“Did you, by any chance do the math homework, or at least understand it?” Natalie asks Isa who is still staying at her house after finding out about her biological father.
“I did it, and I understand it.” Isa says.
Two hours have passed since Carlos called. “Oh, Isa you know it is nine o’clock now.” Natalie informs her.
“Yeah, Natalie I know.” Isa looks at her cell phone. She just received a text message from Carlos it reads:
My Heart and Mind are on the Same Page (Summer 2011)
It’s 12:07 AM. There’s a knock on the door of 4L. Isa is in the living room studying. She gets up and walks to the door and looks out the peep hole, but it is covered. “Carlos?” She asks.
”No, it’s the Boogeyman.”
Isa opens the door. “Why would you cover the peep hole? You know it’s late, you could be a creep.”
”I’m sorry, but we really need to talk.”
”Come in then. Keep it down, everyone else is asleep.”
”Why are you still up?” They sit on the couch. Carlos sees Isa’s Nursing books. “Never mind. When’s the test?”
”In the morning, at ten.”
Carlos stands up. “Well I guess we can just talk tomorrow.”
Isa reaches for Carlos’ hand. “You wouldn’t come over at this hour if it was something that could wait until tomorrow.”
He sits back down. “Isa, I just found out one of my classmates from high school passed away. I don’t know the details, but I spoke to him recently and he told me how he was still dating the same girl from high school and that he was happy. He really felt she was the one and…now this.”
“Ay Dios. Carlos.” Isa hugs him. “Babe…”
”No, no, no Isa. I don’t need comforting.” He sighs. “I know tomorrow isn’t promised and the time we spend together must be cherished. That’s why I already know that you are the one for me, and if something were to happen to either of us…”
”Wait Carlos are you saying, what I think your saying?”
”I’m saying I want to marry you Isa. I want you to be mine forever.”
“Tony”
Shannon is running up Graham Avenue in Delta Station heading towards the railroad station to catch the last train back home. At the corner of Stony Street a cab is waiting at the stop sign. She glances at the driver and he rolls down his window.
“Miss, do you need a ride somewhere?” He asks.
“Are you still on duty?”
“Yeah. Climb in the front, I won’t bite, I swear.”
Shannon hesitates. “Turn on the lights.” She demands.
The driver turns the cabin lights on in the car. “Ok.”
She looks at him. He’s light skinned with dark brown eyes and a dark Caesar haircut. He looks young, between eighteen and twenty years old. “I’m Tony Sanders. I won’t hurt you; I have my three younger siblings in the backseat. Come on, you look like you’re in a rush.”
Shannon sighs. “I have a curfew and I need to get to the railroad to catch the last train back to Hampton Beach…”
“Get in.” Tony reaches over and opens the door for her.
Still hesitant, Shannon opens the door wider. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Oh, I guessed right.” She gets in the car and closes the door.
“What time do you need to be back home…?” He extends his hand.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Shannon.” She shakes his hand.
“So, do you trust me to drive you home?”
Shannon nods her head. “Have me home by midnight, please…”
“On My Grown and Sexy”
Spelman College- Priscilla’s dorm
Saturday, September 8, 2007 1:25 pm
Priscilla is in her dorm room folding clothes after doing her laundry. There is a knock at the door. “Who is it?”
“Peaches, open the door for Big T.”
She smiles and runs to the door. She opens the door. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi to you too, Peaches.”
“Hi Terrell, Big T.” She laughs.
“So can I come in or is your roommate in?”
“Oh, you can come in.” She pulls him inside. “What brings you to Atlanta?”
“You do Peaches.”
“Since when do you call me ‘Peaches’?”
“Since you started college.”
“You want to be difficult right? Priscilla is my ‘Ms. Sophisticated’ name and Peaches is my alter ego. Didn’t you hear? I’m on my grown and sexy. Baby I’m in college…”
“My Heart and Mind are on the Same Page”
It’s 12:07 AM. There’s a knock on the door of 4L. Isa is in the living room studying. She gets up and walks to the door and looks out the peep hole, but it is covered. “Carlos?” She asks.
”No, it’s the Boogeyman.”
Isa opens the door. “Why would you cover the peep hole? You know it’s late, you could be a creep.”
”I’m sorry, but we really need to talk.”
”Come in then. Keep it down, everyone else is asleep.”
”Why are you still up?” They sit on the couch. Carlos sees Isa’s Nursing books. “Never mind. When’s the test?”
”In the morning, at ten.”
Carlos stands up. “Well I guess we can just talk tomorrow.”
Isa reaches for Carlos’ hand. “You wouldn’t come over at this hour if it was something that could wait until tomorrow.”
He sits back down. “Isa, I just found out one of my classmates from high school passed away. I don’t know the details, but I spoke to him recently and he told me how he was still dating the same girl from high school and that he was happy. He really felt she was the one and…now this.”
”Ay Dios. Carlos.” Isa hugs him. “Babe…”
”No, no, no Isa. I don’t need comforting.” He sighs……………To Be Continued
Max (Spring 2009)
UNC- TJ’s Dorm- I’m on the phone with Janelle. “What day are you coming home?” She asks me.
“I’m not sure yet. I’m supposed to be driving down with my friend Max so…”
“Oh, I thought you, Alex, and Justin were driving back home together.”
I sigh. “Janelle, I told you before that Alex and Justin finish their finals before me. Don’t you ever listen to me?”
“Sometimes I tune you out.”
Typical Janelle. “Yeah, I’m sure. So what’s going on in Hampton Beach right now? What am I missing?”
“Nothing too much. It’s pretty dead, not everyone’s back. I’ve been hanging out with my younger sisters.”
I laugh. “Kickin’ it with the high-schoolers, huh?”
“Yeah man, you know around this time last year we were getting ready for prom and graduation…”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. I was so glad when that was over.”
“Oh, TJ…why do you act like you hated prom? We had a blast.”
“Oh yeah, if you call our limo breaking down in Delta Station, South a blast.”
Janelle laughs. “Why do you insist on remembering the worst part, Teej?”
“Because we paid mad guap for the damn limo and he shoulda filled it up while were inside the hall.”
“Yeah, ok TJ. So why I have I never heard about your friend Max? I thought we were best friends.”
“We are. I guess Max never came up in our conversations.”
“Well, where’s Max from?”
“Savannah.”
“Oh really? Is Max hot?”
“Not your type, Janelle. Really not your type.” I say.
“What does that mean? You don’t want me checking out your new friends from school.”
The Fly & Sexy Ladies’ Anthem
Jade S. Jacobs
“The Pleasure Factor”
‘Chuck the Deuces’
Janelle receives a text from TJ.
Hey what’s up?
She texts him back.
Hey what’s up? Really TJ??? You’ve been ignoring all my phone calls and I get hit with the ‘hey what’s up?’
She receives another text.
This isn’t TJ.
Annoyed with the back and forth Janelle decides to call TJ’s phone for the hundredth time today. Again he doesn’t pick up.
I can’t talk right now. All you need to know is that I’m Tatiana and I see that you and my man have been talking a lot lately.
Janelle laughs and texts back.
Well, where is TJ?
Tatiana writes back.
He in the shower. He’s been staying at my place for the past month and a half because Josh kicked him out their apartment. So what’s your relationship with TJ?
D’Laijia is sitting across from Janelle in their living room. “What is so funny over there?” Janelle tosses her blackberry to D’Laijia.
“Read the convo.”
After a minute D’Laijia looks up and tosses the phone back to Janelle. “Wow! Really though?”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“I’m about to call him from my phone.”
“Why?”
“So I can be like, “This his baby mama trick!” Come on lemme do it ‘Nelle.”
“No Dee!”
“Well, I’m tryna figure out why Josh kicked him out their place. That doesn’t seem like a Josh move.”
“I don’t know why either. And TJ never mentioned anything to me.”
“He’s hiding something.”
“No shit Sherlock. What are you gonna do? You wanna rent a car and unleash a can of whoop-ass? We can put those self-defense classes to the test.”
“When did you become such a violent person Dee?”
“I really don’t know. But I feel like this is the right time and place for it.”
“We don’t even know the situation.”
“What the hell? Don’t give me that Janelle…you know if he’s been staying with her for the past month and a half it’s not just some friend type arrangement. That’s your boyfriend now, it’s not just best friend TJ that could screw around with whores and hoes and you not give a flying…”
