Her Decision

Flashback “Amber! It’s the first day of 12th grade! Wake up!” - my mom shouted from 2 doors over. Little did she know, I had already been up to shower and brush my teeth. I was too excited to finally be a Senior. This was going to be the year everything changed for me. I would no longer be the shy wallflower everyone thought I was. Due to my mom, my dad had taken a job out in the suburbs. We moved from a fast paced city to further out in the country. I didn’t mind though. The little town was quiet. I planned to be popular — no matter what it took. I was sick of being known as the pimple faced crybaby. I began to brush my hair up to the top of my head as I visualized what I wanted to wear for the first day. Should I keep it casual? Cute? Sporty? I couldn’t decide. I wrapped my hair into a winding bun and slicked down my baby hairs. I was happy that at least my hair wasn’t giving me hard time. I decided I wanted to go for a sporty cute look. I threw on some black biker shirts and an oversized Dead Kennedy’s graphic tee that was white. Next I lotioned my legs and feet to slide on some socks and my newest pair of low top Air Force One’s. My mom got so mad at me and couldn’t understand why I needed a new pair every time my old ones got dirty, but I would never tell her it drove me crazy having dirty shoes. That was the trend nowadays, but I refuse. I love my shoes and I’d take care of them. Since I was basically ready, I decided to put on a little makeup and hope my mom let me make it out of the house. I did my eyebrows perfectly and somehow managed to get a subtle contour going. I did a light highlight, but the rest would have to wait until I got to school. I already knew my mom wasn’t going for all the makeup - even if it was the first day of my new life. I shuffled downstairs and immediately smiled! I had caught my parents passionately making out. “let them have their moment and let’s go to school” - A voice said. I looked around and didn’t see any of our housekeepers. I thought that was strange, but I shrugged it off and decided to listen. I grabbed my lunch off the counter and ran outside to the waiting car. I settled into the comfy seat and got ready to face my first day of high school. My iPhone pinged and I checked my texts. My mom was upset she didn’t get to take a first day of school photo. I replied by texting her and my dad in a group chat teasing them about their make-out session. They both sent laughing emojis and my dad asked how I thought I got here. My parents were the cheesiest, but I loved them with all of my heart. I thanked the Goddess that she had blessed me with me such a good life. As we approached the school, I became more and more nervous. I decided to have Rafael drop me at the end of the car line and walk up. Sometimes people treat you differently when they see that your family comes from money. I don’t consider myself to be wealthy at all. My dad always says I will have to gain my wealth and work hard just like he did. I thanked Rafa and slid out of the car. As I shut the door, I heard a loud whistle. Seriously? That whistle couldn’t have been directed at me, so I adjusted my backpack and kept walking. “Hey!” “Hey pretty lady!” I kept hearing. So I stopped, turned around, and got ready to bite someone’s head off for disrespecting me. Suddenly I felt overcome with emotion upon seeing who had whistled. He was chocolate and handsome. Perfect white teeth. A small diamond stud was blinging from his right ear. Wow! I thought to myself. He is fine as all get out. The fine specimen of a high schooler walked up to me and asked me one question. “You didn’t hear me calling you?” - he asked. I replied “well my name is Amber Henry. Not pretty lady.” I shot back. “Hmmm Amber Henry huh? That definitely sounds like the name of my future wife.” He said to me as I noticed a slight glint in his eyes. What? How could he be thinking that way and this was the first day of school. I thought that, but my mouth betrayed me and beamed at the handsome man. “Well you know my name, but I don’t know yours. How’s that gonna work if we’re supposed to be getting married?” He laughed the cutest laugh and said “my name is Jamar. Jamar DeLeon, but everyone here calls me JD.” Oh. I could see that he was clearly an upperclassman, but what grade level?