From the stall next to me, I hear Leon's voice.

"Yo, he bounced?" he asks loud, trying to whisper but homeboy ain't got that skill.

"Don't know, you check," I tell him.

"Are you crazy? I ain't moving from here," he replies like he didn't just ask me to do the same indirectly.

"And me walking out would be cool? Do I look like a girl to you?"I snap.

Sighing, I drop on the throne. Commode.  School just started, if someone catches us pulling this stuff, we're toast. Plus, all our fun will be over. It'll turn into a straight-up nightmare.

"Man, I'm cool with getting in trouble for anything but this... we look like straight-up creeps," Leon admits, annoyed, taking a long sigh. 

After playing rock, paper, scissors, I had to go and check if the coast was clear. I should've never played, and it's not like I'm not aware of my luck.

"I hope she didn't snitch," I tell him when I come to get him because the path is crystal clear and no teacher is in sight.

"Nah, dude, she ain't that type," he tells me.

"I gotta admit, she was pretty dope and savage," I finally say after struggling to hold back the urge.

"Are you seriously saying that after she clocked you in the face?" he says, staring into the distance, probably imagining how she was slumped.

"And that was what was cool”

“You should see a doc bro,” he tells me.

As we walk down the halls, we find out that the teachers are coming out of their classes. Finally, the school's out.

Staring into the distance, Leon comes to a sudden stop and sharply looks at me.

"She spoke more than 'yes' and 'no' to us, bro," Leon says to me, dead serious.

"What! Now that I think about it... she never speaks to anyone else but Rois and Eva, but...bro, she came to our place twice and I had her reply a-and she just…she knows it was me!" I blabber as the realization hits me “She saw me dying to use the toilet. Leon!” I cry faltering to my knees.

"What happened to you?" Leon exclaims, elated at the sight of me clinging to his hand and on my knees.

“she - she saw me. She was in it before too! Bro!” I cry.

"O hell naw” he covers his mouth with his hand.

"And what was she doing in that bathroom? dude?" I crisscross my legs sitting right there, holding my head in my both hands. 

sh*t

sh*t

"Oh yeah, actually, no, that's extra delusional, she was just skipping class," he tries to make me feel any better "Let's go back to class and see how she acts?" he says.

“And what after that?” I look at him through the hands covering my face. 

He slaps his hands on his chest “On lord, if she says a word to anyone, imma knock her out”

I gulp. 

sh*t.

 Why her out of all the others? As if she hadn’t seen enough she had to see this all too?

"Umm…hey," someone says from behind.

"Should we?" I ask him quickly getting to my feet.

"No way, never stop!" and answering me he strikes his feet and I follow.

"Wait..guys.." another person says from behind. They are both girls.

"Should we at least look back and take a look at them?" he mutters.

"Nah, bro. What do the old folks say?" I whisper.

"Never look back," he answers.

A moment later, we both looked back. We failed.

Smiling Leon says "Were you girls calling us for too long?"

"Ha..ha..not really," the girl with a long ponytail manages to speak while panting and the other one with buns has put her hands on her knees and is bent, trying to catch her breath. We weren’t even walking that fast.

"Oops, our bad, we couldn’t hear?" jerk says, smiling a little apologetically as if we really didn’t just tell each other no one’s quotes to not stop for them.

"We just wanted to say that earlier," the ponytail one’s voice starts literally shaking.

"-you were really cool," the one with buns comes to her rescue as soon as she realizes her friend’s voice is about to break.

"Could I get your number?" a third girl arrives wearing her bag.

"Sure, why not?" Leon says looking delighted.

Yeah, sure why not? Then give them your number, you weirdo. I was cool too and all the girls were asking this goof!

"Any chance you girls are third years?" he asks, smiling and ruffling his hair.

Does he think he looks good doing that? No, you look like a bean sprout you idiot! I turn my head away from secondhand embarrassment.

"Oh, we are!" the two girls squeal in unison "How did you know?"

"Oh. don’t worry you don’t look like it..I just.." he tries to cover.

The dark circles stretched to their cheekbones because of how hard two years had been on them. Of Course, you look like it! And it's how he knew too.

Jeez, bro. You shouldn’t cover it like that. They didn’t ask if they looked like it and now they will think they definitely think they look old.

"The aura and mature personality gave it away," I say, saving his ass. They both look at me and I can’t help but notice how haggard they look "Although you two look really tired I mean check out those dark rings"

Sh*t. It slipped.

The poor girls laugh. "Oh I like it you’re really honest," The one with buns states. I thought they would start crying, it was hurtful after all. Glad, I take a deep breath.

After saving his number in their phones he puts his arm on my shoulder, putting his weight on me.

"Done," he winks.

"Oh I am a first year by the way," the third girl who just joined states like it was an obvious fact and looks at her phone and smiles "See you guys around" and with that she walks away.

"Don't hit me up at, like, midnight, okay?" the jerk says, smirking as I look away again.

They got his number, so why are they still hanging around? Some other girls are heading our way too. Is bro really waiting for them?

"I'm out, catch you later," I tell them, grabbing the goofball by the collar and dragging him away. When we turn the corner, I can hear them squealing. Seems like they really waited all that time after the performance prepping themselves for this.

“Dude you give me secondhand embarrassment,” I tell him, stuffing things in my bag in the class.

"same bro whenever I have to accompany you to the loo-," he tells me.

“Shut-shut-shut up!," I counter “Can things get any worse for me!”

Before Bro could reply, a tuft of black, fluffy hair popped up from behind his shoulders.

"Move," and with just one word, Bro is shoved aside with a single hand as Tanaka marches away with a big bandage on her forehead.

I can practically hear Bro internally screaming.

When the class is finally empty, the dude unfreezes and says, "the way she moved me aside—"

"—so cool," I fill in. 

"Correct”