Nala Kelly

“Zarina,” she finished, looking back down at her book as if it didn’t phase her at all. “My parents paid them off and then skipped down without me,” she said looking up, pushing her sunglasses down on the bridge of her nose. “You missed a spot,” she pointed. 

"Oh, yes, of course. Rich, white money wins out once again,” Nala said, rolling their eyes. Regardless of whether Zarina was joking around, it was an age-old story that continuously put a sour taste in Nala’s mouth. At the remark, Nala leaned back in disbelief. The nerve of this chick. “Did no one teach you how to interact with people without lashing out?”

Rainie raised an eyebrow. “You sure you want to listen? It’s mostly rap singers spouting out random stuff.” She pulled up a playlist. “Your brain cells will suffer from this, but okay.” She teased slightly.

"‘Rap singers spouting out random stuff?’” Nala repeated, as thought they couldn’t quite believe what they were hearing. “Oh, love, I understand taste difference, but you sound like you’re in the Sunken Place,” Nala said now laughing and motioning for Rainie to go ahead and play the song.

“I’m an only child,” he brought it up randomly into the conversation. Hands twisting against each other behind his back, uncomfortably stiff. “Sorry. It just sort of hit me, you know? I’ve been looking for Michael for so long. Looking for my brother, that it didn’t come to me until this second.” Taking a deep chug from the hot coffee, feelings the sting hit him. “Why should i keep looking for someone that left me in the first place? Anyways, ignore me. What were you saying?”

Nala’s eyes widened as Scamp began diving into his feelings. They were taken a little by surprise but tried to be supportive all the same. “I was just trying to get a gauge of how your week was going, but I suppose that gives me a good indication.” Nala suppresses the urge to go fix a bowl of cereal for themself, but instead sips from the mug of tea that they have and then leans their chin on their hand. “I thought you were so close to some sort of resolution of something with that?”

“True. But, I mean, can you blame me? ‘Shout’ by Tears For Fears is a bop.” Rainie laughed slightly at their comment. “Honestly, they tease me so much about it, but you know, that’s fine. I tease them about their music all the time.”

Nala couldn’t help but smile and shake their head. This kid was truly something else. "Okay, so then what’re your friends listening to? That’ll probably give me a better gauge.”

Cara listened as Nala talked, nodding slowly as they explained. “Right, okay…. So it’s just fried dough?” Cara asked, face pinched together. “Saltfish!? Please tell me that’s not actual fish… Or can we at least eat it with cheese this time? I don’t want to barf all over your kitchen,” Cara laughed, although she was being completely serious. 

"I mean, basically. And it is not barf-worthy, you little rugrat,” Nala said, lightly tossing the baking powder at Cara. “Yes, we can use the cheese. But know that this cooking series is meant to expand your palate. Can you grab the big white bowl from the cupboard?”

Peach understood Nala’s views on corporations and capitalism overall, but Peach would do whatever she needed to keep herself and her family on their feet despite her similar views. Still, she knew suggesting Benbow would be a step considering they were a local company. She could see Nala’s interest peak momentarily, but seemed to fall short at the realization of their busy schedule. Peach chimed in with a little more pep in her voice, “You know, the Marine Life Institute may even be looking for some employees. It’s like you’ll be doing volunteer work but getting paid.”

“You think so?” Nala said. Their mouth still muffled from their pseudo-defeated position. Nala lifted their head slightly and smiled. They truly were grateful for all the advice Peach was offering, so they wanted to be respectful. “In the name of salary transparency, how much are you making there now? And also, what exactly are you doing?” Nala was an organizer, more than anything, so biological research wasn’t exactly in their skill set.

“I would call myself cultured.” Rainie shrugged“I have to admit, Khalid is a pretty good artist.” The girl nodded. She turned off her phone, and put it on the table. “Oh, I’m talking about Taffyta, one of my best friends.”

"Cultured? American-cultured maybe...” Nala smiled as Rainie turned off her phone. Too many young people would talk to them while texting or scrolling through social media, and it had become a pet peeve of theirs. “Oh, that’s cool, that’s cool. How do your best friends feel about you being a 80′s pop star on the side?”

     Attina knew that Nala was right, and frowned in thought as she went over her schedule for the upcoming week. “Well, I think I’m free on Tuesday? It’s not even that I’m just working or anything either, but I’ve agreed to help out Adella and Arista on different days as well. Does Tuesday work for you?”

"Tuesday at... like 6pm? Do you need to eat dinner? I personally think we could go to one of those private karaoke places. You know, have someone else serenade you for a change.” Nala paused to clarify. “It won’t be good, but it’s a break, right?

❝  OF  COURSE  IT  IS  ,  this  is  my  job  .  ❞  Mike  scoffs  ,  letting  out   a  laugh  in  the  process  .  ❝  Just  trust  me  on  this  one  ,  okay  ? ❞

"I thought your job was helping James Sullivan get groceries. What do you know about throwing an event?”

Stephanie doesn’t hesitate to shake her hand, sand had never bothered her too much. But even more than that, the sprite was just more than happy to making a new acquaintance, hopefully friend. “It’s nice to meet you, Nala. That’s a beautiful name,” she complimented. “My name’s Stephanie, it’s so nice to meet you!”

"Thanks, I wish I could take credit for it. Nice to meet you too, Stephanie.” They repeated Stephanie’s name, hoping that would help with remembering it later. Nala tugged at their shorts a little before sitting down in the hot sand. “This summer’s been so hit-or-miss with the weather, it’s been so hard to get some consistent days in the sun.”

Rainie couldn’t help but laugh slightly. “Yeah, I know right? This is definitely one of Taff’s playlists. I’m definitely into older music, a.k.a., real music.” She always preferred to listen to the 80s and 90s, because music was way better then. 

Nala raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed. “Woah,an old head, huh? I mean, I love early 2000s music, too, but there is some merit to that one...uh.... what’s his name? Khalid. I like him, and he’s new.” Nala leaned back in their chair. “Oh, Taff, who’s Taff again?” Nala thought they knew the name through Cara but wanted to make sure.