To be loved

"Dani are you done packing that bag?" Brianna screamed from down stairs.

"Yeah I am" I told her at a gentler tone.

"Well then get down here and come help me with these things" she shouted again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, calm down" I ran down the stairs to where she was standing at the open door. Everyone's just getting more dramatic by the minute.

Hey there I'm Dani George, a born and breed West Virginia girl from a family of four, myself my mom, my little brother othniel and my Nigerian sister cousin that stays with us, Brianna, don't ask about a Dad, he's not included here anymore. Anyways, in a few days my family and I would be moving away from our home to Los Angeles and so it's causing everybody to be so dramatic and impatient.

I get that this is a big change and a good one at that for our family especially with finances for a very average family like ourself, but it's not like we'd be living on rose beds when we get to California, life's hard everywhere, and the hustle continues.

But I'm really excited to see what the big city has to offer to an introverted small town girl.

Sweet mother of Jesus I'm tired.

I dropped and sprawled myself on the super soft couch in the living room and took a swing of water from the water bottle in my hand. We were finally done, after three days of unpacking and organizing and picking rooms, we were finally well settled in our new house in California.

"Dani," I heard someone call

"Can you please help me with my shoes?" my little brother Othniel came to me stretching out his foot with an undone lace.

"Oh sure." I got down on one knee and did his shoe lace for him in a bunny knot "there" I said and got up. "Wait, where are you going anyway?" I asked him and sat back down.

"There's a boy my age at the next house and he's invited me to come over for a playdate, Mom says it's okay and he is so into reptiles too, he has a pet lizard he wants to show me." He blurted out with his eyes excited.

Wow, only three days and he's made a friend, I envy that boy's extroversion.

He was already at the door bouncing like a rubber ball, he's probably ecstatic, it's not everyday you move to a new house and find a friend that likes disgusting things as reptiles as you.

"Dani?" I turned and saw Brianna at the door that led to our kitchen, leaning against it with her eyes glued to her phone.

"What?" I asked her.

"Mom says we are going to central peach high school."

"I know, we talked about it at dinner yesterday." I told her, recalling Mom finalized which school we would be going to here in California at dinner the day before.

"That's not what I meant." she said looking up from her phone, "We're going there now, like in a few minutes or so sha." She answered her Nigerian slangs slipping in.

"What? why now?"

"I don't know," she said and ran a hand through her braids. "Mom said something about getting everything over with quickly."

"Huh? I want to sleep." I complained.

"Stand up jor, lazy bones. I want to go and see the school, it seems cool, check out their website." she came and sat beside me on the couch handing me her phone.

"They've won this national interschool basketball game four years in a row." she said.

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah check it." I clicked on the site and scrolled through their posts. Pictures of their hallways, a huge cafeteria, their theater, a basketball court, were all on display.

"Wow, it's looking fancy" I commented.

"You bet." she said giggling

I scrolled a bit more and saw a video "This is a play on Hamilton?" I asked pressing play.

"Yup" she told me

"I'm guessing you'd be joining the school's drama department" I asked her as the video started to play, it showed the stage, the costumes and a part of the musical.

"Heck yeah I am". Brie wants to study theater art and she was an art student at our old school, even though their plays there were wack though.

"I thought I told you two to get ready", I look up from the phone and saw my Mom coming down the stairs. "Why are you still sitting here talking?"

"We're ready, we were just checking out the school site" I told her and stood up

"Wait, isn't Othniel going with us?" Brie asked doing the same.

"We'll pick him on the way" mom replied her. Oh, no playdate for lil bro then.

"Let's hurry, we're taking the bus" she added

"When's your car arriving anyway, I thought uncle Michael said Saturday" I asked her as we walked towards our new neighbor's house.

"In a couple more hours"

***

We missed the bus and later took a cab, I was in the backseat beatboxing while Brie rapped beside me.

"I'm broken, no I'm joking, I'm choking, cause you poked me" What the_

"Brie what in God's name are you rapping?" I stopped beatboxing and faced her laughing.

"Shut up, the real points are the rhymes not the meaning and this was your idea." she defended.

"We're here, wake your brother up" Mom said as she made to open the door.

"Othniel", I tapped my little brother that was asleep beside me, he stirred a little and finally opened his eyes, "we're here." I told him. "We're at your school?" he asked, yawning.

"Yeah, let's go." I got down from the cab and waited for him to follow.

***

"Alright, so by Monday you two can come get your schedules and your locker combinations," principal Cloud said rounding up our admissions.

He was surprisingly young, I was expecting an old man in his sixties, but this guy's probably in his late thirties or early forties and he was fine looking too.

"Alright, thank you so much principal Claude," my Mom said as she made to stand up. Wait it's Claude.

"Oh please call me Matthew," he told my Mom, whoa wasn't expecting that.

"I'm so glad we got to resume as seniors," Brie said when we got outside the principal's office.

Turned out the school don't allow students in at senior year and Brie and I were at our last year before we left Virginia

"Yeah, thanks to Mom working her charm on the principal," I said

"What?! I didn't work any charm on anyone, it's called negotiation" she told us.

"Hmm hmm, it was definitely negotiation alright," I continued as we walked towards the exit of the school.

Turned out again, their hallways weren't as fancy as they were in the pictures, therefore concluded, the internet's a fraud.

"Yeah, he definitely didn't have you calling him by his first name at the end of our visit," Brie joined in.

"That doesn't mean anything," she defended not looking back at us.

"Hmm, hmm," we chorused,

She just shook her head and stopped a cab, she knew we'd continue if she said anymore.

"Let's just go," Othniel, who had been surprisingly quiet all the while, spoke up.

We got into the cab and went home.

I woke up the next morning feeling some kind of moisture on my neck.

I sat up and touched it, feels like spit. What the heck, I don't droll, I turned to my side and,

"Oh mother Mary of Jesus", A scaly ugly,about forty centimeter long iguana was laying on my pillow, looking me in the eyes with it's tongue outside.

"Eww!" I screamed and ran out of my room.

"There's a lizard in my room" I announced when I got to the living room, where Brie was braiding my mom's hair.

"There's a what in your room now?" My Mom asked.

"A lizard." I answered

"Oh, that must be Othniel's friend pet lizard, they've been looking for it in the backyard all day," Brie told me.

"Well it's not in the backyard, it's in my room, and it just licked my freaking neck," I told them walking towards the sink.

"Ew, it licked you?" She asked me

"Well that's disgusting." My Mom said.

"You're telling me." I said as I turned on the faucet to wash off the spit.

"Wait, don't wash it off in the sink." they shouted at me at the same time.

"Ugh, fine I'll go wash it off in my room, but tell Othniel's and his friend to had better come get that thing out of my room soon, less they want it dead."

"Don't kill that lizard Dani." My mom told me as I matched back up the stairs to my room.

If they don't take too long.

***

Music was playing through my earphones as I ate breakfast the next day.

I'd just listened to Jorja smith's blue lights, and Olivia Rodrigo, all I want was playing now. Oh yeah, that reminds me, if you don't stan at least one of these two people. You need a therapist.

"Hey, you excited?" Brie asked from behind me.

She grabbed the cereal box for her meal, weirdly adding the cereal into the bowl before the milk. Creep.

It's the other way around.

"Hmm, I'm curious for sure, but I don't know about excited. It's just school, probably just as annoying and frustrating as, " I said mentioning our old school.

"Oh I would hope not," she said shaking her head and laughing at memories at our previous school

"Alright guys, I'm ready, do I look okay?" We both turned around at the sound of my Mom's voice.

Oh this woman never disappoints me, she looks like cake, in black pants, a white sleeveless shirt and stilettos.

"You look awesome mom." I told her, while Brie clapped her hands, "She's so getting a boyfriend soon." She whispered in my ear.

Definitely.

***

"Alright kids, bye now, be careful and make some friends okay?"

"Mom we are not kids, but okay." Brie told my mom as we got down from her SUV in front of Central Peach highschool, kids were now walking in and out of the school, looking all neat and fresh for the new semester.

"Bye you two." Othniel said from the back seat he was still occupying, Mom had picked a school close to her work place for him so she could keep closer tab on him.

"Bye Othniel." Me and Brie told him at the same time, I reached out to pull his cheeks, before whispering, "let me know if any kid tries to bully you, okay?"

"Don't worry, no one's going to bully me, I'm too adorable." he told me so confidently with a giant smile on he face, he was, I smiled back at him and waved them off.

"Alright girl, let begin senior year in Los Angeles." Brie said draping her arm over my shoulder as we walked towards our school.

***

"Do we have to attend all of this classes? Cause I see AP math and I'm not doing." Brie said as we walked towards our lockers while going through our schedules after we had gotten them from Principal Claude.

"Duh." I told her. "My locker's number 52, where's yours?"

"49." she replied.

"Hmm, close enough" I said as we passed by some sophomore girls.

"Aww, you want to stay close to Mama, don't worry I'm here for you, I know you're nothing without me."

"Don't be a creep," I told her when we got to my locker and she laughed.

"Later." she said and worked towards her own.

"Alright" I said half to myself and half to her. I took off my bag and put the few books I had in it into my rectangular locker that had this greenish blue color.

I was about to take off the denim jacket I had on when I had a girl scream "They're here!"

And chaos broke out in the hallway.

The girls began fixing their hair and adjusting their dresses, even the boys stood up abit straighter. I look towards Brie and she seemed just as confused.

What in God's name's going on.

I decided to look towards the direction everyone seemed to be facing, and that when I saw what might be the problem. Really people? Really?

Three tall boys were walking into the school and everyone was staring at them with so much awe, infact you'd think maybe it's Lebron James or Anthony Joshua that just walked in.

P.S, those two are literally my most favorite athletes.

These boys better not say they're not aware of how much clout and attention they were getting. P.P.S did you see my pun there, clout/Anthony Joshua, get it? Okay I'll stop.

I couldn't get a close look on them, so I moved forward in their direction.

I was already past Brie's locker, before I felt someone pull me back.

"What are you doing?" Brie asked, looking at me like I was about to commit suicide.

"I want a closer look on the dudes." I told her.

"Can't you see the path is cleared out just for them to pass?" she asked.

"What's all the drama anyways?"

"Dude, I'm new here just like you I don't know." she said.

"Let's just go to class. I think I heard the bell anyways." she said and pulled me away from the hallway to our first period.