Bodies

quarante-trois

Within a couple days, Milan, Valerie, Nicoletta, and Daya staked out in Milan's hotel room planning her great escape from Chicago down to the type of gas mileage she needed in her car when she bought a new one with the insurance payout from her car accident.

Valerie tried to front of the bill for this as well, but Milan said the Giovanni woman was burgeoning on becoming her sugar momma and Luca, Val's husband, ain't want no smoke with her.

"You ain't snooty enough for Spelman or Howard. Ain't them the campuses Drake be rapping about?" Daya scrunched her face up at the mock up of pros and cons of Milan attending there listed on a sheet of paper.

The four women were sitting criss-cross-applesauce around two boxes of the greasiest Italian Fiesta pizza Chicago's created. Valerie snatched Howard's file out of Daya's hand and smoothed it from Daya's tight hold. "I don't know about Spelman, but the illustrious Howard University has a fine sociology program. It's a true honor to study at the Mecca."

Valerie wistfully patted the crest of her alma mater before putting it down next to the plethora of other schools they had laid down on the ground. Daya very visibly rolled her eyes at the sentimental college grad. 

"I'm just sayin' 'Skegee looks lit and that campus big as fuck." Daya continued on despite what Valerie interjected with. She grabbed another slice of pepperoni pizza and dropped it loudly on her grease soaked paper plate.

Nicoletta was quickly chewing a big bite of her own slice of cheese pizza as she messily slid over FAMU's website on her iPad. "Yeah whatever, you guys, but does Tuskegee have him?!" The girl gushed as she pushed the screen in everyone's faces.

On the screen was a light brown man with long locs that were dyed blonde at the ends. He was heavily tattooed and wore the bright orange tee shirt he had on with pride.

 "Mmmm..." Daya and Valerie purred when they laid eyes on him.

"Now that's what the fuck I'm talking about!" Daya cheered with hornball laced glee, taking the bottom of the screen and zooming in on the guy's lips. You could see the peek of a gold bottom grill in his mouth. 

Then Daya looked at Milan and gestured to the screen, "See? This is why we keep our options open!" She told her. Milan looked at the screen and nodded, quietly starting on another slice of sausage pizza. "He's alright." She told the group.

"I forgot you liked darkskins." Daya griped as she snatched the screen back from Milan's eyeview and gave it back to Nicoletta. Valerie gave a soft giggle at this, but the whole room went quiet slowly as the 3 other women noticed that Milan was not really participating in their banter.

"What school is speaking to you, pretty?" Valerie gave a soft squeeze to Milan's shoulder, coaxing her to speak up. This caused Milan to actually tune back in to the conversation going on in the room. Her mind was elsewhere, her mind was with Ramses.

"I was thinking... maybe I just stick around here and go to community college? That way I—"

"Bitch, don't even finish your sentence." Daya derailed Milan's train of thought.

Nicoletta swallowed another bite of pizza loudly, nodding the whole way through. "I'm gonna have to agree with—" She had to pause to swallow again. "I'm gonna have to agree with Daya here. You can go anywhere in the country and you want to stay close to home for a man?"

The turn of conversation had Milan on the defensive. She was appreciative of their help and all, but honestly, she wasn't done grieving. And she didn't appreciate her thoughts being dismissed so carelessly.