A.N. 4/14/17- I'm currently editing all the chapters and getting a feel for the whole story again and then I'll be on my way to finishing the story up. No serious changes to the story for those who have already read them, just fixing up some grammar and sentence structure. For those of you who are reading this for the first time, enjoy! :)

I sighed as I glanced down at my schedule. My classes were everywhere; I was upstairs, downstairs, outside in the other building and then back upstairs. All of my classes were practically on different sides of the school. Long at last though, I was in my last class of the day. I had been looking forward to it all day long, Honors Black History. I was so excited about taking this class because Woodcrest, my old school, didn't offer an black oriented classes in the curriculum. When I had found out that Lane Tech had offered it, I nearly screamed.

Sure, I was in Chicago instead of Maryland. I hated the idea of moving the moment my parents sat me down to talk about it. Why in the world would my parents move me out of state my senior year, in the middle of the school year? I had left behind my childhood home, my friends, memories, everything. I know it wasn't that big of a deal, but I didn't even know they were thinking about moving. They just called me down into the living room and said "Jazmine, we're moving to Chicago in three weeks." The only good thing that came out of this situation was that the new marking period just started. I wouldn't have to be playing catch up all semester long with my grades. I brushed my thoughts to the side as I recognized the room number of where I was supposed to be and went in to find the teacher. Her name was Ms. Smith, according to my schedule. She was a short, black woman with a TWA. "Uhm, hi Ms. Smith?" I said trying to get her attention away from the computer. She turned around to look at me and a smile bloomed on her face. "Jazmine DuBois?" She said a little more excitedly than I had expected. I nodded my head slowly. "Welcome baby girl! And let me just say, I love your hair."

I smiled, "Thank you. Where can I sit?" Ms. Smith glanced around as more students began to file into the classroom. "Just wait for everyone to file in and once the bell rings, sit wherever you want. I don't think I need to assign you a seat, do I?" I shook my head no and she nodded before heading out to stand in the hallway. I stood off to the side of the classroom, watching a bunch of kids file into the classroom. I was watching who went where and how they acted as they walked in, I didn't want to be stuck with someone who annoyed me the whole class period. The final bell rang and the last of the students came into class, everyone talking up a storm for the exception of a few kids. I searched the rows again, searching for a good seat and chose one that was in the middle but next to the window. I made my way to the desk and set my stuff on the side. I turned to greet my neighbor with a smile, "Hey, I'm Jazmine." He glanced at me slowly as he nodded. "Huey."

Instantly, my mood deflated. What in the hell? I kept looking at him, thinking that maybe he'd say something a little more than just his name. While I was staring though, I got a really good glance at him. He was… he was hot. I blushed and turned forward, not caring about his rudeness anymore. Even though I wasn't facing him, I couldn't help but glance over at him every now and then. He was scribbling in his notebook with a bored look on his face. I couldn't help but feel a little offended. Everyone else I had sat next to and met today was for the most part, really nice to me. I sighed and dismissed Huey all together. Ms. Smith had finally came into the classroom and she greeted the class. "And class, we have a new student today! Stand up babydoll and introduced yourself."

I made a face as I pushed my chair back and stood up. I waved at the class, "Hi. I'm Jazmine DuBois, I'm from Maryland." And with that I sat back down. I heard some guy say "damn" behind my back when I had stood up. I rolled my eyes and took out a clean notebook. Ms. Smith pulled up a powerpoint about the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and I leaned forward in my chair, absorbing every word she said. I could tell this was going to be my favorite class.

Huey had only talked to me when Ms. Smith had asked him to explain something to me or when I asked him a question. He was still completely indifferent about it, sounding as stoic as ever. After the third time I kind of just ignored it. Maybe it was just him or maybe he was in a shitty mood today. I guess I'd find out in the coming days which one it was. Other than that, class had gone okay. I talked to the girls in front of me a few times since they seemed nice enough. Even though I had liked the class, by the time the class had five minutes left, I was ready to be out the door. Ms. Smith had let us pack up, so I put all my stuff into my bag before popping in my headphones. I stared outside the window, noticing that the sky had turned a dark gray and instead of the light rain it was this morning, it was a slush mixture that was pouring down. I groaned, standing up as the bell rang and slinging my backpack on.

I wasn't in a rush to get out of the school, considering the horrible, cold weather and all. It had obviously gotten a lot colder, and the little hoodie I was wearing wasn't going to do much work in keeping me warm. I debated calling my parents but finally decided against it. They were both at work and it was their first day, I couldn't ask them to come out just to pick me up. Besides, they both worked at least forty-five minutes away. And that was only if the traffic and weather was decent by them. I groaned again. I had no choice but to walk home in the cold, slushy weather and get drenched.

"Gotta walk home, huh?" A voice said from behind me, making me jump a little.

I turned around to look at whoever just scared the bejesus out of me. "Oh, uh, yeah… I didn't know the weather would be like this." I shrugged, pointing to my hoodie. I glanced up at the boy who was talking to me. He smiled at me and ran his fingers through his jet black hair. "Nah, Chicago has some pretty confusing weather. I could give you a ride if you want?"

I hesitated for a moment. A guy I didn't know at all was offering to give me a ride? I was pretty trusting, but I wasn't stupid. I started to shake my head, trying to decline politely, "Oh no, you don't have to d-" I started, only to have him cut me off. "No problem, c'mon let's go. My friends are probably waiting at my car mad as hell by now." He chuckled as he started walking towards the parking lot. I followed after him as fast as I could have without losing my footing in the sleet. "So, are you new? You've popped up in a few conversations today."

I blushed. Was he being serious? "Yeah, I'm from Maryland. And seriously? That's crazy. It's only been a day."

I had finally caught up to him and we were walking side by side now. "Ha I know. Everybody talks at this school. And don't worry, all I heard was what the guys were saying, and none of it was bad." He paused. "Oh, I'm Hiro, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jazmine." The rain/sleet mixture picked up and the both of picked up the pace towards Hiro's car. Hiro groaned, "Damn, I knew I shoulda got a spot closer to the school." A minute or two later, I saw what had to be Hiro's car. It was practically the only car in the row and two guys were standing outside of it. As soon as we were close enough, one of them yelled. "Well got damn Hiro, could you walk any slower?!"

"Can it Michael. I was talking to Jazmine, said I'd drop her off." Hiro laughed as he unlocked the door to his little Honda Civic. Everyone climbed into the car at the same time, eager to get out of the cold. Hiro started the engine and turned the heat on as high as it could go. I set my bag in between my legs and put on my seatbelt. It wasn't until I was all situated that I noticed Huey was in the car next to me. I froze up for a minute, wondering if I should say hi but decided against it considering it was barely returned the first time.

"Damn it's brick." Michael mumbled as he breathed into his hands. He tugged his hat over his ears more, covering his dreads. "So, what street do you live on Jazmine?" I had to think for a moment. I had just moved in a couple of days ago and I kept thinking of my old address. "Uhhhh, Pleasant Ave?"

"Oh okay. That's the same street as Huey." Great, I thought to myself. I nodded my head and looked out the window as Hiro started to back out of the spot. I loved the rain, whether it was cold or hot, or just a mess like it was today. I droned out the voices of the boys, mostly Hiro and Michael since Huey wasn't talking much. Why was I not surprised? I had came to the conclusion that he didn't talk much. It was slightly relieving. If he wasn't talking to his friends, why would he talk to me? Before I knew it, Hiro stopped the car and Huey started to get out. I followed suit, gathering my bag. "Thanks Hiro, I owe you."

"Nah, it's not a problem. Want me to pick you up in the morning? It's not a hassle since I gotta get Huey anyways. Wouldn't wanna let a pretty girl like you walk in below freezing weather." I blushed and thought it over quickly. He seemed innocent enough. I nodded. "Sure, see you in the morning. What time should I be out here?"

Hiro shrugged his shoulders. "I'll honk for you."

"Alright, see you! Thanks again." I closed the door and turned around. I glanced around for Huey, catching him walking into his house. I sighed and shook my head. I needed to stop worrying over some boy who wouldn't even bother talking to me. Hiro pulled away and he honked as he sped past me. I waved and offered a smile as I crossed the street to head home. I had a crap load of homework to do, and I wanted to finish it and get a nap in before my parents got home.