College Life 101, page 23
Chasity looked at her and frowned. “And where exactly did you hear that I’d had a rough Thanksgiving?” she asked, stiffening up.
“I mentioned it to her and Sidra,” Alex interjected.
“What the hell did you do that for?”
“I didn’t want the other girls to question you about your break, so I told them that you had a rough time and not to ask you about it,” Alex responded. “Malajia,” she added, gesturing to her.
“What?” Malajia exclaimed then patted her face. “You never said not to mention it.”
Chasity turned on Alex. “Why would you think that I wanted them to know my business?”
Alex turned away from Chasity to grab a shirt off of her bed. “Let’s not argue about this,” she said, brushing aside Chasity’s obvious annoyance.
“What? You tell Sidra and Malajia my fuckin’ business, and now you don’t want me to argue with you about it?” Chasity charged.
Alex spun around and faced Chasity. “Sweetie, I’m not doing things like this to hurt you. I just feel that we’re friends and we need to share things that bother us. It’s good to have a support system—”
“No. You’re a nosey, interfering bitch,” Chasity shouted. Alex gasped at the insult, but Chasity barreled on. “You just can’t stand that I don’t whine and cry about every little fuckin’ thing.”
“That’s not why I said anything!” Alex protested.
“Whatever, Alex!” Chasity hollered.
“God, Chasity, you are such a ...”
“I’m a what?”
“Okay, okay. That’s enough.” Sidra jumped in between the arguing girls. “Malajia, you get your roommate, I’ll get mine.” She grabbed onto Chasity’s arm and proceeded to pull her out of the room.
“Oh please. This one ain’t gonna do nothin’,” Malajia replied as she gestured to Alex, who was busy smoothing her hair back with her hands.
“I’ll call you all later,” Sidra said as she shut the door behind her.
Malajia and Emily looked over at Alex; her hand was over her forehead.
“Chaz is right,” Malajia declared, “You are nosey.”
Alex, not in the mood for Malajia’s glib comments at the moment, snatched part of the mask off Malajia’s face and walked away.
“It wasn’t ready yet!” Malajia yelled, putting her hands over her face.
Chapter 25
Monday morning, most of the crew dragged themselves to Science class. Mark, yet to recover from the weekend, had his head down on the desk.
Jason poked Chasity when Professor Jones walked in and started writing on the blackboard. “Quiz today,” Jason groaned.
“What? Now?” Chasity exclaimed loudly enough to attract the professor’s attention.
“Yes, now. Put your books away.”
Emily raised her hand. “What is it going to be on?”
“Chapters five and six. They were assigned last week before you went home for Thanksgiving break,” Professor Jones answered, voice laced with frustration.
“Sorry,” Emily mumbled and slumped down in her seat.
“Come on, Professor Jones,” Mark objected. “How do you expect people to study over the holiday?”
“Because Mr. Johnson, this is college. Not high school. College. I expect you to work hard and study hard, no matter what time it is, or what holiday,” he responded, folding his arms.
“Why don’t you just do us all a favor and make the test for next week?” Mark pleaded.
“Mr. Johnson, don’t make me throw you out of my classroom for stupidity.” Professor Jones warned. “Now, clear your desk right now, or I’ll give you a zero.”
“Um, I have cramps,” Chasity said, offering the only plausible excuse she could think of. “Can I take it another time?”
“Miss Parker, you’re on thin ice already due to your smart mouth. Don’t test my patience.”
Chasity rolled her eyes and sighed as she cleared her desk.
“Damn,” Jason complained, clearing his desk.
“I sure am glad I studied over the break,” David murmured.
“You would study over a break, you dork,” Mark jeered
“Make fun of me all you want,” David shot back, “but don’t forget to tell Mama Johnson why you failed yet another test.” David’s dart hit its target. Mark pounded his fist on his desk; he knew his mother didn’t mince words when it came to school work.
“Wouldn’t you know, Public Speaking just had to be the first class after break,” Sidra complained. She hated this class. “Whole thing is a waste of time, anyway.”
“It’s great for Alex,” Malajia said idly, frowning when she noticed the nail polish on one of her nails had chipped. “She loves giving lectures anyway, no matter how much nobody asks for them.”
Alex didn’t bother to reply; she just elbowed Malajia in the ribs. She would have done so harder if she hadn’t been sure that Malajia would let out a scream. She couldn’t believe how quickly her roommate had jumped to Chasity’s defense last night.
“Knock it off,” Sidra whispered, noticing that Professor Lawrence had looked up. “I don’t want to attract any attention. I’m already drowning in this class.”
“Let’s start with your speeches,” Professor Lawrence proposed, putting down the papers she had been shuffling. “Remember to keep within the five minutes allowed.”
“What speech?” Alex asked.
“The speech on World War II that you’re supposed to give today,” Professor Lawrence responded.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Malajia grumbled and tossed her pen down. “Who cares about World War II?”
Unfortunately for Malajia, the lecture hall had excellent acoustics. Professor Lawrence set her glasses down on the podium. “Miss Simmons, World War II was chosen for the assignment to give you practice addressing important issues and events. Shall we get on with it without you wasting any more of our time?”
Malajia rolled her eyes, “Whatever,” she mumbled.
“Man, I knew that I should’ve done some homework over the weekend,” Josh moaned. “That’s what I get for messin’ with y’all.”
“Nobody had to twist your arm to make you come with us, Joshua,” Sidra pointed out.
“Hold on. I thought that we agreed that you would never use my full name in public.”
“I lied,” she said, grinning at him. He hated being called Joshua.
“Oh okay. You wanna start exposing hated names huh? Sidra Ophelia Howard,” he shot back, knowing full well that Sidra hated her middle name.
“Eww, what the hell is an Ophelia?” Malajia broke in laughing.
Sidra glared at Malajia, then turned her attention back to a laughing Josh. “Joshua, you are so dead,” Sidra promised.
“Ah, I see that we have some volunteers,” Professor Lawrence said, interrupting their exchange. “Miss Howard, you can go first.”
“Huh?” Sidra exclaimed.
“Yes. Followed by Mr. Hampton.” Josh let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back in his seat.
Malajia’s burst of laughter came to an abrupt halt.
“Miss Simmons, you will present after Mr. Hampton, then Miss Chisolm.”
“I’m so not prepared for this,” Alex said as she covered her face with her notebook.
“Man,” Malajia whined. “I knew I shouldn’t have come to class today.”
Sidra stood up and walked slowly to the podium.
“Five minutes,” Professor Lawrence reminded.
“Five minutes?” Sidra echoed. “Can’t I just take my zero and sit down?”
“No, that would just be too easy. Now get started.”
Emily slumped in her chair. The group had gathered in one of the library’s study rooms to cram for tests. But Emily couldn’t concentrate.
“I completely failed that quiz.”
“Stop complaining. At least you actually wrote something,” Chasity snapped.
“That doesn’t make a difference,” Emily barked, immediately looking away. She hadn’t meant to raise her voice.
Chasity shot her a glare. “Who the hell are you yelling at?” she asked, surprised to hear more than a squeak out of meek little Emily.
Alex sighed, “Chasity, get off her case.”
“Bitch, don’t talk to me,” Chasity sneered.
Alex’s mouth fell open. “Come on. You can’t still be mad at me.”
“I said don’t talk to me,” Chasity repeated.
Frustrated with Chasity’s stubborn attitude, Alex sat back in her seat, folded her arms, and let out a loud sigh.
“At least you didn’t have to stand in front of twenty classmates and BS for five minutes, Emily,” Sidra complained.
“And bullshit you did, sis,” Alex teased, giggling. Sidra slowly turned her head and glowered at Alex.
“I know, right? By the time you got to the fifth ‘um the war was long and hard’ I was ready to fall off my seat laughing,” Malajia chimed in.
Sidra was seething so much that she started breathing hard. “Malajia, I know your simple ass isn’t—”
“Sid, relax,” Josh interrupted, leaning forward and giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. “It’ll be better next time.”
“Yeah, right,” she groused, jerking away.
“This is my first bad grade ever,” Emily confessed.
“You’ll get used to ‘em,” Malajia predicted as she scribbled on her notebook with a highlighter.
Chasity sighed loudly. “Y’all talk too damn much,” she said, closing her book.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Malajia asked, seeing Chasity stand from the table.
“I’m going to mind my damn business,” Chasity threw over her shoulder as she headed out of the room.
Chasity settled in an isolated corner of the library and took her math book out. She needed to put some serious study time in. But of course, she couldn’t be alone for even a minute.
“What the hell are you doing over here?” she demanded, pissed to see Jason pull up a chair next to her. She’d snapped at him several times that day for no reason, but he kept coming back for more.
“I’m here to study. Just like you,” he replied, pulling his notebook out from his book bag.
“Do it somewhere else,” she demanded.
“Nope,” he calmly responded. Not wanting to move her seat again, Chasity just sucked her teeth and looked down at her book.
Jason was restless. He started tapping his pencil on the table.
“Could you stop that?” she asked, voice dripping with anger.
“I could if you asked me nicely,” he replied, eyes fixed on the words in his book.
“This is as nice as I’m going to get,” she stated flatly, “so could you stop it?”
He looked at her. “No, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you have been rude to me all day and I would like an apology.”
“I’ll apologize to you when hell freezes over,” she sneered.
“You really think so huh?” he questioned, folding his arms. “I don’t get why you’re being so nasty to me.”
“You make me fuckin’ sick,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
“No, I don’t,” Jason responded calmly. “And why do you have to curse at me?”
Chasity stared at him. She hated the way he kept going at it with her. “Why don’t you leave?” she asked
“Why? I don’t have anywhere else to be.”
“Fine,” she hissed and shoved her notebook into her book bag again.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Away from you,” she spat, eyes flashing.
“Okay, do what you want. You always do.” He chuckled as she stormed down the library corridor. “I get her every time.”
Sidra, completely overwhelmed, finally snapped. She stood up on her bed and yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Girl, what is wrong with you?” Alex asked, surprised at the sudden outburst.
“I hate math,” she screeched.
“You and me both,” Malajia concurred, looking down at her workbook with disgust.
Tired of the library scene that night, the girls decided to take their study session back to Sidra and Chasity’s room.
“It’s divide this and factor that,” Sidra whined, then burst into hysterical laughter. “I can’t even remember the quadratic equation.”
Alex ran over, grabbed Sidra by the shoulders and shook her. Sidra stopped laughing and regarded her friend calmly.
“Um, Alex that didn’t help me at all.”
“I’m sorry, girl, but you were going crazy there,” Alex explained. “If you need help with your formulas, just ask David. He knows everything, or so he says.”
“Oh yeah. My buddy Dave,” Sidra said, mulling over the suggestion. “I forgot that I grew up with a genius.” Alex giggled as she flopped down on the love seat. A second later, Chasity stormed in the room.
“What’s the matter with you?” Malajia asked, looking up at the angry expression on her face.
“Jason makes me so fuckin’ sick!” she snapped.
“O-kay,” Malajia drawled, fixing her gaze back down at her book.
“Shut up, Malajia!” Chasity yelled.
“What?” Malajia protested loudly. “I didn’t even say anything.”
“Look,” Alex broke in. “Everybody’s on edge with finals coming up. Let’s take it easy.”
Long hours spent cramming began to take its toll. As fatigue set in, tempers flared at the slightest provocation. Up all night studying, no one was in the mood to talk when the group crowded into their usual booth by the window in the cafeteria. The heavy silence weighed on Emily.
“So,” she asked, “is everybody enjoying their lunch?”
“Are you serious?” Malajia scoffed, going back to her turkey wrap.
“It’s just so quiet,” Emily stammered, looking around. “I feel like everybody’s mad at each other.”
“So?” Chasity inquired nastily, raising an eyebrow.
“Not everybody has to be evil like you, Chasity,” Jason interjected, trying to get a rise out of her. She was too stubborn to have an ordinary conversation with him.
She slowly turned and looked at him. “Are you trying to piss me off?”
“No,” he lied. “That seems to be how you are every damn day.”
“Jason, leave her alone,” Alex advised.
“When are you going to learn to mind your own business, Alex?” Jason asked calmly as he continued to stare at Chasity. Alex made a face at him.
“Thank you, Jason,” Malajia exclaimed, picking up a piece of red pepper that had fallen out of her turkey wrap. “Somebody else has finally said it.” She dropped the pepper back on the plate as Alex nudged her.
“Jason, I don’t know why you continue to talk to me,” Chasity complained. “You know that I can’t stand you.”
“And you know that’s not true,” he shot back.
“Yes, it is. You are not good enough to talk to me. When are you gonna realize that?”
Jason’s easy smile disappeared, his expression hardened. “You know what? I’ll see you guys later,” he said and grabbed his book bag.
Chasity closed her eyes, hoping to shut out the look on Jason’s face. She couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her mouth. She hadn’t meant to insult him, she simply wanted him to leave her alone.
“That was so ignorant, even for you,” Alex charged.
“Alex, not now,” Chasity murmured as she watched Jason walk away. She was in no mood to hear one of Alex’s lectures.
“Look, in Chasity’s defense, he shouldn’t have been bothering her,” Malajia chimed in. “I mean, come on, why would he take that to heart? Mark doesn’t, and I say it to him all the time.”
Mark looked at her, confused. “No, you don’t.”
“I don’t? Well, maybe I just think it,” Malajia corrected and took a sip of juice. “Bottom line—Alex, leave Chasity alone.”
“Why is everybody so damn cranky?” Mark asked, looking around at the tired faces.
“Because we were up all night,” Josh spat out as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Doing what?” Mark asked with a frown. “And why wasn’t I invited?”
“We were studying, you moron,” Malajia explained in a condescending voice.
“Why?”
“Is this ‘ask dumb ass questions day’ or something?” Chasity wondered aloud.
Alex shook her head. “Why wouldn’t we be studying?” She tapped her fingers on the table, waiting for his stupid reply; she knew that he’d make one.
“Studying is a waste of time.” He fixed his book bag on his shoulder. “All you have to do is pay attention in class, and you can pass any test.” His tone was full of confidence.
“But you don’t pay attention,” Josh objected.
“Please, I got this final thing in the bag. I got it all up here,” Mark claimed and pointed to his head.
“But there’s nothing up there,” Sidra exclaimed. “There never has been.”
“Go pop a damn pill or something,” he shot back at her, the smile wiped off his face.
“‘I got it all up here.’ Please,” Josh mimicked.
“Y’all are some haters man,” Mark declared, tossing a balled up napkin on the table.
Maybe it was better, Emily thought to herself, when nobody was talking.
“Where’s Jason?” Chasity asked Mark. He looked up from the various bowling balls he was inspecting. The group had decided that they needed a breather, and a trip to the bowling alley fit the bill.
“Why? So you can insult him again?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t start it, cause your feelings, I don’t mind hurting,” she shot back.
“Instead of my feelings, how about hurting something else, sexy?” he teased and moved closer to her.
“Ugh,” she groaned, pushing him away. Mark laughed and went back to picking out his ball.
“Mark, I don’t know why you’re taking so long,” Malajia called out. “You’re gonna lose no matter which ball you choose.”
