mikaela smalls - august 9, 2020 (6 mo later)

fuckin highland california. i can't believe i was moving to this suburbia fucking wasteland for a whole year. it had been 6 months since monty passed and nothing had calmed down in atl so we had to dip before some worse shit happened and one of us was left alone forreal.

my uncle owned a bunch of random ass properties all over california, and he figured that he would cover first months utilities on one for us and then we can just take it over after that. this helps me and carter lay low, and let the mfs in atlanta go focus on the next problem so that we can go back home peacefully after about a year.

but highland? we couldn't move to like san francisco? los angeles? fucking highland, california? whatever, i guess ima suburban kid now. i giggled at myself mimicking kodaks stupid ass meme. "mika close the door after you grab that last box," my brother carter yelled as he walked into our new house.

i had to start school tomorrow at east highland. i was not looking forward to it at all, and i even begged carter to take my last year online since we had to literally move across country. he said that i was going to miss out on 'valuable experiences' or some dumb shit. like dude, what the hell can senior year of high school teach me about the family business that i help run? "mikaela we got here 5 days ago and you ain't left the house once. you start school tomorrow and you still ain't tried to meet nan one fuckin person. you just wanna be that weird 'lil loner stoner bitch?" I smirked at this, because in all actuality that is exactly who i am. he rolled is eyes, almost as if he knew exactly what i was thinking. "how i'm 23 and i found out it's some 'lil east highland banger happening around 11 before you, the girl who is bout to attend east highland?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"carter you know damn well i do not give a damn about no lil high school party." I waved off, plopping my ass onto our couch. this earned a scoff from him. "coming from the high schooler," he sat next to me laughing. "you going mika, i need you to just try to have some type of normal activities and lifestyle so that the nosey suburbia crackas think we're normal regular people," he said, making me laugh along with him. he was right though, it could be easy to raise some eyebrows in this type of neighborhood so it might be good if i appear like a regular degular teenage girl. weird.

listening with earphones in, i walked to the location that carter left pinned on my phone. it was 11:30 so the party should be in full swing which i prefer over that awkward first lil bit of time while people are still showing up. as i approached the house i could see people talking outside with blue solo cups in their hands eyeing me as if i was covered in shit or something. mugging them right back, i walked into the house and was met by dro smoke, bass and hella beautiful people.

"how the fuck.." i trailed off, referring to the amount of gorgeous ass teenagers there were in this one place. in atlanta there were your fair share of beautiful people but they was scattered to the different schools around the city so you don't usually see all of them in the same place. i made my way toward the kitchen, immediately searching for a bottle of something to drink so i could feel as good as half these mfs did. a girl with short hair on the more heavyset side was holding a bottle of gold patron which made my heart sing. we made eye contact and i slid down the counter to ask for a shot. before i got there she was pouring up two and handed it to me, cheersing.

"i'm kat." she stated, biting down on a lime she had cut up. "thats cute. i'm mikaela but you can call me mika. I just moved here from atlanta." she looked me up and down before complimenting my shirt that was just a simple white cropped top with a deep v cut. "i wish i had the confidence to show my body like that, work it bitch," i gave her a funny look, resting my hand on her hip which seemed to startle her as she slightly jumped.

"girl, if you was down youn' even know what i'd do with your lil thick ass," I said into her ear, causing her to blush. I giggled and took my hand away. "no but seriously, you fine as hell baby. only thing holding you back is you," i stated, motioning for her to pour us a few more shots.

after getting a decent buzz on, i decided i wanted to spark so i made my way out by the pool. something must have been going on because everyone was focused on the pool, recording whatever was so important. not wanting to be involved, i tried to start making my way around the crowed to get to the chair pit set up in the backyard. backwood in hand i was almost out of the way when someone bumped me hard sending the person next to me into the pool, and almost me as well. i could feel my wood slip from between my fingers and into the pool it plopped.

"yo you FUCKIN serious," i turned to the skinny little boy that bumped me. "give me 10 dolla--no FUCK that. give me 20 dollars right now. 10 for the gram and 10 for ruining my fucking buzz." i yelled, taking some of the attention off of the couple in the pool. the scrawny dude gave me a 20, shaking his head and walking away.

that was the only fuckin' wood i brought so now my mission was to find the supplier at this party and get me another one. i went back to where kat was originally standing but she was no longer there. fuck. i started to see if she was anywhere nearby when a tall white dude started screaming for everyone to get out of the kitchen. don't gotta tell me twice mf, i'm gone.

kat was in the middle of the dance floor, pretty trashed. every time i tried to ask her where to get some weed she just laughed and said "yeaaaahhhhhh!!!" and threw her hands up in the air. a pretty girl was dancing right next to her laughing. "she has no idea what you're saying," she covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from giggling. she was so cute. "my name is lexi. you can probably go outside to the chairs, usually he hangs out there. ginger beard." & that made me laugh.

i walked all the way back to where i started—mentally noting that i just did an entire lap for no reason. no one was at the chairs, making me even more annoyed. i sat down with the cup that i made before i came back outside. i leaned my head back and closed my eyes, focusing on the bass rattling through my body, even though i wasn't inside the house anymore.

"damn, i know i'm cute but follow me across country cute?" a voice rasped out, making me squish my face in confusion. the voice sounded familiar. i pulled my head back up and opened my eyes, my mouth opening slightly in surprise.

"you playing right now, right?" i laughed, standing up from my seat. "like i gotta be more fucked up than i think" i laughed out, playfully looking at whats left in my cup.

there he was. red beard. freckled face. his hair looked clean and freshly cut. how. the. fuck. is. this. possible. "are you stalking me?!" i said, only half joking. after everything thats going on in atlanta... you never know.

he scoffed, sitting down next to where i just was. "i live here mama, but i know for a fact that you dont." his voice was laced with amusement. he found this all entertaining. i mean who wouldn't?

we met in a brief and honestly weird way anyways, what are the fucking odds that he lives in highland. and apparently that i needed to buy from him and his 'ginger beard.' i sat down next to him, sipping my cup again. "apparently you the man i need to see anyways." i stated, pulling out the 20 the kid from earlier gave me. "some fuckin dick made me drop my wood in the pool and i need to smoke so wassup." i said, smiling and looking into those blue eyes. his amused expression never left his face.

"that was you yellin' at ole boy like that? man," he paused to chuckle, " you different forreal." he reached behind his ear to grab an already rolled wood, which peaked my interest. "you mfs smoke woods out here in suburbia?" i questioned, earning a full on laugh from him as he sparked up.

"yeah out here in suburbia some of us do, the swisher shit don't hit like it used to," he said, sparking the wood in his hands. his face falls for a minute as he takes a few hits and hands it to me. i sit back, hitting it and admiring how it tastes with my eyes closed. "shit, this tastes good." i say, more to myself than to anyone else. fez nods his head but doesn't say anything else. "you straight?" i ask, passing it back after a moment.

"you in high school?" he asks, not meeting my eyes. i waited to reply, with a smirk on my face. he genuinely seemed disappointed. aww poor... wait i don't even know this nigga name yet. "we been together on two different coasts and i don't even know your name yet." i said, taking the wood back in my hand, his eyes still off around the pool--anywhere but me. a small smile comes to his lips, but he also doesn't give me his name.

"i got held back in 3rd grade." i said after another few moments of silence. he doesn't move, just furrows his eyebrows and says "word?" like he wasn't sure why i was bringing it up. i rolled my eyes, sighing. "so i would have graduated last year, you know. from high school." this time, i look away as he looks at me. i smirk, knowing that he's probably finally realizing what i meant.

i got held back in 3rd grade because i didn't go to school for 7 months when my parents died. they were murdered in a home invasion while we were at school. middle of the fuckin' day. the cops said it was just a random break in but who the fuck robs and murders a couple in broad daylight in the middle of the city? i shook the thoughts from my brain, taking the last hit from the roach and throwing it in the wet grass beside us.

"word." he repeated, this time to acknowledge he understood. i looked up to meet his eyes, noticing that they were now a little red and low. "fez." he said, making me raise my eyebrows. "fezco." i cracked a smile. "mika, mikaela."

"nice to meet you mik."

1922 word count unedited