"Learn The Hard Way"

Druex walked down the hall's of Northside, first full week of school, he smiled and licked his lips as he passed every dyme in the hall.  He ran over to his boy, Mario, who was at his locker looking at something.

"Aye, wat up nigga?" He asked standing next to him throwing his books in his locker.

"That." Mario replied nodding his head at a group of girls standing in front some lockers in front of them. He some he knew, he saw Astin a hoe he boned freshman year, Hope he boned her over the summer, Lesa, Brandi, and two other girls he actually didn't know. One was tall, red-boned, with long black layered hair, and a bangin body. And the other one was kind of short, kind of chubby but not sloppy chubby, she had an hourglass figure, a baby face, black glowing eyes, with mid-length hair, and a smile that made Druex's mouth drop.

By then Jarrell and Omari had wondered over to them and were looking at exactly what they were. The girls walked into the bathroom and snapped the boys out of their trances.

"Damn nigga I feel like I been missin somethin, you didn't tell me havin classes on the East campus was that damn good." Jarrell said looking at Mario. Mario was the only one who had ever had a class on the East campus.

"Shit and I know all but one of them." Mario grinned getting his notebook out as the bell rang.

-- 90 Minutes Later (I don't know about ya'll but at my school we got four long ass classes lol) --

Druex walked out of Algebra 2 feeling more lost than he had when he walked in there. "Aye nigga you get that?" He asked Omari as he stood next to him at his locker.

"Nigga please that shit is too easy." Omari laughed as Druex looked at him like he was crazy. "Aiight you gone wait on Rell to walk to the South?"

"Yea, holla nigga." Druex said opening his locker as Omari walked away. Then out of no where the same pretty girl with the amazing smile walked up beside him and opened the locker next to his. He knew the boy that had the locker last graduated so it was up for grabs.

She looked in the locker smiling to herself as she mumbled the words to an old Toni Braxton song, 'Find me a man...With sensitive eyes...One who understands ...Love is stronger than pride...So I gotta...Find me a man...A sensitive mind...Not just any man...One of a kind...'

He turned and smiled, "That's one of my favorite songs off 'Secrets'."

She turned to him her big black eyes wide, "Really? Mine too, but...it kind of seems weird you like that song, I mean the words 'Find Me A man'."

Druex laughed and closed his locker taking out his American History Honors book, "Naw, I like cuz my mama used to sing that to me a lot when I was little."

"Aw that's cute but I love that's song cuz it's all I need." She replied pulling out the exact book he did.

Druex pointed at the book, "Mr.Fahr?"

"Yea, you too Druex?" She smiled as he shook his head and looked at her surprised cuz she knew his name.

"How you know my name?" Druex asked as she just laughed.

"First off you too damn popular and second of all you were voted 'The Biggest Indian Playa' in the yearbook what girl don't know yo' name nigga? I didn't go here last year but when I registered my best friend got me a yearbook." She laughed as Jarrell jogged toward them.

As soon as he saw her he smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Wuz up Bri?"

She laughed as he let go, "Nothin Rell just talkin to yo' friend here."

Jarrell turned to Druex, "So you finally met my best girl since I was 5."

"This is the Brittney you always talkin bout? Man we almost believed she didn't exist we NEVER saw her." Druex said as Jarrell punched him in his arm.

"Come on B walk with us to class you still takin AH-H right?" Jarrell asked as they walked down the hall.

"Yea nigga damn, why you in such a hurry?" Brittney asked as he pulled her down the hall.

They got to class and took seats right beside each other, it was Brittney Jarrell then Druex. They went on as everyone entered the class but one person the room Jarrell saw Brittney's face light up. Druex and him both looked over as Jarrell's cousin Marques and his best-friend Jerome came in almost late. Druex looked over at Brittney who just smiled as Jerome sat down beside her and she gave him her full attention.

Druex got Jerrell's attention, "Aye Rell they talkin?"

"Have been since I can remember on and off though, he treats her wrong but swears he loves her, and she keeps on cuz she loves him. Why?" Jarrell wondered why his boy wanted to know.

Druex tried to hide his interest, "No reason I just wondered since he won 'The Biggest Indian Playa' vote the year before I did."

"Yep, but when it comes to Bri he don't play. He really love that girl but don't know how to show it, everybody be trippin cuz she ain't a typical dymne, but shit to me she fine cuz she sweet and that smile and those eyes dog!" Jarrell went on everybody said he talked to much but not right now he was speakin what Druex was thinking.

"OK class quiet, I know this is fourth period but don't get excited you still have 90 minutes left of school." Mr. Fahr said coming into class.

-- 90 Minutes Later --

Druex stood by Jarrell as they leaned on the wall, Jarrell had insisted on waiting for Brittney as Jerome pulled her to the side to talk to her. They were quiet cuz they could hear them.

"B, I wanted to tell you I gotta date with Alexi tonight." Jerome said holding Brittney's hand.

The smile that had been on her face slow dropped away, "OK."

Jerome looked into her eyes, "You aiight with that?"

"Yea I'm cool with that have a good time." She said as she moved to move away from him.

"Call you when I get home, aiight?" He asked smiling at her, she didn't smile.

Brittney pulled her hand away trying to keep from letting this ruin her afternoon, "Yea."

She walked over to Jarrell and Druex and plastered on a fake smile, "Ready?"

Druex looked at her seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he didn't know how Jerome stood there and stared into them without giving in. "Yea." This time walked in the middle of them.

Jarrell looked at them, "I need to go to Coach North's room to get somethin so hold up." He said running into the classroom.

They stood there a minute not saying anything until Druex said, "You really not OK with Romeo goin with Alexi tonight are you?"

Brittney looked over at him with the saddest face, "No I'm not, but we both supposed to be seein other people and he doin that."

"But you don't like it, and he still up in yo' grill like he wit you or somethin." Druex replied noticing how she bit her lip.

"It's always been like that, and someday, hopefully soon, I can break his heart like he does me. And you know I really want to be in love with someone else you know. I'm tired of him it's been like this since 5th grade and now I'm a damn junior it's fuckin tiring." She replied reaching out and touching his hair, "I've been wanting to do that since I met you."

Druex laughed at the face she made, Brittney and he were like totally opposites. First off were the physical differences he was skinny and she was thick, he was tall, she was short, she was even darker than him, but not much. Then it was the fact that he was a well known playa and she was one of the sweetest girls he had ever met. But she made him feel different from any other girl he had ever met, it was like this immediate need to protect her, and he was infatuated with her smile.

Jarrell stood at the door watching the two talk, but when she reached over and touched his hair and he just grinned Jarrell knew that his boy had a feelin. Jarrell knew the 'feelin', the one that his boy Omari had got before he hooked up with his girl Tiraza. They had all wanted that 'feelin' and all went their own way to findin it. Druex played every girl until he could find it, Jarrell was 'testing' every female till he choose the one, Mario planned to just be friends with every girl and waited for the 'feelin' to come to him, and Omari (the only successful one yet) had let it come to him.

"Let's go." Jarrell said walking up to them they all started walking together again.

Brittney looked over at Jarrell as they walked, "Where we goin?"

"Ima introduce you to the cru." Jarrell replied as they turned the corner and there stood 3 fine ass niggas, one Brittney knew.

The one she knew, he was called Chub, no one knew why, he was real tall and skinny, fine as hell and his real name was Charles, he looked at Brittney and grinned, "Aye boo, what up?"

Brittney gave him a hug and threw out a killer smile that had Druex just watching her every move, "Nothin nigga, Chub you comin to Envy tonight right?"

Envy was like the biggest and crunkest teen club in town, and since it was Friday night everybody was going. "Hell yea boo, you gonna knock wit me tonight?" (Knock means dance)

"When do I not?" She smiled doing her shake with Chub who was one of her many friends, she wouldn't call herself straight popular but she was everybody was cool with her, except for them hatas.

Chub looked over Jarrell, "Rell nigga yo' girl can knock out the frame nigga!"

Jarrell looked at Brittney smiling, remembering when they were little and they would just dance any and everywhere, "And you know this nigga!"

Chub looked at them, "One niggas." He said then he ran out to see one of him many females, Chub was one of the biggest playas at Northside and sometimes you would just let him play you and not care that's just how fine he was.

Jarrell pushed Brittney up toward the other two, "Mario, Omari this is my Brittney."

Omari smiled, "You mean she exists?"

"Damn nigga we thought you made her up!" Mario laughed as Druex agreed.

Brittney looked back at Jarrell, "Shit Rell never tried to prove that I exist?"

"Well, you went Raghlei for so long I never got the chance." He grinned laying his head on the shorter girl.

Druex, Mario, and Omari all looked at each other Druex finally spoke, "How come you know everybody here and you been with Rome foreva."

She looked at them like they were stupid, "I still lived in this town, damn, and just cuz Raghlei is a private school don't mean we can't have friends everywhere. And grew up with Boogie and Marq and you know Marq and Rome are best friends."

"Plus everywhere she goes she makes a friend." Jarrell added, smiling at his best friend. Sure Mario, Omari, and Druex were his boys, but Brittney was his best friend he could say whatever he wanted to her and she would always listen and be there for him.

Brittney reached into her purse and pulled out some keys, "Rell I want to show you somethin."

They all walked out to the parking lot, it was like 3:00 now and just about everybody was gone. She lead them out to the parking lot right out to a Black Escalade and she opened the door, "What do you think of my sweet 16 present?"

All their mouths were open, Jarrell sometimes forgot her family had money cuz they weren't the type to flaunt it, but when they did you had to notice. Jarrell looked at her in awe, "I thought this was Jayson's every time I saw this in the driveway."

Brittney laughed and turned up her nose at the mention of her brother's name, "Naw he got the Jag for his graduation present."

"And you neva told me about this because?" Jarrell asked while Druex, Mario, and Omari were checking out her rims.

"You neva asked best boy." She smiled as Druex ran up to her, she loved the way he always seemed to smile while he talked. "How much those rims cost?"

"I dunno my brotha got me those for Christmas." She answered as they all stood in front of her she rolled her eyes laughing, "OK don't act like ya'll don't have nice cars."

"Yea we do, but we went out and all got the same Mercedes but in different colors, none of us got a Cadalliac!" Omari said walking over to his red car. "But anyway I'm going go home ya'll comin?" They all got tired of driving to school so all of them just rode together in one of their cars.

Jarrell looked over at Brittney, "You wanna take me and Fizz to my house?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "You live next door, so aiight."

Mario said bye and ran to Omari's car. Druex, Jarrell, and Brittney all got in her truck, "So Bri what's up with you tonight?"

She turned on Jay-z's 'Blueprint' and of course being the fan he is Druex was in la-la land rappin with Jay, "Nothin really Ima call Chub and tell him I'm stayin home tonight."

Jarrell knew that when she stayed home sometimes wasn't right, and that thing was Jerome. "OK then since you stayin home I stay next door why don't me and Druex stay with you at you crib and chill?"

Brittney smiled at Jarrell knowing that he knew what wrong, "Aiight call some friends if you want, my mom's not at home tonight."

Jarrell skipped to his favorite song 'Renegade'  with Eminem, "Naw I think we just gon' chill with you. Omari gon' be with his girl and Mario is definitely be at Envy, so we cool."

Jarrell looked back at Druex who was still flowing with Jay and Em, "Aye Fizz we gon' chill at Bri's tonight aiight?"

"Aiight coo wit me." He said not missing a beat, then when Jarrell turned around he smiled at Brittney in her rearview mirror, she couldn't help but grin and he knew spending the whole with that smile he would be gone.

And then Jarrell busted out with the strangest question, "Can you still cook?"

"Boy could I be a descendent of a Houston (my mama's maiden name so I could be related to J Boog & Batman lol I wish) and not be able to cook? Then if I couldn't my Parker side would kill me!" Brittney grinned as Jarrell messed with her stereo.

Druex reached and put his hands on her shoulders, and it sent shivers through both their spins, "Then girl you will be cookin us scrawny ass niggas some food!"

The two just smiled at each other, both liking the way the other smiled, but one had to giggle and break the moment. Little did they know that Jarrell was catchin all this and he was gonna bring it up to Druex when they got to his house.