After Diara had calmed down we left the building and continued with our day. Unfortunately, I couldn't find Chantel anywhere, not even at lunch. Either she left school early or she went into hiding.
Either way, the day went on at a very slow and boring pace until eventually, school was over. I left class to find Diara but I realized it's quite difficult to find a 4'11 ginger wandering around in the sea of girls. Which is funny, you would think it would be easy to find a red head.
"Diara! Diara!"
I continued to yell her name as I went the opposite way of the crowd. As I looked for Diara girls would throw a heavy glare at me. Embarrassment started to creep up on me right before I ran into someone.
"Can you be more careful."
I knew that voice; it was Chantel. I looked up at Chantel in amazement. I don't know where she went but apparently she didn't leave school as I previously thought. So I'm guessing she just laid low for the rest of school or maybe hid somewhere.
Chantel looked down at me hurt and tired. Her eyes were still red indicating that she had just gotten done crying not too long ago. Her makeup smudged and running. The small black broken heart at the bottom edge of her left eye was nearly erased by her tears. Has she been crying throughout the entire day? I sigh as I go to talk to Chantel.
"Chantel c-can we just t-talk for a second. I've been looking for you all day but I-I didn't know w-where you went."
I spoke nervously and in a low volume as I trip on some of my words. I see some sort of emotion sparkle in Chantel's eyes for a brief second but I can't tell what it was. She opens her mouth to speak only for a different voice to break through the atmosphere.
"Y/n t-there you are I-I've been l-looking for you!"
Diara comes running at me in full force. My eyes widen as she hugs me, nearly knocking me to the ground for a second time today.
"I-I thought you l-left without me y/n. I w-was so worried!"
Diara continued to hold on to me for dear life. I don't know why she's this attached to me all of a sudden. I look up from Diara to Chantel only to see Chantel glaring menacingly at me.
"You're hanging out with Diara? Are you kidding me right now?!"
Chantel's voice boomed through the hallway as some girls stop for a minute confused only to continue walking faster than before when they realized it was Chantel.
"C-can w-w-we please just t-tal-"
Chantel swiftly cuts me off with a quick slap to my face. Diara cowered behind me, trying to pull me back to the exit of the school and away from Chantel. My face stung as my cheek began to bleed from one of her rings cutting me.
She looked at me hurt and furious. Tears threatened to fall from the edge of her eyes but she refuse to let me see her cry again.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS THINKING OF FORGIVING YOU! YOU ALWAYS DO THIS! PRIORITIZING EVERYONE BUT ME. YOU SHOW AIMIAH ALL THE ATTENTION SHE COULD EVER WANT AND NOW YOU'RE MOVING ON TO DIARA. YOU EVEN SHOW SHAE MORE ATTENTION THAN ME! FOR A MOMENT I THOUGHT YOU ACTUALLY CARED!"
I was shocked. This is the second time she has yelled at me today. Wait...how does Chantel know who Shae is and how does she know I've been hanging around her?
Chantel didn't give me enough time to process everything as she roughly pushes past me and Diara and make her way out the exit where a limousine was waiting for her.
Both me and Diara stood in shock as more girls continued to make their way out of school. Some even shot us concerned glances before ignoring us.
As I stood frozen in place as I felt Diara start pulling me out of the school. I blinked a few times before following her in awkward silence.
Once we got to my house I quietly unlocked the door and let Diara in. I felt a few hot tears roll down my face as Diara enters the house. I wipe them off as I walk into the house only to be met with a hug from Diara.
Unlike her usual tackle, this hug was softer. She hugged me as if she was handling a small animal or an infant. It was a very gentle and warm embrace. If someone was to walk in they would laugh at our comical height difference.
"It's going to be okay teddy"
"Teddy?"
Diara stiffens and backs out of our hug.
"Sorry, sorry I didn't mean to-"
"I like it"
I spoke softly as I give Diara a small smile. She relaxes a bit before smiling back at me her face turning pink. I clap my hands together breaking eye contact with her.
"Well, I promised to make your dumplings and make you dumplings I shall!"
Diara looked shocked before bursting out into a giggling fit. As I walk into the kitchen Diara follows me in. I cleaned up the blood on my cheek before putting a pink bandaid on that was given to me by Diara. After that we both check all of the cabinets and the refrigerator to see if I have the ingredients.
We found almost all of the materials to make pork dumplings. Unfortunately, we didn't have any gyoza wrappers so we decided to make them from scratch rather than go to the store. We quickly learned that this was a terrible idea as flour got everywhere.
"Maybe we should have just gone to the store"
Diara spoke with a slight wease from laughing. I looked at her chuckling. Her golden brown skin was covered in flour. The white powder stained her hair, eyebrows, and clothing. The way the flour rested on her freckled face made her look adorable as her nose crinkled when she laughed. I smiled.
"Maybe we should just order dumplings."
I chuckled lightly as her green eyes glowed. She nodded her head swiftly giving up on the idea of making dumplings from scratch. I grab my phone from the island and order pork dumplings after dusting the flour off of it.
Once the dumplings are ordered we start to clean up our mess as Diara let's loose and makes many failed attempts at telling a good joke.
"Oh, I got another one. Iâm friends with almost all the letters of the alphabet. I just donât know Y."
She gives me a wide smile as she bounces up and down a little bit with the broom in hand. I smile back as I laugh.
"Sorry, Diara but that has to be the worst one yet."
She pouts a little before laughing some more. We finish cleaning up and put all of the cleaning supplies away. While Diara goes to put up the broom I hear a knock on the door. Assuming that's the delivery guy I go and open it.
Technically I was correct. It was the delivery guy. I just wasn't expecting the delivery guy to be accompanied by Chantel and Aimiah.
Aimiah walked in like she owns the place while Chantel continued to stare at me menacingly as she held the delivery guy by the back of his neck. After a few minutes of her glaring at me, she snatched the food from the delivery guy's hands and threw him off to the side. She pushes past me and enters my house as the delivery guy whimpers and crawls away in fear of the elite's daughters.
I didn't even get to pay him before he left. With a concerned look on my face, I close the door with a sigh. As I look into my living room I see Chantel sitting on the couch with her legs kicked up on my old wooden table. Aimiah however is standing in the middle of the room looking just as disgusted as she was yesterday.
"I can't believe your sitting on that- that thing! Don't you see all the stains that rat's coat has? I wouldn't be surprised if it's carrying a multitude of diseases."
Aimiah said with her nose scrunched up as if she smelled something rancid. Chantel rolls her eyes before responding.
"It's a couch Aimiah it's not gonna kill you to sit on it. Besides, I didn't want to be here anyway"
Chantel scoffs as she looks and picks at her freshly done nails. She no longer looked like she has been crying. Her makeup has been restored and her black broken heart has been re-drawn on the bottom edge of her eye.
Diara looked terrified. She no longer looked relaxed as she was moments before. Instead, she was tensed up in a corner of the living room trying to stay as far away from Aimiah as possible. The poor girl was practically shaking as she sat on the ground rocking back and forth.
I noticed that Chantel put the food on the kitchen bar table before going to sit down in the living room. I walked over to the food and grabbed both my and Diara's servings. As I give her a pork dumpling platter, I sit next to her and began to eat. Both Aimiah and Chantel snap their heads towards us as we ate quietly.
"You know y/n it's rude to eat in front of your guess and not give them anything."
Aimiah spoke in the same voice as she did when we witness that incident at the construction sight. She walks closer to me and Diara in the corner. I block Diara's shaking body with my own.
"Well, no one invited you or Chantel to my house to begin with."
I pissed Aimiah off. I could tell by how her jaw clenched and her eyebrows furrowed.
"Well maybe if you didn't run from me during lunch then we wouldn't be in this situation, to begin with."
She hissed her words like a snake warning you to step back. Once she was close enough to me she squat down to my level and grabbed me by my jaw. Her nails dug deep into my cheeks as she stared into my eyes.
Silence filled the room as both Diara and Chantel watched the scene unfold. After a few minutes, Aimiah's face softens along with her grip on my face. For a split second, I could swear she looked at my lips before looking me in the eyes again. Aimiah smiles before letting go of my face, standing up, and walking out of the house.
Chantel looked angry and confused before following her out making sure to flip my wooden table on its side before leaving. An awkward silence filled the room as both I and Diara were left alone again with bewilderment in our eyes and steaming dumplings on the plates in our laps.