Dark Honey

Routine

'Tap'

...I turn around and flip the comforter over my head trying to avoid the creature that is disturbing my sleep.

'Tap...Tap'

I open one eye and prepare for the creature to enter my fortress. Soon I feel a furry tail at the bottom of my feet and groan.

"You couldn't give me 10 more minutes, could you Luci?" I ask looking at my grey cat as she is clearly enjoying her success while purring under my blankets.

Luci is short for Lucifer by the way, my roommate named her due to the fact that Luci will literally stand in front of you and stare for half an hour with her huge green eyes then walk away like nothing happened. A few minutes later an object will fall or lights will flicker so she's convinced that Luci needs to be sent back to Satan himself. These instances never happen when I'm around so I can't exactly decide if Ellen is crazy or telling the truth.

Ellen is my roommate, we have known each other for about 2 years now. Ellen typically is never home between the hours of 12 am and 6 am, but I don't judge. Overall she is a great roommate and friend that I am glad to be living with. We have about the same class schedule so typically we are out and about around the same time.

I glare at Luci rolling around in my blankets and get out of bed. I look outside and stare at the Autumn leaves changing colors on the trees, with the wind slowly swaying branches back and forth. I glance at my reflection in the mirror and frown. Can't a girl get in a decent hair day? Although it is partially my fault because I forgot to wrap my hair in a silk bonnet...oops. I try to fix the mess of curls on top of my head left in a bun overnight. The hair on my head is extremely thick and long, I get a workout in just by trying to comb it out.

I head to my closet and try to pick out a simple yet comfortable outfit. I decide on a pair of dark jeans which show off my curves, and a thick grey sweater with black knee high boots. Dark colors are my favorite although my mother wishes I would wear brighter colors that compliment my skin tone more. I am African American and Mexican, and I could not be more proud of my cultures. I would describe my skin tone as a golden brown, but once summer hits I am more of a chocolate brown of course. I don't bother with makeup today except a little bit of lip gloss, my almond shaped eyes were still puffy after a night of finishing True Blood and balling my eyes out. I huff as my hair gets caught in my backpack strap and head to the kitchen to fix a cup of tea.

"Lia, can we take your car today I kinda have a hangover" Ellen asks as she is half slumped over the counter drinking a glass of water.

"No problem, and what did I say about staying with Rick all night? You have an important exam to be studying for not to mention you are always on and off with him." I say while handing her two pills.

"Ugh, ssh too early for this conversation" Ellen waves me away taking the pills.

"I'll be in the car, you got 5 minutes!" I grab my mug filled with hot citrus tea and step into the fall breeze.

On our way to campus we usually jam out to our favorite songs but today she was obviously not for it. I hum to a few of Banks new songs while glancing at Ellen's choice of clothes today. Sweatpants, sneakers, and a hoodie...and what is going on with the hair? I'm used to the Ellen that dresses as if she's going on a hot date with a Calvin Klein model not whatever this is.

"Fuck off Lia" Ellen mutters.

I giggle, "You should be telling Rick to fuck off, this is not you hun"

It doesn't take long to reach campus and I find my favorite parking spot, it is hell trying to find a decent spot without having to walk too far. I give Ellen a quick hug before we go our separate ways for class.