Dripping Exclusives

(3) Lessons

C A M E R O N

  Friday
5:00 pm

      I go into the cafe, scanning my card to let me inside the dining hall. I scrunch up my face, not seeing many appetizing options. The bulk of my money goes to buying food because some of the shit here is questionable. The only consistent meal is the cheeseburger and fries, I'm becoming sick of that too.

     I go to fix me a plate of fries, deciding that this will hold me until later on. I have pizza rolls in my room so this will have to do for right now. As I scan the tables to find somewhere to sit, I smirk seeing Zania sitting alone as usual. She has friends but most of her time on campus is her head in a laptop. "Mind if I sit here?", I don't wait for a response and sit my stuff down on the table. She gives me the same blank stare that I'm use to receiving. "What's the point of asking if you're just gonna do it anyway", she closes her notebook and gives me her attention.

      "I knew you would say no", I watch as she giggles, revealing that smile.

   "Exactly cause I don't need nun of yo lil groupies trynna put a hit out on me", she responds and I look at the ceiling.

     "Is that why you treat me like imma plaque"

  She laughs, "No you just always have something smart to say"

      I've always found Zania to be interesting. Mostly because our debates in class would intrigue me. I never took our debates to heart but I could tell that it would bother her at times. That eventually led me to bothering her outside of class, I get a kick out of her seeing her riled up.

    That's the only way I get her to talk to me. "You weren't in class today", I raise an eyebrow at her.

   "I know", she pouts. "I overslept and I wasn't getting dressed to sit in the last half of the class"

     "What did y'all talk about", she ponders, leaning on her arms.

   I shake my head, "Relationship shit again. The professor asked about our takes on marriage. We read an article about the top reasons that couples get divorced"

       "So who did you argue with today?"

   "Nobody", I didn't wanna speak. Oddly enough, it felt weird not having her to argue with.

   "Whattttt? I should've been there for that"

   "If you were there I would've said something", I retort and she rolls her eyes. "So what was the topic", she asks.

    "She basically asked could marriage last purely out of love? Is love enough for any relationship to last?"

    She sighs, "I don't think relationships can last off of just feelings. I think it's a motivator but there's definitely different factors that play into it".

    I prop my head on my hands, "Like what?". I expected a different answer because based off the last discussion she gives me the vibes of a hopeless romantic. "Effort like you can love someone and get too comfortable. Like some couples get married and become roommates. People change everyday, you should make an effort to keep that connection. Oh! Being on the same page financially is important", she explains and I nod in agreement.