on the map//spencer 'spider' white

6

I walk off towards Spider who's coming out of the gym.

"Rhiannon," Spider greets.

"Spider," I say. "What's up?"

Spider smiles. "Coach chose me to attend district tryouts."

"For real?" I ask.

Spider nods. "Yeah."

"That's amazing, Spider," I tell him.

"Yeah, well coach also picked Malakai," Spider tells me.

"Is that a bad thing?" I ask.

"Coach wants us training together every spare minute," Spider tells me. "Wants us to motivate each other."

I laugh. "I'm sure you're going to be nothing but sunshine and rainbows to him."

Spider smirks. "I'll be nice."

"You can be nice?" I tease.

Spider puts his hands on my waist. "I'm nice to you." He leans closer to me. "Real nice."

I roll my eyes. "I should let you practice."

Spider groans. "You're such a tease."

"We're at school," I remind him.

"Well, what are you doing later?" Spider asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "We'll see."

"Rhiannon!" Spider shouts as I walk away.

Amerie walks over towards me and wraps her arm in mine. "I think Malakai was going to ask me out."

"Was?" I ask.

"Well, I didn't let him finish," Amerie explains.

"Amerie!" I shout. "You should be all over the new boy."

"I told you I swore off guys," Amerie says. "I'm gonna go try the environmentalist social justice club."

"Good luck with that," I tell her. "And with the abstinence thing. I give you three hours."

Amerie flips me off before heading into the gym.

Darren, Quinni, Amerie, and I are walking towards the gym. Apparently, the environmentalist social justice club didn't work out. But Amerie isn't totally out of options.

"Chess is cool now!" Amerie insists.

Darren laughs. "Is it?"

"It totally makes you smart and shit. And it teaches you to have the patience of a monk," Amerie insists.

"That sounds revoltingly wholesome," Darren offers.

"It is," Amerie says.

"More like cruel and unusual punishment," I state.

Amerie names a face. "It's just me, my opponents, some cute little queens and castles and whatever those other pieces are called. Basically, the opposite of sеx."

Darren laughs. "Depends on what kind of sеx you're having."

"Amerie, aren't there a lot of boys in the club?" Quinni asks.

"Yeah, but don't worry, they're all losers and not hot at all," Amerie assures. She hits her crotch. "Here? Safe."

I sit next to Amerie in SLTs. Miss Obah is talking about what today's lesson is.

"So, we figured out when someone's into you, but that's just step one," Miss Obah says. "Right? After that, we need to find out what they might be comfortable doing sexually." Darren raises their hand. "Say 'rimming' one more time, Darren, I'm going to ask you to leave." I laugh lightly. "Cool. So, what are some ways of communicating with our partner in that space?"