Chapter 13 Flashback – The Last Day of High School
Flashback – The Last Day of High School
“Did you really agree to go to prom with that asshole?” Octavia asked Fateema.
“He’s never been anything but nice to me, and you know I’ve been crushing on him since the first time I saw him on the track freshman year. Hell yeah, I agreed to go to prom with him.”
“He only asked you because Tati broke up with him because she caught him cheating,” Meaghan said.
It was the last day of school for seniors, and the three of them were at the mall to do some last-minute shopping for prom and graduation. Prom would be held the upcoming Friday, and graduation was Sunday, two days later. They’d just gotten food from the food court and sat down to eat.
“I’m not trying to marry him, but it would be nice to say I had one date before graduating high school. I don’t care why he asked. I’m going,” Fateema declared.
“That’s the main reason you shouldn’t be going with him. Rodney gets around, and you, on the other hand, have never been on a date. He’s a little out of your league,” Octavia said.
She’s not wrong, Fateema thought.
Rodney Jacobs was a very popular student and track star.
Even though he seemed to always be attached to one girl or another romantically, he flirted with Fateema every day at track practice, and she’d caught him staring at her several times.
Tatiana was his most recent girlfriend, and apparently, he’d cheated on her.
Fateema wasn’t interested in that title, but she was excited about going to prom with him.
“Did you tell Lynx?” Octavia asked.
“No, I haven’t seen him yet. Why?”
“You don’t think he’ll be mad?”
“Why would he be mad?”
“Because he thinks we’re all going as a group,” Meaghan interjected.
“It’s not like I won’t see y’all there. Lynx won’t care.”
Octavia and Meaghan looked at each other knowingly.
Although Fateema and Lynx claimed only to be best friends, Lynx had been giving off different vibes lately, and it seemed everyone had picked up on it except Fateema.
He hadn’t admitted it to anyone, and no one had confronted him with their suspicions.
From the moment Fateema sat across from him at the lunchroom table in sixth grade, Lynx enjoyed looking at her, although he may not have described her as pretty way back then.
Over the years, he watched her morph into the prettiest girl he’d ever seen but didn’t acknowledge to himself that he was physically attracted to her, until recently when she forced him to go prom dress shopping with her.
Every time she stepped out of the dressing room in another beautiful dress, he had to talk his dick down. By the time they finished shopping for the day, he was angry with himself for thinking such unpure thoughts about his best friend.
Over the years, he’d honestly never thought of her as anything but his best friend until that day in the boutique. Since then, thoughts of doing nasty things to her had taken over his mind.
“I won’t care about what?”
The girls looked up and saw Lynx, Adam, and Joaquin. Lynx looked at Fateema and waited for her to respond to his question. He’d just found out some upsetting news but refused to believe it until he heard it from Fateema.
“Hey! If y’all were coming to the mall, why’d you have us taking the bus?” Fateema questioned.
“When we changed our minds, y’all had already left. What won’t I care about, Bunny?” Lynx repeated his question.
Fateema noticed his weird energy and wasn’t sure why it was directed toward her, so she ignored it.
“You don’t care about me going to prom with Rodney, do you?”
“I thought we were going as a group,” he replied, ignoring her question.
“Y’all can still go as a group, and I’ll see you there.”
“What about group pics and the seating arrangements, Bunny?”
“Lynx, it’s not the end of the world. We can take pics before Rodney picks me up, and I’m sure we can move some things around when we get there.”
“Rodney treats girls like shit, but if you want to go with him, it’s your choice.”
He pulled out his phone as he turned and walked away, leaving Adam and Joaquin behind.
“What’s his problem?” Fateema asked the boys.
“If you don’t know, we sure ain’t telling you.”
The boys left, and the girls finished eating. After they finished shopping, they took the bus to their respective homes. When Fateema arrived, she found her father, Frasier, watching a game show in his recliner.
“Hey, Daddy,” she greeted before leaning down to kiss his cheek and sitting on the couch.
“Hey, Bunny. Did you find everything you needed at the mall?”
“Yes, and a few things I didn’t need. Guess what?”
“What?”
“I have a date for prom.”
He sat up in his chair and gave her his full attention. “Who? Lynx?”
She frowned because she didn’t understand why her father would think Lynx would ask her to go to prom.
“No. Why would Lynx ask me to prom?”
Frasier shrugged his shoulders. It was cute how oblivious his daughter was to Lynx's feelings for her. “Who’s your date?”
“Rodney Jacobs.”
“Why does his name sound familiar?”
“I don’t know, maybe because he’s on the track team and got a full ride to the University of Illinois.”
“Good for him. Why did he wait so long to ask? Prom is next week.”
“He had a date until his girlfriend broke up with him a few days ago.”
“Oh, so you were his second choice.”
“Daddy,” she whined. “Why do you have to make it sound so bad? He couldn’t ask me to prom when he had a girlfriend, but he did as soon as he became available. It’s not that serious. We’re just going to prom.”
“If you say so. Weren’t you and your friends going as a group? How do they feel about you ditching them?”
“I’m not ditching them. We’re all going to the same place, Daddy.”
“All right, fine. Are you glad to be officially done with high school?”
“It’s not official until I walk across the stage, but it feels good.”
“Your mother would be so proud of you with all your academic and athletic achievements. It’s truly been an honor to be your father.”
She got up to embrace her father. “Aww, thank you, Daddy. Everything I accomplish is bittersweet without Mommy, but I’m blessed to still have you.”
“You’ve always been the blessing, Bunny. You don’t know how sane you’ve kept me when I thought I would lose my mind. Thank you for being so easy to raise. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Daddy, but you don’t have to lie.
I know raising me was challenging at times, but you never made me feel like I was a burden.
Thank you for doing your best to raise me.
” They embraced a while longer before she returned to the couch.
“This is the last summer me and my friends will be together. Do you remember when I didn’t have any friends? ”
“I do, then Lynx came along, and before long, there were a few more of you. They’re good kids, and I’m glad you all found each other.”
“Me too. We gotta make the most of the summer before we’re all miles apart.”
“Hopefully, the distance will only make your friendship stronger.”
“I hope so. It took most of my childhood to find good friends. I don’t want to start over.”
“You’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll have some great teammates on the track team. It would certainly ease my nerves if Lynx were with you. He’d help you get through everything just like he’s done since the day you two met.”
For the first time since they’d become friends in sixth grade, Lynx and Fateema would be hundreds of miles apart. She earned an academic and track scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Houston, Texas, and Lynx was headed to Howard University in Washington, DC, on an academic scholarship.
When they began completing college applications at the beginning of their senior year, they applied to many of the same schools. However, their decisions came down to the school that made the best scholarship offer. Unfortunately for them, the schools they chose were on different coasts.
Her father mentioning Lynx again made her think of his strange behavior at the mall.
“I don’t think Lynx is happy about me going to prom with Rodney.”
“Oh? Did he say something?”
“Nothing specific, but he was acting weird.”
“Well, Lynx has never been one to minx words with you. If something is bothering him, he’ll tell you. What are your plans this weekend?”
“I have to work the early shift at the coffee shop tomorrow and Sunday, but Rodney invited me out tomorrow night.”
“Oh, really. I need to make sure I’m home so I can meet him.”
“Oh God, Daddy. It’s not even a real date. We just don’t want it to be uncomfortable between us at prom, so we’re going out to break the ice.”
He chuckled. “I don’t care, Bunny. What time will he be here to pick you up?”
She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Seven.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Fine. I’m going to my room.”
She kissed her father’s cheek again before disappearing to her room.
It was eight o’clock, and her shift at the coffee shop began at five a.m., which meant she had to be up by at least three forty-five.
After a quick shower, she set her alarm and crawled into bed, and as soon as she got comfortable, Lynx called.
“Hey,” she answered.
“You in bed?”
“Yep. I have an early shift tomorrow. What’s up?”
“I got a date for prom.”
Fateema didn’t recall Lynx telling her about anyone he was thinking of asking to prom, so she had no clue who he would ask at the last minute.
“You… really? Who?”
“Tati.”
She didn’t expect her best friend to say Tatiana Shaw, Rodney’s ex-girlfriend.
“Rodney’s ex?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you serious? Why would you ask her to prom?”
“Because it’s in a week, and she didn’t have a date. I felt bad for her.”
“Oh, it’s a sympathy date? Or did you do it to get under Rodney’s skin?”
“Fuck Rodney. I don’t care what he thinks or how he feels. It sounds like you’re bothered that I asked her.”
“Well, I hope you aren’t expecting us to sit together. How weird would that be?” she asked, ignoring his last statement.
“Rodney wouldn’t sit with us anyway. He has to stick with all of his lame-ass friends who stroke his ego all day. I hope you have fun with his obnoxious ass.”
“Whatever, Lynx. I plan to have the best night of my life.”
Fateema ended the call, wondering what Lynx’s motive was. He’d never spoken about Tatiana, so his news came as a surprise. Dismissing her thoughts about it, she connected her phone to the charger and was asleep minutes later.