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“I hate math,” Chasity swore. “How the hell am I gonna pass this damn final?”
“Hey, it’s not as hard as it looks,” Jason consoled. He’d been tutoring Chasity for days, relishing their sessions in an unused room tucked away on the third floor of the math building.
“Yes it is,” she sneered, running her hands through her hair. “How come you know so much about math anyway?”
“Well, it’s sort of necessary if I’m going to be a software engineer.”
“A what?” she stammered, caught by surprise.
“I want to be a software engineer,” he repeated, amused by her reaction.
“What about football? I thought you wanted to play professional.”
“I’m not all jock, Miss Parker,” he protested, holding up both hands. “I love football, but I don’t want to play for a living. Football is just getting me through school for free.”
“Okay,” she said, a little unsettled by his confession. She’d had him pegged as a jock, he was right about that.
“Look, I’ll help you get this. You’re going to pass, trust me,” Jason insisted, mistaking her preoccupation for worry. “Let’s see how you did on those problems I gave you.”
“I don’t wanna do anymore,” she whined, stomping her foot on the floor like a child.
“Get over it,” he commanded. “Now come on. Your math final is next week, and you need to be ready.”
Frustrated, Chasity flipped open her notebook, and shoved a couple of sheets across the table. He leaned over and tried to decipher the handwriting scrawled across the top sheet. He made a note in the margin, and accidentally brushed her arm.
“Um, do you have to sit so close to me?” she asked. The casual touch had sent tingles up her arm.
“Oh, sorry,” he mumbled and shifted his chair. Tutoring Chasity, he thought, had its downside. So difficult, she was the farthest thing from a tease, but she left him hot and bothered after every session.
“Your work is getting better, Chasity,” Jason said, tapping his pencil on her scribbles. “How about a break?”
“Finally,” she sighed and rested her head on the desk.
“I’m gonna go get something from the machine. You want anything?” he asked as he stood up.
“A soda and a pack of cookies,” she said, fishing a couple of bills out of her pocket.
“Chasity, don’t insult me,” he warned and handed back the folded bills.
She put a hand up submissively as she placed the money back into her pocket with the other hand. A few minutes later, he returned, items in hand.
“Here you go,” he said.
“I guess thanks are in order?” she asked playfully, reaching for the can of soda he held out.
“That would be the non-evil thing to do, yes,” he responded with a quick smile before sitting down next to her and digging into a bag of chips. Chasity flipped open the can and soda gushed out, spraying Jason. Both of them jumped out of their seats
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said, setting the can down on the desk. Droplets of soda dripped down Jason’s chin and neck.
“It’s okay, it’s just soda,” he said with a laugh, but she grabbed a tissue out of her coat pocket anyway and started dabbing his face dry.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said quietly, gently taking hold of her wrist. He stared at her intently, then leaned forward.
Bewildered, Chasity took a step backwards. She didn’t know how to handle his intensity, let alone a kiss.
“I have to go,” she said softly and fled, leaving Jason standing there alone. He wiped his face off with his hands and sighed.
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“Why can’t we just give a speech like a normal speech class?” Josh questioned as he shoved his notebook into his book bag.
“Because Professor Lawrence wants to be difficult,” Alex calmly stated, thumbing through index cards. Their public speaking class ended twenty minutes ago. But Alex, along with Josh and Sidra, were still sitting there reeling over the final assignment they had just learned of.
“Mel couldn’t get out of here fast enough when class ended,” Josh said. “She nearly screamed when Professor Lawrence mentioned the paper.”
“Yeah I know. She was definitely being dramatic,” Alex responded, gathering her belongings.
“I cannot believe that she is making us write the speech, give the speech in front of everyone, and turn in the paper,” Josh complained as he rubbed his hand over his head.
Sidra, who seemed to be completely zoned out, stared at them in horror. “Wait...we have to turn in a paper?” she asked, shocked.
Alex frowned at her, confused. “Yes Sidra,” she replied slowly. “Were you not in class with us twenty minutes ago? She explained it, what the hell were you doing?”
“I have no idea,” Sidra panicked. “I completely zoned out on that part. I thought we just had to make notes on index cards.”
“No crazy, that’s not what she said,” Alex jeered. Frustrated, Sidra threw her pencil across the room. “And now you have to go get it,” Alex teased, pointing to the floor. Sidra rolled her eyes.
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Malajia walked into the room and dumped two big grocery bags on the floor. Emily was pacing back and forth, the room phone pressed against her ear.
“Hey, I could use some help here,” Malajia called out.
Emily gestured frantically for her to keep quiet.
Malajia rolled her eyes as she removed her coat and scarf, tossing them on her chair. Emily finally hung up the phone, sighing heavily in relief.
“That was your crazy mother, I take it,” Malajia commented dryly when she noticed the dismal look on Emily’s face.
“Yeah,” she answered, pushing some hair behind her ear. “How did you know?”
Malajia chuckled, “Nobody else calls you,” she joked. Her laughter came to a sudden stop when Emily plopped down on her bed and folded her arms. “My bad Em, I’m just joking,” Malajia stated, sitting down on her chair. “Are you okay?”
“No. She’s completely impossible,” Emily whispered, wiping her sweaty hands down the sides of her jeans.
“So is my mother...well she’s nowhere near as bad as yours,” Malajia nodded. “What is it this time?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Oh, I kinda do,” Malajia replied. “I already have an idea that she’s been talking about us.”
“Well, she said I’m not to associate with you guys, even though I live with you,” Emily began. “But she wants to fix that by getting my room switched to a single.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Malajia scoffed. “There are no single rooms available, so, oops! Too bad for her.”
“She won’t stop until she gets her way,” Emily stated. “I don’t want to live by myself.”
“Well, tell her to back the hell off,” Malajia suggested. When Emily simply looked down at the floor, rather than respond, Malajia sighed loudly. She’s never gonna stand up to her mother, she thought. “All right, I’m done talking about her. Now help me unpack.”
Emily walked over and began helping with the unpacking. “Are you sure that you have enough of that stuff?” Emily teased as Malajia took several packs of chilled coffee out of one of the bags.
“Em, these are for all of us, not just me. We’re all going to need a little pick-me-up this week.”
“Coffee will definitely do the trick,” Emily said, setting a box of chocolate chip cookies on the window sill. “Except, I don’t drink coffee.”
“No surprise there,” Malajia sneered.
“We should get going. David is waiting for us at the library,” Emily reminded. “I think he’s been there for a half hour now.”
“I’m not thinking about David,” Malajia replied tartly, folding the grocery bag and tucking it into a drawer. “I needed to get my stuff first.”
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Unflappable David, usually so calm and collected, was in a foul mood when they finally turned up at the library.
“Sorry we’re so late,” Emily whispered. “I had a call from my mother.”
David’s scowl lightened. “It isn’t you guys. It’s Mark. We’re supposed to be studying for the Sociology final, and he’s over there talking to some girl.”
“Damn Dave, I’ve never seen you so mad,” Malajia teased, removing a book from her book bag.
“He’s playing with my time, and it’s pissing me off,” David admitted, tossing his pencil on the table.
Malajia glanced over at Mark and the girl that he was talking to over by a shelf. “Tatiana,” Malajia commented, the recognition immediate. The long, lanky beauty in tight jeans leaning against the wall was hard to miss. “I don’t know why she’s even giving that fool the time of day.”
Finished with his conversation, Mark sauntered over. He was met with David’s piercing stare. “About damn time,” he scoffed. “Can we get back to this Sociology please?”
“Chill, you nerd,” Mark shot back, snatching his book off the table. “This shit is boring anyway.”
“You’re the one who needs help, not me,” David argued. “I could have been in my room, studying, by myself.”
“If I were you David, I’d let his ass fail,” Malajia slid in. Emily shook her head as she began reading her text book.
Mark made a face at her. “Nobody asked for your pointless opinion,” he mocked.
“Finals, remember?” David angrily put in, tapping his pencil on the desk. His stern tone caused Mark and Malajia to look down at their books.
“Nerd,” Mark sneezed, inciting a snicker from Malajia. Annoyed, David gritted his teeth.
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Malajia hurried into her dorm building and proceeded towards the steps, when she noticed several stacks of small boxes sitting on the front counter. “What are these?” she asked her resident advisor.
Handing three boxes to Malajia, the short, bubbly upperclassman adjusted the scarf around her neck. “Study breakers,” she responded. Malajia raised an eyebrow. “The office gives us these during finals, there’s one for you and your two roommates.”
“Oh, cool,” Malajia smiled, skipping up the steps. Moments later she threw open the door to her room, and lifted the boxes gleefully. “Ladies, we have study breakers,” she announced happily to Chasity and Alex.
Alex took her box from Malajia. “I was wondering what those were,” she said, setting the box on her nightstand.
“I got one of those from my RA earlier,” Chasity stated as she examined the French manicure on her long nails. “I didn’t open it though. What’s in there?”
“Candy,” Malajia began, taking a package of peanut butter cups out of one box. She picked up a small pill pack and chuckled. “And Xtra-N’ergy. They’re actually trusting us with these things?”
“Don’t take those,” Alex advised, pointing at Malajia. “You’re hyper enough as it is. One of those caffeine pills is like drinking a cup of coffee.”
“I resent that,” Malajia sneered, sitting the box on her bed. “I’m not hyper.”
Alex rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Yeah, okay, and the sky isn’t blue,” she teased. Malajia made a face before taking a bite out of her candy.
“Give me those pills. I have to pull some all-nighters,” Chasity said and held her hand out. Before Malajia could give her a pack, Alex snatched it away.
“What the hell?” Chasity’s head snapped around.
“What are you doing?” Malajia questioned, shooting Alex a confused look. “You all hype, snatching shit.”
“I don’t want you girls to start taking caffeine pills,” Alex explained, clutching the packet tightly. “They can be dangerous if you take too many.”
“No duh,” Chasity sneered. “I’m not a moron, or a child.”
“Don’t care. Don’t take them,” Alex persisted.
Chasity smirked. “Yeah okay,” she scoffed, standing from her seat and grabbing her coat. “I have my own box anyway.”
“Don’t you dare,” Alex warned.
Her eyes widened as Chasity ran out the door, laughing. “You get back here!” Alex shouted, darting out the door after her to the sound of Malajia’s laughter.
“Wait for me!” Malajia yelled after her friends.
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Sidra flopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. She was so tired. She had a long night ahead of her, but Sidra needed a nap first. She could hardly see straight. She opened one eye at the sound of the door creaking, and groaned.
“Hey, Princess,” Malajia called out.
“I guess I won’t get my nap today,” Sidra sneered, sitting up on the bed.
“We’re sorry to disturb you, sweetie. I had to chase your childish roommate here to stop her from taking Xtra-N’ergy pills,” Alex put in, voice laced with amusement.
Sidra perked up. “Xtra-N’ergy? You have Xtra-N’ergy?” she asked.
“Yeah, they came in this study breaker box,” Chasity confirmed, removing the pack from her box.
“Give me those!” Sidra exclaimed as she tried to pry the pack away from Chasity, scratching her in the process.
“Damn it, Sidra, chill the fuck out!” Chasity yelled, rubbing her wrist. “What is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry. But I need those,” Sidra stammered. “I have so much work to do, and only four days to do it. I need the caffeine.”
“Sid, you’re trippin’,” Malajia put in, eyeing her suspiciously. “You already know what caffeine does to you.”
“Yes, I know what caffeine does to me Malajia,” Sidra scoffed, shooting Malajia a glower.
Malajia shook her head. “Okay, crazy,” she jeered.
Sidra sighed as she smoothed her hair back. “I just need something. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through finals and write a paper.”
“What paper?” Chasity asked, wondering if she’d missed some announcement or other.
“That bitch Professor Lawrence,” Sidra hissed. “Not only do we have to give a speech to the class, we have to hand in a fuckin’ paper about it. I think she has it out for me. She’s been on my case ever since that stupid World War II speech.”
“Whoa Sid, two curse words in one sentence. You must be mad,” Malajia teased. Sidra rarely used profanity, and to actually hear her say it was always amusing to Malajia.
“Mel! Leave me alone, or get your trick ass out,” Sidra seethed, clenching her fist. Malajia chuckled.
“Sidra, you’re being paranoid,” Alex butted in. “Everyone in that class has to hand in a paper, not just you.”
“What is this, ‘obvious day’?” Sidra shot back. “I know that. I’m talking about me, not everyone else.”
Alex ignored Sidra’s snide remark, just chalking it up to stress. “Look, all I’m saying is that you shouldn’t take the assignment personal,” she stated calmly, holding her hands up. “Just try to calm down and focus. It’s not as hard as you’re making it out to be.”
“Alex, please for the love of god, back off,” Chasity said, sending a searing look Alex’s way.
Alex frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Chasity tossed her head back and groaned. “If Sidra wants to be pissed off, let her be. It’s not going to kill her to vent,” she argued. “Just shut up, stuff a damn peanut butter cup in your mouth, and back off like I said.”
Annoyed with Chasity’s smart comment, Alex placed her hands on her hips and was thinking of a retort, when she noticed that Malajia was handing her a peanut butter cup while trying desperately to hold in her laughter. Furious, Alex snatched the candy from her hand. “Just give it to me.”
Sidra shook her head at the display. “Maybe if I eat something, I’ll feel better,” she stated. “I have leftovers in the refrigerator down the hall. There wasn’t room in our mini-fridge. Chaz, can you walk me?” Sidra asked, slipping her fluffy blue slippers on.
“Yeah,” Chasity agreed.
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Ignoring the talking girls in the community kitchen, Sidra headed straight for the large refrigerator in search of her food.
“Who the hell ate my food?” she screamed, shoving Tupperware and Chinese takeout containers around.
“You sure that it’s not in there?” Chasity asked, leaning up against the doorway.
“I’m not blind,” Sidra hissed, spinning around to face her. “I know where I put it, and it’s not there.”
“I didn’t steal it,” Chasity replied defensively.
“Nothing to get all in an uproar about,” an upperclassman named Danielle said, halting her conversation with another girl. “It’s not that serious.”
“Girl, don’t tell me what is serious and what is not,” Sidra warned. “You probably took it.”
“I didn’t take your stupid food,” Danielle spat. “I don’t need it.”
“So where did it go? Did it walk out of the damn fridge?” Sidra shot back, throwing her hands up in frustration.
“Sidra, come on,” Chasity intervened, stifling a laugh. “I’ll treat you to dinner. Stop acting crazy.”
Sidra glared at Chasity. “You think this is funny?” she questioned, folding her arms.
“No,” Chasity lied, shaking her head.
“You think I’m scared of that thing over there?” Sidra demanded, pointing to Danielle who was glaring at her.
“No Sidra, I don’t,” Chasity replied. “But, you seem like you’re about to snap. And if you fight that one over there, and that friend next to her tries to jump in, I will have to jump in, and I just washed and straightened my hair, so I really don’t want to sweat it out by fighting.”
Danielle sucked her teeth. “Girl, you’re not gonna...”
“Oh I will,” Chasity interrupted Danielle’s protest as she pointed at her.
“Yeah, whatever,” Danielle huffed, going back to her conversation.
Sidra’s face relaxed into a slight smile. She understood Chasity’s pain with her hair, for her hair was almost as long as Chasity’s. Washing and styling it was a major chore.
“Fine, let’s go to dinner.” As they walked out of the kitchen, Sidra declared, “you’re lucky you told me that you just washed your hair...because I was about to pull everything out that damn fridge.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Chasity laughed.
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Mark pushed his room door open, tossing his book bag on the floor.
“Ugh, I’m starving,” he complained to himself as he headed over to his mini fridge.
The flashing light on his answering machine caught his eye. He pushed the button and listened to the message as he popped open a can of soda.
Hearing his father’s voice on the machine immediately prompted him to return the phone call.
“Hey Pop, how’s it goin’?” Mark said once his father picked up.
“Things are good son. Did you try out for the basketball team yet?”
“Naw. I’m gonna do it next year.” Mark sat on his bed as he sipped his drink.
“Good, good.” Mark heard his mother in the background.
“Is that Mark on the phone?” she shouted from upstairs.
“Yes, honey!” Mr. Johnson shouted back. “Look Mark, your mother is pissed at you,” he informed.
“What? Why? What did I do?” Mark asked, shocked.
“Your midterm grades came to the house a few weeks ago.”
“What! They weren’t supposed to go there,” Mark seethed.
“I’m just warning you,” Mr. Johnson responded, right before he handed the phone to his wife.
“Mark,” Mrs. Johnson ground out.
“H-hi Mom. How’s it goin’?” he stammered.
“Boy don’t ‘hi Mom’ me! What the hell are you doing up at that school?” she snapped.
“Mom...”
“What’s with all those C’s and D’s on your grade card?”
Damn, busted, he thought. “Well, see, what had happened was...um...See, those grades that you had seen was our progress grades. They aren’t our actual grades,” he sputtered.
“Boy, I don’t care! You know better than this. All that money that we are paying to send you to that college, and you’re up there screwing around?” Mark sighed before putting his head in his hand. God, will she ever shut up? He wondered.
“Mom...Mom, I’ll do better,” he slid in, interrupting her ranting.
“You just had better...And to think that I was going to let your father talk me into letting him buy you a car.”
Mark sat up straight. “Dad’s gonna get me a car?” he asked. “When?”
“You’re not getting any damn car if you don’t straighten up. Get it together boy.”
Hearing the dial tone, Mark slammed the phone back into its cradle “Damn it,” he huffed.
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David and Josh walked into their dorm lounge later that evening and did a double take. Mark was actually sitting at a desk, pouring over a book.
“Mark, are you feeling okay?” David asked with a laugh.
“Huh?” Mark answered as he looked up from his book.
“You’re actually studying?” Josh asked.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Mark snarled. “Looking at this dumb ass book for my health?”
“Pissed much?” Josh mocked.
Mark made a face at him.
“I can honestly say that this is the first time since we’ve been on campus that I have seen your head buried in a book,” Josh stated.
“Why the sudden urge to hit the books?” David asked.
“I want my damn car, man,” Mark confessed.
“What car?” David asked, confused.
“Mom and Dad said that if I don’t pull my grades up, then I won’t get a car,” Mark responded, drawing in his book with a highlighter.
“Since when is Mother Johnson gonna let you have a car?” Josh asked.
Frustrated, Mark tossed his highlighter on the floor. “You’re asking me too many goddamn questions,” he snapped. “Now, get the hell out of here! I need to study!”
Josh and David just looked at each other and shrugged as Mark put his textbook up to his face.
