///''

Silence. Suddenly, the schoolyard stood still. All heard the ear-shattering scream. Those closer saw the puddle forming under the woman's head. The thick crimson liquid pasted her coiled hair to her face. Her eyes were wide open. They seemed to watch me quite intensely. The crowd swarmed her body. They took their phones out, videoing as if it wasn't one of their own laying lifeless on the floor. I mean, what did I expect? Here was no better than the wild west. I hated this school.

******

It was the middle of September. A hot afternoon, but then again we are in the tropics. The only season we have is summer. I shifted from arm to arm, stretched out on the cafeteria table. My friend Jaelyn busily ranted about some terrible show she had watched last night to a group of 8th graders that stuck to her like baby ducks to their mother. I rubbed my eyes, still heavy from sleep, but I didn't want to spend my whole lunch sleeping.

"You still go to bed late, don't you?"

She broke up her conversation. I could tell she was annoyed.

'That's why you're so short' She would nag 'Sleeping is fundamental in a child's growth and development.

'I could sleep like Sleeping Beauty and would still be short' would argue back.

Contrary to what she believed, I didn't intend to stay up. I never did, but every time I slept I felt like there was something missing. Something I'm just not doing.

The bell rang, signaling that I had in fact spent my whole break sleeping. I looked at the Styrofoam lunch box deserted beside my bag. I took it up and headed with Jaelyn to the rest of our classes.

The day proceeded as usual. Since it was Friday, after lunch I would have French, Chemistry, and then Physical Education. I sat in the shallow part of the pool, lazily kicking my feet. I thought of all the things I had to do once school was dismissed. A French test to study for. My Religious Education homework. Math practice. The tasks spun around my head like a carousel.

"Micah" Jaylen whisper-shouted my name.

I looked to my physical education teacher to see if she heard her.

"Yeah, what's up," I whispered back.

I swam towards her, closing the gap, so we wouldn't have to talk too loud.

"Naomi just invited us to bowl. She wants us to meet her boyfriend today."

Naomi was our other friend. All three of us used to go to the same primary school. But now, she goes to a high school in the next town over. She had a more active love life than Jaelyn and I. Her list of ex-boyfriends was quite extensive.

"Which one? The St. Jacob's?"

"Yeah. Him"

"Really?"

"Yup

Didn't know she was so serious about him. I have heard many rumors about the students from that school and none of them were pleasant.

"So, where is the place anyway?"

"Thanum Park"

"Thunum Park?"

I looked at her to make sure I didn't hear her wrong. Thunum Park was one of the most expensive cities in the country. Everything there was big and glamorous. We can't even afford a bottle of water there.

"Don't worry. He said he would pay."

"He'll pay for four people?"

"Yep"

I mean, if he is a student at St. Jacob's, he's probably filthy rich.

"So what do you say?

"I'll have to think about it. I have a lot of work to do and–"

"Micah" she interrupted. "Live a little, just for today."

I took a deep breath. I did need a break. All I have been doing this year was preparing for CXCs, school activities, eating, and sleeping. I also wanted to check out this guy that Naomi was so head over heels for. One evening won't kill my momentum...

Yes, it will. Damn it. I'm a terrible procrastinator. If I don't do what I need to now, best believe it's never getting done. And if it never gets done, I'm going to fail my exams, not be able to go to college, and probably live an unfulfilling life being broke. I mean, overall, I know I'm going to live an unfulfilling life. But at least if I become successful, I'll be unfulfilled with money.

Ok. Breathe. If I cram really hard, maybe one day won't hurt. Hopefully, I won't regret it.

"Fine. I'll come"

"Really?"

I nodded.

"Yay!" Her exclamation alerted the teacher to our chat.

"Miss Myers, is that something you want to share with the class?"

"No ma'am"

Jaylen sunk into the water, hiding her flushed cheeks.

After school, I headed straight home. As usual, no one was there. My parents were at work and my sister was at school. Spark, however, ran to me excitedly, the way he always did. I stooped to pet him and he licked my fingers.

I was never bothered about my parents being away. They were very active in my life. I also understood that living wasn't cheap, so I appreciated them for working so hard. I do think that they must be tired though. My mother was a doctor at a nearby hospital and my father was a detective. They both had the kind of jobs that really didn't end.

Maybe being a workaholic is hereditary.

I walked up the stairs and when I reached my room, I flopped down on the bed, sinking into its warm embrace. I felt my eyes flutter. Between my legs and chest, I hugged my pillows. I yawned. Burying my already deep face deeper into the softness of the pillows. A five-minute nap wouldn't hurt. I felt so warm and comfortable and… shoot, bowling. I jerked up out of my bed and checked the time. 3:37 pm. I sighed, letting myself fall onto the bed. I really should start getting ready. The girls and I decided to meet at 5. I'm already starting to have regrets. Reluctantly scraping myself off the bed, I scoured through my drawers to find something to wear. I settled on a baggy tee, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. Having washed and combed my hair after swimming, I could style my coils without the struggle.

Normally, I would start with a style I like, then fail, try a different one, then fail again. I would cry a bit and consider cutting or relaxing my hair until I finally decided to stick to my usual style, a low sleek back bun or two. I was happy I didn't have to go through that right now because if I did I would just stay home and not bother leaving. After getting ready and making sure I looked decent (and smelt fresh, one must always smell fresh), I was on my way. I made sure to text my mom. She always worried a lot.

In half an hour, I arrived at Thunum Park. It made me feel small. The buildings seemed higher. The cars passing were a lot more luxurious. And the people were decked out in name brands from head to toe. I knew I wasn't dirt poor. In fact, I was living quite comfortably. My parents had stable jobs, and my sister was in college while working a part-time job that paid well. I want for nothing. However, at this moment I felt homeless. I felt uncomfortable like I had just arrived at King's House in a batty rider and a crop top. Was I underdressed? This city really shows the difference between having money to get by and having money to burn. I spotted two girls up ahead and after squinting my eyes a bit I saw that it was my friends.

I walked over to them. They didn't even realize I was there. They were too busy gawking at their surroundings. It's not like we have never been here before, we had to pass here to get to school in the mornings. However, each time you were here, you couldn't help but be taken in by the city.

"Hey, Micah," Naomi came and hugged me and so did Jaelyn.

Naomi and Jaelyn wore outfits similar to mine. Just some pants and a tee. I felt kinda relieved. If we were going to stand out, we would stand out together.

"Let's go. He's waiting." A smile was plastered on her face.

We made our way to Tunmun Park Mall. It looked like something you would see in an American movie. It also smelt like foreign. We entered the bowling alley and immediately the coldness hit me. They can't turn down the air conditioning or something. I know Jamaica is hot but this is overkill. Inside was fairly empty, except for a group of boys in the far-end row.

"Oh, there he is"

Naomi pointed to a tall boy in turtle-neck jeans, and a pair of Clarks. He had a handsome face. He had stubble forming along his jawline and his golden eyes contrasted beautifully with his dark skin. His watch glistened in the light and, even though I don't know much about watches, I could tell it was expensive. He made his way over, stretching his hand towards us.

"I'm Aiden, nice to meet you."

We shook his hand and let him lead the way. Jaelyn and I gave Noam a knowing look. She blushed, flipping us off and jogging to walk beside her boyfriend.

"I decided to have a meet-up near my school if you don't mind."

He rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed a bit shy. He took us to the booth to get our shoes and get ready for the activity. We then picked a spot and divided ourselves into teams. The couple on one side and Jaylen and I on the other. Unless Aiden was secretly a bowling pro, my team had it in the bag. Jaylen never got less than a strike. We started with the 'Miden' team. They asked us to call them that. It's cute, I guess. I wouldn't do it though. I would rather swallow my arm than make a ship name for me and someone I'm with. It's just not for me.

Aiden took the lead once again. He held the ball firmly and got into a grove, a sort of bowling ritual. He stepped forward, tilting his throwing arm, and then placed the hand that wasn't in the three holes underneath the ball. Bending his knees, he placed his dominant foot behind the other as he slid the ball to the pins. The pins went tumbling, leaving one to its lonesome. He was good, too good. I figured he came here to show off. To sell himself or something like that. Like hey, I am right for your friend. Look how capable I am.

"Ok, my turn."

Jaelyn grabbed the loudest ball in the rack. It was a shocking green. The light seemed to bounce off it, blinding me. In the right form, she bowled. As I had anticipated, 'strike' read across the screen. I gave her a high-five as Naomi stepped up for her turn.

Jaelyn made her way back to us, smiling and sitting down with one foot over the other.

"So?" Jaylen asked. "Are St. Jacob's students as terrible as rumors say?"

She directed at Aiden.

He looked a bit taken aback by the question. However, he answered.

"Well it depends on the person, some are great, and others will be your worst nightmare."

They continued talking as I stood up for my turn. Suddenly, I heard a racket a few rows ahead of us. It was the other group that was here. Based on how they were I could tell that the smaller one didn't want to be there. They forced him to go and kneel in the middle of a row. He kneeled in front of the pins. One of them then bowled his ball but instead of hitting the poor guy, it fell into the gutter.

"Better let it catch you next time, Vin. Or else something worse will happen."

I heard one say. He seemed to be the leader. He was the only one expensively dressed, and the others hovered around him like flies around a donkey's rear end. The poor guy, whose name I learned was Vin, simply nodded his head. I turned to look at the employees. I'm pretty sure they are seeing this, but why aren't they doing anything about it? Once again, he got ready to bowl. I looked to the rest of the group I was with.

"What the-"

Naomi got up from her seat to confront the boys. However, Aiden held her hand, holding her back.

"Don't. Trust me."

I stared at him. The anger boiled in my heart. I don't care who they are, how they are treating that boy right now is nasty. Absolutely disgusting. Frustrated at everyone being a bystander, I ran up there myself. I took the ball out of his hand.

"That's enough," I said.

He towered over me, staring at me intensely. I shifted my eyes from his gaze. I didn't feel it before, but right now I was scared as hell. It's five against one, plus I'm a girl and I can't fight to save my life. You know I blame this on my father. His strong sense of justice rubs off on me. I should have just minded my own business like I was told to. I took a deep breath and sucked it up. I got myself in this mess so there was no use complaining. I raised my head, matching his gaze like I wasn't pissing myself on the inside.

"What?" his eyes lowered and his eyebrows knitted.

"You heard me. That's. Enough."

I could vomit right now. Hopefully, he doesn't punch me in the face. I kinda like my face. He chuckled. Then it turned into a laugh. He held his stomach and wiped his tears. He lowered his head to my level.

"Piss off. This has nothing to do with you."

He grabbed the ball from my hands and tried bowling again. I guess I just really wanted to die at that moment because I decided to not only kick him in the nuts but also punch him in the stomach. I heard a loud yelp but I didn't stick around to find out what happened. I ran to Vin, held his hand, and ran with him out of the alley. We ran and hid in a nearby shop, watching as the leader's goonies ran the other way. I held my chest trying to steady my breath.

"Hey, thanks for helping me back there," Vin said softly.

"Yeah, you're welcome, but what happened back there? Maybe you should tell the police or something.

He laughed bitterly.

"What good would that do?" he said under his breath.

I pretended not to hear it. I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear. After the coast was clear, I texted my friends to tell them I was heading home. It was wise for me not to show my face in the bowling alley. Well, it was wise to not show my face in this city for a while. I had no idea who they were but based on Vin's reaction, I guess that the person I had offended had some kind of power here. I bid Vin goodbye and then left for home.

Exhausted, I pulled the gate. I entered to the sweet smell of curry infiltrating my nose. My stomach growled, alerting my family.

"Hey, you're back," mom said. "I'll be done soon give me a second."

"Ok."

I raced to my room and changed into some yaad clothes. I sat around the table with my family then after grace we ate the meal.

"Oh, I have something to tell you?" Dad said in between bites.

He was a large man. Large, as in giant-like. The fork seemed to disappear in his hand.

"We are moving to Thunum Park."

The sound of cutlery halted. All eyes fixated on him.

"What, Dan, we can't affor-"

"It's for work", he assured my mom.

"They will be offsetting the expenses."

"Really?"

She grinned from ear to ear. My mom grew up in Thanum. However, she chose to marry my dad and live a humble life instead. I always wondered if she missed the lifestyle she had before. My grandparents still live there though, but I hardly ever see them. They don't like us very much.

"Yeah, we moving on Sunday."

I nodded and continued to eat, slowly processing the information he just gave. I'm going to miss this house. The neighbourhood, the neighbours (even though I didn't talk to them 'cause no one goes outside), and the stray cats that always visit. But on the bright side, I can have cute little aesthetic sleepovers with the girls. We can study and go through pass papers and—

"Micah would start St. Jacobs on Monday. Got her uniform and everything."

What?

"Dad? Did you just say I'm moving to St. Jacobs"

"Yep, transferred you today."

He calmly ate his food like my whole world isn't being rocked right now.

"Why. My school is not that far away from Thanum. Why would you move me?"

"Because I want to."

"Dad-"

"My decision is final."

I bit my lip, trying to hold in my anger. Tears stung the back of my eyes. He's being irrational. My father was never irrational, something is going on and I'm going to find out. I marched up to my room and flopped down onto my bed. I held my pillow to my face and screamed into it. I kicked my legs. The tears finally poured out, soaking my pillowcase. After crying my eyes out, I sat up and rubbed them red. I didn't understand fully what was going on but I was about to make the best out of it. Micah never quits. She never falters and, most of all, she never fails.

I would rather swallow my toenails whole than fail.