3

One week later

Erikia was maybe five or six on her knees, staring down at her soddened dress. Tears stung her eyes.

She had been on her way home from school, excited to hurry home and show her mother the golden star she'd gotten on her math test. But a group of older kids had caught her by surprise. 

An older boy grabbed her by the hair and pulled, she yelped dropping her books. She was then shoved forward onto her knees.

Erikia looked up at the kids and bit her lip. A tear slid down her cheek and she looked away, trying to wipe it away before anyone saw. A girl, sneering pulled her head back.

"Aw. Look little Erikia is crying." the girl laughed. "She wants her mommy."

"You're going to be crying for yours too. Get your grubby paws off of her." her brother stepped into view with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Her brother could've easily taken all of them out, but none of them wanted to risk it.

When the kids left, Erikia sniffled and wiped at her nose. She started gathering her stuff up when Apis yanked her to her feet. His face could've been made from stone.

"What the hell?"

Erikia sniffled. "They're bigger than me."

"What's that supposed to mean. You can stand up for yourself. Don't let them push you around like that." Apis glanced down at her dress. "And you know how mama is about you gettin' your clothes dirty."

"I know." Erikia whimpered. "I'm-"

Apis shoved her back into the mud and she stared up at him, eyes wide. 

"Are you going to let me do that?" Apis demands.

Her blood boiled and Erikia pushed herself to her feet, her hands clenched into fists. Her stuff was now covered in dirt, her papers were scattered around the neighborhood, and her mama would throw a fight because of her dirty clothes.

Apis nodded. "Better. Always get back up, Erikia. Always."

That's the memory that came back to her as she and Isabella walked home from school.

There was a boy on the ground while some kids kicked and spat on him.

Isabella watched on with wide eyes. "Should we go home the other way?"

"If someone doesn't have any strength, lend some of yours."  Her father always said.

"No." Erikia took a step toward the group of kids. "Hey! Leave him alone!"

Queen was tall with tan skin and purple braids turns to sneer at her. "Well, what do ya know, Apis's sis come to save a little white boy."

Queen was the most popular kid at their high school who everyone believed was a player. And rumor has it that she uses spray-on tan.

The other kids sniggered.

Erikia sighed. "Leave him be. I'm sure you have other things you could be doing, Queen."

"Maybe there are. Shouldn't you be mourning your brother?" 

Erikia flinched, but said nothing. Isabella came up next to her and popped off her water bottle lid, then tossed it, spilling half of it on Queen.

She sputtered angrily and her friends covered their mouths to muffle giggles.

"Get your lousey arse out of here." Isabella snapped. "Consider the water a gift from me, it got rid of that horrid thing you call a tan. When honestly, I could dunked myself in a bucket of cheetos dust to get the same result." she shot a glare at the other kids. "Are you hard of hearing?"

Queen turned and marched away, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Her friends followed.

Erikia looked down at the boy who was struggling to sit up. She reached down and offered her hand.

He took it and pulled himself up. He was short with freckled skin, wavy brown hair that fell into his eyes and deep-set green eyes. 

"I...thanks for the help." the boy squinted his eyes. "Have you seen a pair of glasses anywhere? I'm as blind as a bat without them."

Isabella plucked some rimless spectles off the ground and cleaned them on her shirt. "I'm sorry about that. I'm Isabella. This is my best friend, Erikia."

The boy took his glasses and slid them up his nose. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Aaron. If you don't mind me asking...what was Queen talking about?"

"My brother was killed a week ago." Erikia muttered.

Isabella groaned. "She doesn't believe that the cops did it though. And has been looking up every man in Dallas ."

That part was partially true. She hadn't yet looked up information on the cop that claimed he knew who killed Apis. She planned on doing that today, but Isabella decided to come over to her house.

"My dad doesn't believe it either. He's a reporter and apparently, the man who was accused of killing your brother has disappeared." the boy shrugged. "My dad's been trying to talk to your parents but they keep turning him away."

Erikia blinked. "I'd be more than happy to talk to him."

"Oh. Ok. Well, then..um..here." Aaron pulled out a crumpled business card. "Call or text him whenever you're free, alright?"

Erikia nodded and pocketed the card. They bid farewell to the boy before turning to make their way home.

"You know your parents are going to kill you, right?" Isabella said, pulled out her lip gloss, applying another layer. "Maybe there's a reason they tuned the man away."

"Because they don't want to talk about it. I do, however." Erikia replied. "I want answers and I'll need all the help I can get."