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I knew something was off.
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Golden always moved quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that ain’t about shyness—it’s about survival. That silence that hugs your shoulders like a winter coat ’cause if you speak too loud, the truth might slip out.
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So I watched.
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Not in a stalker way. Just enough to catch the patterns. Same hoodie every day. Same bag that looked heavy with more than just books. Staying late after school when she didn’t got no club. Coming in early when the halls were still cold and hollow. And every day after the bell rang, she dipped through the back gate and disappeared behind the liquor store like she was on a mission nobody else could see.
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So one day, I followed. I didn’t mean to—it just happened.
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When I saw her unlock the back door of that crumbling, tagged-up house that’d been boarded for years, my chest locked up. Nah… no way. But there she was. Slipping inside like she did it every day. Like it was home.
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She was living there.
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I stood behind the corner, hands in my hoodie pocket, jaw tight.
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Part of me wanted to march in there, lose my damn mind, yell at her for keeping that to herself, for risking her life every night in a place even rats were scared of. But I didn’t. ‘Cause truth is—I understood. When you come from nothing, shame becomes your roommate. You start to think struggle is your fault, like you deserve it just ‘cause no one helped you out of it.
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So I made a choice.
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I waited until the next day, caught her slipping books into her locker.
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“Yo,” I said, leaning next to it like I wasn’t shaking inside. “You still tutor people?”
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She blinked up at me, brows furrowed like I was speaking a different language. “What?”
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“I need help. Math. Reading too. Been bullshitting. Figured I’d stop pretending I got it.”
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Golden narrowed her eyes. “You? Want me to tutor you?”
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I smirked. “Don’t act like you ain’t flattered. You the smartest girl in school. I’m just tryna graduate before I get a record.”
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She stared at me for a second too long. “Why now?”
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I shrugged, casual on the outside, storm on the inside. “’Cause maybe I’m tired of acting like I don’t need nobody.”
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Still, she hesitated. So I upped the stakes.
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“I’ll pay. $40 a week. Cash.”
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Her eyes widened just enough to give her away.
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“You don’t gotta do that,” she said, voice softer.
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“I want to,” I said. “You teaching me? That’s a hustle. You help me, I help you. Ain’t no charity.”
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She looked down, like she was trying to hide the emotions bubbling up behind her ribs.
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I added, “And before you say anything—I know life’s been trash for both of us. I see more than you think.”
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Her head snapped up, eyes sharp.
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“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ else,” I said quickly. “Just… don’t gotta do this alone. Not anymore.”
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She didn’t respond at first. Just stared at me with this mix of confusion and caution, like she wasn’t used to people seeing her without trying to use her.
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Finally, she nodded once. “Monday after school. Library. Don’t be late.”
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A grin pulled at my lips. “Yes, ma’am.”
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And just like that—I planted a seed.
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Not to save her.
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But to remind her she wasn’t invisible.
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And maybe… neither was I.
