Color Blind

Chapter 14

"Aight beh-be," Lafayette drawled Louisiana-style and turned to Tia. "You open yours first."

About a week after the fight that Tia and I had, I moved back in with my mom. The move wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be, and Aunt Rachael insisted on keeping everything in "my room" over at her house the exact same. "That way," she suggested, "you can come back here any time you feel like it." She even insisted on me leaving some clothes over there and refused to take my key back when I offered it to her. I'm pretty sure this was because in the back of her mind she figured my mother might decide to send me packing back that way at any moment. I can't say that I wasn't thinking the same thing.

Tia, Lafayette and Scott had been receiving acceptance letters from colleges left and right. The University of Miami was where Tia and Lafayette were planning to go together, but Lafayette had also applied to Louisiana State University with Scott. The three of them decided to call me over earlier that morning and we now sat looking intently at Tia and Lafayette's envelopes. These were the last letters to be opened and the ones on which their futures depended the most. If they were both accepted into The University of Miami, and if Lafayette was offered a big enough scholarship from them, then Tia and Lafayette would be able to stay together throughout their college careers.

Tia took in a deep breath. "Ok. Here goes..." A slow smile spread across her face as she read the letter twice before looking up at us. "I got in."

Now it was Lafayette's turn to breathe deeply. "Ok, my turn..." Slowly he pulled out a single sheet of paper and after reading it for what seemed like the hundredth time, he looked disappointedly at Tia. "I got in."

We all continued to stare at him, waiting for the "but." Finally, we got it.

"But they didn't even offer me any money at all."

"Are you serious?" Tia and I cried simultaneously. Tia took the letter from him and read it thoroughly for herself. "What the hell?" she exclaimed. "As smart as you are and as much community service that you've been doing? What the hell were they thinking?!" She was obviously pissed, but probably more because of the fact that they were breaking her and Lafayette apart than anything else.

Lafayette shrugged and looked over at Scott. "Well..."

Scott nodded. They had both been offered full scholarships to Louisiana State. Tia looked at the two of them, then back down at the letter disappointedly. Also shrugging, she folded the letter up carefully and put it back into its envelope.

"It's all good," she replied with false nonchalance. "At least you and Scott still get to be together. And now you can both be around your families, too." Scott rolled his eyes at the thought and Lafayette nodded at Tia in agreement.

"We can still visit each other on holidays, though. And besides," Lafayette said taking Tia into his arms, "four years goes by real fast. Just look at high school."

"That's true," Scott agreed and looked over at me. I had chosen not to say anything this whole time, because I knew that whatever came out of my mouth was sure to be negative. Truth be told, I never wanted any of them to go away in the first place.

"What are you over there pouting about?" Lafayette asked me, following Scott's gaze.

"Nothing," I replied indifferently, staring blankly at the television screen.

"Aw, Reeree!" Tia came over and put her arm around me. "She's just mad 'cause we're all leaving and she has to stay here. Don't worry. You can come and visit, too. We should plan some kind of trip or something for us all to go on. Maybe you can all come down to Miami to visit me."