Darius & Chayla Ch. 2
DARIUS POV
He pulled into the parking lot of Froyo 101 and saw Chayla sitting at the counter, not really eating her frozen yogurt. She looked upset and he could see her friend talking with her hands. No doubt saying things like, “Don't nobody care what he thinks,” and “Don’t let me catch him in these streets,” and more of the same. Her friend’s hands were clapping harder and harder with each word. He almost didn’t want to go in but he needed to apologize. And he couldn’t do that sitting in his truck.
He tentatively stepped out, taking his time gathering his keys, phone and wallet. He shut the door and stared at the yogurt shop. He could still back out of this but he knew that wouldn’t be right. An apology was the only thing he should be doing right now. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward until his hand was on the door and he was entering inside the froyo shop.
Immediately, two pairs of eyes were on him; one sad and one mad as hell. He was in it now. No turning back. Technically, he still could turn back but he wouldn’t dream of it.
“Un uh. Take your sorry ass back where the f--”
“Trina!” Chayla stopped her before she could finish. Chayla leaned forward and whispered something into her angry friend’s ear and immediately, Trina walked into the back.
He was about to go over to Chayla when Trina poked her head back for a minute. “Okay girl, but you let me know if you need anything,” She said to Chayla. Then to him she said, “And you better not hurt my friend again. Or so help me--”
“Trina, please.”
“Fine.” And she disappeared in a huff.
Darius slowly approached the counter and hovered over the stool next to her. “May I?”
She nodded.
He plopped down next to her, staring straight forward. He didn’t know where to begin but he had to start somewhere. He figured he’d just get on with it.
“Look, I’m sorry for how I behaved earlier. That was harsh and you didn't deserve that. I was just really--”
“I’m sorry.” She held up her hand. “I don’t mean to cut you off but I’m the one who should apologize. I was rude and judgmental. I shouldn’t have assumed you were just some ho-popular jock.” She blushed on that last part, suddenly heavily interested in her froyo. “But I am truly sorry.”
“You know what? Why don’t we call it even? You’re sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” She agreed.
He didn’t know where to go from here. She was still staring at her melted yogurt, refusing to look at him. He didn’t know much about her but from the little interaction they had, this didn’t seem like her. She felt like a shrunken down version of the fiery girl he met earlier. He wanted to get that girl back. But how?
He gave it a little bit of thought and decided to get her to talk about herself. Maybe she would get some of that fire back in her eyes.
“So can I ask you a question?” he posed. He had to be careful with this. She was like a fragile deer. Any sudden moves, and she’d bolt or worse, get scared and somehow that would be the time when her friend would come back out and give him what for.
“I guess.” She shrugged. Still no eye contact.
“Why are--I mean, why do you want to do this interview?” He paused, testing the waters. She seemed fine so he pressed on. “From the articles you usually do--”
“You read my other articles?” She whipped her head up to look at him.
“I skimmed through a few, yes.” Now it was his turn to blush. “Well, spill.” He gestured for her to continue.
“I don’t know. I just . . . needed to branch out. You were right about me. I don’t have any extra plans. All I do is school and the paper day in and day out. And that won’t be enough to get me into Harvard. I always thought if I did well in school, I’d be a shoe in. But now I’m not so sure . . .” He could see her begin to crack.
“Okay, okay.” He soothed circles on her back, hoping Trina wouldn’t be coming out soon.
“Oh hell no.” Speak of the devil. “What did you do to my friend? That's it, it’s time for you to go.” She came around the counter with a broom.
“He didn’t do anything Trina. Geesh. I was . . . upset . . . about my yogurt. It melted.” She was lying, terribly he might add.
“Alright.” Trina responded slowly. Then supplied, “But I’m watching you.”
“Why don’t we take this outside.” Chayla got up from her seat, gesturing for him to follow.
He could still feel Trina’s gaze on him but it beat being in there, literally feeling her wrath radiate off her. Once outside, Chayla seemed to retreat into herself again and Darius felt he owed her another apology. But that wouldn’t get either of them what they wanted. He opted for another tactic instead.
“You have a really great friend there.” Flattery always won out, hands down. If he couldn’t poke and prod his way into her shell, maybe he could coax her out with compliments.
“I’m sorry about her. She can be a bit overprotective.”
“Is that such a bad thing? You always know you’ll have someone looking out for you.”
“I suppose,” She concluded, twiddling her thumbs. Then she seemed to reconsider. Looking back behind her and scooting closer to him, she cupped her hand over her mouth, indicating she had a secret to share. Even better than getting her fierce side to come out, there was a secret to be shared amongst only the two of them.
“Sometimes, she can be a bit overzealous. It just makes matters worse, ya know. And as you’ve clearly noticed, I can do bad all by myself. I don’t want to be this way. I mean, you saw what happened today. I didn’t have a leg to stand on and I made a fool of myself. When someone irks me or presses an issue, I retaliate and go for the most obvious, anything to go on the attack. I’m just as hotheaded as Trina, but once I realize I’ve gone too far, I try to come back to common sense and reality. And that’s not an excuse. I should learn to control my temper. If I had, I wouldn’t be in this mess. I’m really sorry.”
“Bullshit!”
“Excuse me?” She cocked her head to the side, looking ready to cuss me out.
“Hold on.” He chuckled. “Let me explain.”
He shifted, turning to face her so she could get the full effect of what he was about to say. She blinked rapidly then seemed to inhale deeply before returning his gaze.
“One, I can’t believe you just told me all of that. And I appreciate you for sharing that with me. I know how difficult that must have been for you. However, it’s all bullshit.” He could see her shaking with anger but she didn’t say anything, so assumed it was safe to continue.
“You marched straight into the weight room and demanded I notice you. You didn’t turn your nose up at the smell, although I’m sure you were gagging on the inside. Not only did you withstand the smell, you endured the stares from all the guys. Even when I was yelling at you. You're a badass and you have nothing to apologize for and I don’t ever want to hear you downplay yourself. And you weren’t entirely wrong about me.” He nudged his shoulder into hers.
A soft blush spread across her cheeks as she looked away. “Maybe, but I still should have said what I said. So I’m sorry.”
He just laughed. He couldn’t help himself. There was so much about her he didn’t know and what little he did know didn’t add up. How could she be so strong and dare he say cocky when they were in the gym, but around her friend, she was this mouse who’d rather run and hide? Was it just today, because of what he said to her or was she forced to back down because of Trina’s more dominant personality?
She seemed to wake up from her stupor and face him again. He was running out of things to say. He didn’t want their time together to end just yet. Then an idea struck him.
“How would you feel about a proposition?”
She peered over at him. “What kind of proposition?”
CHAYLA POV
“Let me get this straight, you’re going to help me get into Harvard and I’m going to, what was it you said?”
“Help me shed my ‘football guy’ exterior,” he answered.
“Un huh. And how do you propose we do that?”
So he explained how I would shadow him doing things outside of football and he would help me find interests outside of school. He’d even help me rewrite my interview questions and craft the profile.
This sounded like he was trying to take control of writing his own narrative. Which I believed every person had the right to do, however, as a journalist, I reserved the right to get the facts out there. If after all their “hanging out” it turned out he was just a football guy, that’s what I’d write.
Yet when he smiled at me, my insides melted and I could see myself doing anything he asked of me. Short of committing a felony. Well, it depended on if they could get the charges dropped down to a misdemeanor.
What was I thinking? I was trying to get into Harvard. I couldn’t afford to have charges on my record. I couldn’t even afford to get distracted by an attractive boy who had no idea what his pearly white smile and sexily arched eyebrows were doing to my innards.
“You okay out here girl?” Trina broke through my thoughts. And thank goodness. It was headed south fast and I needed to steer them back to the conversation at hand. Trin looked between me and Darius and squinted, trying to read both our minds.
“We’re good. Better than good,” I told her, shooing her away. Once she was gone, I turned to Darius and said, “Okay, you have a deal.” Then I stuck out my hand for him to shake.
He stared at it for a second but slowly his smile grew from genuine to sexy before he grabbed my hand and shook firmly. My whole body shivered. He definitely noticed because his smile grew from sexy to smug and his eyes had a certain mischievous twinkle to them. What had I gotten myself into?
“So I’ll call you with the details for this weekend.” He held out his hand and I stared at him for a minute to realize he wanted my phone. I handed it over and watched him add his number.
“Wait, what? This weekend?” I balked, just now realizing what he’d said.
“Yeah. I’m sure you have a deadline to meet. And I don’t want to waste your time.”
“You’re not wasting my time!” I respond rather quickly. Then much more calmly. “I mean, it’s whatever you want.”
Oh god I sound like a fangirl. He’s not even that hot. Okay, maybe he is but still.
He just smiled that megawatt smile of his and I melted. Darius Lyons will be the death of me, for sure.
“See ya.” He hopped in his truck and took off. I just stood there, basking in this warm feeling.
Moments later, I came back inside the shop and Trina pounced on me before I even get a word out.
“So, what was that all about?”
“He wants to help me get into Harvard. In exchange, I’ll help him shed his jock persona. Or something like that.” I gave the condensed version, knowing Trina would talk me out of this.
“Ha! How’s he going to do that? He doesn’t know the first thing about you.” She walked back to the counter and sat a new bowl in front of me. Plain frozen yogurt with blueberries and mango pieces. Plain and simple just like me.
I realized this yogurt was just like me. And that’s why I would never get into Harvard. Not the way I normally was. All I ever did was play it safe, keep my mouth shut, never rocked the boat (except the few times I did), kept it simple and plain.
Yet somehow with Darius, I had a chance to shake things up. Whenever he said something, I’d speak my mind. Whenever he was near me, I felt emboldened to do things I’d never done before. Darius made me want to step outside my comfort zone and not stay silent or play it safe. And if he could make me feel all these things, maybe he could help me get into Harvard. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad idea, the two of us working together.
“I think it could be good.” I spoke softly. Then more firmly, “I actually think it could work. His idea. He has a ton of friends from all backgrounds and I’m sure does stuff outside of football; maybe he could find something for me to do that would set me apart from other applicants.”
I lied on that last part. But we had barely begun, so who’s to say it’s a lie. Darius might be the thing I’ve been missing all these years.
“I’ve been trying to get you involved in the theater for years,” Trina informed me. And she had. I was just never interested in theater. Being on stage, the center of attention, remembering lines, then having to actually recite them without fail, it wasn't for me.
“And I appreciate your valiant efforts, but my talents lie elsewhere. I just don’t know where yet.”
“And you think Darius is going to help you? You wanna know what I think?” Trina arched her perfectly plucked eyebrow.
I actually did not. Judging from the look on her face, she was going to tell me that he was up to no good and was just using me. Somehow, Trina saw the worst in everyone. Sometimes I wondered how we even became friends, but then again, I was judgmental, so maybe we gravitate towards one another because we’re so much alike.
Which was a good thing I guess because lately, I had been kind of hating it. Trina was doing all these amazing things in her life, while I still didn’t want to be a part of, I felt like I was missing out. She was going off to theater camp the summer before college, to better her chances in getting picked for lead roles. She also worked with the design staff on the paper, so if theater didn’t pan out right away, she could at least design the programs and update their page on the school website. All of which she has informed me of numerous times.
And me, all I could say was I was good at school and writing. But colleges didn’t want just another good student. They wanted someone who could draw attention to their school through social media. An avenue I hardly ever used. I always said my grades would speak for myself. Yet clearly they were saying I was dull and boring.
Thus, if Darius could make me seem more . . . adventurous, exciting, fun even, then I had to try. And Trina should understand that. She should know how important getting into college was for black girls like us. While we weren’t the only black kids in our class, there weren’t that many like us. Me a nerd and Trina a theater geek. College was our chance to meet people just like us and get away from this small town.
“I think Darius is using you,” Trina finally admitted.
Yep, here it comes.
“He just wants to get close to you so he can fuck you. That’s all guys like him want. I mean, why else would he prompt this ridiculous little team up? No offense.”
“No offense? Why else?” I stood abruptly. “What the hell was that supposed to mean? Like I’m such a loser he could never want to hang out with me?”
“No, I just meant what could he really do to help you get into college. You’re the smartest person I know, you could go anywhere you want. So what more could he really do to help?”
“Contrary to what you believe, I couldn’t just get into any college I wanted. Not on just writing for the paper alone. And you know that. And instead of just pushing your passions, you could have tried to help me find mine. But you laugh like Darius wanting to hang out with me is some kind of joke. Well, whether he’s using me or not, at least he’s not pretending to try and help me. Which is more than I can say for you” And with that, I collected my things and left Froyo 101.
