Freshmen 18

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ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ
𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐬
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ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ: ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮
𝟷𝟾:𝟶𝟶 ○─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎─︎ 𝟸𝟻:𝟶𝟶
◁︎     ||     ▷︎

🏀

Hampton University
Tue. Oct. 9th, 12:02 pm
"Rumble Carter Rumble"

"We'll be having a test on the reading on the 25th of October. There will be an essay that needs to be written about one of the themes in the story. You are allowed to use the book for textual evidence only. It'll be a seventy-five question test as well." Herbert explained while writing on the board.

"Wait, hold on!" Bryon exclaimed, Herbert turning his head to face the boy. His face showed annoyance for being interrupted.

"What?"

"I don't think I heard you correctly, but you said we're having a text on the 25th?" Bryson repeated what Herbert said. Instead of answering, Herbert underlined the date multiple times.

"Is that not what it says?" He remarked.

Bryson chuckled, shaking his head. "Herbert, that's homecoming weekend. Having a test on the kickoff of homecoming is crazy." Bryson informed him.

Herbert shrugged his shoulders, "Does it look like I care?" he questioned. The whole class, including Bryson, stared at the blank expression on Herbert face. It wasn't already clear as day, Herbert didn't care about homecoming. Not one bit.

Bryson let out a small chuckle, not believing what he was hearing. "Professor-"

"Like I said our test is on the 25th of October. If you do not attend class that day for whatever reason that'll result in an automatic zero. You will not be able to redo it or even take it. So, if I was you I'll be in class and forget about your stupid homecoming." Herbert muttered the last part to himself.

No one else heard him beside Shai who ended up making eye contact with Herbert. He looked away soon after and went back to writing on the yellow sticky note he had. He made sure to write down the test day and placed it on his laptop so he didn't forget. This test would either make or break his grades. And though studying wasn't a common activity he took the time to do, he knew he needed to get on it asap if he wanted to pass.

Herbert concluded his speech then ended the class for the day. Shai packed up his stuff while overhearing his classmate Bryson complaining about the test already. They had about two weeks before homecoming which was enough time to prepare for it. Shai didn't worry about it though. Leaving the class, he headed down the lecture hall and out the building. Soon as he step out, he came face to face with a slim brown skin girl holding papers in her hand. She aggressively shoved a paper in Shai's hand not allowing him to decline the offer.

"Homecoming events are listed as follows. Tickets are on sale, half off. But through the student portal!" The girl shouted loudly in folks face soon as they walked out.

Shai continued walking after going around the young girl. He could still hear her shouting those three sentences. Shai looked down at the flyer he was handed and saw the events that was going to take place during homecoming. There was a tailgate, the football game, a concert, and more activities which were going to be announced later. It was Shai's first homecoming in college, so he thought maybe he'd should go to all these events.

But then again, he wasn't sure. He had two weeks to think about it, so none of it was his main concern. Shai folded the paper and put it in pocket. As he walked in the direction to his dormitory, he ended up seeing Jamal and Ash sitting on their Greek turf. Shai found it stupid for these organizations to have their own spot on campus, but he kept his opinion to himself. Shai made eye contact with Jamal. He looked away and continued on his way. He wasn't going to pay attention to them. Shai heard the dudes laugh but chose to ignore them.

"Pussy." Jamal said out loud, coughing after as he tried to cover it up. His boys laughing.

Shai stopped in his tracks. He tried to figure out which was best to do, ignore it or step to them. One was better than the other and that choice was one he didn't pick. Licking over his teeth, Shai turned on his heels then walked up to Jamal and Ash. He didn't step on their turf out of respect. The men all stopped laughing and put their attention on Shai.

"Did you have something to say?" Shai questioned, putting his hands in his pockets. His attention was only placed on Jamal and Ash since that's who he had his issues with. The other four dudes that were around was irrelevant to him.

"You tryna press us?" Jamal asked sounding pretty defensive.

"You shouldn't worry if I'm tryna press you or not. If you have an issue say that shit to my face. I'm right here." Shai replied nonchalantly.

Jamal chucked, "This nigga." he remarked, looking at the rest of his friends. They started laughing while Shai stared at them like they were dumb.

"So, you're the actual pussy. Gotchu." Shai retorted, slowly nodding his head. He was about to walk away but Jamal wasn't letting up.

"Watch ya mouth lil nigga cause I can really fuck you up foreal." Jamal told him, getting aggressive.

Shai rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. If you were able to do it then you would've done it already in the lounge. You not on shit homie." Shai waved him off.

He realized this argument was unnecessary and none of these dudes were gonna do anything. Some may say Shai wasn't going to do anything either which wasn't the truth. Unless you knew Shai like the back of your hand, you'd be amazed at how tough and aggressive he can get when the times is needed. People typically mistaken Shai as an overly shy individual who let just about anything slide. You talk to him crazy and he'll just move along, keeping his mouth shut. Though that was true when it came to certain people and situations, but when it came to dudes like Jamal and Ash everything was different.

Everyone had two sides to them. The shy and quiet side, and the aggressive and bad side. When Shai felt threatened, his aggressive side came out. Like right now.

"Nigga, so what's really good?" Jamal questioned, getting off the bench. Ash put his hand out, blocking Jamal way from moving.

"Relax, bruh." Ash told him. He put his attention on Shai, looking him up and down. "Listen homie, ion know what's up with you but you need to relax. Over here we're a brotherhood and you rock with one another. You getting a little slick out ya mouth about a female we had already my nigga. Chill before there's an issue."

Shai looked at him like he was dumb. "We all know neither of y'all had Dess, so let's start there. She won't ever stoop that low to mess with some lame ass niggas like y'all. Ya ego is too high dawg. Tell ya boy to keep his mouth shut and we won't have any issues. Simple." Shai wanted it to end right there, but it was something about Jamal's ego that wouldn't allow it to end.

"This nigga really think he bout it with his pussy ass. If I were you bruh I'll back away before I say some real disrespect shit, Shai." Jamal emphasized his name to make it known that he knew who the kid was.

"Yeah, you losing this bruh. To save yourself from an ass whooping, you should move along." Ash said, getting up from the bench. He stood in front of Jamal like he was his bodyguard.

Shai shook his head then spoke, "You wanna know something funny? All y'all niggas that parade around like y'all the shit are really some pussies in real life. You being one of them." Shai pointed at Jamal since his statement was directed at him.

"You wanna know something even funnier, if you don't get a move on then shit is gonna go down, Shai. And I know you don't want that." Ash said in a warning tone. Shai noticed the other four boys got up as well and all stood there like they were army men.

It seemed like they were trying to scare him, but it wasn't working out. However, Shai knew that breaking out into a fight in the middle of the school common ground would create chaos. Everyone was going to crowd around them, pull their phones out and record. But, Shai wasn't going to back down from a fight if there was going to be one. Whatever they were on didn't mean shit to him at the moment. Shai had thoughts of walking away. He indeed had thoughts of leaving, but sometimes God have other plans. And right now the man above had other plans for Shai. Sadly.

Jamal laughed, stepping from behind Ash. "You know this nigga just like his mom. He's just gonna take the ass whooping 'til death is near. The only difference is we're not in an elevator." Jamal joked, smiling directly at Shai.

That was his breaking point.

Shai nodded his head then took his bag off, letting it hit the ground. He pulled up his sleeves, stepped onto the Que's turf, and threw a punch directly at Jamal's face. It punches thrown didn't stop there either and before anyone could process what was going on a fight had broken out. Shai had caught Jamal off guard with a couple more hits, and the hits were reciprocated from Jamal. The fight had stayed on foot for a minute causing folks to crowd around a little. Neither of them were winning. That until Shai took the advantage and dropped Jamal to the ground with a loud thud.

He was over him now and was throwing right and left hooks like it was nothing. He had an intense blackout that he didn't even know about. Shai's victory soon came to an end when the four random boys jumped into the fight unknowingly. They all sent blows to Shai's head and back. One dude kicked him in the side, making Shai fall onto the ground. He was getting jumped for the first time in forever. It didn't care and just kept throwing punches to whoever was in the way.

No one helped.

Everyone watched.

Everyone recorded.

He was getting jumped.

🏀

Soon as he opened the door, he was shoved back. He couldn't say anything because she started shouting at him.

"I told you to leave it alone! I told you that!" Dess shouted, shoving Shai chest again. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted again.

"You don't fucking listen for shit. I said to leave the situation alone because you'll only drag it out. Instead of listening, you wanna go fight these dudes over some dumbass comments. You're making the situation worse than it needs to be!" Dess continued shouting at him, not allowing him to speak.

She was annoyed at him because of the fight. Videos had circulated around Twitter and Instagram for a good three hours. When she was got out of class, that was the first thing that showed on her feed. All had to see was Shai and she got pissed, ending the video within seconds. She didn't watch the whole thing, so she didn't know that Shai was jumped. She also didn't know that the fight wasn't because of her, but because of another reason.

Shai stared at Dess while holding the ice pack against his mouth. The pain had went away a little, but came back when he moved his mouth in any direction. The two of them had a mini staring contest. Dess rolled her eyes since he refused to say something.

"So, you're going to stare at me like I didn't just say something?" she asked, putting her hands up. "Hello!"

Shai let out a small sigh, "Pipe ya little ass down, Dess." He aggressively told her, turning away from her.

He walked to his bed and sat on it, taking the ice pack from his mouth and fixing it. Dess stood there. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it since she didn't have anything to say back. Him aggressively talking to her did it for her. She rubbed her arm and stood there awkwardly.

"You don't have the right to talk to me like that." She finally spoke. Shai slowly look up at her. The stare he gave her was quite intense. Too intense for Dess to handle.

"You can't come in my room all crazy then get mad when I come crazy back." He said in a nonchalant tone, putting the ice pack on his mouth.

"I have every right though, Shai. You got into a fight with these dudes who made slick comments about me after I told you to leave it alone." She told him again.

"Dess, no disrespect, but I didn't fight them because of you. You were a non-factor." He bluntly told her. Dess tucked in her lips, feeling stupid.

"Right..." she muttered under her breath. She looked around the room, feeling embarrassed now. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, Dess debated if she should go or not.

Shai felt the awkwardness that came over them. He stared at Dess and could see that she was embarrassed. He felt bad.

"Sit down." He told her in a somewhat aggressive, yet calm tone at the same time.

Dess looked around the room, her attention landing on the desk beside her. "Okay." she mumbled, reaching out for the chair.

Shai shook his head then spoke, "Not over here," he stopped her. He pat his bed, indicating for her to sit there. "Here."

"Oh, no. It's fine. I'll just sit here." she waved him off. Shai gave her that look. Dess tucked in her lips, giving in automatically.

She placed her bag down on the desk and out of respect took off her shoes. She placed them on the side then hopped onto his bed. She sat on the other edge, far away from him. Her feet hung off the edge of the bed, a slight discomfort coming over her. She hesitated to cross her legs and just put up with the discomfort. Shai leaned his back against the wall, removing the ice pack from his face since he didn't need it anymore. The room fell quiet. Both went into their thoughts.

Dess couldn't seem to gather all the apologies in the world. She felt stupid for assuming Shai was fighting for her. It was a weird thought that came over her when she saw the videos. She now knew it was a ridiculous thought. On the other hand, Shai was still pissed about the situation. And it wasn't because he got jumped which would've been a normal thing for a regular person. He was pissed because he allowed some randoms to bring him out of character. He was pissed to know that a simple comment about his mother turned him into a violent individual.

Everyone was going to have something to say about his family, but he couldn't fight them all. Only the ones he could get it to at the moment, and Jamal so happened to be one of them. Being jumped wasn't on anyone's bucket list. He wasn't worrying much about it though because he knew he held his own. He only had a busted lip while Jamal nose and mouth was bleeding. The other dudes were clear of bruises.

Dess cleared her throat, interrupting the silence. Shai turned his face to look at her. They made eye contact for a second before she looked away. Shai found it cute and odd that she couldn't hold eye contact with him despite being pissed at him a few minutes ago. He didn't need anyone to teach him about how complicated women can be at times.

"Uhh, do you mind if I ask why you got into the fight?" she asked. Dess paused as she thought about what she wanted to say next. "You made it clear you weren't fighting because of me, so I just want to know. That's all."

Shai looked away, facing forward. He thought to himself, wondering if he should tell her about everything. He's been yearning to let someone know about his life. The part of his life that no one knew. He wasn't like a regular celebrity children who lived a happy life in luxury. He was miserable, abused, neglected, and alone while in luxury. He wanted to tell someone about all the thoughts he had roaming around in his brain. The feelings he been feeling on a daily. How unhappy and depressed he was being in school, surrounding folks who were different from him.

How much of a struggle he has trying to let go of his family and their issues that burden him. How much he was struggling overall in life. He wanted to tell someone. He never saw the opportunity. Right now though, there was an opportunity. A clear one.

"Dess, if I tell you something personal, do you promise not to use it against me?" He asked, keeping his attention forward.

Dess nodded her head first, but then spoke since he didn't see her. "Yeah. I promise." She responded. Shai muttered ok to himself then let out a small sigh. He was about to do this.

"I don't live that happy celebrity life you see other kids like me living, Dess. I was born to an abusive basketball player for a father and a weak-minded supermodel for a mother. My father despised my mother and I, mainly my mother though. He would hit her every chance he could get, he'd cheat with multiple women, and walk around like he was a God who couldn't be touched. My mother was indecisive and weak when it came to him. She would take the abusive, walk away, then run right back to my father some days later. She would know about all the women he messed around with and proceed to walk around saying my husband." Shai began his long rant.

He took a small breath and continued, "It became a pattern you know. My father embarrass her, she leaves, come back, then they walk around like a happily married couple. Then the cycle starts up again. I tried to help plenty of times as a kid. No kid needs to see their mom being nearly beaten to death. I couldn't stand there and let of happen. I will admit that my father have placed his hands on me before. He punched me in my chest a couple of times for crying like a little bitch, his words not mine. I told my mom about the first time it happened and she didn't do anything about it. I realized at a young age that my mother was scared of my father. And that I had to be scared of him too for some reason."

"I kept that mindset up until I was fifteen. That's when I found my own thing, my own passion, and vision. Unfortunately, it turned out to be basketball, but that didn't matter. You know at first I played because I needed an escape from my reality and basketball helped. But, as I got older and I started to wonder if I was meeting my father's expectations, I started playing basketball to please him. There's no doubt that I enjoy the sport and I love it. I put my time and energy into it since day one and I'm not going to quit. It's just plain and obvious that I'm playing just to prove something to someone who doesn't care about me."

"And I try my hardest to not be that kid who live their life trying to please their parents. I try..." Shai paused, clearing his throat since his voice got shaky. "...I'm trying as hard as I can foreal. But, I honestly think I'm losing this battle against whoever I'm fighting. And I'm always fighting. It never seems to stop when it comes to my family. I hate how fast I come running to their side, but when anything happen to me they leave me hanging. That's why I'm always shy and awkward around people because I fear they'll leave me hanging, so I don't even bother to get close. I see the world as Me versus Everyone Else because of my parents. Yet, I still try to defend their name when the time comes."

Finishing his rant, the room went silent. Shai continued staring forward, praying to himself that Dess wasn't going to judge. He had poured his heart, soul, and mind out to her and he did not want to regret it. Dess finally found the courage to reposition herself comfortably. She turned to face Shai and crossed her legs. Shai glanced over, his attention landing on her Halloween socks.

He chuckled, "Your socks are cute." he complimented. Dess smiled.

"Thank you."

Dess kept a smile on her face and it wasn't because of his compliment. It was because she was happy and grateful he told her something that personal. She knew Shai was different which is what attracted her to him in the first place. Dess opened her arms, making Shai raise his brow. She signaled for him to bring it him, still with a smile on her face. Shai smirked then scooted closer to her

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