Noelani watched herself say on an old Snapchat.

The video was taken almost two years ago, recorded by Noelani's mother.

It showed Noelani on a secluded Hawaiian beach, in a black bikini, with a couple of red plumerias tucked behind her right ear.

She was grinning from ear to ear, her feet in the ocean.

"Mom, it's cold." Noelani repeated in the video.

"Stay a little while longer, I'm taking a picture." Noelani's mother, Anela coaxed.

Noelani stood in the ocean, smiling for a what she thought was a picture.

Noelani watched the smile drop off of her face in the video, after a few more seconds.

"It's a video, isn't it?" Noelani shook her head, stepping towards her mother, her arm outreached for her phone.

And then the video stopped.

Noelani clicked the power button then let the phone slide from her hand onto the shelf in her locker next to her car keys.

Alejandro had gone out while she was at the party a couple days ago and bought her a 2019 SUV.

Not that she didn't appreciate the car, she did, but Noelani would give it all up in a second if it meant that she could go home.

Noelani glanced around the gigantic brick building that held Napa Christian, her new high school.

Around in the hallway were other students walking in groups, talking amongst each other or leaning against their closed lockers, still on their phones.

Her phone beeped with a text.

'Go kill 'em, kid! You got this!' - Mommy.

Noelani read the text message for luck a couple more times before closing her locker and beginning to stroll down the hallway to her study hall.

Through the windows on the walls, Noelani could faintly see her father's truck parked in the spot reserved for the principal and she thanked all her lucky stars that she had made the decision not to ride with him this morning.

Being known as the principal's daughter isn't the reputation that Noelani wanted to start with.

Noelani entered the classroom numbered '108', running her eyes over the beige walls.

She made sure to sit at one of the empty desks closer to the back of the classroom and propped her chin on the palm of her hand, tapping her nails on the wood.

"Can I borrow a pen?" The tall brownskin boy sat down at the desk next to Noelani.

"Yeah." Noelani passed him a black ballpoint pen that she dug out of her backpack.

"Thanks. I'm Nimari."

"No-."

"Uh, that's my seat." A girl with long wavy dark hair stood in front of Noelani's desk.

"Your seat? It's the first day of school." Noelani questioned.

"It's been my seat the past two years. Get up."

Noelani sat back in her seat, raising an eyebrow at the girl's tone.

"Didn't you hear me? Get up."

"She heard you. Just sit over there, Daisy." Nimari interjected, pointing to a seat near the front of the room.

Daisy glanced towards the area where Nimari had gestured to and then she rolled her eyes.

Noelani cocked her head, silently begging for the girl to say something.

"Whatever." Daisy huffed before heading to the other side of the classroom.

"Am I gonna have to deal with that the rest of the year?" Noelani asked Nimari in a tired tone.

"Maybe. What's ya name?"

"Noelani."

Nimari's eyes widened, "Oh, you're the new girl?"

"Ugh, yeah," Noelani sighed.

"My boy Jalen," Nimari laughed, "You curved him, right?"

"Jalen?" Noelani repeated in a questioning tone, "The white boy?"

"Nah, that's my other boy, Jack. Jalen Green?"

At the word green, Noelani's eyes lit up with recognition then narrowed in annoyance, "Oh yeah, that's the guy who was like 'Oh, you don't know who I am?'"

Noelani rolled her eyes.

"You don't know of him, for real? You follow basketball?"

Noelani opened her mouth to respond but the teacher, a middle aged Latino man swept into the room.

"Welcome to silent study hall. I am Mr. Rivera..."

Noelani tuned the teacher out, choosing instead to put her AirPods in.

Noelani walked into the cafeteria, looking for Sydney or Jasmine.

She had made fast friends with them and was happy to join their friend group.

Anything to make living here less of a living hell.

Sydney and Jasmine was sitting at a table near the middle of the cafeteria, on their phones.

"Hey." Noelani greeted.

Jasmine looked up and smiled, "What's up?"

"Hey, girl." Sydney responds.

Noelani sat down, "Do y'all know who Jalen Green is?"

Sydney snorted, "You don't?"

"Why is that everyone's reaction?" Noelani opened the ziplock bag that held her sandwich, "I was talking to Nimari and-."

"It's this bitch's first day and she's already cool with two All-Americans." Jasmine snickered causing the other two girls to laugh.

"Jalen Green is the number one high school draft. Like he's literally ranked number one, he's definitely going to the NBA." Jasmine continues.

Noelani raises her eyebrows then glanced across the cafeteria.

Jalen was sitting towards the right side of the room with a bunch of girls and four other boys.

"Him? He-He's ranked number one?" Noelani asked in a disbelieving tone.

Sydney nodded her head, "And you walked away from him. You walked away from a bag, sis."

Noelani scrunched her nose up, "He's an asshole."

"He's looking over here." Jasmine muttered before taking a sip of her yogurt drink.

Noelani turned her head and sure enough, Jalen was eyeing her.

Instead of giving him the attention he wanted, Noelani flickered her eyes to Nimari, who was sitting next to him, and waved before turning back around.

"Oop. Okay, you better ignore him sis." Sydney chuckled.

"Period," Noelani responded with the hand motion, sliding her nails under her jaw.

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