I usually come to 1st period early, jaws stretching wide like a dragon’s gaping mouth and exhaling a singeing yawn
my body feels fresh out of hybernation as i shuffle to my desk
I sit down, dreading the upcoming day
Asia barges into the room like a battering ram
loud and destructive
as always her clothes are boa constricting
and she walks with a practiced switch
i remember yesterday when she was telling the class about another one of her weekend
“sexcapades “
how some 13 year old went down on her
as if that’s something anybody wants to hear
upon remembrance i immediately put my head down hoping she doesn’t see me
when the door opens again my friend Mollie walks in
usually he has a smile of sunshine and walks lightly with a grasshopper spring in his steps
today his steps are like lead
there is no smile, only pain in his irises
i know a lot about Mollie
His father has been playing peek-a-boo with his childhood since he was born
and his stepfather is an alcoholic with drunken fists of non-discretion
he was birthed into a world he wasn’t ready for
where battering punches take the place of love
i lift my head up and say hi
he says what’s up, sits down, and puts his earphones in
i put my head back on my desk
minutes later, when the bell blares through the intercom
Daniel slides smoothly into the room
he is hovering over a wad of $20 bills like a mother over a newborn
Asia yells his name
“Daniel!! Why you hella black!??”
he answers cooly
“I don’t know. But I’m still hella icy with 2 racks in my hands”
of course Asia responds by asking him for his number
I remember the 1st time i met Daniel
he told me about how over the weekend he was running from broken black boys with guns
how going to Richmond, for him, was like diving headfirst on a bed of spikes
Daniel sits at his desk
his gold Jesus piece clacks against the table as my teacher starts talking
just then Duma walks into class
he has the rough, violent, tongue of a sailor
when he enters the classroom he wanders around like a nomad
deliberately getting on every one's nerves
Daniel greets him as he circles back around the room in a vulture-like descent
“Ayye!!! What’s good Davon”
Duma replies
“What’s up Nigga!”
as if Davon was his name
since rosaries are in at the moment, he has one strung around his kneck yet we all know he’s not christian
Duma is a motherless child who says bitch a lot
he always talks about how he doesn’t trust women
he thinks of them as butterflies beautiful and majestic, but they don’t tend to stay around long enough
About halfway through class Jonathon walks in
today his bloodshot eyes are droopy and he has a dazed look
he only comes once a month or when we have a sub
and when that happens he shoots dice in the back with Duma and Daniel