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"𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖, I just feel like my ass is gettin' fat." Jelani's voice was smooth, nonchalant, as she rolled her shoulders back and flicked a pen in Caniyah's direction. It sliced through the air like a dart—Caniyah caught it without looking, her fingers snatching it mid-conversation.

She mumbled a soft "thank you" before bowing her head and jotting something onto her worksheet, her braids swaying over the page.

"It isss," Ramiyah sang, dragging out the word like she was stretching bubblegum between her teeth. Her lips curled into a devilish grin. "Share before I deflate that bitch."

That set the whole circle off. Laughter erupted, wild and unfiltered. Kyomm threw his head back. Jace pounded a fist on the bleacher. Jiani covered her mouth, wheezing.

Chase and Dakai were doubled over, and even Caniyah cracked a smile while still writing. The gym echoed with their chaos, their voices bouncing off the high ceilings and cold metal bleachers like music.

"I been puttin' in that work huh?" Kenny's voice sliced through the noise, slower, slicker. His gaze swept Jelani from head to toe like he was reading a menu, tongue gliding over his two-toned lips with a cocky rhythm. His eyes lingered too long, heat settling in his stare.

Jelani didn't flinch—she turned her head just enough to slide him a glare out the corner of her eye, sharp and sideways, like a blade unsheathed. And Kyomm? His entire energy shifted.

Shoulders squared, jaw flexing, lips parted like he had something on the tip of his tongue ready to be spoken—or swung. His eyes locked on Kenny with that slow, deliberate mug that dared him to say another word.

"Not even li' bro," Jelani replied, smooth as silk but laced with bite. Her voice dripped confidence as she leaned back on the bleachers, one leg stretched out, the other bent lazily. "Squats been helping a bad bitch like me out."

Sunlight bled through the high gym windows, striping their bodies in gold. The room smelled like floor polish, old sweat, and freedom—class forgotten, time moving slow. They were posted up like they owned the space, skipping with purpose, surrounded by echoes and each other.

"Folks rejected you and called you li' bro, mane, smack her ass or something," Dakai chimed in from the side, shaking his head with exaggerated disappointment. His dreads bounced with the motion, slapping against his jaw as he leaned back, laughing before the words even fully left his mouth.

Kenny sucked his teeth, a sharp sound full of annoyance and ego. He flicked his hand dismissively at Dakai without even looking his way. In the two days he'd been kicking it with them, he'd already clocked the pattern—Dakai and Chase? Straight clowns. The type to joke on you before the sentence's done, to keep the room loud and the attention louder.