Eighteen Going on Dead

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Next Chapter

Have you ever felt nervous? That queasy feeling in your stomach that makes you stay up all night and hyper in the morning? That's how I felt when I woke up in my new long twin size bed in a efficient size room for two young woman that were started their day in college. When I moved all the way to D.C (a long road trip with Aunt Joyce and Gabriel), I had my doubts; I was going to be long away from home with no friends other than my boyfriend just twenty minutes away (Katy went to UCLA, of course). However, when I first stepped foot on the campus, I was in love.

I woke up to my roommate, Naomi Fasher, a potential black activist that had a will to speak in front of thousands of people without breaking a sweat. She was one of those nonchalant individuals that's very friendly and also chaotic when you meet them. A non-filter, 'fuck society policy' chick with a bright smile that screamed 'I'm nice but don't push it'.

Naomi danced to the loud tunes in her headphones while getting ready for her first class, she was happy while I was trying to figure out rather I need school or not. The administrators didn't exactly bless me with a later class, instead they made me do one at nine o'clock. Being that Naomi made me walk the campus with her through the night to meet more hyper individuals, I didn't get much sleep. "Morning," She chirped once spotting that my eyes were open. Removing the headphones from her ears, Naomi put on her thin jacket and grabbed her backpack. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Yeah, at The Union."

"Good, have fun in class."

"You too."

She walked out, leaving me in the room by myself with my thoughts; a very disturbing thing to be alone with. There's never a day when I'm not reminded of my past, that I was never the high school girl with a potential of being a lawyer or working in the criminal justice area. My mind always drifted to that night, the horrors of man and the criminal acts that let me live to see today.

The world was bright, fall was already upon us with the fresh scent of cinnamon and the view of orange leaves falling to the ground when the light breeze blew upon them. I stepped out of my dorm, eyeing the upperclassmen chatter away with their friends, jogging around the campus for their morning exercise, and even sitting on the benches to catch up on reading the syllabus before class. "I'm not in Kansas anymore," I mumbled under my breath before walking to the heart of campus.

***

It wasn't until one when I finished my first set of classes,  I walked outside the building that was on the borderline between the campus and he rest of the world, my lips tugged into a wide smile from the mere site of that hideous broken down truck and the man who pushes it as far as he can before it actually broken down.

Gabriel leaned on the side, arms crossed and lips tugged into a smirk once he saw me. Even though he seemed slightly out of place, but we didn't care. I wrapped my arms around his neck, taking in the fresh scent of soap a mixture of cologne. "I missed you."

"It's only been two days." He points out, I knew he missed me too.

"Yeah well does two days have been dreadful. I promised Naomi we'll be at the Union at two, let's park this thing and head over."

The Union was the actual heart of the campus, it was place with many clubs and activities; there would never be a slow day for anyone or anything. Gabriel and I sat in the dining hall, fiddling with our meals as Naomi spoke about her boring classes.

Naomi placed her hair in a messy ponytail while eyeing Gabriel, "How's GeorgeTown?"

Gabriel was taking back from the question, he didn't expect to be addressed. "Fine, nothing to complain about yet."

"I can say it's nothing like Howard, we have better parties." Naomi chuckled before placing a piece of tortilla on her tongue. The chair next to her pulled out, showcasing one of our friends we made on the very first night, a tennis player with a keen eye to running the student body council one day- J.B. Dakota. "J.B, you know it's rude to just sit at a table."

The tennis player smirked to himself for scaring Naomi, then that smile faded when he took one look at Gabriel. Half of the school held a mind set that all other non-black race were evil, that they shouldn't be allowed to be around us; especially a white man with a black woman. "Didn't know you were having guest?"

"Gabriel," My lovely boyfriend greeted with a small smile.

J.B ignored the kind gesture and looked at me head on, his eyes twinkled with desire, there were no hiding the fact the freshman boys here were thirsty for any girl that showed them the slightest attention. "There's a tennis meeting, you should try out Z."

"Like I said before J.B, I'm not into sports. One thing I hate to do is work out willingly." I answered before checking the time. "I have to go to class." Gabriel and I dismissed ourselves before J.B could become nasty. I've never wanted him to be considered as my friend the first night I laid eyes on him, he seemed a little off.

"Nice guy," Gabriel said sarcastically when we were walking down the stairwell. "Cool friends."

"Did you make friends yet?"

"A few, haven't grown on me yet."

"Keep trying honey, you'll fine someone like you; stubborn and a vigilante."

Gabriel scoffed, "No one can be like me."

"Very conceited of you." I grabbed his hand, the wonderful feeing of his slightly rough paws that held me at night. "I love you." I said softly, we were alone in the small space, all to ourselves with no eyes watching our every move. I kissed his knuckles and pinched his cheek softly to make him smile.

"Love you too." He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in roughly so my toes were the only thing touching the ground before planting a kiss on me.

I took in a deep breath, looked into this familiar dark brown eyes that sometimes haunts my dreams. "Do you ever think about that night, when..."

His eyes flashed with hurt from the memory, the pain and anger was still there. "Don't, we promise to never think about that... to not speak about it."

"I know, I... I'm sorry." I mumbled before pulling away. "I gotta go, can't be late for my class."

Like I said before, there's that dreadful memory that haunts me when I'm alone. My mind can't seem to run away from it, better yet help me push it down. Starting this new life wasn't easy, for sure, my closet was full of skeletons; then again, everyone is not perfect.