“Don’t even worry about this. Don’t let it get to you,” Sanaa said, not even knowing who the girl was, but understanding how bad it felt to be called such a horrible name.
When she lifted the girl up, she was surprised to see it was Willow. She didn’t know Willow much, but she remembered exchanging numbers with her in the hallway days before. Sanaa had really felt a connection.
“It’s me. Sanaa. We can’t let anybody get to you. It’s a new week for us both.”
Willow screamed back, “I am what this says I am, okay? I thought I was okay with it. What’s wrong with girls wanting to have a little fun? Guys do it all the time. They swoop in, hit it, and go, but as soon as we do that, they label us! Now my life is ruined. I’ve been a dancer all my life and want to go to college for dance, but they want to kick me off of the team because of this. You don’t understand how this feels. They wrote in paint on my brand-new car! This is horrible!”
Consoling a frantic Willow, Sanaa uttered, “We’ll get it off.”
“You’d help me?” Willow stopped freaking out and asked, stunned that this practical stranger cared.
“Yes, I’d help you because I can’t tell you how you feel, but I know how horrible this list is making me feel. We’re going to beat this. You with me?”
Willow nodded. Sanaa smiled. Both of the girls were happy that, through the madness, they now knew they weren’t alone.
All day in school, Willow and Sanaa texted each other. One exchange touched them both.
“Just thinking of ya and had to say ... keep ur head up,” Sanaa wrote.
Willow texted back, “Good now. Ur right, they won’t beat us.”
The girls sat with each other during lunch and agreed to meet after school. Sanaa knew a shop where a guy was reasonable and could fix practically anything. As soon as the last bell rang, they met up near the gym. Willow wanted to let the dance instructor, Ms. Seely, know that she couldn’t stay for practice, but the two continued to connect as they gave each other compliments.
“You know why you got a bunch of haters?” Sanaa asked.
“No, why?” Willow asked.
“Because they wish they had a body like yours.”
“If I had your cute face, I certainly wouldn’t be worrying about none of these chumps,” Willow told Sanaa.
They both giggled, confident that they were cuter and finer than any haters they had at Jackson High School. The laughter was good for them. As glares turned their way, they didn’t sweat the drama.
After they were in the hallway alone, Willow took a shortcut down the vo-tech hallway. No one used these classrooms, so the hall was dark and empty. Usually.
Sanaa briskly followed until she saw her boyfriend and her best friend locked in an embrace. She was at a loss for words, seeing Miles and Toni all hugged up. Willow was lost at first, but after seeing Sanaa’s whole demeanor change, she knew that was Sanaa’s boo.
Sanaa turned so quick she ran into a locker, making a loud noise. The sound alerted the two culprits. All they saw was Sanaa’s heels as she sprinted back down the hall.
Willow followed. “What is going on? Wait!”
“Just ... leave me alone.”
“What do you mean, leave you alone? You about to help me go and get my car fixed! I’m not leaving! You helped me when I was boo-hooing, now you’re doing the same. That’s not how I roll. I don’t know who’s been your friend before, but I’ma be a better one than that. Who needs a beat down? So that guy was your boo?”
“Yes ... ”
“We’re going to get this straight right now.”
“I can’t confront him!”
“Why not?”
“Because that was my best friend! She’s always liked him. He and I connected, and I ... ”
“What? You got with the guy she liked? You can’t help it if he liked you.”
“She would never see it like that.”
Before they could get outside, Miles caught up and grabbed her. “Sanaa, I need to explain. It’s not what you thought you saw.”
“Get your hands off!” Sanaa screamed.
When he didn’t let go, Willow got right in his face. “Are you deaf?”
He threw his hands up and walked back in the direction from which he came. Sanaa cried harder, and she fell on Willow’s shoulder. Her love affair was over.
“Let it out, girl. I understand. His tail betrayed you, but whatever.”
“How could they both do me like this? But if she didn’t know he was my guy, then how could I be mad at her?”
“Women know ... I could see in her eyes she was satisfied you saw what you saw. But you know what? This little thing we have going on, we need to find those other three girls on the list. All of us need to have a meeting because there’re some folks around here who are trifling, but they’re not going to be able to pull us down if we’re united. The authors of this list probably got more dirt than all of us combined.”
“I don’t want revenge. I just want to be okay,” Sanaa said.
“I hear you. Straight up tho’, if we stick together maybe we can be strong and united, and stop being rattled.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Fixed (Willow’s Ending)
When Willow pulled into her driveway, she was relieved on so many fronts. One, her parents were not home. Two, the paint was successfully cleaned from her hood. And three, she was actually very happy that she and Sanaa were developing a friendship.
Before getting out of the car, she smiled, thinking of how much she really admired Sanaa. It’s not like she really knew her, but she remembered seeing her around school. Not only was Sanaa flawless on the outside, truly a model-type, but she also always seemed happy—at least before the swoop list. Willow wanted some of that to rub off on her, and maybe, with their newfound friendship, it could. As soon as Willow got out of the car, she was astonished to see her next-door neighbor, Dawson, standing there.
“We need to talk,” Dawson said.
“I’m trying to get in my house.”
“Fine.”
Dawson stepped out of the way, opened up the backseat car door, and grabbed her book bag. This wasn’t abnormal. From time to time, when she was struggling with too much stuff, he’d always be there, like a knight in shining armor, to help get her inside. She was always impressed that Dawson was super smart. Now she noticed he had developed some nice muscles recently—and lost his braces.
Willow liked to tease him, but deep down she thought he was a good guy and appreciated his help.
“I don’t need any help with anything today,” she said when she got to her front door.
Ignoring her, Dawson grabbed the keys, unlocked the door, and followed her inside. He had an open-door policy to be at her house while her parents were away. They used to be tighter than glue when they were little, but they’d grown apart when Willow gravitated to the party scene and Dawson took the scholar track.
“What do you want, Dawson? I don’t have no snacks in here. My mom didn’t leave nothing for you. Go home,” Willow said, remembering from long ago when Dawson would come over after school and pig out.
“We need to talk about this list,” Dawson said, holding up his phone and displaying a photo of the list.
“You’re just now finding out about that? You’re late. Need to get your head out of a book, boy,” Willow said, trying to blow it off.
“I’m serious, Willow. Guys are talking about you giving it up freely and ... ”
“And what? You gonna try and fix me? Or is this what you want?” Willow laid a big kiss on his cheek.
He pulled away. “You know that’s not what I want.”
“You know what I’m about. Get out.” She opened up the door, pushed him out, and closed it.
Dawson stood on the outside, a hand on his cheek. She stood on the inside of the door, wondering why she was so cruel to the one she knew actually cared about her.
Willow was startled when she woke up from her nap. Dawson was standing over he
r. For a minute Willow didn’t know whether she was awake or dreaming, because all she could think about was pulling Dawson on top of her and getting busy.
She really wanted to beat herself up when Dawson said, “Why you pulling all on your blouse and scrunching around like that? Wake up!”
Fixing her clothes and sitting up, she gave him the true Willow brush-off. “Why you in my bedroom, trying to ask me what I’m doing?”
Grabbing her hand, Dawson said, “We got to go!”
Jerking back, she said, “Go where?”
“Your brother has been in a car accident.”
“He doesn’t even have his license or a car.”
“He wrecked yours!” Dawson told her.
“What!”
Her brother, William, was a true pain in the neck. He was always into mischief. She did have extra keys, but her parents had those. How did her brother take her car? And more importantly, she wondered, was he okay? Dawson sensed her panic and put his hand on her shoulder to assure her.
“Where is he?”
“Not that far from the house. We’ll probably be able to get there before the police.”
“I can’t believe Will did this.”
Will had run her car off the road less than three miles away from their home. As they neared the accident scene in Dawson’s car, Willow couldn’t sit still in the passenger’s side. She just kept rocking, wondering why something was always going wrong.
They pulled up to her wrecked car. She wasn’t happy to see that the left side of her car had collided with a speed limit sign on the road. Thankfully, Will was okay.
Flashing lights were headed their way. Both Dawson and Willow were nervous, trying to figure out how they would help Will. As much as her little brother got on her nerves, she had his back.
Quickly she said to Dawson, “Just pull over. They won’t see me get out. You can say you called me from my brother’s phone. I’m going to tell them I was driving.”
“What?” Dawson asked as if he was surprised she’d be so honorable.
“Just pull over. I’m not the uncaring witch you think I am. Though I’ll probably be grounded from here to eternity because of this.”
“Wait. We’ll explain to your parents what happened.”
“Just pull over, Dawson. I don’t need to think about this any more.”
“Well maybe you should. This could add points on your record. Plus, you don’t want to tell the cops something and then change it around with your parents. Your brother needs to learn a lesson too.”
“I thought you wanted me to take up for him,” Willow said before she got out of the car.
“Sis,” William said, relief in his eyes
“Get in the car with Dawson.”
“What do you mean?” William asked.
“You don’t have a license. I’ll say I was driving.”
“For real?”
“You called me down here. And how’d you get my keys, anyway?”
“You said I could take the car.”
Stunned, Willow shouted, “I did not!”
“Okay you were sleep, and I don’t think you really understood what I was saying, but you didn’t say I couldn’t take it.”
“Urgh, you frustrate me.”
Even after Willow explained everything to the cop, she still ended up getting a citation. Thankfully, the car was drivable, and she was able to take it to the guy Sanaa knew. Willow texted her parents from the shop and told them there had been a small car accident. She knew her life would be much easier if she told the truth—that her brother hijacked the car—but they idolized her brother. He was the child who, in their eyes, always did the right thing. For some reason she wanted to protect that, so she confirmed what they already believed, that she was the careless one.
That night when her parents were screaming at her, Will and Dawson were trying to take up for her, but her folks weren’t trying to hear their words. Her brother could have made sure they knew the truth, but he was scared. She knew how to handle the scrutiny. When they walked away, she and Dawson were alone.
He gently took her hand, smiled her way, and said, “I’m proud of you.”
“For what?” she questioned. “I lie down, and I’m a doormat.”
“Yeah, but this time it’s not for a selfish cause, which makes me believe there is hope for you,” Dawson said as he stroked her cheek.
“Whatever, I’m so broken there’s no way I can be fixed.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Tried (Olive’s Ending)
All weekend long Olive did her best to put the whole swoop list thing out of her mind. When she was at the group home, nobody mentioned it. They weren’t the most scholarly bunch, but something must have shaken them all up, because for most of the weekend they were locked away, studying. Olive knew she was going to have to buckle down, and she wanted Shawn and Charles to do the same. The three of them were the seniors in the house. Because of their situation, they could get financial aid for college, but first they had to qualify to get into a school. Getting better test scores was the first step.
As she walked into school on Monday, she had it all set in her mind to come ready to be a sponge and soak in everything her instructors were teaching. But she was rattled right off the bat when she got a text from Tiger that read, “Charles and Shawn are dead. I might rethink it if you give my boys a treat again. You have ’til the end of the day. Be at the car, or be at the morgue.”
She rushed into the school bathroom and started shaking. She didn’t even realize she wasn’t alone. Then she saw she was being watched and looked over in the corner to see exactly who it was. Olive spotted the fast girl, Willow. She didn’t know her personally, but she knew of her. Willow ran with the popular crowd. Being a dancer, Willow was everything Olive wished she could be, except for the bad reputation. Now she realized the two of them were hooked together thanks to the swoop list. She’d run into Willow several times before, but Willow never had the time for her. Now Olive caught the popular chick’s attention.
“You’re Olive, right?” Willow asked.
Olive nodded. “Yeah.”
“Sanaa, come on out,” Willow said as she tapped on the stall.
“Give me a second, dang,” a voice shouted back.
“It’s another swoop list girl,” Willow explained to Olive.
Suddenly they heard the toilet flush. Swoop list girl number one came flying out the stalls. She washed her hands, squinted at Willow for rushing her, and then looked at Olive.
“I’m Sanaa. You okay?”
Olive shook her head. She looked away. Both Willow and Sanaa felt her pain.
“We get it,” Willow said. “People think I’m all tough and can take it, but we know being on this list is cruel.”
“I can’t believe my ex took advantage of me,” Olive said, shocked she was opening up. It was so effortless to reveal her inner thoughts. Did the three of them have a connection because of this list? Was it as healthy as it seemed to her? She didn’t have answers, but all she knew was at first she was shaking, but now she felt strong. She didn’t have answers, but it appeared she had comrades. Olive breathed, thankful she had people who understood. Could there be a friendship growing?
Ten minutes after the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Olive met up with Sanaa and Willow, and they were keeping it real. She was so thankful she didn’t have to stand alone to face Tiger. It was one thing to bully a girl all alone, but it was another thing to mess with a girl who had backup.
Olive said, “I’m glad I can talk to you guys. Being from the group home, I’ve never had any girlfriends, but ... ”
Sanaa put her hand on Olive’s shoulder and said, “Doesn’t matter our background; we’re all in this together. This school thinks they’re going to take us down.”
“Yep, I have a bunch of so-called friends who are happy we’re going through this,” Willow piped up.
“That’s wrong,” Olive said. “But we’ll show them.”
All three girls giggled. That was until Olive started shaking again when she saw Tiger walking her way. Willow stepped in front of her.
Willow rolled her eyes at Tiger and said, “Keep it moving, Olive! Forget him.”
Tiger stepped to her and undressed her with his eyes. “Willow, I knew it was only a matter of time before the two of y’all connected.”
Willow said, “Move.”
Tiger leaned around Willow, looked straight at Olive, and said, “Maybe you can pick up a couple pointers from this one. I heard she knows how to give good ... ”
“Whatever!” Willow yelled as she pushed Tiger.
“Let’s go, girls,” Sanaa said, putting her arm around Olive and making her turn her back to Tiger. “I’m so glad you’re done with him.”
“Yeah, but he ain’t done with me,” Olive said as she looked at her cell to reread the text message. Olive started shaking again. Willow and Sanaa read the text. They both knew this was serious.
When Olive saw Tiger go to the policeman in the school parking lot, she knew Tiger was up to something. If she didn’t figure it out, it was going to be big trouble for her foster brothers. Her eyes scoured the parking lot to find them.
“Oh my gosh!” Olive said. “The cops are going over there to Charles and Shawn.”
“Those are your foster brothers?” Sanaa asked.
Olive nodded. “We got to get over there. I know Tiger told some lie on them.”
So the three of them bolted across the parking lot, and sure enough the cop was grilling them. The tall officer said, “Well, in the incident that happened at school last week, I heard one of you had the gun.”
“Who told you that?” said Charles, standing to his full height, an inch above the cop.
“Just want to let y’all know, I’ll be watching you. Pulled up your rap sheets, and you two got juvenile offenses a mile long,” the officer threatened.
“Arrest us,” Charles dared.
“You better watch your tone, boy,” the cop said as he got closer to Charles.
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