Imani woke up to the faint smell of toast and scrambled eggs. For a moment, she lay still, confused by the relative calm. No voices, no arguing, no loud TV. Just the occasional clink of plates downstairs. She blinked at her phone. It was almost 10 a.m.
Saturday.
She stretched under the covers, sore from head to toe. The chaos of the past few days had finally hit her body like a truck. Her eyelids were still heavy, her limbs sluggish. She rolled over and checked her notifications.
Three new messages from Kayla. One was a meme. The other two were random TikToks. Typical. Imani smiled, heart warming slightly. At least something was still normal.
She pulled on her oversized hoodie and tiptoed downstairs.
Her mom was sitting on a stool by the kitchen island, scrolling through her phone while sipping coffee. Her stepdad, was by the stove, flipping pancakes. She froze at the sight of him. He looked... cheerful. Humming some old-school R&B tune while sprinkling blueberries into the batter.
"Morning," her mom said casually, not even glancing up.
"Hey," Imani mumbled.
He turned slightly, spatula in hand. "Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence."
She forced a tight smile. "Yeah. Long night."
He chuckled. "I bet. That boyfriend of yours didn't keep you up too late, did he?"
Imani's stomach turned. She grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge just to have something to hold. "It's not like that."
"Sure, sure," he said, flipping another pancake. "Just keepin' it friendly, huh?"
Her mom chuckled. "darlin, stop teasing her. She's grown."
Imani took her juice and fled upstairs.
She tossed herself onto the bed, face buried in a pillow. Every time the ma opened his mouth, her skin crawled. She turned her phone over and over in her hand.
Ping.
A message lit up the screen.
Noah: "Sup."
That was it.
She stared at the screen, the word echoing in her head like a ridiculous spell. It was so dry, so casual, but somehow it left her flustered.
She waited a moment, then typed:
Imani: "Just surviving. U?"
A few seconds later, he responded with a thumbs-up emoji.
She rolled her eyes, tossing the phone onto her blanket.
"It's fake. This whole thing is fake. You're not catching feelings for a guy who agreed to this out of pity and PR."
She needed a distraction. Something real. Something that didn't involve messy feelings and unreadable emojis.
Imani: "Kay, you free today? I need to escape."
Kayla: "Duh. You driving or am I?"
By noon, they were at Arcadia, the outdoor amusement park slash arcade that half the school raved about on weekends.
The sun was out. Kids were screaming from the top of the drop tower ride, music blared from every stall, and the smell of fried everything clung to the air. Imani found herself grinning more than she expected.
They played mini basketball, rode the spinning saucers, and downed corn dogs like champs. Kayla insisted they take pictures at every stop.
"This one's for when you're famous and too cool for me," Kayla joked, snapping a photo of Imani mid-bite.
"Shut up," Imani laughed. "I'll always be too cool for you."
They wandered near the slushy machines when Imani froze.
Malik.
He was laughing with some tall, pretty girl by the photo booth. His hand rested lightly on the girl's waist. She giggled at something he said.
He turned, catching sight of Imani.
His smile dropped.
"Crap," Imani whispered, turning slightly.
"Oh, no, no, no," Kayla said, grabbing her wrist. "We're not hiding. Hold your head high, queen."
"Kayla.."
"Let him see what he lost."
Malik walked over, awkward smile on his face. "Hey... Imani."
"Hey," she said flatly.
"You look good."
"I know."
He laughed nervously. "Listen, I didn't mean to... things got messy."
"Things got stupid," Kayla cut in. "And we're not here for rewinds."
Imani smirked, eyes cold. "Nice seeing you, Malik."
They walked off, arms linked.
By the time they got home, Imani was lighter.
She scrolled through their photos, laughing at the ones where Kayla looked like she was falling off a ride. She posted a few with sarcastic captions:
"When your bestie drags you to a place with screaming kids and regret."
She was mid-post when another notification came in.
A message request.
Jaylen: "Party tomorrow at my place. Bring the guy. Should be fun."
She paused.
Bring the guy?
She stared at her screen for a minute, then opened her chat with Noah.
Imani: "Hey. So... there's a party tomorrow. Wanna come? No pressure."
Noah replied ten minutes later.
Noah: "I don't really do parties. What kinda party?"
Imani: "House thing. Chill. Loud music. Drinks. Dumber people."
Noah: "So... high school."
She smiled.
Imani: "Pretty much."
Noah: "Don't expect me to dance. Also, what's the dress code , tragic or tragic with glitter?"
Imani: "Just come looking like you. That should be enough."
A beat of silence.
Then:
Noah: "Goodnight, Imani."
She stared at her screen.
Imani: "Night."
She tossed her phone to the nightstand and lay back in bed, staring at the ceiling.
" Why does my heart feel like it's playing a game I never agreed to?"
She closed her eyes.
Tomorrow was going to be interesting.