"Yo Ben, we need to go".
The boy standing in front of Benjamin wore a ski mask covering the bottom half of his face, showing only his white eyes and wavy hair with brown tips. Seeing him made Benjamin's smile grow. His presence made it seem like everything was going to be okay, even though he seemed distressed.
"Who's this Benji?" Kofi asked, stepping forward.
"It's fine", Benjamin said, raising his hand. "He's my friend".
"Yo, I'm Malakai Junior", he quickly introduced himself to Benjamin's friends. All the guys looked at him and gave him a little nod.
"What happened?" Benjamin asked.
"I think I pissed off a lot of people; they're all looking for me", Malakai replied, checking his shoulders.
"What did you do?" Benjamin asked, looking at Malakai, constantly turning his head.
"Threw a few blunts and pills, smashed a few needles and blew cocaine off a few tables", Malakai listed.
Benjamin's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped. He really did fuck up the party. Benjamin's friends all looked at each other.
"You're messing around with our product?" Tevon questioned from behind Benjamin.
"Tev!" Benjamin said, trying to stop him.
"Your product?" Malakai replied, looking past Benjamin.
"Mally, forget what he said", Benjamin said, stepping in front of Malaki to block his vision of Tevon.
"Yeah, we sold all of that and your fucking about with it", Tevon continued with a straight face.
"Malakai didn't mean it. He always takes the piss. He jokes around too much", Benjamin said, not wanting them to fight.
Malakai raised his eyebrows. "You sold it, so why do you care what happens to it? You got your bread, and you probably made a profit. Your supplier will be happy, no?" Malakai replied, not feeling intimidated.
Tevon didn't expect that response. He smirked, "Benji, you've got a funny friend", he said. "I can see why your new life is only good. You probably didn't know how to describe it with this dumbass as your friend", Tevon said, pointing at Malakai. Malakai didn't reply, but he smiled under his ski mask. Benjamin was slightly embarrassed by the compliment and the dynamic between his two different friends.
"Go", Jamar said out of the blue.
"Huh", Benjamin turned to him.
"Looks like your friend needs you. We've talked enough. The next time we see, you better have more stories", Jamar told him.
"Oh shit did I disturb a reunion", Malakai said. "My bad, it's calm. You can stay here Ben and talk more if you want. Imma try get Willy and Lu, but if I can't, imma text you".
"Wait, I'll", before Benjamin could finish what he was going to say, he turned to his friends. They all nodded and indicated that it was fine to go.
"Benji, go. The longer you stay and talk with us, the more you'll feel sorry for us", Tevon said. "Like J said, the next time we meet, you better have more stories".
Benjamin didn't want to leave, but if he stayed with them, he would never want to leave. He went to each of them and gave them a brotherly hug. Even though they said we'll meet again soon, it wasn't certain. Benjamin didn't know if he'd ever see some of them again. It was true Benjamin would go back to Nashville during winter break, but who knows if they'll be there. Will they be there or in another state selling cocaine? They say freedom is priceless. A quote that got screamed in Benjamin's neighbourhood. Benjamin was about to leave his friends. Friends who were risking their freedom for extra cash. People got taken away or died in Benjamin's neighbourhood frequently, but that was out of his control. This time, it felt like when he'd leave them, they would be gone, and if he ever did see them again, they wouldn't be the same people. Was this out of his control, too? If he did stay, what would happen? Nothing right? They would talk some more until the party was over and go their separate ways. Maybe in that time, Benjamin could persuade them against selling cocaine. Did he have the power to change minds? Was he that good of a speaker? He isn't a kid, after all. He's grown up. He understands the world. He's lived life. He has seen shit other people see in movies. What doesn't he understand? 18 years old… 18 years old… Is 18 years old still a kid?
"Who should we get first?" Malakai asked, taking off his hoodie.
Benjamin snapped back to reality, "Huh. Why are you taking off your hoodie?" he said, following Malakai.
"Someone might recognise me if they see this hoodie", Malakai replied. He tied his hoodie around his waist and pulled his ski mask down to show his full face.
"Why're you pulling down your mask? You said someone might recognise you", Benjamin asked; everything was happening so fast.
"They won't recognise my face, but they'll recognise my outfit. You know I stole someone's mask and started wearing it when I was fucking about", Malakai replied.
Benjamin stopped walking. "Mally, wait", Benjamin stopped him.
Malakai turned around, "What?".
"Erm. It's about my friends. They're not bad people", Benjamin timidly said. "I know they said it was their product, but it's not what it looks like", he didn't know how he could make it look good.
"Ben, it's calm", Malakai replied. "I knew people who sold weed", he shrugged.
"I'm talking about cocaine here", Benjamin said, thinking Malakai wasn't getting his point.
"I mean, I knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy that sold cocaine", Malakai replied, trying to cheer him up. Benjamin looked away in disappointment thinking Malakai wasn't taking him seriously. "Look, my point is I don't care. Their reasons for doing this are the same reason some of my friends back home were doing it. To survive and feed their families", he said.
"It's just I don't want you to get the wrong idea about them", Benjamin said, looking back up at Malakai.
"I don't", Malakai truthfully replied. "This life ain't fair, you know. Some people are born with a silver spoon, and others aren't born with anything. It's not their fault for being born in that environment".
"I'm guessing you're shocked at my upbringing. I didn't tell you guys about my childhood", Benjamin said, looking at the dirty floor to avoid eye contact.
"I mean, I kinda figured it out when we were coming here. When we were in that alleyway you didn't cover your nose when it stank of weed. It didn't surprise you like Willy and Lu, so I kinda got an idea from that", Malakai replied.
Benjamin lowered his head. "Are you going to look at me differently now?" he shyly asked.
"Na, why would I? What did you do? Sell weed?" Malakai questioned.
"Yeah, I helped them", Benjamin embarrassingly answered.
"So what if you did? I don't care. Some of my childhood friends are drug dealers", Malakai replied, smiling showing it was okay. "You did it to help your family. If you did it to act cool or for fun, then I would be judging you", he said.
Benjamin smiled at Malakai's honesty. He was glad Malakai was the one who found out about his past; he knew he would be the most understanding of all the guys. "Could you keep my past a secret from the guys?" he asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I think they would understand if you told them though", Malakai replied.
"Yeah, I'm sure they would, but everyone's got their unconscious thoughts and feelings. I'm sure one or two of them would feel a type of way, not cause they want to but unconsciously", Benjamin rambled. "I wouldn't blame them though. A drug dealer is a bad guy in the face of the law", he quietly said.
"Who cares? You're here at this academy. The past is the past", Malakai said, walking away. "Let's get Lu and Willy; I'm starting to get paranoid".
Benjamin smiled and followed him. "The past is the past", he mumbled to himself.
Malakai and Benjamin walked through the party, trying to spot one of their friends. The number of people at the party decreased; it was a few minutes past midnight, so technically, Halloween was over. People were starting to leave or they were passed out on the seats or floor, making the party's volume look less. It was mostly the students who were leaving as they had classes in the morning. They continued to search until Benjamin noticed a familiar top hat.
"Mally, isn't that Lu?" Benjamin asked, tapping Malakai's shoulder to show where he was looking. They could only see the back of the guy sitting down, so they couldn't tell if it was Lucas.
"There's two girls hanging off him, so it's probably him", Malakai replied. The two of them walked over to the guy with the top hat, and as they got closer, they heard him giggling.
"Hehehehe. Then I punched him because he said my outfit wasn't good. Like how could he say that. Look at my outfit".
"What's he talking about?" Benjamin asked as they could hear the conversation as they approached.
"He's chatting shit to try and get laid", Malakai replied, shaking his head. He got closer and removed the top hat from the guy, revealing nice, silky golden hair. It was Lucas. Lucas tried tilting his head back to see who took his hat off but could only see the ceiling.
"Who took off my hat?" He asked.
"Lu, it's time to go home", Malakai said, holding his top hat.
"Wait, I know that voice", Lucas said. He freed his hands that were around the two girls and swivelled on his chair to look behind him. "Mally! Ben!" He said, seeing the two standing. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Lu, we have to go", Benjamin told him.
"Why?" Lucas looked down at his watch, "It's only midnight", he said.
"You can tell the time?" Malakai said, slightly impressed. "Aren't you drunk?" He asked.
"No, I'm tipsy. I'm better at taking alcohol now", Lucas corrected him, looking proud of himself.
"Taking alcohol. Great English", Malakai said, mocking him. "Anyway, Lu, let's go".
"No! I'm staying here", Lucas refused like a spoilt kid.
Malakai and Benjamin looked at each other and nodded. They knew what they had to do.
"Awwww, why don't you want to stay?" One of the girls asked.
"We have to go. It's past my bedtime", Malakai replied, taking the piss.
"Bedtime? You've got a bedtime?" The girl replied. The flashing lights were making it hard for Malakai to see her properly, but he could tell she was cute. The girl on the left had black hair, while the other had blonde hair.
"I don't think someone with a scar like that on their nose would have a bedtime", the other girl joined in. "Why don't you stay here and tell us how you got it".
"I was awake at 3 am, and the monster under my bed attacked me. That's why I have a bedtime", Malakai replied, still taking the piss.
"Mally, why are you lying? You do all-nighters all the time", Lucas interrupted. "You said you diagnosed yourself with insomnia". Malakai looked at Lucas like he had ruined everything.
"Oh, someone's lying. It's not good to lie", the blonde girl flirtingly said.
"Don't worry about him. He's a real joker; he tells jokes all the time", Lucas said, placing his arm around her.
Malakai sighed loud enough that Benjamin could hear; Benjamin knew he had to help him.
"Lu, we have class tomorrow. The longer you stay here, the more you'll regret it in the morning", Benjamin said, trying to help Malakai.
"It's fiiiinneee. I can miss tomorrow's classes. You can tell me what I missed", Lucas replied, waving his hand to shoo Benjamin away.
"No I ain't!" Benjamin exclaimed. "If you don't show up, that's your problem", he said, annoyed.
"Boys, there's three of you and two of us. We can make this work", the girl with darker hair said, leaning forward.
"The numbers don't match up", Malakai replied, sounding uninterested.
"They don't have to", she seductively said.
"I've got someone waiting for me at home, so I'm good", Malakai calmly replied.
"Oh, now the numbers do match up", she said.
"I'm taken", Benjamin quickly replied.
"Lies. Both of you are single. You don't have girlfriends", Lucas snitched.
"Oh, lying again", she said. "It's fine if you two don't want to. We got him", she cupped Lucas's chin.
Malakai face palmed, breathed in and breathed out. "Aryt look, he's gay", he said, pointing at Lucas.
"What?" Everyone was confused.
"His boyfriend's waiting for him", Malakai continued. The girls quickly figured out he was lying again, and they gave amused smiles and played along. It was clear that they weren't leaving with Lucas or either of them, so they stopped persisting.
"Huh", Lucas looked at Malakai. He then looked at the two girls. "No, I'm not. I'm not gay".
"Ben", Malakai quickly said. On that signal, Malakai and Benjamin quickly grabbed Lucas while he was totally off guard and dragged him out of the chair. When Lucas eventually realised what they were doing, he started thrashing around.
"LET GO!" Lucas shouted, trying to get out of their grasp. Benjamin was mainly doing the heavy lifting, with his arms around Lucas. Benjamin was stronger than Lucas, but keeping Lucas still was still a hard task. Malakai was also grabbing Lucas's arms to stop him from swinging.
"I DON'T WANNA GO!" Lucas continued to shout, but his efforts were effortless. He was getting dragged away; he couldn't fight back as he was tired and was already feeling sluggish.
"CALL MEE!! I GAVE YOU MY NUMBER!" He shouted to the girls.
The girls laughed at what they were seeing. "Your friend said you were gay, so I don't think it will work out! You can give me his number! You said he was single!" The girl replied, pointing at Malakai or Benjamin, Lucas couldn't tell.
Benjamin laughed. The whole party, Lucas flirted with those two girls, only for it to fall through because Malakai said he was gay. Lucas heard the girls reply, and Benjamin's laugh discouraged him even more. He stopped moving,
"You can let me go now", he said dejectedly.
"Okay", Benjamin replied, letting go. Malakai also let go.
"Both of you ruined it. I was gonna have sex", Lucas said disappointedly.
"With which one?" Malakai asked, giving Lucas his top hat back.
"Both of them", Lucas replied, putting his hat back on.
"No you weren't!" Benjamin replied, shaking his head. "I was not gonna let you in the dorm if you brought them with you".
"Why are you acting like you're the owner? It's OUR dorm!" Lucas furiously replied.
"Bro, it doesn't matter. They aren't interested in you anymore", Malakai said, checking his shoulders just in case.
"AND WHOS FAULT IS THAT?!" Lucas shouted at Malakai.
"Yeah, yeah, I don't care", Malakai brushed Lucas off. "Let's get Willy and get out of here", he said, walking ahead.
"I don't think it'll be hard to find him", Benjamin said, scanning the area.
"I saw him at the bar when I was getting a drink," Lucas said. His mood was fragile. One second, he was happy, and another, he was sad. Right now, he was happy as he reminisced about the start of the party.
"Aryt, where's the bar?" Malakai asked.
"Follow me", Lucas cheerfully said, skipping in front of them.
The three quickly made it to the bar and immediately saw William. Well, they didn't see William; they saw a white sheet sitting on a table with what looked like its head resting on the table. Unless William took off his costume, it had to be him.
"That's Will, right?" Benjamin asked.
"Only one way to find out", Malakai said. He walked towards the guy and slapped what looked like his head. The figure moved slightly. Malakai gave him another slap.
"Grmmmhhh", he grumbled.
"Yo", Malakai said. No response. He looked to his friends, unsure if he should slap him again or do something more.
"No, Mally, you have to do this", Lucas said, walking towards the guy. He went to the table, grabbed the guy's shoulder, and lifted his face off the table.
"Wait Lu, it might not be William", Benjamin said, but it was already too late.
"Will, we have to go", Lucas said to the guy. They saw two brown eyes squint open through the holes of the costume where the eyes were supposed to be.
"Lucas?" It was William. "What time is it?" he mumbled.
"It's time for school", Malakai said from behind Lucas.
"School? I can miss it, right?" William slowly replied.
"Will, we have to go. I don't know why, but we have to go", Lucas said.
"Why?" William sluggishly asked.
"I don't know", Lucas answered.
Malakai shook his head. He couldn't be bothered to deal with them. He turned his head and noticed a bag on a nearby table. Malakai went towards the bag and briefly looked inside; it looked like it was full of sweets.
"Who's bag is this?" Malakai asked a guy nearby.
"No one. It is for everyone to grab sweets from", he replied.
Malakai looked around and saw nobody nearby, so he took the bag. He turned around and,
bump!
Malakai quickly pulled up his ski mask to cover his mouth and nose. "My bad", he apologised.
"Watch where you're going, man", the guy stumbled. Malakai was looking down and avoided eye contact. The guy was taller than Malakai, so he could only see his hair and outfit. "Wait, those sneakers", he said, looking down at Malakai's feet. His eyes wandered their way up to Malakai's waist, "That black hoodie". Malakai kept his head down but. "HEY! YOU'RE THAT GUY THAT MESSED AROUND WITH US! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY WE SPENT TO GET THOSE DRUGS!"
Malakai lifted his head and sighed,
"I was so close".