[right][sup][color=#BC7B37][b]LOCATION[/b][/color] — Home -> School [color=#BC7B37][b]INTERACTING WITH[/b][/color] — Dominique Saunders [color=#BC7B37][b]OUTFIT[/b][/color] — [url=https://media.giphy.com/media/iAQrvZHbaT0ID0bXoB/source.gif]flyyy[/url][/sup][/right][center] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180911/0e1b800438d0bba32bf15665e9e4ae25.png[/img] [url=https://youtu.be/393l5zWQULY?list=PLk4x27Q-FBogD3O6ctl0l3jZ8PeWwzv55][color=#BC7B37][b]︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾︾[/b][/color][/url][/center][indent][indent]Exercise. That was what Mina did whenever she wanted to clear her head, whether it be through lifting weights, shooting hoops on the blacktop, or simply jogging around the neighborhood like she was doing in that very moment. There was something oddly therapeutic about feeling her feet pound the concrete as she ran down the street, listening to the loud rap music that blared through her earbuds, bobbing and weaving through the few people that lingered on the sidewalk, watching the sun rise... This was what Mina Thomas did every morning since the ninth grade; she woke up at precisely five-thirty in the morning, threw on her usual pair of basketball shorts and sneakers, grabbed a bottle of water and an apple, and did a few laps around her neighborhood. Her mother and sisters obviously never questioned this; they always assumed that she just wanted to stay in shape for when basketball season came back around, which was definitely true... partly. Mina needed these few minutes to herself. Thanks to her introverted nature, she [i]craved[/i] them. Running, shooting hoops, lifting weights... that was when Mina could be who she truly was. There was no longer a certain mask that she had to wear whenever she was in the company of certain people, her own family included. There weren't any crowds of people looking at her with criticizing and expecting eyes. There weren't any college scouts trying to push and pull her to their perspective universities. See, when Mina was jogging, lifting, and dribbling, she was nothing more than a regular girl from Brooklyn with a dream and a basketball, and that was how she liked it. Soon, Mina came bursting back in through the front door of her family's apartment, and ran straight up to her bedroom to prepare for school. The first thing Mina did when she reached her room was peel off her sweaty clothing and grab the fresh outfit she'd laid out on her bed the night before. Forty minutes later, the girl was freshly showered and dressed, her hair was neatly braided, and her book bag was sufficiently stuffed with notebooks, pens, pencils, and the like. It wasn't until the young woman had begun her walk to school that she realized she had yet to eat breakfast. It only took Mina a quick second to think of where she could stop for food on her way to school; she decided to head into a local bodega for a chopped cheese. [i]"You know coach won't be happy with you eating like that,"[/i] Mr. Rodriguez, the corner store owner said when she placed her order, [i]"Thought youse athletes had to have a 'balanced diet' or somethin' like that."[/i] [color=#BC7B37][b]"What coach doesn't know won't hurt her,"[/b][/color] Mina said with a smile as she tossed a few bucks on the counter, [color=#BC7B37][b]"But thanks for lookin' out, Mr. Rodriguez."[/b][/color] Mina was about a block away from school, her sandwich half eaten, when she got a text message from none other than Dominique Saunders. Mina couldn't help but crack a smile as she skimmed the message. [center][b]To: [color=DBBBB4]Domi[/color] 👑🐝 [color=#BC7B37]I'm almost there. You know I'd never let you strut around these halls without me, girl. I'll be at my locker.[/color][/b][/center] A few minutes after she sent the text to Dominique, Mina finally arrived at Vinehurst. The young woman threw away her sandwich wrapper and popped a piece of gum into her mouth before pushing the door open and entering the building. As usual, Mina smiled brightly and nodded to familiar faces as she made her way down the halls, heading towards her locker. She noticed a small crowd near one of the lockers as she walked, but decided against sticking around to find out what was going on. Instead, Mina made a beeline for her own locker, getting it open in less than five seconds and carefully pushing her bag into the empty space. Soon, she had the items she needed for first period cradled in her arm; she pushed her locker shut, turned to face the hall, and leaned her back against the lockers as she waited for her friend to arrive. [/indent][/indent]