddy's money, thank God it's our senior year," Talia said once, as we stood in front of her car glaring up at the building before us that resembled Hogwarts.
"Remind me why we go here again," Talia asked as some knock-off Regina George looked at us in disgust, to which Talia responded to with a middle finger.
"They have an incredible dance and arts program, the connections we need to get into our dream schools, and we're here on a full-ride. Oh, and can't forget our mothers would never let us pass up on an opportunity like this." I replied as we began making our way inside.
"Righttttt, at least this school is good for some things, too bad the people suck," Talia said a small pout on her face.
Our schedules and locker numbers were emailed to us before school started, so we already knew where to go.
Arriving at our lockers we found Malia nose deep in a book.
Nothing new there
Looking at the cover, I saw that she was reading Pride and Prejudice.
Malia mumbled a gentle good morning, sending a timid smile our way before returning back to her book.
Malia was Talia's cousin and one of my closest friends.
They are total opposites, but they complement one another, so well. They always have each other's back and been through thick and thin. They are practically sisters.
Malia was extremely beautiful with her curly dark brown hair that framed her heart-shaped face. light brown eyes, that resembled that of honey in the sun, full lips, a button nose, and naturally thick eyebrows.
She had many boys fawning over her, however, she was too shy and liked to keep to herself. Unlike Talia who is confident, bold, and never afraid to speak her mind. However, once Malia is comfortable she can talk a mile a minute and is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.
Malia always has her nose in a book or taking pictures with her camera that's always hung around her neck.
Malia is an incredible photographer, her ability to capture the perfect picture amazes me. She and Talia plan on opening their own gallery in New York when they're older. The gallery showcasing Malia's photos and Talia's art.
Talia is an amazing artist, her paintings are so detailed and realistic that it's as if they are coming off the canvas. I know they are going to kill it out there and I will be the first person to buy tickets to their showcases.
I met Talia and Malia my first day of freshman year, we instantly clicked and seeing that we were the only black girls in our entire grade, we saw it fit to stick together.
"What's your first period?" I asked them after placing my books in my locker, taking only the books I'll need for my classes before lunch.
"Trignometry," Malia said, finally closing her book, placing a bookmark in between the pages, so she can continue where she left off later.
"Same," Talia said, letting out a groan as she despises any subject that isn't art.
"You?" Malia asked rolling her eyes at her cousin.
"English Literature," I replied
Ring
The warning bell went off, signaling that it was time to make our way to class.
Saying goodbye to one another we went out separate ways, promising to meet each other at lunch.
My first couple of classes went by quickly as it was only the first day back from break.
Entering the cafeteria, I dashed towards the lunch line, desperate for some food.
One good thing about going to an expensive prep school is that they serve incredible food.
Looking down at my tray that had chicken tenders, fries, a chocolate chip cookie, and a bottle water, I wondered how I keep my figure.
Probably due to the hours of dance practice I do and the fast metabolism I was blessed with from my mother had a hand in me maintaining my weight.
Walking over to Talia and Malia, I found them sitting at our usually table that was towards the back by the window that gave a clear view of the fields.
I remember when Talia choose this to be our table, she said she wanted to be the furthest away from the stuck up kids who took it upon themselves to throw looks of disgust at us because we were scholarship kids and so she can check out the guys on the lacrosse team.
The lacrosse team is huge at my school as they've won championships for the past four years, being the pride and joy of the school.
The success of our team for the past two years has to be due to Lance Cunningham, the captain of the team.
Lance was easy on the eyes with his light blond hair that complimented his sandy brown skin, and hazel eyes eyes that looked almost golden in the sun. He stood about 6'1 and had a lean physique which was expected.
Lance was also, a scholarship student but unlike like the rest of us who are shunned, he's one of the most popular guys in the school with him being the main reason why the lacrosse team is such a success.
His popularity is also due to the fact that he's pretty like-able. He's a cool guy, funny, and doesn't care for others' opinions.
He also happens to be Malia's crush, though she loves to deny it. We always catch her staring at him and finding shots of him in her camera, even though she says it's for the school paper. Which it is, but Talia and I know she doesn't need that many shots of him.
"What's with the grin?" I asked Talia as I dipped a tender into my barbecue sauce, noticing a large grin on her face.
"Mrs.Briggs assigned a project in class. We have to work in partners, and draw a portrait of the person we're working with. And guess who's my partner?" Talia said practically jumping in her seat with excitement.
"Who?" I asked both amused and curious.
"WEST!" She squealed in excitement making some people look in our direction, which she responded with a middle finger.
West Landenberg
Talia has been in love with West since the beginning of freshmen year when she bumped into him in the hallway, making him drop his things.
As she helped him grab her things she saw his sketchbook was wide open, filled with beautiful sketches and she says right then and there she fell in love.
Sadly, for Talia, West quickly apologized before scurrying away from her.
Talia has been trying to talk to him for the past fours years, but hasn't been able to get the chance to.
You see West is a reserved guy. He doesn't talk to anyone except for his two best friends Lance Cunningham, which no one has any idea how they became friends as they are complete opposites, and his other best friend being him.
"This is my chance to make this gorgeous, talented man, fall in love with me and see that we are meant to be. Imagine the art we can create together, pure magic." Talia said dreamily.
West was gorgeous, with his dark brown wavy hair, midnight-colored eyes, and olive skin that was always free from blemishes.
Can't forget the tattoos that littered his skin, which adds to the mystery of him.
"I'm rooting for you," I replied, genuinely wishing for the best. Talia has been crushing on him for years and he seems like a good guy for her. However, she wouldn't be the first girl to try to approach West, who were all turned down.
However, they weren't Talia.
Seeing the determination in her eyes, I knew she was gonna do everything in her power to get this guy.
It was both scary and admirable.
After lunch, we headed over to Environmental Science.
Just like the morning classes, afternoon classes went just as quickly.
Once the final bell rang, I left the classroom, glad that it was over. I made my way over to my locker to grab my dance bag and drop my books off.
"Hey, don't worry about taking me home today I'm gonna stay back for a couple more hours after practice," I told Talia watching as she dropped her books into her locker.
It was the end of the day and it was time for me to head over to dance practice.
" I swear you eat, breath, and sleep dance," Talia replied closing her locker shut as she swung her bag over her shoulder.
"You know it's okay to take a break sometimes," Talia teased.
"Never," I said scoffing at her.
Dance is my life.
The extra practice is necessary for me to perfect my routine for Julliard. Audition tapes have to be sent out next week and I need to clean some final details, to ensure that everything is perfect.
This is a once and a lifetime opportunity and I can't blow it.
"You are an incredible dancer Jess, everyone knows that. Julliard would be crazy not to accept you," Talia said, making a smile creep on my face.
"She's right Jess, there is no one who can tell a story through dance like you can and have such precise and fluid movement too," Malia added on, standing next to Talia.
"Thanks, guys," I said appreciatively to have such great friends.
"I should go before I'm late," I said looking at the time on my phone, even though I'm always the first one there.
Saying goodbye, we parted ways.
Walking into the girls changing room, I ignored some of the glares sent my way.
Some of the girls on the team didn't like me simply because they couldn't handle the fact that some scholarship student who was black was a better dancer than them.
However, with me being captian for the past two years no one bothered to say anything to my face. Everyone knew my routines and leadership were the reason why we were able to win Nationals for the past two years.
I'm not saying this to be arrogant, but like I said dance means everything to me. I'm gonna let some petty feelings get in the way of me being the best captain I can be.
With that being said the girls could all agree I was a good captain and we're respectful during rehearsals and competitions, outside of that they ignored me.
It used to hurt me seeing the other girls eat at lunch together and go shopping with one another. But, I got over it seeing that I can't please everyone. Plus, I had Talia and Malia who took the time to get to know me and are incredible friends.
After I changed into my black leotard and matching black pointe shoes I made my way to the dance room.
Finding a place on the floor, I began to stretch out my limbs, waiting for the rest of the girls to come in.
Once everyone was here, I stood up from my place on the floor.
"Let's begin,"
___
Five hours later and I was finally back home.
The practice was grueling and my bones were sore, but I embraced it. Happy that I've finally perfected my routine for Julliard.
My stomach growled in hunger, having been to long since I last fed it.
Seeing as I was still sweaty from practice I made my way to the bathroom to take a nice hot shower.
After taking a shower and changing into a black crop top with black sweats, I headed back down to find something to eat.
Scavaging through the fridge I saw that we had some leftover jollofrice and chicken in the fridge making me release a sigh of delight.
I filled my plate up with food, before popping it in the fridge to reheat it.
As I was waiting for my food to finish heating, I noticed that light was coming from the background.
Getting closer to the kitchen window, I saw that light was indeed coming from my backyard. More specifically the treehouse.
Seeing that I was the only person home, I knew whoever was in my treehouse could be a potential threat.
Knowing better to go investigate unarmed.
I quickly grabbed a knife from one of the drawers and made my way outside.
My feet patted across the grass quietly, as I tried to make little to no sound so that I don't alert the intruder of my presence.
Reaching the top of the steps, keeping my head low, I peeked over to try and get a glimpse at the intruder.
The intruder had their back turned to me, so all I could see was that they had a black hoodie on.
However, they had their hood pulled down. Revealing their black cropped hair, which looked oddly familiar.
Before I can make my next move, they turned around.
Sterling grey eyes that seemed to haunt my dreams peered into my dark brown ones.
Myles