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“Ugh, why do I have five classes?” Sidra complained, throwing her head back against the lounge chair in frustration.
Alex chuckled as she thumbed through her notebook. “I think that’s the standard, especially for a freshman,” she pointed out.
Chasity looked up from her book. “Y’all don’t have six classes?” she asked.
Malajia looked at her, confused. “No. Why would we have six classes?” she asked.
“I can barely keep sane with my five,” Sidra agreed, rubbing her temples.
Chasity slammed her book shut. “Damn it! That’s what I get for trying to take extra credits.”
“Look on the bright side,” Alex put in. “That’s one less class that you have to take later on,” she stated.
“That’s not helping me now,” Chasity complained.
“Guys, who cares?” Mark chimed in, resting his head on Sidra’s shoulder. “Finals are a week away, why worry about them now?”
“Mark, finals will sneak up on you,” Alex warned. “You really need to crack down and study.”
“And there will be plenty of time to study,” Mark argued, “on Sunday night,”
“Um, can you say procrastinator?” Malajia scoffed.
“Look we’ll probably have three or four chapters to study,” Mark declared confidently. “How hard can finals be, really?”
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“Twenty chapters? The final is going to be on all twenty chapters?” Mark yelled at the professor as he wrote on the board.
“Mr. Johnson, it would be wise if you refrained from shouting in this classroom,” Professor Bradley warned. “I’m two seconds away from putting you out...again.”
Mark had been getting on Professor Bradley’s nerves all semester. His constant outbursts and class clown behavior had caused Professor Bradley to put him out of his classroom plenty of times.
Mark shuffled in his seat. After trash talking to his friends earlier about how easy finals would be, he never thought that he would have to restudy twenty chapters of Sociology notes in a week. “Well, it’s safe to say that I’m gonna fail this class,” he said, tossing his pencil on his desk. Then he looked at the professor and said, “I guess we’ll be seeing each other next semester, huh Professor Bradley?”
“I seriously hope not,” he responded. “I’m tempted to pass you just so I don’t have to see your face in my class again.”
Mark smiled brightly “Really?” His tone was full of hope.
“I said that I’m tempted,” Professor Bradley responded, before going back to writing on the board.
Mark’s smile faded. “Well Jase my friend, I guess we’ll be in here again,” he said as he patted Jason on the back. “We all know that David’s gonna pass.”
“I refuse to repeat this class,” Jason said. “Looks like you’ll be in here by yourself next semester,” he said as he patted Mark on the back. Mark just rolled his eyes.
“Don’t worry man, I’ll help you study,” David quietly offered as he diligently took notes.
“Yeah thanks,” Mark scoffed.
“Well forget you then. I was trying to help you out,” David shot back, annoyed at Mark’s nasty tone.
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“I’ve got my schedule all planned,” Emily said, fixing her pink and grey book bag on her shoulder. “These exams are a lot to handle.”
“Girl, you’re way ahead of me,” Malajia admitted, looking at her watch.
She and Emily had finished their last class of the day ten minutes earlier, and were patiently waiting outside of the Science building for the rest of the group so they could go eat.
“About time,” Malajia jeered as Sidra and Chasity walked down the building steps to meet them.
Noticing the angry looks on both of their faces, Emily became concerned. “What’s the matter with you two?” she asked.
“I’m tired and stressed out,” Sidra complained.
Malajia looked at Chasity. “What about you?” she asked her.
Chasity stared at her; “I always look like this,” she admitted.
Malajia laughed. “True.”
“I thought high school was tough,” Sidra complained. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if I fail a class.”
“You won’t fail,” Emily reassured her. “You’ve been studying too much to fail.”
“Shit, I’ve been studying, and I still expect to fail,” Malajia joked and then rubbed her eyes. “I need some coffee.”
“Damn the coffee,” Sidra cut in. “If I don’t get some food in my system, I’m gonna scream. Where are the others?” Before anyone could respond, the rest of the group approached.
“You guys wanna eat on campus or off?” Josh asked.
“Off, definitely off. I can’t deal with cafeteria food today,” Sidra replied, adjusting the scarf around her neck.
“Good choice, good choice,” Mark agreed. “How ‘bout pizza?”
“I’m cold. I should go get my car,” Chasity said, fishing in her bag for her keys.
“Girl, all nine of us can’t fit in that car,” Alex pointed out.
Chasity smirked. “I wasn’t thinking about y’all.”
Alex playfully nudged her. “We can take the bus. It’s only fifteen minutes away.”
“Fine,” Chasity sighed, pushing some hair out of her face
“All right, enough talking,” Sidra warned. “Let’s just go. I’m starving.”
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The Pizza Shack was a hole in the wall, but the best pizza in town came out of its brick oven. Mark and Josh pulled two tables together, so there was enough room for everyone.
“So what does everyone want on their pizza?” David asked as he looked at the menu.
“Anchovies,” Josh stipulated, “with extra cheese.”
“Ugh, nobody wants those nasty, salty fish,” Malajia scoffed.
“Pepperoni!” Mark shouted and the short woman at the cash register smiled.
“Always have to be loud,” Alex put in, rubbing her ear.
“I just want a vegetarian pizza,” Chasity said as she looked at her watch.
“I’ll eat a supreme,” Jason said.
David rolled his eyes. “Everyone wants something different on their pizza. We are not going to sit here and order nine pizzas. Let’s just compromise,” he suggested.
“Dave is right. We can order three large and go half and half,” Josh stated, looking at the menu. “For Sidra, Chasity and Malajia we’ll get half vegetarian and for Emily and Alex we’ll get half black olive and pineapples. Then on the second pizza we’ll get half supreme for David, Jason and Mark and for me we’ll get half anchovies and extra cheese. And then on the last pizza we’ll...”
“Hold it, Josh,” Mark interrupted. “Nobody at this table eats anchovies except for you.”
“Yeah, so?” Josh responded.
“So that means that you’ll have a whole half to yourself,” Mark pointed out.
“That’s right.”
Mark frowned at the huge smile that Josh had plastered to his face. “Naw, naw, that ain’t cool man,” he complained as he shook his hand.
“What are you complaining about? We are getting a third pizza with cheese,” Josh responded.
“So what man, everybody else has to share a half and you get a half to yourself!” Mark shot back.
Josh shook his head and Alex was fed up. “God, can we just order? This arguing is so unnecessary,” she declared.
“We should just split the bill evenly,” Emily suggested.
“That’s what we were gonna do anyway,” Chasity retorted sharply.
“I’m dying of hunger here,” Sidra groaned. “If I don’t eat soon, I’m going to slap somebody.”
“No need for that,” David quipped, signaling for the waiter. “Let’s order.”
Two harassed waiters in white shirts and black aprons finally appeared with their order. Expertly juggling the pies and pitchers of soda, they made room on the table so everything would fit. But then, one of them set a mountain of breadsticks and a plate full of Buffalo wings in front of Mark. “There you are,” she beamed. He smiled as he rubbed his hands together.
“Mark, you are not gonna eat all of that,” Malajia exclaimed, looking at him with disgust.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Why not?”
“You’re being a greedy pig.”
“So!” he yelled, taking a bite out of a breadstick. “Stop looking in my mouth, and eat your own damn food.”
“Man, you’re paying for that extra shit out of your own pocket,” Jason declared as he grabbed a slice of pizza.
“Whatchu mean?” he asked, with a look of surprise on his face. “We’re gonna split the bill.”
“Dude, nobody is eating that extra stuff except you,” Josh pointed out.
“Not my fault,” Mark argued and reached for another breadstick.
Jason snatched the plate of wings and basket of breadsticks and moved them to the other side of the table. “Naw, you’re not eating that if you’re not gonna pay for it.”
“Man gimme—”
“No! I’ll pay for it and I’m taking it back with me for later,” Jason argued as he blocked Mark from grabbing for the food. “Sick of you, always trying to get over.”
“Mark, I’m telling your mama that you’re up here acting like you’re poor,” Sidra said, shaking her head. “I know they send you money.”
“You leave my mom out of this,” he warned.
“Next time we come out, how ‘bout we leave his broke ass home?” Malajia suggested, reaching for her cup of soda.
Mark sucked his teeth. “You always tryin’ to get in the mix,” he shot back. “Nobody was talking to you.”
“So? You always trying to get free shit off of people. You bum,” Malajia snapped.
“Why can’t it be quiet for five minutes?” Alex complained, slamming her hand down on the table.
“And you people wonder why I try to avoid hanging out with you,” Chasity commented dryly.
“Girl, please, you know you love us,” Malajia teased, waving her hand at Chasity dismissively.
Emily giggled at the back and forth squabbling. “Well, I for one love everybody here,” she ventured. She was about to take a bite of pizza when she noticed that Chasity and Malajia were staring daggers at her. She dropped her slice.
“Don’t be scared, Emily,” Alex butted in, “I’ll smack these heifers before they lay a hand on you.”
“You two are so damn mean,” Sidra swore.
“Damn!” Mark loudly instigated.
“What? What did I do?” Malajia exclaimed, pointing to herself.
“Every time Emily says anything, you two get smart with her, or look at her like you want to slap her,” Sidra pointed out.
Malajia’s eyes widened. “I do not,” she protested.
“Shit, I do,” Chasity admitted. “Her weak ass irks my nerves.”
“Emily is nothing but nice to everyone, and you two continue to treat her like shit,” Alex chimed in.
“Maybe if she grew a backbone, we wouldn’t pick on her. She needs to learn to stand up for herself,” Malajia argued. “All she had to say when we looked at her just now was ‘what the hell are you looking at?’ and we would’ve been, like, ‘you’re right, Em.’”
Chasity shot Malajia a confused look. “What?” she said. The more that Malajia tried to get her point across, the less sense she made.
“She’s not like that!” Sidra shouted.
“Uh, Sidra, you’re yelling,” Josh pointed out.
“Stay out of it,” Jason warned, looking at his watch.
“Emily is not an insult-throwing person. She’s sweet,” Alex interjected. “Let her be.”
Chasity looked at Emily, who was sitting there with her head down picking at her pizza. “Why don’t you say something?” she asked angrily.
“You scare me,” Emily admitted, sounding as if she were about to cry.
“I scare a lot of people, so what?” Chasity shot back.
“You see what I mean?” Sidra exclaimed, tossing her napkin down on the table.
Chasity glanced at Sidra, then looked back at Emily. “You’re such a fuckin’ punk. I swear, I could slap you right now,” she threatened.
“Girl I wish you would. You’ll have to go through me first,” Alex warned.
“And I’ll beat your ass too,” Chasity responded, raising her voice.
“Excuse me, I have to use the restroom,” Emily mumbled and pushed her chair back.
“I’ll go with you, honey,” Sidra said and grabbed Emily by the hand.
“That was harsh ladies,” David commented once they were out of sight.
“Don’t worry guys. They’ll be apologizing,” Alex stated confidently.
“Like hell,” Chasity swore.
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“Sweetie, are you okay?” Sidra asked a crying Emily. “Try to calm down okay, they’re just being ignorant, don’t pay them any mind.”
“I just feel bad because I know that they’re right,” Emily sniffled. “I should be standing up for myself, but I just can’t.”
“I know. It’ll take some time, but you’ll get it.” Sidra handed Emily more tissues as Malajia walked through the door.
“Emily—”
“Not now Malajia,” Sidra objected. “You and your evil partner in crime have done enough damage for one night.”
“Shut the hell up,” Malajia hollered and turned to Emily. “Emily, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you like that in front of the guys. Chasity and I took it too far. We just want you to grow a backbone, that’s why we say stuff. We’re waiting for you to say stuff back. We’re not gonna stop being your friends just because you tell us to ‘go to hell’ or ‘shut up’.”
“Did Alex make you come in here and say that?” Sidra asked, eyeing Malajia with suspicion as she folded her arms.
“You know what, get out my face Sidra,” Malajia warned just as Chasity came through the door with Alex following close behind her.
“Alex, get away from me!” Chasity yelled, jerking around to face Alex.
“No! You be a woman, and admit that you were wrong for what you did,” Alex commanded.
“You are such a hypocrite; you always embarrass people. You embarrass Mark all the damn time,” Chasity shot back.
“He deserves it. She doesn’t,” Alex shouted.
Chasity gave Alex the finger before taking a step towards Emily. When Emily backed away, she stood still.
“I’m not gonna hit you,” she sneered. Emily was so nervous, she couldn’t make eye contact. Chasity stared at her for a few seconds. “You really are afraid of me, huh?” she questioned with a smirk.
“Chasity, if you’ve come in here to rub it in, I suggest you leave,” Sidra hissed.
“Shut up Sidra,” Chasity ground out and turned back to Emily. “Look, maybe I shouldn’t have embarrassed you in front of everybody, but you need to stick up for your damn self. You have to stop letting Alex or Sidra fight your battles. I’m telling you now, I treat everybody the same way, and I’m not gonna change the way I act or make an exception for you just because you cry. You don’t like it? Say something.”
“I don’t fight her battles,” Sidra argued.
Chasity frowned. “No? What was that back at the table then, baby Alex?” she sneered, inciting a snicker from Malajia.
Sidra made a face at Chasity as Emily began to tear up again. “Why do you hate me, Chasity?”
“I don’t hate you,” Chasity responded. “If I did, I wouldn’t be talking to you at all. Anybody who knows me would tell you that.”
“Chasity, that wasn’t an apology,” Alex pointed out.
“I never said that I was gonna give her one,” Chasity replied, looking at Alex.
Alex slowly placed her hands on her hips. Chasity’s smart mouth and defiant behavior made her want to shake her.
Malajia quickly intervened, not wanting to force the issue. Chasity seemed to have a pathological dislike of apologies.
“Listen, bottom line, we...yes we,” Malajia began as she nudged Chasity for sucking her teeth. “...are sorry for hurting you in front of everyone. Isn’t that right, Satan?”
Chasity narrowed her eyes at Malajia. “Fine...I apologize,” she forced through clenched teeth.
“Now, was that so hard?” Alex asked.
“Yes.”
Chasity’s blunt response caused Malajia to chuckle. This girl never fails to be a smart ass, Malajia thought. More and more, she was finding Chasity to be someone who could always make her laugh, even at the most inappropriate times.
“Better now?” Sidra asked Emily, still concerned.
Emily nodded and wiped her eyes.
“Everything smoothed over?” Jason asked as the girls approached the table.
“Yep...For now,” Alex stated as she picked up her soda.
Sidra picked up a slice of pizza. “Man! Now it’s cold,” she complained, tossing the pizza back onto her plate.
Mark belched loudly, causing everyone to start complaining. “Mine wasn’t,” he teased. Sidra glared at him as she picked a tomato off of her pizza and flicked it. Everyone laughed as the tomato stuck to his lip.
