𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃

6: 𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗵

Airpods in as I walked through campus from one class to another. Key Glock played in my ears, but just the sight of me, you couldn't tell. A few times during the walk, I drifted off into my thoughts. His song The 1, played as I did a mental update on my checklist of the day. It was officially the due date of our news columns and we were going live with the links in less than two hours. Unlike any other time I've done this — I was nervous.

"Damn, I'm tryin' to talk to you. Slow yo' ass down." Turning my head slightly, I rolled my eyes not only at the tone of voice but at who the voice belonged.

"What you want, Carter?"

"A minute, if you got it to spare."

"I really don't."

Months down the line and still, my brain can't come up with any logical answer. I don't understand why my lack of interest isn't enough. Maybe, I am a joke. Nobody seems to take me seriously when I say — I'm not dating.

"Penny, you playing."

"No, I'm not," Stopping in my tracks, my eyes landed on twenty-four-year-old, Carter Staples. While Carter was handsome — tall and caramel with some of the most beautiful green eyes, I wasn't interested. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way and I couldn't pinpoint why that was. I will admit, that there are times when there's nothing wrong with the man and it's me. But with Mr. Staples? It was no struggle to walk away from him or ignore his constant DMs on Instagram. 

"I have somewhere to be. So, excuse me."

"I'm not finna keep beggin' yo' ass for some time. Who the-"

"Boy, fuck you."

I caught of glimpse of his distaste for me then. Maybe that was the problem? Carter almost wanted to be the one being chased and there was only room for one Princess in my relationships. Me. The feeling of being disrespected was written on his face. But I turned on my heels to walk away. Yes, at moments my words are cutthroat and my attitude is reckless, but it comes after moments of being nice. Moments of giving the chance for the other person to walk away.

Making it to the Bishop Cornelius Henderson Student Center was a short walk from my failed encounter. Thankfully Khadi was standing at the entrance doors with her phone to her ear. Our smiles mirrored one another as she waited for me.

"Okay, I'll call you when I get out of class...I know, I promise," The call ended and she greeted me like a kid on Christmas. "Hi, boop!"

"Girl, do not kiss me." Mushing her away, I moved before her lips could connect.

"Don't do that."

"I don't know what you do with them lips."

"Nothing. It's my tongue that does-"

"Shut the fuck up, Kay." God, she's disgusting!

Walking around her, the two of us made our way through the mildly crowded hall. One class was letting out and I recognized a face among the students. Making sure to give her a small wave as we passed the small group. Of course, Kay wasn't done with our discussion though.

"You act like you don't suck dick."

"Again, your fascination with my sex life is ridiculous."

"You don't have one, that's what's ridiculous," Letting her words roll over, I held the door open for us to walk inside the classroom. The average class at CAU is small, only holding around twenty-five students. Outside of Dr. Landrum's lecture on News Writing, my classes were intimate in size. Something I've always been thankful for, especially as we were among the first few to arrive.