It was the first day, and already I was in bad standing with my professor. I let out a light breath as I went to pull out my laptop. “We signed a paper. That’s how he knows. Don’t worry, though. His bark is bigger than his bite. Trust me,” I heard a male’s voice say.
When I lifted my head, I turned to see the same guy who hadpatted my ass at Hoodoo’s. He was much more handsome in the daylight, but he gave ‘I know I’m the shit’.
I gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks.”
He squinted his eyes as he stared at me. “I’ve seen you around campus a few times and at Hoodoo’s.”
“Okay,” I muttered.
He raised his brows. “Don’t shoot me. A nigga was just saying.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m just saying, ‘okay.’”
As I tried focusing on what the professor was saying, the guy kept talking. My head snapped his way. “Would you shut up!” I snapped.
A scoff came from the professor. “Miss Calloway, since you seem to want to come in late and take it upon yourself to interrupt my class, how do elements like color, composition, and light, contribute to the meaning of this piece?” he asked as his pointer landed on the projector screen.
Shrank again.I swallowed deeply because I hadn’t had time to analyze the art. The professor said nothing as he turned his back on me. My eyes rolled toward the nigga who seemed to be Mr. Chatty Chad as he smiled. I couldn’t deny the man was fine, and his smile was everything, but the fact that I just got called out only pissed me off.
“I’m Jesaiah.” He winked.
My lip curled in disgust. I sat there for the next hour listening to the professor and trying my best to focus. As soon as class was over, everyone packed up and left. When the professor called out to me, my stomach sank. I hiked my bag over my shoulder and went down the steps.
He didn’t even allow me to get to the bottom before he started. “Samara, is it?”
I nodded. “Listen, I’m not a man of many passes; however, I understand the need to build habits. Make it your last time being late. What is your love for the arts?”
“It’s how I see the world,” I replied.
“Well, if that’s the case, appreciate my class time as you do the arts.”
“Professor Williams, I promise I won’t be late again,” I mumbled.
He went back to what he was doing as if I said nothing. Professor Williams didn’t look like he knew the first thing about art. He looked like a lonely old man who needed something to do.
I walked out of the class to make my way to the café to grab some real food when I saw him. Dio took the long way around the campus to get to the other side by himself. He eyed me for a split second, then pulled his eyes away as if he didn’t know who the fuck I was. Like it wasn’t him lying in our bed only hours ago.
“The fuck!” I muttered.
“Is that your nigga or what?” Jesaiah said from behind me.
I almost broke my neck to face him. “Would you leave me alone?”
He shrugged. “I can for now, but we’ll be seeing each other again. We share a class, remember?” he said as he walked off.
While Jesaiah was worried about me, I was worried about why the fuck Dio was acting strange.
XAVIER
As I hobbled across the campus, everyone who saw me dapped me up or shouted out to me. Other than this injury, shit was cool. Being a star athlete, most things came to me like butter. From the passes on some courses, free meals from time to time, and even being offered money that I had to reject, otherwise, I would’ve been kicked out. TSU was the shit sometimes, but it had its bad parts, like dealing with the women.
As I went to enter the building, Ms. August was coming out. She was like the granny with morals. She was the person everyone loved, but she looked different, happier, like she had gotten the best news of her life.
“Xavier, I see you’re still hurt.”
“Man, I’m trying to get better, Ms. August.”
“Dean,” she paused. “Dean August.”
