"Hey, sistah girl!" Gladys said once she walked out onto the schoolyard.
"Hey, girl," Shayla said as she slowed down to let Gladys catch up with her.
"Did all of your teachers assign you a stack of homework for tonight or what?" Gladys asked.
Before Shayla could answer, Ronnie, chimed in. "I told her not to take all of those hard classes, but she's hard headed. We are supposed to be chillaxin' in our senior year, but instead Shayla wants to be Miss Valedictorian."
Shayla's friends gave her a hard time about the time she spent studying each night. Even on Fridays when it was time to hang out, she was glued to her books. She was determined to keep up a four-point-zero GPA.
"I'm taking honors classes. I need the extra time to study," she said.
"I take the same honors classes you do, but my teachers don't give me half as much work. Coach Ballard takes his little science class too serious. Aye, Dios mio!" Gladys said.
"And there you go with your Spanglish," Rhonda said. "You know we don't understand that, so speak English please!"
Gladys shot Rhonda a mean look and said, "Shayla's a smart girl. She knows what I said."
"I understand you," Shayla said. "Coach Ballard does give us a lot of work, but science is one of my faves. His class is preparing me for college, and I need all the preparation I can get."
When it came to making the grades, Shayla took pride in cutting no corners. She was going to be the top student in her class, even if it meant studying all night. Gladys wasn't too far behind in the intelligence department, but Rhonda - not so much.
Hoping to encourage her friend, Shayla said, "Ronnie, I'm getting my master's degree, Benz, and three-story house before I turn thirty and I am going to do it all with brainpower. You should join the bandwagon and start working on your master plan."
Ronnie opened her mouth to speak and Shayla quickly added, "And a master plan that does not include a man.:"
Snapping her fingers, Rhonda spoke as if her words taken from the bible of truths. "You do you! As for me, I will find a man who will do all of the above. Please believe what I say."
"Good luck with that, chica," Gladys said. Her voice dripped sarcasm as she pat Ronnie on the shoulder. "Just get a plan B while you're at it. You may find a papi rico to give you the finer things, mija, but there is nothing like getting your own."
"I got this, tricks!" Ronnie's responded, agitated with the way the conversation was going, so they dropped the subject.