I grabbed my things and left the class. I walked out into the yard and noticed a booth I had never seen on campus before. For a second, I thought it was a group of Black Panthers, but it wasn’t. They held a small group around them. My interest was piqued as I moved closer.
“Peace, God, peace,” they said to the Black men who were walking by.
I stopped to listen to them talk. “Can anyone tell me what today’s mathematics is?” one guy asked with a New York accent.
Everyone stood there, clueless until a girl walked up. “Peace, wisdom, and knowledge. Wisdom is the reflection of knowledge. You can have both, but do you know when to use them?” she said.
“Earth, I see you,” he replied to her, then directed his attention to the small crowd. “You hear Earth. She’s speaking truth. Now, I’m not asking everyone to understand, but I’m here to teach you.”
I took in what he was saying as I backed away. “The Black man is God!” I heard him yell. “Aye, brother! What’s your name?” he asked, pointing and looking directly at me.
To see someone my age speaking as if he lived through it all was different. Speaking about knowledge, peace, God, and all types of self-reflection affirmations was new to me. I must have been taking too long to answer because he approached me.
“I’m Shakim. I can see you don’t understand. No pressure, butwhen you’re ready, I’ll be here. I’m a student just like you,” he finished, turned around, and tried to catch the next person who passed by.
APPLE
I shot up from the bed with yesterday’s clothes on. I glanced over at my clock, and saw I had missed my first class.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I panicked.
That Xanax took me out. The last thing I remembered was leaving the café with Jesaiah. I wasn’t even sure how I got back to my room. It did make me sleepy, but never to the point of oversleeping. I had been taking it for so long that the most it had done was make me feel loopy, but I guess my body was much more tired than I thought. I needed to remind myself that Xanax was no longer the pill of choice, and maybe I should try something like Adderall.
I didn’t have time to shower, so I changed clothes, grabbed my bags, and rushed to my next class. As I hurried out of the building, I checked my phone. The sunlight was blinding, and its brightness caught me off guard, jolting my senses awake. As my feet moved through the yard and my eyes were glued to my phone, I noticed I had an email saying I had an interview for the internship.
“Yes!”I squealed.
My head rose quickly, but my reflexes weren’t as fast. My body bumped into someone.
“Shit! I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
When I saw who I bumped into, I felt embarrassed. “Watch where you’re walking,” he grumbled.
It was Xavier Keyton. I often saw him on campus, but I never spoke much. He always came across as obnoxious, and I was already dealing with Jesaiah’s attitude. Still, I tended to be drawn to guys with a conceited streak.
I adjusted my hair behind my ear as I stood before him. “Xavier Keyton, did you bump into me on purpose?” I called myself flirting with him.
He smirked, then flicked his nose. “Apple, don’t flatter yourself. You weren’t paying attention, and you walked into me. You be easy,” he said as he moved around me.
“So, that’s it?”
He paused and limped as he turned around. “Was there supposed to be more? I’m confused.”
“Maybe.”
He laughed, shook his head, limped back around, and continued walking away. A grin appeared on my face as I headed to find Harlem. My interview was in the next thirty minutes, and I needed to be sharp and alert. I moved around campus searching high and low until I spotted Harlem coming from the old Mercier building.
“Harlem!” I yelled as my kitten heels moved quickly to catch him.
He turned to see me coming in his direction and stopped. When I finally reached him, I could barely speak because I was out of breath.
“I’ve been looking for you,” I panted.
“I’m sure you were. What’s up?” he said dryly.
I knew he was still mad about the comment I made, but I was in a moment of anger when he tried talking to me.
“Um, I was wondering if you had something stronger than theXannies. I mean, they’re cool, but I need something that’s going to keep me up, not put me to sleep.”
