Part: 1


“Ugh!” I screamed as I walked into my apartment, and immediately flopped down on the couch, located conveniently next to the door. In case you’re wondering, when I say my apartment I mean my mom’s apartment. I had just experienced the most exhausting day of my life. I had signed up to be an available tutor for someone who needed my help. And, of course I ended up with the most disrespectful, unorganized, incompetent fool in school. His name was even a pain to say, Brandon, if you say it really slow it’s the most annoying word in the American dictionary. To top it all off this…this...this…person is 19 years old in the 12th grade, and he is trying to pass for the 3rd time! And, you know how some people say “third time is the charm” I don’t think it applies in this case.

Anyway, my name is Jaleesa, I’m an A student who is passing the 12th grade for the FIRST time. I’m in the SC, Student Council, and I attend James Johnson High School. My school is known as JJ High. It’s also known as the poorest school, and is located in the inner-city of Washington, D.C. I only have one friend at school, and don’t jump to any conclusions about me being a “loner”. When I say I only have one friend at school I mean a true friend who won’t stab me in the back at the first sign of trouble. She is truly one of a kind. Her name speaks for itself, Moeta, like the liquor, only with an “a” added to the end.

Ring! Ring! The phone rang out interrupting the silence of my thoughts. I answered with a gruff “Hello”.
“Hi sweetie, how was your day?” My mother said in a sweet tone. My mom is
always out of town on business or a getaway, with one of her current boyfriends.
“Ahh… it was the worst day of my life! I-“ I was cut off by my mom saying “Oh honey I have to go, talk to you later, bye!” She ended with a silencing click. I stared at the phone for almost five minutes. I mean I don’t even know why I was shocked; she does this to me all the time.

Part: 2

Over the next several months I formed a bond with Branden. I found out that he has a sweet side to him, and he proved that chivalry still exists in the 21st century. He pulls out my chair, holds the door, and even walks on the outside of the side walk to shield me from oncoming cars. His organizational skills also improved. I think that the change was brought on by my labeling of everything, even inside of different subjects; I labeled all of the topics. The real reward though came as I was walking down the hallway headed to the library to meet Branden for our study session.

As I rounded the corner I was nearly trampled by Branden’s large frame. He didn’t knock me over, but he managed to knock all of the books out of my hand.
“Oh snap!, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-,” I cut him off by saying, “ What is so important, that you have to nearly kill me? And to think I would have died on my way to the library...hmm…how would that have sounded on the obituary?”
“I got an A on my math midterm!” he exclaimed as though he had won the lottery.
“Oh my gosh! That’s great!” I jumped up to give him a hug and without thinking I kissed him. I enjoyed the moment, but then I realized what I was doing and pulled away. I looked at him and got so embarrassed that I just grabbed my books out of his hand and ran down the hallway. Over my shoulder I shouted “I’m sorry!”

Part: 3

I was lying in my bed trying to focus on my Spanish homework, when the phone rang. I didn’t want to answer it; for fear that it would be my mom or worse…Branden. I let it go to voice mail. The apartment fell silent as the machine recorded his message.
“Hey Jaleesa, I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t be sorry for what you did. I didn’t mind, if anybody should be saying sorry, it’s me. I should have told you earlier that I liked you, but I thought you didn’t like me like that… But, now,” he stops to chuckle, “Maybe you and me can get together or something. Anyway I’ll see you later. Bye.”

I sat there for a good 10 minutes and thought about this. I decided I would talk to him at school the next day. Then, I realized that I had to figure out what to wear! I scoured my closet, and by the time I had found the perfect outfit my room looked like a tornado had hit it. I told myself not to worry about it, and that I would clean it up the next day.

The next day I stood in the mirror and examined my outfit. It consisted of a fitted red polo over a jean mini skirt, and my red and white Converse. My silver hoops and bangles glittered in the morning sun that was shining in through my bedroom window. I took one last glance at myself, took a deep breath, and fluttered out of the apartment.

When I got to school I met up with Moeta.
“Hey girly! What’s up?” She exclaimed.
“Oh nothing much, you know the usual. Homework, shopping, tutoring, and kissing Branden,” I stopped to gauge her reaction. She looked at me for a second and then started squealing.
“Oh my gosh, finally! I knew you guys had great chemistry. Once again The All Seeing Moeta has come through with her prediction!” She said while flourishing her arms as if she were announcing the Queen of England.
“Hahaha, you’re funny. I-,” I was cut off by the late bell ringing, “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Yeah, I can’t be late to Science again, or Mrs. Karenalli is going to me detention. So, I’ll see you later and you better spill ALL of the details, even if you think they’re not important. There could be some hidden clues in that subconscious mind of yours that could give The All Seeing Moeta some clues to predicting you guys’ future together.” She said while hold her head and rolling her eyes back as though she were having a “vision,” as she calls them. (I just think they’re educated guesses).
“Bye, talk to you later!” I yelled while walking to my English class.


Part: 4
The anxiety was building as I walked toward the library to meet Branden for our usual study session. I walked in and looked around the library for him. I found him sitting at the table, attempting to hide behind a bouquet of roses. As soon as our eyes met he started to grin. I ran over and jumped into his arms. He held me for a while and pulled back to look me in the eyes.
“You know, you amaze me,” he said.
“How?,” I responded with a smile.
“A girl like you, who is pretty and smart, that’s not something you can easily find these days.” He said.
“Well, thank you.” I said while eyeing the roses that were still lying on the table. I jumped out of his arms and ran over to pick up them up. I smelled them, and said with a sigh, “Well, if you keep on being such a gentleman I won’t need The All Seeing Moeta to figure out that you and I have an obvious future with each other.” And with that I kissed him on the cheek and led him out of the library. The setting sun was smiling down at us with obvious pleasure. The sky was filled with golden yellows, reds, and oranges, and off into the distance there sat one spot of blue. That blue represented my loneliness of yesterday. And as we walked home that day I thought to myself, from now on, my future is going to be filled with vibrant, golden moments that I will save up for that one blue day where I’ll need them most.