| Friday, October 28, 2005 |
| CHAPTER 6
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Paula met Rick for lunch today. He had classes all day. Paula's first class wasn't until 1:00 PM. They ate lunch in the cafeteria. It was pretty much the same as breakfast. Mrs. Greene saw them and made it a point to tell them that they were meant to be together. They got their food. They sat down to eat. Rick ended up ministering to a young lady and her boyfriend this time. Paula got in on it this time.
Somehow, Rick got them to admit that they were sharing each other's bed. Paula and Rick told the two college students about their commitment to God and to each other. The young lady seemed interested, but the guy looked like he wanted to bolt. Rick said, "Man, you can run from God. I know, I have been running for a long time. I am looking at you and I see a man of God. You are going to get tired of running before God gets tired of calling you." The guy got upset and yelled, "Nigg* please, don't preach to me, I don't want to hear that *#$*! Come on Monica, we're leaving!" Monica left with the guy.
Paula was a bit dejected. They were trying to minister and had gotten their feelings hurt trying. Rick smiled from ear to ear. Paula asked, "What is wrong with you? That fool just loud talked you, cussed you out, and left. Why are you smiling?" Rick smiled even bigger and said, "I did what God wanted me to do. The Bible says, 'One plants, one waters, but God gives the increase.' I did my job. I can be happy about that. You can, too." Paula shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't cut out for this witnessing stuff. She just didn't see how Rick did it. Rick kept on smiling. He was even humming a song. Paula was getting a bit frustrated with him. Rick said, "You are turning red." Paula didn't answer. Rick poked her in her side. She was ticklish there. She didn't laugh. Rick whispered in her ear, "You are beautiful even when your cheeks are bright red." That received a small smile from Paula. She frowned, folded her arms across her chest, and said, "I just didn't like that guy cursing you out. You were just trying to help him. There was no reason for him to act a fool like that. It doesn’t seem right." Rick smiled, "Look at it like this. How many times have you rejected Jesus? Each time we sin, each time we lie, each time I ran from the call on my life, I rejected Jesus. I can't get mad when someone rejects me, because I did it to Jesus." Paula thought about it for a moment. It made sense. She was still upset that the guy had cursed, though. She let it alone because Rick was okay with it. She didn't want to cause another riff between her and Rick. They finished eating and left the cafeteria.
Kourtnee decided not to go to the cafe for lunch today. She didn't want to see Setrick. She felt bad about how things had worked out earlier that morning. She ended up going to Franklin's Eatery. She had called her mother, but Mrs. Shields was busy. She called her grandmother. Mrs. Adams was busy. Kourtnee didn't eat alone though. She got caught in tradition. The waitress from her section of the restaurant asked her if a young lady could eat at the table with her. The young lady's name was Amy. Amy was a bit overweight. She had long black hair. She was from the city of Southern Ivy. She talked using proper English. She talked quickly. If she hadn't talked so properly, you wouldn't have understood a word she was saying. She was a communication major, of all things. Her family was a rich family in some kind of industry. Kourtnee didn't understand Amy said her family did. Kourtnee didn't get to say much because Amy was talking so much. Amy droned on and on about her RICH family. Kourtnee was almost tempted to slip Amy the check from her meal. Kourtnee hurried through her meal. She usually chewed her food at least 20 times, but today, she was chewing as fast as she could. Kourtnee finished her food. She said, "It was nice meeting you Amy. Have a good afternoon." Amy smiled and said, "Goodbye. Kim." Kourtnee made a face. She was about to correct Amy, but she chose not to. It wasn't even worth. Kourtnee left the restaurant and headed for the library to go study.
Colt didn't even go to lunch today. He was determined to get to one class on time today. He had to take a technical writing class, so he was taking English 116. He walked over to the Student Park and sat there. The J. Tolliver building, where he class was, was a few steps away from the student park. He couldn't possibly be late to the class.
He sat down on a bench and pulled out his chemistry book. He was trying to read the book, but people kept walking by. He was eavesdropping in people's conversations. It wasn't hard to do because people were freely talking. One girl was telling her friend about the things she had done with her boyfriend a night or two before. "Good grief," was all Colt could think. If he would have thought anything else, it would not have been nice at all. A guy was telling his homeboy about his new car. It was red and went very fast. That was all Colt caught of the conversation. A girl walked by singing the jingle from Shimmers Alot HairCare Products. That song was a nuisance. Colt started humming the song himself. He grunted and tried to stop himself from humming the song. A skinny girl with high heels on walked by mumbling something about how fat she was. Colt looked at the girl; she didn't have any fat on her at all. As a matter of fact, she had very little meat on her bones.
More students walked by. Colt put his book back into his bag. It wasn’t doing him any good to try and read his book. He just began watching people walk by. There were students from all walks of life. Colt tried to tell the rich ones, from the not so rich ones, but he really couldn’t. He tried to tell the smart ones from the not so smart ones, he couldn’t’. For what he could tell the students were pretty much the same. They were all trying to get somewhere in life. The road that they were taking was different, but they were all trying to get somewhere. Colt was doing the same thing.
Colt watched some more students walk by. One guy whispered, “Is this stuff really worth it?” A group of girls were talking about girly things that he couldn’t make out. A group of boys were talking about the football team. From what they said, the team was supposed to be pretty good.
Colt watched the people for a little while longer. He stood up from the bench and stretched his leg. He began walking to the J. Tolliver building. Colt’s stomach growled. He reached into his bag and grabbed the candy bar that was in it. He ate the candy bar as he walked to class. He hummed the Shimmers Inc. jingle as he walked.
Paula was sitting in a desk in her Management class at 1:00 PM. It was an introductory management class. The professor was already sitting in the class when she arrived. A professor that beat his students to class, that was unusual. Dr. Godfrey Coleman was a scholarly looking man. He had gray hair and a full gray beard. He looked as if he was a famous fiction author, turned professor. He had on gray slacks, with a white shirt, and a brown and gray jacket. He had an ascot around his neck instead of a neck tie. He was holding a pipe in his hand. Paula couldn’t tell whether it was for smoking or for show.
At 1:05 PM, Dr. Coleman called the class to order. After he took roll, he passed out the syllabus for his class. It was 5 pages long. Paula read through the syllabus. There would be weekly writing assignments. There was going to be two tests, a mid-term and the final. The students were also going to have to write a paper. From the syllabus, the class seemed as if it were going to be easy, because there were so many chances for extra credit for bringing in comic strips that had something to do with management.
Dr. Coleman began his lecture. He talked for the longest time. He explained everything. There was no need to ask any questions, because he broke everything down to its simplest terms. He was a rather monotone lecturer, but if you paid attention, you could learn something. Dr. Coleman finally dismissed the class. Paula didn’t have another class until 4:00, so she headed for her dorm room to take a nap.
Colt arrived at his 1:00 class on time. He was so proud of himself. He was taking English 116. It was a technical writing class. He had told his advisor that he wanted to eventually participate in research and write about it as well. His advisor suggested the class. The advisor said that it would help him write better. Colt signed up for the class.
Mrs. Lula Pope was a full figured statuesque woman. She had black hair pulled back into a ball. She had stylish glasses on her nose. Mrs. Pope could have passed for Colt’s mother. She called the class to order with a strong forceful voice. She introduced herself and remarked that she was going to teach them how to write. She talked for the longest time about writing. People were frantically taking notes. She laughed and said, “You all are programmed to take notes any time a professor talks. You will not take notes in my class. You will listen and learn. That means that you need to pay attention and look at me. You may jot something interesting that I say done, that will be fine, but I need you to listen first and write as a last resort.”
Mrs. Pope continued on with her talk about writing. From time to time, she would say, “You should probably write this down.” She had the class laughing and learning. With about 40 minutes left in the class, she asked everyone to take out a piece of paper to take a quiz. That drew some sighs and groans. She laughed as she asked the first question. She asked a total of five questions. She asked us to check our work by giving us the answer. She said, “Anyone who missed a question will have to do homework. Please raise your hand if you missed a question.” Only one girl raised her hand. Mrs. Pope said, “Thank you, young lady. I see one person had the courage to tell the truth. I am sure that she isn’t the only person who missed a question. Please write your full name on your paper and hand it to me as you leave.” That statement received groans from the class. The class filed out. Each student handed Mrs. Pope their quiz. Colt felt good because he hadn’t missed a question.
Colt hand to make it to Dr. James Boone’s second Chemistry class, where he serves as teacher’s assistant. He had ten minutes to get there. Dr. Boone had said to Colt, “If you are late at 2:30, I will have you removed as my teaching assistant. I don’t need a late assistant!” Colt would have gladly been late to the class on purpose just to get away from Dr. Boone, but that would cut down on Colt’s work hours, causing him to decrease he pay.
The class buildings at Caffco were relatively close together, so it was going to be a rush or anything, but Colt walked as fast as he could to get to the classroom. Colt made it there with a minute to spare.
This class went pretty much the same as the earlier class had went. Dr. Boone gave them the “I Don’t Care” speech. He passed out the syllabus and began a rapid fire lecturing session. Colt was tired and a bit confused after the lecture, and he had a degree in Chemistry already. He knew that the students had to be even more confused. Colt planned to create a flyer for the tutorial session that was given for the classes. The students from Dr. Boone’s classes were going to need it.
Paula and Rick were both in English 116 at 4:00 PM. Rick had wanted to sit next to Paula, but she told him that she didn’t want to sit by him. Rick looked hurt, but Paula didn’t have time to care. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate with Rick sitting next to her.
Mrs. Lula Pope, the professor of the class walked in. She looked like someone’s mother. Paula smiled as she thought, “I am glad she isn’t my mother. She looks like she might like to fuss a little.”
Mrs. Pope talked for the whole class. She told them that they couldn’t take notes. Towards the end of class, she gave them a quiz over what she had talked about. After the class had graded their own quizzes, Mrs. Pope said, “Anyone who missed a question will have to do homework. Please raise your hand if you missed a question.” Rick was the only person to raise his hand. Mrs. Pope said, “I see that this young mad had the courage to tell the truth. Some more people probably missed a question besides this young man. Please write your full name on your paper and hand it to me as you leave.”
The students began to leave the room. Rick caught up to Paula and asked, “Did you miss any questions?” Paula looked at him as if he was crazy. “Naw, boy, I didn’t miss any. If I would have, I would have raised my hand,” she snapped at him. Rick looked hurt for doubting her. Paula saw the look on his face and said, “Forget about it.” They walked out the door after they handed their papers to Mrs. Pope.
Colt made it to his Math class at 3:57 PM. He was three minutes early for class. He felt so good. He had made it to three classes on time. He had to figure out a way to celebrate later on. Mr. Calvin Jones was a former high school math teacher who moved to the college level a few years ago. He was medium height, with a small build. He appeared a bit fragile and nervous. He had a velvety bass filled voice that just didn’t fit his physical stature. He was balding and gray. He had a comb over that needed to be cut off. He seemed a bit shaky and nervous.
He conducted the class. Once he got going, you could tell that the guy knew his stuff. He moved quickly, but he allowed the students a chance to ask questions. He explained the questions fully. Mr. Jones ended the class by assigning the student 25 homework problems that were due on Thursday.
Colt had one more class left. It was a Chemistry lab at 6:00. He was going to the lab to decide which lab to teach. He wanted to teach. He had a choice of the one tonight or one on Thursday night.
Kourtnee woke up at 5:00 PM. She changed her clothes and freshened up. She took some extra time freshening up for some reason. She really couldn’t figure out why. She fluffed her hair two extra times. She checked her make-up to make sure that it was flawless. She checked the crease in her pants to make sure that it lined up perfectly. She thought to herself, “Why am I making such a big fuss and I am only going to a Chemistry lab?” She continued to get herself together. She took a look in her full length mirror. She looked fabulous in her pink outfit, with jewelry and shoes to match. The light pink color looked good next to her dark skin. She finally grabbed her stuff and headed out of her apartment for the Blanchard Science Hall.
Colt reached the Blanchard Science Hall at 5:50 PM. He was on time again. That was a record for him. He hadn’t been on time that much in a long time. He went to the restroom to check himself out. He starred at himself in the mirror. He rubbed his fingertips over his eyelashes to make sure they were all together. He ran his fingers over his mustache, well piece of a mustache that he had started growing. He patted his hair. He smoothed out his shirt and straightened his gig line to ensure that his belt buckle and pants zipper were in a straight line. He stepped back a little and checked himself out. He looked great. He was ready for whatever the night had in store for him. |
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