Captive By History: A NaNo Novel by ddBoone (2004)

Colt could not believe this.  It was ridiculous, the luck he was having.  Kourtnee was going to kill him.  He knew that she wouldn’t believe him.

Colt sat in the traffic jam, wanting to call Kourtnee, but he had no way to do so.  He was not going to leave his car and go make the phone call.  He just hoped that Kourtnee would believe him and still want to go out with him.

Both Paula and Kourtnee laughed at Colt as he told of his adventures, rather misadventures.  Kourtnee tried hard no to laugh, but she could not help herself.  Colt was happy to see her laugh because it meant that she was not mad at him.

After she and Paula stopped laughing, Kourtnee introduced Paula to Colt.  Colt made a face, “Your bodyguard and me met earlier.”  Paula smacked her lips, “Boy, please.  Colt laughed, “So, she’s the one you picked that up from.”  Kourtnee smiled.  Paula made a face, “Ya’ll leaving or what?”  Kourtnee turned towards the kitchen to get the food.  Colt walked over to Paula and whispered, “Is this her apartment?”  Paula mumbled, “Yea, I thought someone with a job lived here myself; but it is her place.”  Kourtnee looked at the two of them.  Paula and Colt looked innocent.  Kourtnee rolled her eyes at them.  Colt whispered to Paula, “She got rich folk or something?”  Paula responded, “You gotta ask her that.”  Colt asked, “Will she get mad at me?”  Paula stated, “Not sure, but if I were you, I wouldn’t ask her that today.”  Colt smiled, “Ok.  Thanks.”  Kourtnee looked at them again, “What are you two whispering about?”  Paula smiled, “You nosey.”  Kourtnee retorted, “Whatever.  Colt, are you going to make me carry all of this?”

Colt went into the kitchen and picked up the basket from the table.  It was heavy.  Colt grunted, “How many people are going with us?  This basket is heavy.”  Kourtnee looked at Paula, “You can thank the chef over there.”  Colt looked at Paula.  Paula put her hands on her hips and dared Colt to say anything to her.  Colt looked at Kourtnee, “You ready to go, Beautiful.”  Kourtnee laughed, “Yes, let’s go.”  Paula relaxed her posture and gathered her things.  She went over to the front door and held it open.  Kourtnee went to the front door with Colt walking unhurriedly behind her as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.  After they were all out of the door, Kourtnee locked her apartment up.  Paula left, leaving Kourtnee alone with Colt.

Kourtnee felt sorry for Colt, carrying the heavy basket.  It was loaded down with food, too.  Kourtnee had told Paula that she was making too much food, but Paula gave Kourtnee one of her famous, “Girl pleases” and kept on preparing food.

Colt led Kourtnee to a red Dodge Conquest.  The car looked well-kept and clean.  Kourtnee waited until Colt put the picnic basket in the trunk.  Colt came to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for Kourtnee.  She looked at the black leather seats before she sat down.  Colt closed the door behind her.  Colt walked around to the driver’s side of the car and got in.  He cranked the car up and revved his turbo charged engine a couple of times.  Had Kourtnee known anything about cars, she would have been impressed.

Colt and Kourtnee were finally on their way.  Colt put a tape in his cassette player.  After a few seconds, a jazz band began playing.  Colt seemed to be into the music and driving.  He was not paying much attention to Kourtnee.  Kourtnee decided to listen to the music.

An up tempo piece was playing.  The drums were keeping the beat as the bass line filled the car.  The piano played the melody as the saxophone played lead.  It was an infectious song.  The bass drum thump to keep the rhythm as the saxophone mesmerized Kourtnee with all kinds of notes.  The piano tried to take over the lead a time or two, but the saxophone showed the piano who was in control of the song with a long set of notes and chords that caused a frenzy.

Colt looked at Kourtnee as she enjoyed the music.  He smiled at her.  Her hair looked fabulous as it gently moved with the bob of her head.  Kourtnee looked at Colt, “You should keep your eyes on the road.”  Colt laughed, “You should quit being so pretty.”  Kourtnee smiled, “I cannot stop being pretty, so you are just going to have to keep your eyes on the road.”  Colt turned his eyes back to the road.

Kourtnee looked Colt up and down.  He looked good in his stone-washed jeans and orange t-shirt.  The muscles in his arms bulged slightly.  His white Adidas were very white.  Colt could feel Kourtnee checking him out, “Do you like what you see?”  Kourtnee blushed.  She felt guilty for checking him out so hard.  Colt looked at her when she didn’t answer him, “Are you going to answer my question?”  Kourtnee smiled, “What was the question again?”  Colt made a face, “Do you like what you see?”  Kourtnee looked out the window, “Maybe I do.  Maybe I do not.”  Colt blew a breath, “You are so mean.”  Kourtnee laughed.

"I can't believe that you are laughing at me and I am hurting," Colt lamented.  Kourtnee laughed again.  Colt smiled at her.  She had a cute laugh.  It was a very proper laugh.  Colt wondered if she had ever laughed so hard that she had snorted.  Colt ignored his laughing companion and continued to drive to the Dorinda State Park.

The Dorinda State Park was the largest state park in the state of Maddocha.  It was one of the prettiest and best-kept parks, too.  The park sits on 11,000 acres.  Citizens of the metropolis use it.  There are several lodges in the park for people who like to camp.  There are several cabins as well.  There are three swimming pools.  There are trails for people to walk, bike, or horseback on.  There is a nature trail where you can see the state flower, state tree, and state bird.  There is a nature center where you can see the non-human inhabitants of the park.  There were spots to fish in the park that were kept well stocked.  The camping grounds can be used all year round.  The park has several playground areas for children.  The picnic area is a popular spot all year round.

Kourtnee and Colt chitchatted on the drive to the park.  They arrived at the park.  Colt ran around to Kourtnee's side of the car and opened the door.  After Kourtnee got out of the car, Colt went to the trunk of the car to get the picnic basket.  Colt grunted a couple of times to see what Kourtnee would do.  She smiled at him, "Do you need some help with that?"  Colt responded with a grunt, "No, I'm okay."  Kourtnee laughed as she walked to the trunk of the car.  She looked at Colt struggling with the heavy basket.  She asked, "Are you ready to eat?"  Colt set the basket on the ground, "Yes, I am kind of hungry.  I didn't get to eat breakfast this morning."  Kourtnee laughed as she thought about the story Colt had told her before.  Colt made a face at Kourtnee, "Are you laughing at me?"  Kourtnee covered her mouth.  Colt huffed.  Kourtnee walked over to him and touched his arm, "I didn't mean to laugh."  Colt looked sad to see what Kourtnee would do.  She rubbed his arm.  Her touch sent chills down his arm.  Kourtnee stopped rubbing Colt's arm, "Do you feel better now?"  Colt responded, "No, not yet.  You need to rub my arm some more."  Kourtnee moved her hand off of Colt's arm, "You are silly.  Let’s go."  Colt picked up the picnic basket by the handle, "I know.  This basket is too heavy."

Colt and Kourtnee walked for about five minutes before they found a suitable spot.  They settled on a spot underneath a huge Windsor Phonamie tree.  The tree was in full bloom, so it provided a good cover from the sun.  Colt watched Kourtnee spread the blue, white, and red picnic blanket on the ground.  She readjusted the blanket three times before she left it alone.  She smoothed out the edges of the blanket until they lay flat and perfect.  Colt laughed at her.  She looked back at him and smiled.  He smiled back.

Kourtnee looked at Colt, "You can sit down now?"  Colt sat down on the blanket.  Kourtnee asked, "Can you slide the basket over here?"  Colt complied with Kourtnee's request.  Kourtnee began spreading the food out on the basket.  Colt looked at the food being placed on the blanket.  There was some kind of sandwiches.  They were so neatly wrapped that Colt couldn't tell what kind they were.  There was a bowl of salad.  There were some strawberries, grapes, and cut up cantaloupes in individual bowls.  Kourtnee pulled out a small cooler, that Colt assumed was filled with ice.  There was a jug of brown liquid with cups to match.  The plates, forks, spoons, and knives matched the jug and cups.  Colt shook his head as he looked at the picnic being laid out in front of him.  He wanted to ask Kourtnee a smart aleck question, but he wasn't sure if it would offend her.

Kourtnee looked at the picnic.  She thought to herself, "How did I let Paula talk me into buying all of this?  This doesn't make any sense."  Kourtnee looked at Colt, "You can eat."  Colt moved closer to the food, "Yes Mame.  Can I ask you something?"  Kourtnee nodded her head.  Colt asked, "Did you already have all of this stuff or did you buy it just for today?"  Kourtnee blushed, "I bought it."  Colt asked, "Why?"  Kourtnee responded, "That's what I am trying to figure out.  Paula talked me into getting all of this stuff."  Colt laughed and shook his head.  He grabbed a plate and one of the sandwiches, then some fruit.  Kourtnee grabbed a cup, "Do you want some tea?"  Colt nodded as he ate a piece of cantaloupe.  Kourtnee put some ice in the cup and poured some tea over it.  Colt took the cup from Kourtnee after she handed it to him.  Kourtnee fixed herself a plate.

Kourtnee looked at Colt, waiting for him to say grace.  Colt made a face at Kourtnee, "Why are you looking at me like that?"  Kourtnee responded, "I am waiting on you to say grace."  Colt blushed, "Lorry, uhh, bow your head.  Lord, bless this food.  Amen."  Kourtnee looked up at Colt, "That's it."  Colt bit a big piece of the chicken salad sandwich and mumbled, "Yea."  Kourtnee rolled her eyes at Colt and ate her sandwich.

Colt watched Kourtnee eat her food.  She was so proper and perfect as she ate.  He wondered if she slept pretty.  Kourtnee could feel Colt watching her.  She looked at him, "Is there some reason you are staring at me?"  Colt smiled slyly, "Yes, I want a bite of your sandwich."  Kourtnee grimaced, "Why, you have the same kind of sandwich?"  Colt winked, "Yea, but you look better."  Kourtnee rolled her eyes at Colt and continued to eat her food.  Colt stared at Kourtnee; "I guess you're not going to share with me, then?"  Kourtnee made an irritated face at Colt, "No, and I would appreciate it if you left me alone so that I can finish eating my food!"  Colt made a face, "Well, excuse me."  He laughed at ate his food.  Colt and Kourtnee ate their food and talked for a while.

Finally, they were through eating.  They walked back to the car and put the picnic basket in the cat after they cleaned up their picnic spot.  Kourtnee leaned up against the car as Colt put the basket in the trunk of his car.  Colt glanced at Kourtnee from time to time.  She looked lovely leaning up against the car.  The sunlight was hitting her curves just right.  Colt smiled at the thought that he had met someone so beautiful.  Kourtnee turned and looked at Colt.  He bumped his head on the trunk door as he tried to make it look like he hadn't been staring at Kourtnee.  Kourtnee walked to where Colt was, "Are you ok?"  Colt rubbed his head, "Yea, I’m fine," upset that he had embarrassed himself.  Kourtnee smiled somatically, "Do you need some help with something?"  Colt grunted, "No, I don't.  Can you move, so I can close this?"  Colt grabbed the trunk door.  Kourtnee stepped aside, so that Colt could close the door.  Colt slammed the trunk door.  Kourtnee looked startled, "what did that door do to you?"  Colt looked at Kourtnee funny, "Nothing."  Kourtnee walked closer to Colt, "Why did you slam the door then?"

"Because I felt like it."

"Are you upset about something?"

"No, I’m not.  Quit asking me questions."

Kourtnee smacked her lips, "Whatever."  She walked off towards the park.

Colt had to run to catch up with her, "Where are you going?"  Kourtnee didn't stop walking, "Away from your crazy behind."  Colt walked faster to keep up with her, "Girl, slow down."  Kourtnee walked faster, "Boy, keep up."

Kourtnee began trotting.  She didn't stop until she came to one of the playgrounds.  They had traveled quite a ways from the car.  She sat down on the merry-go-round.  Colt was four steps behind her.  When Colt reached her, he jumped upon the merry-go-round in the open slot next to Kourtnee.  It startled Kourtnee, "Boy, don't be jumping on this thing like that!"  Colt laughed so hard that he almost lost he grip.  Kourtnee shrieked, "I don't see anything funny about scaring me."  Colt laughed even harder.  Kourtnee rolled her eyes at Colt then she huffed.  Colt tried to stop laughing, "You said 'boy don't be'."  It was hard to understand what he was saying because he was laughing.  Kourtnee stood up from the merry-go-round.  She spun it around as hard as she could, catching Colt off guard.  The thrust of the merry-go-round jolted Colt forward.  He grabbed one of the bars just before he fell and hit his head on the merry-go-round floor.  Kourtnee turned her back to Colt and walked over to a bench, leaving Colt to fight with the merry-go-round by himself.

CHAPTER 14

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 23:08:00 +0000

Paula left after she and Kourtnee made plans to meet after their classes on Friday to go get the food for the picnic.  Kourtnee felt good that she had two new friends.  It felt good that she had accomplished a goal that she had set for herself.  Kourtnee liked being neat and organized, but more than that, she liked accomplishing goals that she set for herself.  Kourtnee could rest easy tonight, knowing that she was going to accomplish some wonderful things this semester.

Colt was excited about his date with Kourtnee.  He had even talked to his roommate about the date.  His roommate seemed uninterested, but Colt shared his joy with his roommate anyway.

Colt beamed, "Man, she is fine.  She has long hair.  She knows how to dress.  I’m telling you, dude.  This girl is great.  Man you should see her walk.  That girl walks as if she is a queen or something.  She smells great, too."

Colt's roommate grunted, "That’s cool, dude."

Colt laughed, "Dude, do you ever say anything other than 3 words at a time?"

Colt's roommate grunted, "No."

"Do you ever smile or laugh?"

Colt's roommate grunted, "Yea.  Sometimes."

Colt laughed, "My girl is nice.  I am glad that I met her.  She has a great smile.  She could be a model."

Colt's roommate plainly said, "Isn't this your first date?"

Colt glared at his roommate, "Why did you have to bring that up?"

Colt's roommate responded, "Because you sound like ya'll have been together forever.  I was just asking, dude."  Colt's roommate walked out of the room.

Colt shook his head.  His roommate’s long black hair looked like it needed washing.  The roommate always wore black.  Colt had asked him why he always wore black.  The roommate said, “Cause I’m colorblind, dude.”  How in the world did a black kid from Absanie end up with a white kid that always wore black as a roommate?  They were truly an odd couple.

Saturday morning, Paula woke up early.  She was excited about Kourtnee’s date.  Pl wasn’t sure shy she was excited, but she was excited.  Perhaps, it was because she and Kourtnee were bounding.

Paula made it over to Kourtnee’s house at 7:01 am.  After knocking on the door for a minute or two, Paula finally got an answer.  Kourtnee opened the door still asleep.  She rubbed her eyes and asked, “Girl, do you know what time it is?’  Paula smiled, “Yea, are you gonna let me in or what?  Kourtnee moved out of the way and let Paula in.  Kourtnee closed and locked the door.

Kourtnee looked at Paula, “I’m going back to bed.  Don’t break or steal anything.”  Kourtnee managed a small smile.  Kourtnee went back into her bedroom.  Paula smiled after she licked her tongue out at Kourtnee.

Paula sat on the couch.  She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels.  She watched a little bit of a cartoon, but it wasn’t interesting.  Paula got hungry.  She went into the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator.  She ended up making a sandwich from the left over picnic food.  Paula made sure to leave the kitchen spotless.  She didn’t want Kourtnee fussing at her.

Kourtnee woke up about 9:00.  She stretched and looked around the room before she got out of the bed.  She heard the TV on and wondered why it was on; then she remembered that Paula was in the living room.

Kourtnee enjoyed having a friend, although she didn’t want to admit it.  She liked Paula hanging around.  Even with Paula’s pushiness and loudness, Kourtnee liked the company.  Paula had been helpful in preparing Kourtnee for her date.  Kourtnee was used to Ramona’s help when preparing for these kinds of things, but since Ramona wasn’t around, Paula was a big help to Kourtnee.

Kourtnee walked into the kitchen.  Paula turned and looked at her.  Paula said, “I see you finally woke up.”  Kourtnee looked in the refrigerator.  Kourtnee lifted her head above the door, “What did you eat?”  Paula didn’t acknowledge Kourtnee.  Finally Paula said, “What makes you think I ate something?”  Kourtnee made a face at Paula, “The plate sitting on my end table.”  Paula laughed, “My end table.  I never thought I would hear a college student say my end table.”  Paula shook her head.  Kourtnee smacked her lips, “What did you eat?”  Paula turned around in Kourtnee’s direction, “Chicken salad sandwich.”  Kourtnee looked puzzled, “For breakfast?”  Paula responded, “Yep.”  Kourtnee shook her head, “You live like a college student.”  Paula smacked her lips, “And you don’t.  So what!”  Kourtnee laughed as she rumbled through the refrigerator.

Kourtnee fixed a bowl of cereal.  She sat down at the table to eat.  After Kourtnee finished saying grace, Paula said, “You are so proper.”  Kourtnee responded, “So, why are you bothering me?”  Paula retorted, “Because you’re funny.”  Kourtnee ignored Paula and finished eating her cereal.

Paula decided to bait Kourtnee to see what she would do.  Paula said, “Have you ever wiped your mouth on the sleeve of your clothes?”  Kourtnee ignored Paula.  Paula laughed, “So, you’re just gonna ignore me, huh?  That won’t help you any.”  Kourtnee still didn’t say anything.  Paula said, “Does everything you own match?”  Kourtnee didn’t say anything.

Paula looked at Kourtnee, “Why are you ignoring me?”  Kourtnee smiled at Paula, “because I want to.  Why are you antagonizing me?”  Paula smiled back, “whatever.”  Kourtnee smiled, “What are you doing here again?”  Paula looked at Kourtnee, “To help you get ready for your date and make sure you son’s mess your date up.”  Kourtnee looked disgusted, “Why would I mess up my date?  Are you being negative on purpose or just for fun?”  Paula laughed, “Girl, please.  I am just messing with you.  I like chilling with you, that’s all.”  Kourtnee smiled, “okay.  I thought maybe you just liked torturing me.”  Both girls laughed.

***

Kourtnee began getting dressed for her date at 12:00 pm.  Paula sat in the living room yelling things out to Kourtnee.

“What are you all going to talk about?”

Kourtnee answered, “I don’t know.”

“Are you going to be flirtatious?”

Kourtnee answered, “I don’t know.  Could you quit asking me questions?”

Paula kept bugging Kourtnee.  Kourtnee kept responding in the same manner.

Kourtnee finally emerged from the room about 12:45 PM.  She was fully dressed and ready to go.  She was wearing a white blouse with a pair of dark blue slacks.  She had on a pair of white trouser socks and a pair of dark blue loafers.  She had on gold jewelry.  Her hair was flawless and her make-up was pristine.

Paula looked at Kourtnee, “That’s not one of the outfits that I picked out.”  Kourtnee smoothed out her pant leg, “I didn’t want to wear one of those.”  Paula commented, “You look great anyway.”  Kourtnee smiled, “Thanks.”

Kourtnee went into the kitchen and got the food ready for her date.  She was a bit nervous.  She was kind of bumbling around in the kitchen.  Paula looked towards the kitchen, “Are you okay in there?”  Kourtnee answered back, “Yes, I an okay.”  Kourtnee finished in the kitchen.  She went and sat down in the living room.

Ii was about 1:10 PM.  Colt still hadn’t showed up to Kourtnee’s apartment.  He hadn’t called or anything.  Kourtnee was getting restless and upset, not to mention angry.  Where was Colt?

Paula could see that Kourtnee was getting restless.  Paula tried to calm Kourtnee down, but it didn’t seem to be working.  Paula suggested that Kourtnee call Colt.  Kourtnee called Colt’s number, but there was no answer.  Kourtnee slammed the phone down on the receiver.  Paula said, “That phone hasn’t done anything to you.  Why are you taking your anger out on it?”  Kourtnee huffed at Paula.  Paula returned, “You need to calm down.  You are starting to upset me.”  Kourtnee huffed again as she headed to her bedroom.

At 1:32, there was a knock on Kourtnee’s door.  Paula opened the door; a fine black guy with a light top lip and a dark bottom lip was standing at the door.  The guy smiled at Paula, “does Kourtnee Adams live here?”  Paula smiled back at him, “Yes, she does.  Who are you?”  Colt replied, “I am Colt Austin.  I have a date with her.”  Paula frowned at him, “You were supposed to be here at 1:00.  I’m not sure that she even wants to go out with you now.”  Colt said, “Is Kourtnee here?”  Paula smiled, “Yea, she’s here.”  Colt was getting upset, “Can I speak to her?”  Paula said, “Yea, hold on.”  Paula closed the door in Colt’s face, leaving him standing on the porch.

Colt was standing on Kourtnee’s front porch; upset, frustrated, and tired.  He was wondering if Kourtnee really didn’t want to go out with him or if the girl who had answered the door was just being mean.  Kourtnee had every right to be upset with him; he was a half hour late.  It wasn’t like he had done it on purpose.  It was an accident, rather a series of accidents.

Colt woke up at 9:00 AM.  He had every intention of getting to his date with Kourtnee on time.  His roommate was sitting in the living room with a couple of his friends, who look just like him.  Colt wasn't sure if he shouldn't have been scared.  Colt said hello as he walked to the bathroom.  His roommate's friends grunted.

Colt turned the hot water on.  It was as cold as ice.  Colt turned the water off and went into the living room.  He stared at his roommate, "dude, what happened to the hot water?"  His roommate grunted, "Sorry, dude, we used it up taking showers."  Colt made a face, "what, they don't have showers in their own rooms?  Why they gotta come over here?"  Colt rolled his eyes and walked off.

Colt decided, rather it had been decided for him that his shower would have to wait until later.  Colt looked for the iron and the ironing board.  Colt's roommate didn't have an iron, so Colt let the guy use his iron and ironing board with the agreement that it was supposed to stay in a common place where they both could use it.  Somehow, the iron and ironing board ended up in his roommate's room all the time.  Colt yelled, "Dude, where's the iron?"  Colt's roommate pushed by Colt and went to get the iron.  Colt's roommate brought the iron to Colt.  Colt snatched the iron from his roommate, "Man, this is supposed to stay in here.  Why do you always take it to your room?"  Colt's roommate grunted, "Sorry, dude."  Colt huffed and walked into his room.

Colt took the clothes that he was going to wear into the living room and laid them on the ironing board.  Colt went into the kitchen to get something to eat.  He looked in the cabinet for his favorite cereal.  He picked up the Cheerio box and shook it.  From the sound of the box, there were only crumbs.  Colt looked in his roommate’s direction, "I guess you all got the last of the cereal?"  One of his roommate's friends said, "Yea, and the milk, too."  Colt slammed the cabinet door, cursed, and stormed into his room.

Colt emerged from his room a few minutes later in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.  He stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

It was 9:42 when Colt arrived at Franklin's Eatery.  He figured that he could order breakfast to go without too much of a hassle; and then get back home in time enough to shower and change for his date.  He thought he could even relax for a few minutes as well, but that didn't happen.

It took Colt almost 40 minutes to get his food.  There weren't that many people in the place when he got there, that's why he went ahead and ordered.  All of a sudden, the place got busy.  People were coming in left and right.  After Colt finally got his food, he went outside to get in his car.  Well, someone had him blocked in.  Colt got mad; opened his car door, and threw the bag of food in the car.  Whatever he had in the bag was probably a big mess after he threw it.  He went back into the restaurant.  He tried to talk to the hostess to see if she could make an announcement, but she was so busy that she didn't have time to stop.  Colt found a manager, who didn't seem to care.  Colt tried several more times, without much success to get someone who worked at the restaurant to help him.  Distraught and out of patience, Colt grabbed the microphone that was used to announce to go orders and yelled, "if you drive a black Ford Mustang, please come move you car.  You have me blocked in!  I need to get out!  If you drive a black Ford Mustang, come move your car!"  This caused most of the people in the restaurant to stop what they were doing.  The hostess came over to Colt and grabbed the microphone from Colt, "sir, you can use this."  Colt made a face at her, "well, you all wouldn't help me, so I didn't have a choice."  A skinny blonde headed girl walked up to Colt, "my car has you blocked in."  Colt and the girl walked outside.  She moved her car.  Colt was able to go home.

When Colt got home, it was 10:50.  That meant that Colt only had 40 minutes to iron, shower, dress, and leave to go pick up Kourtnee.  He had thrown the food that he bought from Franklin's Eatery in the trash.  He had gotten so mad that he lost his appetite.  Colt had made up his mind to leave in 30 minutes.

Colt's roommate and his friends were gone.  Colt was glad.  He didn't want to have to deal with them.  Colt looked at the ironing board.  His clothes were not there.  Colt went into his room.  His clothes were on the bed ironed.  Apparently, his roommate had ironed them.  Colt smiled.  His roommate was weird, but he was nice on occasion.  Colt looked at the crease in his pants.  It looked as if the pants had been pressed at the cleaners.

Colt's roommate had knocked at least five minutes off of Colt's to-do list.  Colt grabbed what he needed and went to the bathroom to shower.  Although, he shouldn't have, Colt added the gained five minutes to his shower.  He didn't know that he would need the five minutes down the line.

Colt finished with his shower and got dressed at 11:38.  He was late.  He had wanted to leave the house by 11:30.  He shrugged his shoulders and left out of the house.  He had spent too much time trying to look extra special for Kourtnee.

Colt let the negative thoughts he was having about his day so far leave his mind.  Kourtnee only lived 10 minutes away from his apartment.  He wasn't going to be late, so he thought.

Colt turned the corner to get onto the street that Kourtnee's apartment was on.  There was an accident that had traffic stopped.  Colt slapped his hand on his head.  He was dazed.  He hit his fist on his steering wheel.

CHAPTER 13, Continued

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 23:05:00 +0000

As soon as Kourtnee closed the door Paula said, "What plans do you have for tomorrow?"

Kourtnee made a face at Paula, "you are sure nosey.  We aren't that close."

Paula smacked her lips, "Girl please.  What are your plans?"

Kourtnee could tell that Paula wasn't going to give up, so she decided to share her plans with the nosey guest.

Kourtnee smiled, "since you just have to know, I have a date."

Paula sat down on the couch, "Girl, with whom?  Do I know him?  What does he look like?  What are you gonna wear?"

Kourtnee batted her eyes, "One question at a time, good grief."

Paula rolled her eyes, "Girl, please."

Kourtnee laughed, "His name is Colt Austin.  I don't think you know him.  He is a graduate student.  He is fine, too."  Kourtnee blushed.

Paula laughed, "You are lying to me.  Where did you all meet?"

Kourtnee frowned, "You are nosey.  We met in a Chemistry Lab.  He was there because he does the labs."

Paula slapped Kourtnee on her arm, "You are lying to me.  He’s your lab instructor?"

Kourtnee rubbed the throbbing spot on her arm, "No, he isn't My lab instructor.  He is just one of them."

Paula smiled, "Well, go head.  What are you gonna wear?"

Kourtnee frowned, "I am not sure yet.  I haven't decided."

Paula stood up, "Come on let's go find you some to wear."

Kourtnee made a face, "Who says I want you to see my bedroom."

Paula smacked her lips and walked in the direction of Kourtnee's room as if Kourtnee hadn't said anything.

Kourtnee grimaced.

When Kourtnee reached her bedroom, Paula was already in the closet.  Kourtnee sat down on her bed.  Paula stuck her head out of the closet and stared at Kourtnee.  Paula shook her head and went back into the closet.

Kourtnee's closet was very well organized.  The clothes in her closet were hung by type, and then by color.  He closet had two sides.  On one side, there were her sleeveless blouses, her blouses with short sleeves, her short-sleeved shirts, her long sleeved shirts, and then her sweaters.  On the other side of the closet were her skirts, her pants, her jeans, her pants suits, her dress suits, and then her dresses.  Everything in her closet was arranged by colors, white, black, blue, brown, purple, red, etc.  Each type of clothes was arranged in the same color order.  Her shoes were under her shirts and blouses.  They were arranged by dressiness and then by color.  The color arrangement was the same as her clothes, white, black, blue, brown, purple, red, etc.  Kourtnee was very anal.  I liked order, but this was a bit crazy.

Paula walked out of Kourtnee's closet with shirts, pants, and shorts on her arms.  Kourtnee's face was scrunched.  Paula asked, "What's wrong with you?'  Kourtnee stared blankly at Paula, "you have probably messed up my closet."

Paula replied, "Girl, please."

Kourtnee watched Paula as she mixed and matched the clothing.  Kourtnee didn't want to wear anything that Paula had pulled out of the closet.

After Paula had the outfits matched, as she wanted them, she asked Kourtnee, "Which of these do you want to wear?"

Kourtnee made a face and responded in a little girl's voice, "None of them Mommy."

Paula took offense, "Look, I was just trying to help you.  Dang."

Kourtnee giggled, "I was just joking with you.  Calm down."

Paula made a face and turned her back to Kourtnee.

Kourtnee flung a pillow at Paula.  It hit Paula's back.  Paula turned around, "You need to quit."  Paula picked up Kourtnee's clothing and set them on the foot of the bed.  Paula went back into Kourtnee's closet.  Paula came out of the closet with more clothes.  Again Kourtnee didn't like anything that Paula had brought out.  Paula went back into the closet a third time, with the same results.  The same thing happened two more times.

Kourtnee was sitting on the bed laughing.  Paula looked at her, "You have been messing with me this whole time, haven't you?"  Kourtnee laughed louder.  Paula made a face, and then put her hands on her hips, "I can't believe you would do something that childish."  Kourtnee lay on the bed because she was laughing so hard.  Paula picked up the pillow from the floor and threw it at Kourtnee.  Kourtnee dodge the pillow.

Both Kourtnee and Paula laughed for a few minutes.  Paula said, "You are mean."  Kourtnee responded, "You're bossy."  Paula retorted, "Girl please. You already knew that.  So, what are you gonna wear?"

Kourtnee stood up and looked through her clothing.  She picked out one of the combinations that Paula had shown her.  Paula rolled her eyes.  Kourtnee put the light yellow shirt and blue jeans aside and began gathering her clothes to put them up.  Paula snorted, "Leave them clothes alone.  I’ll get them later."  Kourtnee looked at Paula as if she had lost her mind, "you aren't going to put them back right.  I’ll do it."  Paula snapped, "I said I would do it.  I remember how they were."  Kourtnee looked at Paula and frowned.  Paula looked at Kourtnee with defiance.  Kourtnee knew that she wouldn't win the battle, so she put the clothes in her arms down and sat on the bed.

Paula felt Kourtnee's mattress.  She bounced on it a time or two.  Kourtnee looked at Paula fondling her bed, "Do you all want to be alone?  I can leave."  Paula twisted her lips, "Girl please.  This bed is softer than the beds in the dorm.  I wish I had this bed."  Kourtnee laughed, "If you say so.  It looked liked you all wanted to be alone."  Paula rolled her eyes at Kourtnee.

Paula leaned back on the headboard, "What are you all gonna do on your date?"

"We’re going on a picnic.  That remind me, I am supposed to fix the food for the picnic.  I don't know what I am going to fix."

Paula laughed.  Kourtnee was so helpless.  Paula volunteered, "I can fix something for you all."

"Girl, I can't ask you to do that."

Paula shook her head, "You didn't ask me to do that.  I volunteered.  I don't mind.  Anyway we can't have you feeding that boy cereal on your first date."

"For your information, I was going to feed him bagels."

Paula laughed, and then Kourtnee joined her.  Kourtnee went to call Colt to see what kind of food he liked, at Paula's demands of course.  Paula was putting up Kourtnee's clothing.  Kourtnee hoped that Paula would put the clothes up right.

Colt's roommate said his name.  Colt thought he had heard someone call his name, but he figured he was hearing things.  A few seconds later, Colt's roommate stuck his head in Colt's open door, "Dude, some girl is on the phone for you."  Colt jumped up, "Is it Kourtnee?"  Colt's roommate grunted, "I dunno, dude."  Colt ran by his roommate to go get the phone.

"Hello, this is Colt."

"Hello, Colt.  It’s Kourtnee."

"Hey Beautiful.  I was just thinking about you."

"Whatever."

"That is not a complete sentence."

"Whatever, Colt.  Is that better?"

Colt smiled, "A little better."

"If you were just thinking about me, why didn't you call me?"

Colt made a face, "ooh, don't be so hard on me.  I got lost in my thoughts of you."

"Enough with the charm.  What were you thinking about?"

"I am just a charming guy.  Can’t help it."

Kourtnee smiled at Colt.

Colt could here her smiling; "I knew you liked it when I was charming.  I can hear you smiling."

"Whatever Colt.  You didn't answer my question.  What were you thinking about when you were thinking about me?"

"I can't tell you.  They are my thoughts.  I can think what I want."

Kourtnee made a face, "it just better not be anything nasty."

Colt laughed, "I could never think anything nasty about you."

Kourtnee smacked her lips, "if you say so."

Colt laughed, "You just smacked your lips.  I don't believe it."

"I know. I better not let my mother hear me do that.  She will have a fit.  I am hanging around with someone who does that."

Colt laughed, "You are cute."

"I thought I was beautiful."

"You are beautiful, but just then you were cute."

Kourtnee rolled here eyes, "what do you want for the picnic on Saturday?"

"It doesn't really matter.  I eat pretty much anything except okra and cherries."

"Okay, so if I show up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you won't be upset with me?"

"No, I could never be upset with you."

Kourtnee blew a breath, "there's that charm again and I don't believe you."

"That’s your choice, Beautiful."

"Ok, I will figure something out for Saturday.  I’ll talk to you later, I have company."

"Okay, I guess if I have to get off the phone already, I will.  Bye.  Call me tomorrow."

Kourtnee huffed, "is something wrong with your fingers?"

"No, why?"

Don’t play dumb, Colt.  You know why."

Colt laughed, "Ok, I’ll call you tomorrow.  Is that better?"

"Yes, it is, but I may not be at home, now."

Colt sighed, "Why you gotta be so mean?  I’ll leave you a message."

"I may call you back."

Colt sighed again, "That's twice."

"I’m just playing with you."

Colt smiled, "I know."

"I’ll talk to you later.  Bye."

"Bye beautiful."

Kourtnee smiled as she hung up the phone.

CHAPTER 13

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 23:02:00 +0000

Paula came over to Kourtnee’s apartment uninvited, again.  Kourtnee almost did not open the door, but Paula would not leave.

Kourtnee opened the door, “Hey, What is up?”

Paula came into the apartment without being asked.

Kourtnee said, “I asked what was up.  I did not say to come in.”

“Girl please.  Why are you acting silly?  I did not mean anything.  I felt like cooking and you are the only person I know with a stove.  Do you mind if I cook something.”  Paula smiled big.

Kourtnee frowned, her eyebrows, one after the other, “I suppose so.  Do you always go around barging into folks houses?”

“Girl please.  Naw, I do not.  I just barge into yours.”  Paula laughed as if she had told the funniest joke ever.

Kourtnee laughed at Paula.  Paula said, “I will be right back.  I am going to get the groceries out of the car.  I may need you help.  Can you come help me?” Paula asked sweetly.

Kourtnee looked at Paula like she was crazy, “You are kidding, right?”

“NO.”

Kourtnee gasped at the rude woman’s response.  Kourtnee stood up, “You are truly crazy.”

As they walked towards the door, Paula said, “I know girl.  But I am a lot of fun to be around.  Come on here.”

The two young ladies went to Paula’s car.  As they walked down the sidewalk, a guy standing in one of the doorways said, “Where are you two fine ladies going?”  Paula turned around and answered back, “Wherever it is, you cannot go.”  The guy smiled, “Do not be like that, Baby.  That is just cold.”  Paula waved him off with her hand.

Kourtnee looked at Paula.  Paula looked at Kourtnee, “Girl please.  Ai not nobody thinking about that fool.  He cannot be respecting a woman like that and expect to get a decent response.  Men these says are silly and do not know how to act.”  Paula opened the trunk of her car.  Kourtnee looked in the trunk.  There were four bags of groceries.  Underneath the grocery bags were a blanket, some shoes, and a spare tire.  Kourtnee asked, “Who are you planning to cook for?”  Paula smiled, “Girl, just grab two of those bags.”  Kourtnee grabbed the bags as directed, but not before mumbling, “Dang, you bossy.”  Paula grabbed the remaining two bags and said, “I heard that.”  Both girls laughed as they headed up the stairs.  Kourtnee mumbled again, “You are still mean.”

As they passed the guy who had yelled at them before, he grabbed at one of the bags Kourtnee had in her arms and tried to look in it.  He also commented, “Can I come over.  I sure would like some of whatever ya’ll got cooking.”  He gave Kourtnee an evil smile.  Kourtnee huffed, “Would you move?  And I would not want what you were cooking even if I was starving to death.  Now move, please!”  The guy let go of the bag and moved out of the way.  Kourtnee and Paula walked by.  Paula rolled her eyes at the guy as she walked by.

After Paula and Kourtnee walked back into the apartment, they put the groceries on the counter.  Kourtnee went and sat on the couch.  Paula went into the kitchen.  She carefully took each of the ingredients from the bags.  Paula separated the ingredients by product type.  She went to the cabinets and pulled out the pots and pans that she needed.  She began cutting up vegetables, meat, and other items.

Kourtnee secretly watched the gourmet chef in the making.  Paula moved precisely and with a purpose.  Kourtnee thought she was watching a cooking show or some of the sort.  Paula looked at Kourtnee a couple of times and smiled.

Paula continued preparing the meal.  She dumped a little of this, some of that, a pinch of that there, and a smidgen of this here into the pots and skillets.  Paula stirred, tasted, shook, and sautéed like a mad woman.  She was working as if her life depended on what she was making.  It was a delight and a mystery to see Paula in action.

Kourtnee began to smell the results of what Paula was cooking.  It smelled good.  Kourtnee was curious, “What are you cooking?”

Paula did not even look in Kourtnee’s direction, “Food.”

Kourtnee balled up a piece of paper that was on the table next to the couch and threw it at Paula.  Paula stopped cooking and looked at Kourtnee, “You need to quit Paula.”  Paula went back to cooking.  Kourtnee made a face at the gourmet chef.

Paula continued cooking.  Kourtnee tried to watch TV, but the smell of what Paula was cooking and Paula’s feverish work ethic reminded Kourtnee of the times she had sat in the kitchen and watched her nanny, Ramona Jackson, cook.  Ramona had helped to raise Kourtnee.  Ramona also came over to Kourtnee’s apartment and cleaned the place up in addition to cooking meals for Kourtnee.  Kourtnee missed having Ramona around.  Ramona always made Kourtnee feel better no matter what had happened.  Ramona had a way of just making a person feel better.

Paula interrupted Kourtnee’s thought when she said, “Come taste this.”

Kourtnee did not move.  “Have you ever heard of asking or saying please?  Do you know what manners are?”

Paula laughed, "Girl, please.  Could you PLEASE come taste this?"

Kourtnee got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen.  Paula handed Kourtnee a spoon.  Kourtnee dipped the spoon into the pot of spaghetti sauce.  Kourtnee put the spoon into her mouth and tasted the spaghetti sauce.  The sauce was delicious.  Not wanted to enlarge Paula’s ego, Kourtnee non-chalantly said, “It tastes ok.”  Paula smacked her lips in a long rhythmic arrangement, “Girl, please.  You know that is some good sauce.  I ain’t even thinking about you.”  Kourtnee smiled and left the kitchen.  Paula cooked a little while longer.

Paula came and sat down next to Kourtnee.  Kourtnee looked at her, “What are you doing over here?  Are you through cooking?”  Paula wiped her hands on her thighs, “Yea.”  Kourtnee inquired, “Why are we sitting in here instead of eating?”  Paula shrugged, “I needed to rest a few seconds.  You can eat if you want to.”  Kourtnee frowned at Paula.” I am not eating until I see you eat.  If you are not going to eat your own cooking, I am not going to eat it.  If a cook doesn’t eat her own cooking that is a bad thing.”  Paula howled, “You need Jesus.”

Paula sat on the couch for about 20 minutes.  Finally she said, “I am going to eat.  Kourtnee looked at Paula towering over her, Kourtnee felt like an ant waiting to be stepped on.  Paula smacked her lips and walked into the kitchen.  Kourtnee stood up and walked into the kitchen.  Paula looked at the prissy girl as she walked to the bathroom.  Paula shook her head as she stirred the spaghetti.

There was a knock on the door.  Kourtnee stuck her head out of the bathroom, "Paula, can you get that?"  Paula put the spoon down and said, "Yea."  Paula walked to the front door and opened it.  Paula stared at the tall dark skinned man standing at the door.  She left the man standing there and ran to the bathroom where Kourtnee was.  Paula peeked her head in the door, "girl, the richest black man in Maddocha is standing at your door."  Kourtnee smiled, "That's my grandfather.  Did you let him in?"  Paula gasped, "Girl, naw.  I left him standing at the door."  Kourtnee rushed by Paula.  When Kourtnee reached the door, her grandfather was standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips and his eyebrow scrunched up.  Kourtnee smiled at her grandfather.  He walked into the apartment and then hugged Kourtnee.  Paula was standing in the kitchen, trying to be conspicuous.  Them Adams asked, "Where is the young lady who so rudely left me standing on the front porch?"  Paula crept from around the corner, and then she stood in front of the powerful man.  Mr. Adams smiled at her and said, "Hello.  I am Them Adams, Kourtnee’s grandfather.  Apparently, she didn't inform you that I was her grandfather."  Paula smiled.  Mr. Adams extended his hand to Paula, "You have a pretty smile."  Paula smiled as she shook the man's large hand.

Mr. Adams sniffed the air, "Something smells good.  What do you all have cooking in here?"  Paula smiled, "I just threw something together."  Mr. Adams smiled, "I don't normally do this and you better not say anything to your grandmother, Prissy.  I am inviting myself to dinner."  Paula looked at Kourtnee.  Kourtnee rolled her eyes at Paula before she turned and huffed at her grandfather, "Don't call me that."  Her grandfather waved his hand at his granddaughter.

He walked into the kitchen.  He motioned for the two young ladies to sit down after he pulled their chairs out for them.  Mr. Adams was a true gentleman.  He was a hard-working man who had grown-up without a father, but never let that stop his resolve to be successful.  His dark face wore the years of hard work on it.  Despite that, he had a mildness about him.  He treated women with respect, especially since his wife of 51 years expected nothing less.  Mr. Adams was in a business that catered to women.  He started a company that manufactured hair care products for African-Americans.

Mr. Adams was a man of character.  He took care of his family and taught his family to do the same.  Although not all of his children followed his example, Mr. Adams had raised a decent family.  All of them had been successful in their endeavors.  The company that he founded had helped to make his children's life easier. Both he and his wife were glad of that.

The three dinner companions prepared their plates.  They began to dig into the meal after Mr. Adams said grace in his deep voice.  Paula opened her eyes a time or two to get a look at the wise sounding old man.

As they ate dinner, Mr. Adams regaled them with tales of his life that included his childhood.  Kourtnee had heard most of the stories, but she liked to hear her grandfather tell them, so she was glad to listen.  Whenever her grandfather told his stories, she always felt like she was a 5-year old again, listening with enthusiasm to her grandfather tell her bedtime stories.

Mr. Adams fawned over the two young ladies.  He had a way of making women feel special.  Kourtnee liked the attention that being the star of her grandfather's eyes got her.  At times, her siblings and cousins would get upset with her, but it wasn't Kourtnee’s fault that she took an immediate interest in the family business after her grandfather took her to the plant.

They finished eating dinner.  Mr. Adams proceeded to the living room and sat down on the couch.  Paula sat on one side of him and Kourtnee sat on the other side.  The storyteller of all storytellers continued with his tales.

Mr. Adams could tell stories like no one else.  He often amused his grandchildren with his tales.  He would have you captured in the moment, waiting for the next event to occur.  His deep voiced helped greatly, it lended a sense of believability to the old man's stories.  He was famous for his fishing stories.  Unlike most fishermen, the big one never got away from Mr. Adams.  He would have you believing him.  To verify the facts, you would have to go ask his wife for the real story.  Paula was no different.  Mr. Adams had the young college student wrapped in his stories.

Kourtnee looked at Paula.  Paula seemed mesmerized by her grandfather.  Mr. Adams seemed to be focusing in on Paula.  Kourtnee became a bit jealous.  Kourtnee didn't like the idea of Paula taking her grandfather's attention.  That had never happened before.  Kourtnee could always manage to keep her grandfather's attention no matter who was around.  She finally asked, "Does Mama know where you are?"  Mr. Adams turned and looked at Kourtnee, "must you ruin my moment.  Yes, she knows I came over here to check on you."  Kourtnee made a face at her grandfather, "what is she going to think if she finds out you are over here fawning over us?"  Mr. Adams scrunched his eyebrows, "child, leave me alone and let me enjoy the company of two beautiful young women."  Paula and Kourtnee laughed.  Kourtnee made a face, "I'm going to tell Mama on you."  Mr. Adams turned to pa, "would you talk to your friend?"  Paula looked at Kourtnee, who rolled her eyes.  Paula made a face at Kourtnee.  Mr. Adams smiled.

He leaned back on the couch, "What are you all doing tomorrow?"  Kourtnee said, "I am busy."  Mr. Adams nodded, "what are you doing?"  Kourtnee huffed, "I have plans."  Mr. Adams smiled, "alright, I won't be nosey.  I tell your mother to find out for me."  Kourtnee huffed again.  He rubbed his chin, "what are you all doing on Sunday?"  Kourtnee answered, "I am not doing anything."  Paula responded, "Nothing after church."

Mr. Adams beamed, "I tell you what; why don't you all go to church with Mar and me; and then we can go have lunch?"  Kourtnee smiled.  Paula looked down at the floor, "I don't know if I can go to church with you all."  Mr. Adams sat up, "Why not?  Do you have something against church?"  Paula looked at Mr. Adams, "I usually go to church with my boyfriend."  Mr. Adams patted Paula's hand, "I think your boyfriend can live without you one day."  Paula agreed to go with the Adams' to church.  Kourtnee smiled.  She knew that Paula would enjoy the day because Mr. Adams was probably going to end up taking them shopping.  Paula was a bit torn because she knew that Rick would be upset, especially if Treshon had something to say.

Mr. Adams stood up, "Well, I better get out of her.  Paula, dinner was lovely.  We will be over here at 7:30 in the morning.  Make sure you all are ready.  Kourtnee, I hope you have fun with your plans this weekend."  He gave Kourtnee a stern but loving look.  Kourtnee batted her eyelashes at him.  He cut his eyes at her.

Mr. Adams hugged both girls after he stood up.  The hug felt good to both of them.  The fatherly hug surrounded them in love.  Mr. Adams walked to the door, "See you two tomorrow."  He winked at Kourtnee.  Paula looked at Kourtnee then at Mr. Adams.  She could tell that the two of them were sharing a secret.  Paula wanted to know what the secret was.  Had she known Kourtnee better, she would have asked.

Mr. Adams walked out of the apartment with Kourtnee and Paula in tow.  They stood on the rail as Mr. Adams walked to his car.  He got in the car and waved at the two young ladies.  Paula and Kourtnee walked back into the apartment when he drove off.

CHAPTER 12

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:07:00 +0000

After Rick dropped Paula off at her dorm, he headed for his room.  He did not know what he was going to say to Treshon.  Rick had to say something to the overzealous preacher before Rick’s modern day woman of a girlfriend ended up knocking the preacher out.  Rick was sure that Paula could and would do it, too.  She had 3 brothers, and she was the only girl.  Rick was sure that her brothers had taught her how to fight.

Rick walked into his room.  As he entered the room, he heard Treshon’s voice.  Treshon was praying.  The preacher was fiercely praying.  Treshon was praying with urgency that Rick had never heard before.  Rick listened to the praying preacher pray, “Lord, I need Your help.  The devil is attacking me, Lord.  I need You to protect me, Lord.  I am trying to do Your will…”  Rick wondered if Treshon was referring to Paula.  Treshon began speaking in tongues.  Rick knew that meant that Treshon was going to be praying for a long time; longer than Rick felt like waiting.  Rick went and grabbed his book bag.  He headed out the door to go to the library.  He would just have to talk to Treshon later.  It hurt Rick greatly that his girlfriend and his best friend could not get along.  Rick know if it was because Treshon had the wrong view about a woman’s place or if it was because Paula was so strong in her conviction that women should not have to be docile and sit somewhere and be quiet.  Only the Lord could bring those two stubborn people to some kind of comprise.  That was Rick’s constant prayer.

Colt called Kourtnee.  No one answered the phone.  Colt left her a message, “Hey Beautiful, it is Colt.  Give me a call when you get in.”

Kourtnee listened to the messages on her answering machine.  Two of the messages were from her mother asking about getting together for lunch.  One was from her grandmother, checking on her.  One was from her grandfather, wanting to come by and spend the day with her.  The phone message from her grandfather would probably result in her going on an all expense paid shopping spree courtesy of her grandfather, Themophilis Adams, multi-millionaire hair care mogul.  He liked to show off his wealth from time to time.  Kourtnee did not mind as long as she benefited from his showing off.  Two of the messages were from Colt.

The day after the tutoring session, which she had saved said, “Hey Beautiful.  I got your message.  Sorry, I did not call you back.  Call me Colt.”  Kourtnee had saved the message so that she could play it over and over.

The other one, a new message from Colt said, ““Hey Beautiful, it is Colt.  Give me a call when you get in.”  Kourtnee listened to the new message several times.  His voice sent shivers down her back.  She liked listening to his deep bass filled voice.

Kourtnee sat down on the couch for awhile.  She let her day drip off of her slowly.  This was a habit that she had started when she was in elementary school.  Although an elementary school student did not have much to let roll off, it was a habit that had been beneficial to her.  Today, she was tired and her day had been long.  She needed to let this day roll off of her.  Finally rested, she decided to call Colt.

Colt picked up the phone, “Hello.  It is Colt.”

“Hey Colt, it is Kourtnee.”

Colt smiled, “What is up, Beautiful?  It is great to hear your voice.”

Kourtnee blushed, “You are doing that charming thing again.”

Colt paused, “I do charming well.  I cannot help it.”

“You are silly.”

“I know girl, but you like me and my silly self,” Colt beamed.

Kourtnee held her breath, and then said, “Yea, a little.  You and your silly self like me, too.”

“Yea, a little,” Colt joked.

Kourtnee smacked her lips, “Boy please, you like me a lot.  Quit playing.”  Kourtnee laughed quietly.  She sounded like Paula when she said ‘Boy please.’

Colt laughed, “You got me.  I like you a lot.  I cannot help it.  You are so beautiful and refined.  How can I possibly not like you a lot?”

Kourtnee grinned, “Whatever.”

They began an hour long conversation that talked of family, friends, life, hopes, and dreams.  Colt talked about his paternal grandfather a lot.  Colt’s grandfather had been a huge influence on Colt.  His grandfather had been the main influence in Colt studying science.  Colt talked fondly of his mother and father.

Kourtnee talked about her family.  She made sure to keep her family’s wealth out of the conversation.  Kourtnee’s grandfather had been as great an influence on her as Colt’s grandfather had been on him.  Kourtnee’s parents were also influential, but not as much as her grandfather.

Finally, Colt said, “Where do you want to go on Saturday?”

Kourtnee smiled, “My parents have season tickets to the Dorinda Playhouse.  Right now, they are playing “The Lady Loves” by Cristal Johnson.  I am sure that I can get my parents to give us their tickets for Saturday night, if you want to go.”  Kourtnee hoped that Colt would say yes.  She had wanted to go to the play badly.  Going with Colt would be a wonderful treat.

Colt paused for a moment, “Umm, the theater.  You are seriously outthinking me.  I was thinking of something a little more fun, for the first date.”

Kourtnee’s heart dropped, “Oh, I just wanted to go, that is why I suggested it.  We do not have to go.  We can do something else.”

Colt could tell that Kourtnee was a little dejected.  He tried to make her feel better.  “I did not mean anything by that.  I think we should do something that would not put that much pressure on us to be perfect and on our guard.  I believe that it would be better to do something relaxing and fun.”

Kourtnee did not say anything.  She was thinking about the play.  She would probably end up going with her mother or brother.  She was tired of going with the two of them.

Colt said, “Do you like amusement parks?”

Kourtnee said, “Yea, I suppose.”

“Girl, you sound bad.  What is wrong with you?”

Kourtnee sighed, “I want to go to the play.  I do not want to go with my mother.  I am tired of going with her.  I thought it would be nice to go with you.”

“Awe, you wanna go with me.  That is so sweet, “Colt ribbed Kourtnee.

Kourtnee blew a loud breath, “Are you making fun of me?”

“No Beautiful.  I just thought it was sweet.”  Colt knew he was lying.  He was making fun of Kourtnee.  He could tell that she was spoiled and use to getting her way.  He did not want to go see a play of any kind, even if it was with Kourtnee.

Kourtnee sighed, “If you say so.”

“What would you like to do that would be fun?”

Kourtnee thought about it, “A picnic would be fun.”

“A picnic.  Ok, anything else.”

Kourtnee thought about it some more, “That is pretty much all I can think of now.”

“You just ain't going to make this easy, are you?”

Kourtnee grimaced, “Nope, I am not.”

The two of them talked some more about what to do on their date.  They came to no decision about the date at that moment, so Kourtnee left it up to Colt to decide what to do for the date.

CHAPTER 11

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:04:00 +0000

Rick hadn't spoken to Paula for almost 3 days. He was so upset with her. She hadn't called him, when she said she would and she had been out all night. Rick wasn't possessive or anything, but he believed in keeping his word. If you say you are going to do something, then do.

Treshon had been screaming in Rick's ear all week that Paula was out somewhere doing something damnable. Rick knew otherwise, Paula wasn't like that. There were times when Rick wondered why he was even friends with Treshon. Treshon was harsh, much too harsh for Rick's taste. Perhaps it was Treshon's strict holiness upbringing. Rick was brought up Baptist. Treshon was constantly trying to get Rick to become Pentecostal. If Treshon was an example of Pentecostalism, Rick wasn't sure if he wanted to become one.

"I done told you boy, that girl ain't saved. She is always doing something she ain't got no business doing. You are going to be an evangelist; she has to be above reproach. She just ain't right for you, man. She is loud and boisterous. She is flashy and forward. She ain't gonna make a good preacher's wife," Treshon ranted.

Rick composed himself, "Treshon, I am tired of you running Paula down. She may not be what you want, but she is what I want. Man, you are too hard, it's no wonder people run from you. Paula's right, one of these days, someone is going to hit you. If you keep running my girl down, it may just be me."

Treshon made his POed face, as if Rick even cared, "See, I am trying to help you. If you want that trouble, then don't say anything to me when she makes you look bad. That girl is not a good representative of who you are."

Rick threw up his hands, "For the record, we are not married. Good grief, boy, we are in college. You need to lighten up. I'm gone. You need to prayer about being so mean. I am sure glad Jesus wasn't as mean as you are. I might not have come to Him if He was. Remember that, Treshon. You are showing people how Jesus is. How are you making Him look?" Rick walked out the door before Treshon could respond.

Treshon wondered if he was really that harsh. He had grown up under dogmatic preachers all his life. That's all he knew. He brushed his curly hair from his light skinned face. People often said he was so mean because he was short and trying to compensate for his height.

Born in a religious house, Treshon learned about God at an early age. His mother was Holiness, his father, recently called to be a preacher, a Baptist preacher, though. Treshon had been called to the ministry since the age of 12. He was a fiery dynamic preacher, even at a young age. He often won youth to Christ, although recently, the only person he had won to Christ was Rick.

Maybe Rick was right, maybe he was too harsh. Treshon just didn't believe in sugar coating anything. People needed to know the truth. He had been called by the Lord to tell the truth. Treshon was tired of Paula. Her only real problem was that she was not like the women he was use to. She did not sit still and be quiet. Treshon did like the fact that she helped Rick in his ministry. She would help him pass out tracks and witness to people. Other than those attributes, Paula needed to sit somewhere and keep silent, like the Bible said.

Rick just needed to go for a walk. He couldn't take anymore of Treshon's nonsense. Treshon had a knack for upsetting people when trying to encourage them. Rick tried to get Paula out of his mind, but he couldn't. She didn't do bad things, she was just doing what college students do, have fun. Who could blame her; she was young and carefree. She liked having fun. Rick had to admit that he enjoyed being around her when she decided to be fun loving. She was a wonderful relief from Treshon. That boy was always serious. Rick couldn't remember when he had actually seen Treshon bust a gut laughing or smile big. Rick wasn't sure where he was going, but he kept on walking.

Paula was worried. Rick hadn't called her in a few days. She had called him, but Treshon trifling behind had picked up the phone and acted a fool with her. She couldn't stand him. She had to pray so that she wouldn't knock him dead into a new week.

She walked over to Rick's dorm. When she walked up to the door, she ran into Treshon. Treshon saw her. He made it a point to go talk to her.

"What do you want?" Treshon frowned at her.

Paula huffed, "Not you. Is Rick in there?"

Treshon shifted his weight from his left side to his right side, "No, he isn't. What do you want; to tell him that you were shaking your behind at the dance?"

Paula looked at Treshon as if he had lost his mind. "Look fool, first and foremost, it ain't any of your business what I do. Second, you need to watch your tread before you get slapped. Rick ain't here to protect you. I don't like you, so you need to leave me alone."

Treshon grabbed Paula's arm, "You need to watch who you are talking about slapping. Touch not my anointing and do my prophet no harm."

Paula wrenched away from Treshon, "Negro, don't ever put your hands on me again! Get this straight. I don't answer to you, so you can kiss a certain part of my anatomy. Since you want to quote scriptures, how about quoting the one that says, if you want to make friends, you must first show you self friendly. Then again, you probably don't need friends in your mind. I firmly believe Rick is saved, because anyone who would hang around with your trifling behind, would have to be saved or a saint. If you want to tell Rick, you can tell him, that's up to you. But I make you this promise, if you ever touch me; you are going to wish you hadn't."

Treshon was stunned. No woman had ever talked to him like Paula had. He wanted to say something to her, but she walked off from him. He thought about going after her and setting her straight, but she had a little height and weight on him. He figured it wouldn't be worth it to get into a fight with her. As crazy as she was, she would probably fight a dude.

Paula walked off. She was so upset that she had turned red in the face. Before she knew it, tears were running out of her eyes. She started walking towards her dorm. She wasn't in any condition to be around people.

"Good grief, why must people act a fool with me when I am PMSing," Paula thought. It never failed someone had to do something idiotic at a time when she was already an emotional wreck. She cried even harder. She knew Treshon was going to say something to Rick and then make it look twice as bad as it really was.

Paula reached the walkway of her dorm. She heard someone calling her name. She wiped her face before she looked around. When she looked up, Rick was standing in her face. He took one look at her and knew something was wrong.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Why have you been crying?" Rick said in a caring voice.

Paula laid her head on his shoulder and cried. Rick put his hands around her and held her. She cried for a few minutes before she raised her head up off of Rick's shoulder. She wiped her eyes and then attempted to wipe the tears off of Rick's shirt. Rick moved her hand from his shoulder. He took both of her and held them in his.

"Are you gonna tell me why you were crying?" Rick inquired.

Paula sighed, "I went over to your dorm to look for you and I ran into Treshon. He gets on my nerves. He just upset me."

Rick let her left hand go and walked her over to a nearby bench. "What did he do?"

Paula smirked, "What he usually does. Being a jack! Being an idiot."

Rick batted his eyelashes, "He must have really upset you. Tell me what he said."

Paula rubbed her chin, 'He asked me if I had come to tell you that I was at the dance and he quoted some scriptures. I told him off. Something is wrong with that nut. He has issues with women. Why are you friends with him?"

"What dance did you go to?" Rick frowned at his red faced girlfriend.

Paula twisted her lips, "A dance given by Benita and her sorority sisters. A girl from one of my classes wanted to go, so I went with her."

Rick frowned again, "Why did that make you cry?"

Paula shrugged her shoulders, "I don't' know. I guess I was just upset about it. Are you gonna tell me why you are friends with him."

"He is not as mean as he acts like he is. He is actually a pretty good guy. He just was raised a certain way and he believes that things should be that way. God's going to have to change him. I am trying to be an example to him. He thinks women should be seen and not heard. He is pretty old-fashioned. I have told him that everyone's household wasn't like that," Rick lamented. He caressed Paula's hand.

Paula moved her hand from his. She didn't like the way he was making her feel. He was making her feel better. She wanted to be mad right then. She wanted Rick to be mad at Treshon, too, but Rick was an even tempered guy and she had never seen him get mad at anyone.

"Aren't you mad at Treshon?" Paula said.

Rick blew a breath, "Yea, I will talk to him when I get home, later. Right now, I am trying to make sure that you are okay."

Paula smiled at Rick being delightful. "I don't suppose you are going to hit him."

Rick laughed, "No, I am not going to hit him. I am going to talk to him."

"He needs a good kick in the behind. That's about all that is going to help him."

Rick grabbed Paula's shoulder, "Don't be so mean, girl. Just pray for him."

"I can't right now. I might pray the wrong thing and he may turn into a roach and someone may step on him."

Rick laughed and Paula laughed.

Paula knew that she had to broach the subject, "I apologize for not calling you the other night. I got in late. I didn't feel like hearing Treshon's mouth, plus I didn't know if you were gonna be woke."

Rick sucked his bottom lip, "You should have called anyway. Who did you dance with at the dance?"

Paula smiled, "No one. I mostly helped Benita out. I just made sure that Kourtnee had some fun. You should see that girl's apartment. It is professionally decorated and everything. That girl is living better than any college student I know."

"How you just gonna tell all that girl's business? No one asked you to change the subject either. We were talking about the dance."

Paula titled her head, "I know. I'm hungry. Can we go eat?"

"You are just trying to get out of trouble. We can't go right now. I am fussing at you."

Paula rolled her neck, "Trust me; Treshon has caused me enough stress that you don't even have to fuss at me. And I would appreciate it if you didn't fuss at me this time."

Rick smiled, “Yes, Mame. I'll let you slide today."

They both stood up and headed for the cafeteria to go get something to eat.

CHAPTER 10

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 16:44:00 +0000

Colt was sad. He hadn't seen Kourtnee in almost two weeks. He actually missed her. The brief time he had spent with her made his day. He decided to go by her lab on Tuesday and wait for her. He hoped that she wouldn't still be upset with him. It had been a week or two since the incident. No woman had ever caught his attention like that before.

Tuesday night at 6:50 PM, Colt was standing outside the Chemistry 102 lab room. He was waiting on Kourtnee. At least 12 students had already walked out of the room and no Kourtnee yet. Colt's heart started to drop. What if she was sick? What if she hadn't come to class? What if she decided just to not show up tonight?

He heard Kourtnee's voice say, "Thanks for your help, John." Her voice sounded so sweet. Colt's eye lit up. He stood a foot or two from the lab door. He watched as Kourtnee walked out of the room. She looked despondent and confused. He knew he had to rescue her. She needed his help.

Colt walked down the hallway as if he just happened to be in the building. As he passed Kourtnee, he said, "Hey beautiful. What's going on?" Kourtnee didn't hear him. She was thinking about Chemistry. She was having a hard time with what Dr. Boone had discussed in class.

Colt stopped. He tapped Kourtnee on the shoulder. She turned around and stared at him with a lost glare. His smile knocked her back into reality.

Kourtnee blinked her eyes, "Hello, Colt. What are you doing here?"

Colt smiled a sly smile, "Just hanging around."

Kourtnee titled her head, "Why are you just hanging around?"

Colt shrugged, "Don't know. You looked confused. What's wrong?"

Kourtnee blew a deep breath, "I asked John something about Chemistry, and he confused me even more."

Colt looked hurt, "Why didn't you call and ask me for help? I am hurt."

Kourtnee smiled a big grin, "I wasn't sure you would be at home."

"Awe girl, that hurt," Colt rubbed his haw as if she had slapped him.

Kourtnee laughed, "You are crazy."

"I am crazy about you. So, what's your Chemistry dilemma?" He tried to sneak the 'crazy about you' comment by Kourtnee.

Kourtnee frowned and curled her lips, "You are not that slick."

Colt gave Kourtnee an innocent look, "What ever do you mean?"

Kourtnee titled her head and twisted her lips in the direction, then back to their original position.

Colt reached for her bag, "Do you want my help or not?"

Kourtnee handed him her bag, "Yes, I could sure use it. Thanks."

"No problem, beautiful. To the library we go." Colt tried to hide his happiness. Kourtnee laughed at him.

Kourtnee and Colt walked to the library; each of them in silent contemplation. Kourtnee did feel good walking beside the handsome young man. There was a glide in his step that she had not noticed before. He walked with confidence; each stride seemed to be more confident than the next.

Colt stopped and looked at Kourtnee, "Are you checking me out?"

Kourtnee cheeks turned deep purple, "No, I'm not."

Colt started walking again, "It's okay with me if you check me out. I hope you like what you see!" Colt laughed hard, loud, and long as he walked with a much cooler walk trying to give Kourtnee a good show. Kourtnee just shook her head and enjoyed the show.

Colt and Kourtnee found a spot that suited them both in the library. Colt wanted to go somewhere very quiet. Kourtnee wanted to go somewhere not so quiet. Colt pulled Kourtnee's chair out for her, as any gentleman would. Kourtnee sat down smiling at him trying to impress her. Colt sat down next to her; just a little too closely.

"You need to scoot over," Kourtnee scowled at the chocolate man.

Colt smiled as he scooted his chair over a little.

"Can you scoot over a little more? We don't have to be that close." Kourtnee shook her hair at him. It fell into her face and she had to move it out of her face.

Colt smiled and touched her hair, "Girl, I like your hair. Are you sure this is yours?"

Kourtnee racked her hair out of Colt's hands, "Yes, it is mine. Can we get to Chemistry, please?" Kourtnee took her Chemistry book and folder from her bag. Colt saw the name of her professor on her folder. He frowned, "Oh no, you have Dr. Boone."

Kourtnee frowned, twisted her face, and finished with an extended eye roll, "Yes, I do. Ugh, he is horrible and to boot, I am stuck with John. He is almost as bad as Dr. Boone."

Colt laughed. She was right. John was as bad as Dr. Boone. Kourtnee got miffed, "What's so funny?"

Colt smiled, "Nothing. Why are you taking Chemistry anyway?"

Kourtnee looked at Colt as if he had asked her about the most private of her thoughts, "Because I want to. Do I have to have a reason?"

Co smiled again, "I was just asking. Ok, teacher's assistant face. Ms. Adams, what seems to be the problem?" Colt's professional voice was even deeper than his regular voice. Kourtnee smiled and pushed the joy that she felt from her mind. Kourtnee showed him what she was having trouble with. Colt read her notes and looked at her. He then looked in the index of her Chemistry book. He found what he was looking for and explained it to her. He explained things with great detail and patience. It was as if he were her professor instead of a tutor. Kourtnee wondered if he was just being like this because it was her.

Kourtnee asked him some questions. Colt answered her questions with the same care that he had explained things to her earlier. Within 45 minutes, Kourtnee understood what had taken Dr. Boone and John more than four hours to not explain.

Kourtnee smiled, "Can I transfer to your lab class?"

"Nope," Colt said emphatically.

Kourtnee looked startled, "Why not?"

"Because," Colt said.

Kourtnee rolled her neck, "Because what? And please use a complete sentence."

Colt smiled, "Because I couldn't ask you a question."

Kourtnee frowned, "What!?"

Playfully colt returned, "That is not a complete sentence, Mame."

Colt paused, "I wouldn't be able to ask you... Would you like to go out with me?"

Kourtnee sat still and didn't answer. Colt mostly looked straight ahead. Periodically, he would look at Kourtnee out of the corner of his eyes. She just sat still; not saying a word.

Finally, Colt nudged her arm, "Hey, are you gonna give me an answer?"

Kourtnee responded, "Hum, I'm not sure."

Colt looked lost, "Not sure about what? Giving me an answer or going out with me?

Kourtnee rubbed her eyes with her fingers as if she had been staring at a light for a long period of time. Colt rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. She dropped her shoulder so that his hand fell from her shoulder.

Colt smiled, "Do you wan to go out with me or not?"

Kourtnee squeezed the bridge of her nose, "When do you want to go out?"

Colt responded, "Is something wrong? Why aren't you looking at me?"

Kourtnee resisted the urge to stare at Colt handsome face. The urge was getting stronger with each moment.

Colt stood up, walked around to the direction Kourtnee was facing, and stood in front of Kourtnee.

Kourtnee turned the other way, "Would you stop!"

Colt decided to mess with Kourtnee. He walked to the new direction that Kourtnee was facing.

Kourtnee titled her head and looked into Colt's deep black eyes, "You just don't quit. Do you?"

"Nope, I don't quit,” Colt smiled. "Are you gonna answer my question?" Colt flexed his chest muscles.

Kourtnee blushed, "Don't be charming."

Colt flexed his chest muscles again, "If it gets you to say yes, I'll be charming as I have to be."

Colt rubbed his barely existent mustache, "Saturday. This Saturday."

Kourtnee thought for a moment, "Ok, we can go out on Saturday. What time?"

Colt smiled as if he had one a million dollars, "I haven't worked all the details out. Can I have your number so I can call you with the details?"

Kourtnee smirked, "Why didn't you just ask me for my number instead of being sneaky?"

Colt raised his eyebrows up and down, "I', charming and sneaky. Got a problem with it?"

Kourtnee twisted her lips, "No, give me you pen and a piece of paper."

"Why? You have your own pen and some paper in front of you," Colt stated.

Kourtnee made a face at him, "If you don't want my number, then I won't give it to you."

Colt finally complied with Kourtnee's request. Kourtnee wrote her number down and handed the paper and pen to Colt.

Colt opened the library door so that Kourtnee could walk out of the door. Kourtnee walked through the door with Colt following close behind her. Colt got in step with Kourtnee. As the walked, Colt grabbed Kourtnee's hand and held it. Kourtnee took a quick glance at Colt and then freed her hand from his hand. Colt reached for Kourtnee's hand again. She moved her hand out of the way. Colt frowned and stuck his hands in his pocket and frowned.

Kourtnee smirked, "What's wrong with you?"

Colt sighed, "I tend to get excited, too easily."

"What does that mean?"

Colt sighed again, "Something my mother always says to me. ‘Boy you get excited too easily.’"

"Are you okay, though?"

Colt stopped walking. He handed Kourtnee her bag. "Can you make it home on your own?"

"Yes, I can, but what if I don't want to make it home on my own?" Kourtnee was trying to be playful and cheerful Colt up.

Colt seemed unmoved, "Look, just go home, okay. I want to be alone!"

Kourtnee took her bag, "Are you sure you are going to be okay?"

Colt released her bag to her, "Yea, call me, and let me know you made it home."

Colt walked off before she could respond. Kourtnee continued on her walk home.

Colt headed for his car. He felt like an idiot. He had been too forward with Kourtnee. He hoped that he hadn't alienated her. Colt often got overly excited when he liked a girl. His mother always told him, "Boy, slow down. You move too fast." His father was the same way, according to his mother. Colt's father fell head over heels for his mother.

"Boy, you daddy came by my house with flowers and candy, the day after we met. You know your grandfather was strict. He almost had a fit. I thought your granddaddy was gonna kill Stall. Everyday, Stall came by to talk to me despite my father being mean to him. Your father was persistent and he moved too fast. You are just like him."

Colt slowly walked to his car. He had driven over to the school from his off-campus apartment. His apartment was only two blocks away from the school. He usually walked, but he drove instead.

Colt got in his car and started it up. He sat there for a few minutes. He still felt bad. He pulled out of the parking spot he occupied. He had to stop quickly because a couple of girls walked behind the car. The girls didn't even attempt to gesture an apology. Colt shook his head and continued on his way.

Colt reached his apartment. He walked in and saw the light on the answering machine flashing. He knew that there had to be a message from Kourtnee on the machine. He started to not touch the machine, but he wanted to hear Kourtnee's voice.

He pushed the button on the answering machine. The first few messages were for his roommate. Then her beautiful melodic voice came on the machine, "Hello, Colt. I made it home. Give me a call later on. Kourtnee."

Colt smiled as Kourtnee's voice warmed his heart. He played the message four more times.

CHAPTER 9

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 16:36:00 +0000

Paula woke up at 12:10 PM on Saturday morning. She stretched before she sat up. She was dreading the task that she had to do. She pushed that task to the back of her mind. She went into the bathroom. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. Then she got dressed. She put on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. She stared at the answering machine for a few minutes. The thing was old; at least 2 years old. It was big and bulky. Her parents had given it to her after they had purchased a new one. The flashing light kept chastising her. "You know you need to call him!" It blinked the same line over and over, with a "Lord, have mercy child," in between the blinks.

Paula stopped thinking about the answering machine. She had to make up her mind. Was she going to call Rick? Was she not going to call Rick? She decided not to, instead she grabbed her purse and keys after she put on her shoes. She headed out the door.

Paula got into her car and drove over to Kourtnee's apartment. Paula hoped that Kourtnee would be up. Paula couldn't remember exactly which apartment number Kourtnee had gone into. It was either 5, 6, or 7. Paula would have to knock on each door until she found the right one.

Paula rang the doorbell for apartment number 5. A guy answered the door after a few seconds. Paula knew the answer to this question, but she asked it anyway, "Does Kourtnee live here?" The guy looked at her as if she was speaking a foreign language. He asked, "Who is that?" Paula responded, "About my height, dark-skinned, with long black hair." the guy grunted, "Check number 7, I think." he slammed the door before Paula could say anything. Paula went to apartment number 7 and hoped for the best.

Kourtnee heard the doorbell ring. "Who was ringing her doorbell?" she stood up and grabbed her robe that was draped over her cedar chest and put it on. The purple robe matched her purple silk pajamas, just as most of her silk pajamas had a robe to match it.

She was slow getting to the door because she was half asleep. The person at the door rang the doorbell two more times. Kourtnee thought, "Either walk away or wait till I get there."

Kourtnee finally made it to the door. After she opened it, she saw Paula staring her in the face.

Kourtnee frowned, "What are you doing here?"

Paula shrugged, "Don't know. I didn't want to be at home. Can I come in?"

Kourtnee looked at this girl standing in her door, uninviting and wanting into Kourtnee’s sacred world.

Paula huffed, "Are you gonna let me in or not?"

Kourtnee opened the door and stepped aside. "Come on." Paula walked in the apartment and looked around.

Kourtnee adjusted the belt on her robe. "You can have a seat. You can watch TV if you want to. I need to freshen up. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Kourtnee left the room as Paula sat down on the couch. Paula picked up the remote for the television. The television looked as if it was brand new. It had to be 19 or 20 inches. It paled in comparison to her 12 inch black and white TV. The furniture in the living room matched the carpet perfectly. What college student has a professionally decorated apartment? It had to be professionally decorated; the painting matched the living room set and the flowers that accented the room went with the living room color scheme.

Paula surmised that Kourtnee must have been from a rich family. Why had she acted such a fool about a few dollars? Most rich kids liked to throw their money around. But, there was nothing flashy about Kourtnee.

Paula brushed her thoughts aside. She had to figure out what to do about Rick. He was probably worried about her. He was probably out looking for her. She hadn't talked to him since 4:00 on Friday. She did miss him. Paula laid her head on the back of the couch. Before long, she was asleep.

Kourtnee walked into the living room. Paula’s head was lying on the back of the couch. Her mouth was slightly opened. She was asleep. Kourtnee made a face and snickered.

Kourtnee walked to the linen closet. She got a blanket from the closet. She walked back into the living room and covered the uninvited sleeping guest up with the blanket.

Paula had been sleeping for an hour. Kourtnee had smiled at the sleeping girl several times. She looked so peaceful and innocent. Everyone looks peaceful and innocent when they are sleeping.

Kourtnee thought to herself, "How dare you come over to someone's house, uninvited and then just go to sleep on their couch?" Kourtnee smiled again as she read Chemistry book. She was trying to get ahead in her classes as she had learned from the girl now sleeping on her couch. Kourtnee had completed a couple of chapters in her Business Statistics course. She was trying to tackle Chemistry at this point. That was a hard undertaking.

It was 3:39 PM when Paula finally woke up. When she opened her eyes, she looked around. She could tell that she wasn't in her own room. She turned her head and saw Kourtnee. Paula stared at the dark skinned girl, groggily, trying to focus on who she was. Kourtnee smiled, "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up." Paula rubbed her eyes, "I was tired. How long have I been asleep?" Kourtnee looked at the clock, "For three hours or so." Paula jumped up quickly, "Rick is gonna have a fit!! Can I use your phone?" Kourtnee nodded and pointed to the phone. Paula moved quickly to the phone and dialed Rick's number.

Treshon answered the phone, "Blessed be the name of the Lord. Are you saved?" Paula rolled her eyes, "Treshon, is Rick there?" Treshon sucked his teeth, "Well, if it isn't the prodigal daughter. So, were you out sowing your wild oats last night or something other heathenistic act?" Paula huffed, "NEGRO, if you don't put Rick on the phone, and NOW, You are gonna see a mad daughter. Put Rick on the phone, NOW!!"

Kourtnee looked at Paula. Either she didn't like the person she was talking to on the phone or she was crazy. Paula caught Kourtnee looking at her. Paula covered the mouthpiece of the phone, "I can't stand this idiot."

Paula moved her hand from the receiver, "Hey, Rick." She paused, "I was hanging out with my home girl and I lost track of time. I just woke up." Paula was quiet for a few minutes. She dropped her head. She finally said, "Yea, whatever. I'll talk to you." Paula hung up the phone. She walked over to the couch and then sat down.

Paula laid her head on the back of the couch. Kourtnee walked over the couch from the kitchen table. "Are you okay?" Paula lifted her head up, "Girl, man troubles." Kourtnee nodded, "Was it the first guy or the second guy you talked to?"

Paula sat up fully; her back was straight and upright. "Girl please, ain't no way in the world that I would be involved with Treshon unless I was near death and a rat wasn't available. I can't stand his behind for nothing. Uhh, don't make me even think about him. UGH! I can't stand him."

Kourtnee made a face at Paula. "Okay, calm down. I just asked a question."

Paula smiled at Kourtnee, "I'm sorry. My boyfriend, Rick, is who I was talking about."

Kourtnee shrugged her shoulders. "If the first guy is as bad as you say he is, why does your boyfriend hang out with him?"

Paula sighed, "Treshon ain't that bad. He is just an overzealous preacher. Instead of trying to draw people with love, he usually tries to scare them with stories about hell. That boy doesn't know what love is. I hope he learns one day. He irks me to no end. He called me the prodigal daughter, and then he asked me had I been out sowing my wild oats. Once before he called me a heathenous viper. We just don't get along. Anyway, you got anything in the refrigerator to eat?"

Kourtnee looked at Paula. "Uhh, you can go check the refrigerator and see."

"How dare she ingratiate herself on me like that? She has got to be the rudest person ever, "Kourtnee's thoughts fumed.

Paula's head popped up from behind the refrigerator door, "Have you eaten yet?"

Kourtnee forehead wrinkled, "No, I haven't. Don't tell me that you are going to ask me to buy you another meal."

Paula closed the fridge door, "Did you just get testy with me?"

Kourtnee wasn't sure if she wanted to get into it with the heavier weighted girl, "Yes, I did. You asked me for money to get into the dance; you ate for free at Franklin's. You showed up here uninvited. To top it all off, you fell asleep on my couch. For you to be somebody that I don't know well, you have ingratiated yourself on me very well over the past two days."

Paula stopped dead in her tracks. Normally, she would have told Kourtnee off, but Kourtnee was right. Paula had been very rude the past day or so. Paula sat down in a chair at the table, "Girl, I am so sorry. I have been terribly rude. You would think I had no home training. You know what, I am gonna leave."

Kourtnee stood up, walked to the table, and sat down in a chair, "You don't have to leave. It's been fun having the company. Plus, I am kind of hungry. We can go get something to eat."

Paula looked at Kourtnee. Kourtnee did not have any meanness in her face. Kourtnee seemed like the nicest person in the world at that moment. There was calmness about her. Paula just stared at Kourtnee, not knowing what to think.

Kourtnee waved her hand in Paula's face, "Are you okay?"

Paula didn't say anything.

Kourtnee scratched the right side of her face, "Don't tell me that you have some kind of medical condition, too." Kourtnee smiled.

Paula snapped out of her stare and said, "Girl, please."

Kourtnee laughed loudly, "You say 'Girl please' a lot."

"Girl please, that's just what I say." Paula fanned her hand through the air with attitude after she twisted her lips and rolled her neck.

Kourtnee shook her head, "Where do you wanna go eat?"

Paula smacked her lips and worked her neck, "Girl, please. All this expensive stuff in here, you gotta have some pots and pans."

"Yea, it's some in a box in the cabinet." Kourtnee pointed to a cabinet in the kitchen."

Paula stood up and went to the cabinet that Kourtnee had pointed to.

"That's the wrong cabinet. The one to the left." Kourtnee didn't appreciate the comment Paula had made about the stuff in her apartment.

Paula looked in the next cabinet. There was an unopened box of pots and pans in the cabinet. "Why haven't you opened the box?"

Kourtnee rolled her eyes, "I don't know. I just haven't opened the box."

Paula lifted the box up on the cabinet. "Girl, I wish I had an apartment like this, with all this stuff in it. Girl, please. This would be the life." Paula opened the box, without even asking Kourtnee.

"Yes, you can open MY box," Kourtnee snapped.

Paula turned around and looked at Kourtnee. "Oops. Did you want to open the box? You are kind of possessive. Girl, please. Were you an only child?"

Kourtnee got upset at that moment. "No, I wasn't, if you must know. Have you always been this pushy?"

Paula laughed loudly, "Girl, you are a trip. I have always been pushy and bossy. I don't mean anything by it. I'm sorry, if it seems like I am being too pushy. Is it okay, if I cook something to eat?"

"Yes it is okay, thanks for asking," Kourtnee smiled.

"You are use to getting your way, I can see. This friendship is going to be interesting," Paula said as she clanked pots and pans in the kitchen.

CHAPTER 8

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 20:21:00 +0000

The students of Caffco University went about their lives, as they should. They went to classes. They ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They talked to their friends, called their parents, and made new friends. Life went on. Paula and Rick were getting along well. Rick continued to minister to the students whenever he got a chance. Paula continued to wonder why he kept witnessing to people and people kept rejecting him. Colt was a bit sad because Kourtnee had not called him again. He had started to go by her Chemistry Lab on several occasions, but he never did. Kourtnee had wanted to call Colt, but she was so busy with her classes, especially Chemistry, she didn't get the chance. Life on the college campus went on.

One of Paula's friend's sorority was hosting a dance at the Student Center. She was planning on going to the dance. Paula decided to invite Kourtnee. After Business Statistics class, Paula said, "Hey Kourtnee, what are you doing Friday night?" Kourtnee answered, "Nothing, Why?" Paula reached into her bag and grabbed a flyer and gave it to Kourtnee. Paula said, "There is a dance at the Student Center. You can stop by if you want to." Kourtnee looked at the flyer. She said, "I'll think about it." Paula laughed at her and said, "Come on now. I am sure that you could use a little fun. You need to come over to the Student Center." Kourtnee smiled at her. She didn't know if she was going to the dance or not.

It was Friday night. Kourtnee had changed clothes 4 times trying to find the right outfit. She wasn't sure what to wear. She had a pile of clothing lying on her bed. She looked at all the clothes and then began to hang them up. She picked out a pair of black pants and a black shirt. She decided to wear that to the dance. She cleaned up and then got dressed. She put on her black heels and some silver jewelry. When she looked in the mirror, she looked fabulous. She grabbed her stuff and headed for the dance. Kourtnee walked over to the Student Center. There were a lot of students walking around the campus, so she felt safe walking to the Student Center.

Kourtnee found the place where the dance was being held. She heard someone call her name. She looked around and it was Paula. Paula walked over to her and said, "Hey, girl. I'm glad you came. Are you ready to go in?" Kourtnee said, "Yea, I suppose." Paula escorted Kourtnee to the door. The guy at the door said, "$10.00 each." Paula looked at Kourtnee and asked, "Can you cover me?" Kourtnee looked at this girl that she did not know. Kourtnee wasn't about to pay her way into the dance. Kourtnee said, "What?" The guy at the door said, "When ya'll get that together, come back. Watch out so I can let other folk in." Kourtnee and Paula moved out of the way. Paula said, "I need you to cover me, right now." Kourtnee frowned and said, "Why should I? We are not friends." Paula worked her neck and said, "I'll give it back to you, girl." Kourtnee was half tempted to go home, but she had gotten all dressed up, so she didn't leave. She looked at Paula, made a face, and then grunted, "Whatever, come on." Kourtnee got to the door, gave the guy $20 and went into the dance.

When she walked into the dance, the music was loud and thumping. People were out in the middle of the floor dancing and having fun. Kourtnee looked around for Paula, but Paula wasn't anywhere to be found. Kourtnee got upset and figured that she would have to wait until Monday to say something to Paula about the $10. Kourtnee walked around the room for a few minutes. It was dark in the room and the little light that was provided was just good enough for you to tell if the person you were talking to was male or female. Kourtnee looked around the room to see if she could recognize anyone. But, she didn't see anyone she knew. She stopped and stood up against the wall. She decided to stay for 30 minutes or so and then go home.

A tall skinny guy walked up to Kourtnee. He leaned and whispered in her ear, "Do you wanna dance?" She looked at him and then said, "Ok." They danced together for three songs. He was a good dancer. He stared at Kourtnee the whole time he danced with her. It did feel good to be having fun. Kourtnee was enjoying herself. After the third song, he walked her back over to the wall and then walked away.

Before Kourtnee could lean back on the wall, a tall stocky guy walked over to her and asked her to dance. She agreed and went and danced with him. The second song the DJ played was a slow song. The guy put his arms around Kourtnee’s waist and pulled her close to him. He had pulled her in too closely. She backed up from him a little bit. He looked at her and kept on dancing. The DJ played another slow song. Kourtnee didn't want to dance with the guy again. She said, "I am going to sit this on out." He frowned at her and said, "Whatever." She was half way across the room when someone grabbed her arm from behind and spun her around. When her eyes met the person who had spun her around, it was Martin. He put his arms around her and tried to pull her close. She stiffened her body and looked at him. He leaned in and said, "I suppose you are still mad at me." She twisted her lip and crinkled her nose. He whispered, "I'm sorry I was late." He flashed her a smile. She rolled her eyes at him. He tried to pull her close again. This time she let him. They danced on the slow song and two songs after that. While they were dancing, Martin whispered in her ear, "I like your outfit. That black is working for you. You look great." Kourtnee blushed as Martin's warm breath breezed into her ears.

Martin walked Kourtnee to the outside of the dance floor. He was trying to talk to her when I guy walked up and asked her to dance. Martin took offense and said, "Don't you see us talking, fool." The guy ignored Martin and asked Kourtnee to dance. Martin moved like he was going to grab the guy. Kourtnee stepped in Martin's path. She told the guy, "Not right now." The guy walked off in a huff.

Martin and Kourtnee talked for a while longer. Martin walked off to go talk to someone else. When he left, the guy that had asked Kourtnee to dance earlier came back over and asked her again. She said okay.

Kourtnee ended up dancing most of the night. Instead of staying 30 minutes, she ended up staying for the whole dance. She hadn't realized how late it was. She looked around for Paula, but couldn’t find her. Kourtnee went outside to see if she could see her outside. Finally, Kourtnee heard someone call her name. It was Paula. Paula asked, "How did you get here?" Kourtnee responded, "I walked.” Paula asked, "Where do you stay?" Kourtnee answered, "In Caffco Court Apartments." Paula said, "I'll give you a ride home." Kourtnee said, "Ok. I hope you don't think that makes up for the ten dollars." Paula laughed loudly.

Paula walked around for a few more minutes speaking to people. She would introduce Kourtnee to the people as she talked to them. Most of them overlooked Kourtnee and kept on going. Finally, Paula said, "Come on. Let’s get up outta here.” They walked to the parking lot. People were speaking to Paula left and right. Kourtnee asked, "Do you know all those people?" Paula shook her head and said, "Girl, please. Naw I don't know all those people. People just never seem to forget me." She laughed hard at what she had said. Kourtnee kind of giggled.

They had finally reached Paula's car. It was a white Pontiac Grandville. It had a couple of dents in it, but it appeared to be in good shape. Kourtnee got in the car after Paula unlocked the door. The door creaked as she opened it. Paula laughed and said, "Girl, I gotta get some oil on that door one of these days." Kourtnee smiled. They started out of the parking lot. Paula asked, "You wanna go get something to eat?" Kourtnee grimaced and said, "I suppose I gotta cover that, too." Paula laughed as if Kourtnee had told the funniest joke ever before she said, "Girl, yea. I'll get you back." Kourtnee shook her head.

The two young ladies went to Franklin's Eatery. It stayed open late on Fridays and Saturdays. It wasn't unusual to see students at the restaurant this late. Kourtnee and Paula finally were seated. The waitress was slow getting to the table. The place was jam-packed. The waitresses were running around frazzled and almost panicked.

Kourtnee tried to talk to Paula to pass the time. "Where are you from?" Paula scrunched her eyebrows. "Huh?" Kourtnee shook her head, "Never mind." Paula laughed. It wasn't any use trying to talk in the crowded noisy restaurant. They tried two more attempts to talk, but it was of no use.

They waitress finally brought their food to them. They ate in relative silence. Kourtnee paid for the food. Kourtnee and Paula left the restaurant and headed for Kourtnee’s apartment after they got into the car.

They arrived at Kourtnee’s apartment. Just as Kourtnee was about to get out of the car she said, "I suppose I owe you gas money, too." Paula laughed loudly, "Girl, please. You ain’t even funny. Naw, you don't owe me any gas money." Kourtnee looked at Paula, "Don't forget my money." Kourtnee smiled. Kourtnee got out of the car before Paula could respond and walked up to her apartment. Paula drove off on her way.

Kourtnee walked into her apartment. She was tired. She had never stayed out that late before. She wanted to just get in the bed, but she made herself take a shower and change into her bed clothing. She finished preparing for bed. She laid down in her bed. She went to sleep shortly after her head hit the pillow.

Paula reached her room. She knew that Rick had probably called her 20 times. He was going to have a fit if he found out that she had gone to the dance. That’s why she didn't tell him in the first place. She looked at the cheap answering machine she owned. The light was blinking. She knew that most of the messages were from Rick, so she didn't even check the machine. She took a long hot bath. She dozed off once while she was in the tub. The ringing of the phone woke her up. She didn't move from her comfortable spot.

Finally, Paula got out of the shower. She put on her pajamas and laid down in her bed. She should have called Rick, but it could wait until later on. She was tired. She didn't tell Rick that she was going to the dance. She had told him that she was hanging out with a friend. It wasn't a total lie. She did hang out with Kourtnee. Anyway, she knew that he was going to call her a heathen because Treshon was preaching somewhere and Rick had wanted her to go with them. She just didn't want to go to church. Treshon would have called her a rebellious viper. He had done it before. Paula had almost hit him. If Rick hadn't stepped in between the two of them, Evg. Brandon Treshon would have been getting up off of the ground. Paula was glad that Rick wasn't as crazy as Treshon. She knew that she was going to hear a sermon or two. She didn't want to go to bed after being fussed at. She went to sleep after she prayed.

CHAPTER 7

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 20:18:00 +0000

Colt walked into lab room. He looked and saw John Davis, a former classmate of Colt's from Berkshire University. They had seen each other a day earlier. John seemed excited to see Colt again. John shook Colt's hands vigorously as he said, "Cool Dude. Are you a teaching assistant for the science department, too?" Colt responded, "Yea, man, I am. Who are you the teaching assistant for?" John said, "Dr. Cardmore and Professor Winans. How about you?" Colt said, "Dr. Davis and Dr. Boone." John nodded. Colt said, "Alright, I'm going to go over here and chill." John nodded again.

Colt was sitting in the lab classroom waiting for the Chemistry 102 Lab to start. He was watching the students as they entered the room. She walked into the room. She was tall; dark skinned, and had long pretty hair. The pink and white outfit she had one was stunning. Colt noticed that her necklace matched the outfit. Colt smiled as he watched her saunter into the classroom and take a seat in the front row. Colt couldn't help because she had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

The young lady sat down in a chair. Colt watched as she meticulously took her book and tablet from her bag and place them on the desk in front of her. She looked up. Colt quickly darted his eyes away from her. When he thought she wasn't looking anymore, he went back to staring at her. She appeared to be reading a book. Colt studied her from her head to her feet. She had a long slender face. Her long eyelashes batted several times as she was reading. She had smooth dark caramel colored skin. Her long thick black hair looked as if she went to the beauty shop everyday. Colt took notice of her full lips that had a like dark red tint to them. She had a full curvy figure that appeared to be well kept.

The young lady looked up again, this time; Colt didn't move his eyes away from her. When her eyes met Colt's eyes, he smiled at her. She smiled back and then put her head back down. Colt knew that he had to find out who this girl was.

Kourtnee walked into the Chemistry Lab classroom. She found her a seat quickly. After she sat down, she began to take her stuff her bag and put it on her desk. She looked up because she felt someone staring at her. She looked up at the guy that was sitting in the front of the room. He was rather handsome, but Kourtnee paid him no attention. She figured that he was the lab instructor.

She began reading her Chemistry book. She read for a few minutes. She felt that set of eyes on her again. She looked up at the guy again. This time, he was staring at her, directly in her eyes. Kourtnee stared back at him. After a few seconds, the guy smiled. Kourtnee smiled back. Kourtnee put her head back down. She smiled. There was something about the way the guy had looked at her and the way he had smiled.

It was 6:05 PM. John called the class to order. John just took over without even asking Colt for his input. Colt didn't say anything. He just sat in his chair. If john didn't acknowledge him soon, he was going to say something. Colt didn't need to say anything because John said, "Hello, I am John Davis. The young man over there is Colt Austin." John kept on talking. John liked to hear himself talk.

"Colt Austin," Kourtnee thought after John had said Colt's name. She looked at Colt. He had dark black eyes. His bottom lip was darker than his top lip. Kourtnee looked at his fit body. She likes men who were physically fit. He had a mustache that looked like he had just started growing it. Colt put his hand to his chin and flexed his arm muscle. Kourtnee blushed when he flexed.

Kourtnee wondered why Colt was even in the room because John seemed to be in charge. Colt looked at her. He titled his head as if to say, "Do you see this guy?" Kourtnee smiled back. Colt could tell that the young lady was checking him out. He didn't look at her. He wanted her to get a good look at him. Colt decided to mess with her. He folded his arm and put his hand under his chin. He flexed his bicep. He wanted her to see what doing 100 push-ups a day had gotten him.

Colt looked at John. He was still running his mouth. Colt looked at the young lady. He titled his head to see what she would do. She smiled back at him. Her smile made Colt melt. He felt okay about letting John keep talking. After ten minutes, Colt interrupted John and said, "John, let's change things up a bit. Why don't we go around them room and get everyone's name?" Colt shot a look at Kourtnee. She twisted her lips as she made a face at him. He was trying to get her name.

"Jesse Sanders"

"Owen Cochran"

"Denver Ortiz"

"Mark May"

"Neville Hutchinson"

"Chance Arnold"

"Ethan Shaw"

"Alexis Rogers”

"Bruno Ramirez"

"Gaye Black"

"Tierra Rogers"

"Werner Taylor”

"Bennie Rowland"

"Deanna Brown"

"Fatimah Price"

"Kourtnee Adams"

The way that Colt went around the room, Kourtnee ended up going last. Colt thought he was slick. She smiled at him after she said her name. She wanted him to know that she realized what he had done. He smiled back at her.

Colt talked a little about science. He made sure that he showed his intelligence. He was intent on getting Kourtnee’s attention. John had gotten about 15 minutes, Colt planned to get that much time himself.

Kourtnee watched Colt intensely as he talked. His voice was deep and melodic. He talked slowly and clearly. He enunciated every word. He was clearly showing out for her benefit. He made sure to flex his arm muscles from time to time. It amazed Kourtnee that he could make his arm flexes look like regular talking gestures. He was a nice sight to see.

At the end of Colt's speech, he said, "John's wasted some time. I’ve wasted some time. It’s only fair that we let you guys waste some time." Most of the class laughed. Colt looked at Kourtnee out of the corner of his eye. She was not laughing. Colt's feelings were hurt.

Colt had attempted to make a joke. Kourtnee didn't find it funny at all. Why was he joking about wasting class time?

A couple of guys asked questions. John answered the questions. Colt was quiet for the rest of the lab. John dismissed everyone at 6:54 PM. Co grabbed his stuff and quickly headed out the door.

Kourtnee was expecting Colt to try to talk to her after class, but he rushed out of class. She gathered her stuff together to see if she could find him. There weren't that many people in the hallway, so she spotted him quickly. She walked up behind him. He was humming the Shimmers jingle. She smiled. She checked him out from the back. The view was nice. She blushed as she chastised herself for checking out Colt's rear end. She walked up behind his ear, "What are you humming?" He jumped because she startled him. He looked at her. He was still upset with her for not laughing at his joke. When he looked at her, she smiled the sweetest smile he had every seen. He smiled back, "That stupid Shimmers jingle. I heard this girl humming it and I can't get it out of my head." Kourtnee wanted to tell him who she really was, but she resisted the urge.

Kourtnee batted her eyelashes, "Well, see you next week." Colt stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at Kourtnee as if she had lost her mind. Kourtnee looked back at him and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" Colt laughed before he said, "I don't know. I am going to take the Thursday lab. I am not going to be able to do this lab." Kourtnee scowled and asked, "What are you talking about?" Colt responded, "I get to pick which lab I want to take. I can't take this one. You got me acting silly." Kourtnee got a bit upset and snapped at him, "What do you mean I have you acting silly?" Colt said, "You are beautiful. Do you wanna go get something from the student center?" Kourtnee stopped walking and folded her arms as she said, "That is not how you ask a lady out." She rolled her eyes at him and walked off. Colt ran after her, "See, I told you got me acting crazy. Do you wanna go get something or not?" Kourtnee looked at him from head to toe. She was mad and she was flatter. She really wasn't sure what to do. She rolled her eyes. Colt smiled. He knew Kourtnee was interested in him. He just looked at her. They were just staring at each other. Finally Kourtnee said, "Aren't you going to get into trouble for trying to date a student?" Colt said, "No. I'm a student too." Kourtnee retorted, "Yea, but you are a lab instructor." Colt smiled, "I am still not a professor. I am an assistant. Plus, I am not going to teach your lab."

Kourtnee and Colt were finally outside. Kourtnee adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Colt asked, "Can I carry that bag for you?" Kourtnee smiled at the thought of Colt being a gentleman. She paused before she gave him the bag. Colt and Kourtnee kept walking. They were walking in the direction of the Student Center. Kourtnee said, "I didn't answer your question." Colt responded, "I know. I figured that if we ended up walking in the direction of the student center and you didn't slap me, your answer was yes." Kourtnee laughed as she said, "I should slap you. You are acting silly." Colt and Kourtnee continued to walk to the Student Center.

They finally reached the student center. Colt paused at the door to see if Kourtnee was going to slap him. She said, "Are we going to stand outside the door?" He said, "No Mame. Here you go." He opened the door. Kourtnee walked in. She said, "This is the second time I have been in here." Colt said, "Girl, stop lying." Kourtnee said, "I'm not lying. I came in here yesterday. I went to the cafe." Colt said, "So, you have only seen the cafe?" Kourtnee looked at Colt. He smiled at her. She shook her head and said, "Yes, that's all I have seen." Colt decided to give her a tour of the Student Center.

Colt showed Kourtnee the game room. It had some pool tables, some fooz ball tables, and some video around the room. Students were all over the place in the game room. It was so noisy. Kourtnee didn't want to be in that room. She wanted to leave. Colt looked at Kourtnee to ask her if she wanted to play a game. Colt could tell that she didn't want to be there. He gently grabbed her arm and escorted her out of the game room.

When they walked into the hall, Kourtnee said, "It was noisy in there." Colt responded, "I take it that you aren't use to a lot of noise." Kourtnee rubbed the back of her neck and said, "No, I'm not."

They walked down the hallway. Colt wanted to hold Kourtnee's hand, but he resisted the urge. He was starting to fall for her. Once before Colt's mother told him that he fell too easily for pretty girls. Colt didn't believe her until this moment. There was something about Kourtnee. She was a special girl. She was going to be something special.

Kourtnee and Colt had been walking for a minute or two. Colt hadn't said anything. Kourtnee asked, "Are you okay? You are being awfully quiet."

"I was just thinking," Colt responded. Kourtnee looked him upside his head, "Are you going to tell me what you were thinking about?" Colt smiled, "Nope. It's a secret. Where do you wanna go now?" Kourtnee made a face at him, "This is your outing. So, you are supposed to have a plan." Colt grabbed his forehead, "A plan. I need a plan." Kourtnee laughed.

Colt ushered Kourtnee through the student center. He showed her the lounging area; that included couches and chairs. He showed her the TV room. Various movies were shown in the room. There was a big room were parties and dances could be held. The student center also had several meeting rooms where student clubs and organizations could meet.

Colt decided to go get some ice cream. He asked, "You wanna go get some ice cream?" Kourtnee scrunched her eyebrows, "What about dinner?" Colt smacked his lips, "Who cares about dinner? Let’s have some fun and live recklessly!" Kourtnee looked at Colt with a funny expression on her face. Colt felt kind of silly, "This is a bad first date, huh?" Kourtnee gave him a sweet smile, "It's not that bad. It is kind of fun watching you squirm, trying to think up something to do." She laughed. Colt made a face, "Ice cream it is!"

Colt and Kourtnee went to the cafe. They had their ice cream. Colt had a chocolate and vanilla cone. Kourtnee had a strawberry cone. They walked outside. They found a bench and sat down.

Colt adjusted the napkin around his cone. "Where are you from?"

Kourtnee watched him adjust his napkin. "I am from here."

"Cool, what high school did you go to?"

Kourtnee paused, "I went to Cynthia Pitts High School."

Colt laughed. Kourtnee was answering his questions in complete sentences. He thought that was so cute.

He stared in her eyes. "What made you come to Caffco?"

"Caffco had a great business school, plus over the years, it had been a school that recognizes the accomplishments of women."

Colt laughed.

Kourtnee seemed irritated. "What's so funny?"

Colt laughed again.

Kourtnee got even more agitated. "What is so funny?"

Colt composed himself, "I'm just happy, that's all."

"Yea, you are just happy, huh?" Kourtnee twisted her lips.

Colt smiled at her. "What's your full name?"

"Kourtnee DeShay Adams Shields."

Colt smiled, "You have two last names. Were you married or something?"

Kourtnee sighed, "No, I wasn't married. I just have two last names."

Colt switched his leg around on the bench. "Why is that?"

Kourtnee paused. She had been asked that question so many times. She got tired of answering it. She blew a breath, "My grandfather wanted me to bear my family's last name, and so he asked my parents to have Adams as part of my name. When I was with my grandfather, he would often introduce me as Kourtnee Adams. I got so use to hearing that. I started using Adams as my last name."

Colt took the ice cream wrapper and napkin from Kourtnee’s hand. "Do your parents care?"

Kourtnee paused again, "My dad can't stand it, but my mother doesn't mind. She says that no matter what I am called I am still her daughter."

"That's cool." Colt watched Kourtnee brush a strand of hair out of her face.

Kourtnee spied him starring. "It's not nice to stare."

"I can't help it. Beautiful women mesmerize me."

Kourtnee blushed, "Do you always compliment women this much?"

"Yes, I do. My mother taught me that women like to be complimented. It makes them feel good. If you want me to stop, I will." He smiled at her.

Kourtnee twisted her face, "You don't have to stop. I like being told the truth."

Colt laughed hard.

Kourtnee smiled at him. His laugh even sounded melodic. "What your full name?"

"You would ask me that. It's Thunder Colt Austin." He blushed a little.

Kourtnee looked startled. "How did you get your name?"

Colt scratched his nose. "My father is one-fourth Indian. He gave me an Indian name. He gave me his first name and called me Colt. I go by Colt because my father went by Thunder."

Kourtnee thought it was interesting that Colt was part Indian. "What is your father's name?"

Colt responded, "Thunder Stallion."

Colt got quiet. It seemed that he didn't like talking about his name. She touched his forearm. He smiled and put his hand on top of hers. His touch sent chills through her body. She moved her hand quickly.

Kourtnee looked away from Colt. Her heart began to beat quickly. She felt a little flushed. She had to get out of there before she became overwhelmed.

She touched her hand to her forehead, "I better go."

Colt’s heart dropped. "Do you have to go now? I was enjoying your company."

Kourtnee was feeling weak; she wanted to stay, too. "I have homework and stuff to do."

Colt looked at the ground. He couldn't understand why Kourtnee wouldn't look at him. Colt didn't want her to leave. Colt walked around to the way Kourtnee was facing. He flashed his famous smile. It seemed to have no effect on Kourtnee.

He sat down. "Can I have ten more minutes?"

Kourtnee sighed, "Must you be so charming?"

Colt smiled, "I can't help it. Beautiful women bring out the charm in me."

Kourtnee blushed again. "You can have ten more minutes, and then I’m leaving. No tricks, no charming."

Colt nodded, "Yes, Mame."

Kourtnee sat down. "Where are you from?"

"Absanie." Colt was beaming.

Kourtnee titled her head, "My grandmother is from there."

"Yea, Absanie is a cool place. It was fun growing up there. I went to more museums than I care to remember. My mother made sure I was cultured." Colt shook his head.

Kourtnee laughed, "My mother did the same. I went to a lot of museums growing up. I go to the opera and theater, too."

"Did you go to any museums in Absanie?" Colt stared directly in Kourtnee’s eyes.

Kourtnee scared her chin, "I have been to every museum in Dorinda, Absanie, Hardaway, and Wyman. I have been to a couple in Aurora."

"Dang girl, you are cultured!" Colt giggled.

Kourtnee looked up at the sky.

Colt touched the end of Kourtnee’s hair, "You have some pretty hair."

Kourtnee shook her hair from his hands. "Thanks, I take care of it."

Colt tried to touch her hair again. "What do you use on it?"

Kourtnee shook her head and giggled, "I use Shimmers Products."

Colt laughed, "I guess the commercial is right. It does make your hair look good! You must spend a lot of money on hair stuff, good as your hair looks."

Kourtnee giggled. If only he knew that she was the granddaughter of the man who had invented the products. "I spend enough on my hair."

Colt laughed loudly. "Do you always speak in complete sentences?"

Kourtnee squinted her eyes and twisted her lips. "Yes, I do!"

Colt paused, trying not to laugh. "Why is that?"

"I don't really know. It's just a habit. My dad insisted that we use proper English when I was growing up." Kourtnee rolled her eyes at Colt.

Colt smiled. He looked around. He knew it had been ten minutes. He didn't want Kourtnee to leave. He made a face, "I guess you are about ready to leave."

Kourtnee looked at her watch, "It has been ten minutes. It is time for me to go."

Kourtnee stood up. Colt stood up. He said, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Kourtnee looked at the ground and then back at Colt. "No, I don't want you to know where I stay."

Colt put his hand over his heart. "Ouch, that hurt!

Kourtnee smiled. Colt still had his hand over his heart. "Can I at least walk you halfway there?"

Kourtnee looked in his eyes, "Ok, you can walk me halfway there."

Colt pushed his arm forward and then jerked it back quickly as his celebrated his triumph.

Kourtnee headed towards her apartment with Colt walking beside her. He talked about science all the way. Kourtnee wasn't paying him any attention. She was thinking about Colt.

"Would he make a good boyfriend?"

"Was he really like this or was he just acting?"

"Who was this charming guy?"

"Why was she allowed to meet him?"

Colt interrupted her thoughts, "Are you listening to me?"

Kourtnee was a bit embarrassed, "Not really. I apologize."

Colt arched his top lip. "What were you thinking about?"

Kourtnee wasn't sure that she wanted to respond to that question. She paused, "I was trying to figure you out. You seem too good to be true."

Colt stopped walking, "What does that mean?" His voice sounded agitated.

Kourtnee blew a breath, "I am not really sure what I meant by that. Thanks for walking me this far. I can make it from here." She reached for her bag. Colt handed it to her.

Kourtnee was about to walk off when Colt said, "Hold on." He took out a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote his number on the piece of paper and handed it to Kourtnee. She looked at the piece of paper, then at Colt. He said, "Call me and let me know you made it home safely. I will worry all night if I don't hear from you."

Kourtnee smiled at him trying to be sneaky. "What if I make kit home before you?"

Colt winked, "I'm gonna run straight home."

Kourtnee smacked her lips, "Whatever."

Colt said, "Just call me, girl."

Kourtnee started walking off, "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't." She walked off before he could respond.

Colt watched as Kourtnee walked away. Watching her was a sight to behold. He watched her long legs make each stride. It was poetry in motion. She walked as if she was a model on the runway. Colt hoped that she would call him. He hated to turn away from Kourtnee, but he needed to get home.

Colt was almost to his apartment when John Davis walked in front of him. Colt tried to get rid of him, but John wouldn't shut up. Colt kept saying, "Yea, I gotta go man." John just ignored him. John was so rude. Finally Colt exclaimed, "Look John, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later!" Colt walked off.

Kourtnee made it home. She dropped her book bag and reached for the phone. She decided to wait a minute or two before she called Colt.

Kourtnee dialed Colt's number, the phone rung eight times before the answering machine came on. Kourtnee listened to the message. Colt's voice sounded very sexy. Kourtnee left a message that she had made it home. She didn't leave her number on purpose. She was very upset that he wasn't at home like he said he was going to be.

Colt walked into his apartment. The light on the answering machine was blinking. He pushed the button to play the messages. The first 3 messages were for his roommate. He clicked the button to save each messages. Kourtnee’s message came on. She sounded cold and snippy on the machine. She didn't even leave her number. Colt listened to the message four times. He just wanted to hear her voice, since he wasn't going to be able to talk to her.

CHAPTER 6

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:54:00 +0000

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.

CHAPTER 5

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:15:00 +0000

August 14, 1984 was a beautiful day in the city of Dorinda. Dorinda, Maddocha was a beautiful place in the late summer. There was a slight breeze blowing on this Tuesday morning as Dorindians went about their day. Who could have imagined that Dorinda could go through what it went through and go on to be the number one city of the state of Maddocha?

Dorinda, Maddocha was established by the Dixon family in 1827. The city of Dorinda was named after Tom W. Dixon's daughter, Dorinda Dixon. Dorinda flourished until 1836 when a great drought almost destroyed the city. The "Water Crisis" caused the city to have to be rebuilt after it developed in the late 1830s.

The "Water Crisis" of 1837 began on March 21, 1837 between the cities of Dorinda and Hardaway. It started of the Hardaway River, which divided the cities of Dorinda and Absanie from the city of Hardaway. The river was big enough to accommodate the three cities at first, but as more cattlemen began to come to the area, the water supply decreased. The official of the city of Hardaway decided to be greedy since most of the river rested in the city of Hardaway. The officials fenced off most of the river from the cities of Dorinda and Absanie.

The officials of Absanie decided to come to an agreement with Hardaway. The city of Absanie would trade its corn and wheat products for water from Hardaway. The officials of Hardaway tried to strike up a similar agreement with the city of Dorinda. This was not a successful endeavor. Hardaway placed armed guards at various points along the river to make sure that people did not steal the water. The officials of Dorinda mobilized a small band of men to raid the river. As Dorinda attacked, the armed guards of Hardaway attacked them back. On May 15, 1937, 10 of Dorinda's men lay dead and 32 of Hardaway's men lay dead at the mouth of the Hardaway River.

The city of Absanie tried to intervene, but without much success. The city of Absanie joined forces with the city of Hardaway when officials from the city of Dorinda stormed out of a meeting declaring, "We will fight until there is no more water or die trying!"

The Water Crisis Massacre occurred on February 3, 1838. The Dorinda soldiers had a base on a plot of land owned by real estate tycoon Joe Harmon. While the soldiers of Dorinda were sleeping, some soldiers from the cities of Hardaway and Absanie slipped onto the Dorinda base in disguise. The sneaking soldiers took over the base. The soldiers set fire to a house that was on the plot of land. Ten soldiers from the city of Dorinda died in the house. As the house burned down, a fight developed between some of the Dorinda soldiers and the other soldiers. After the fight had ended, 123 men laid dead from both armies. The group of soldiers from the cities of Hardaway and Absanie left claiming victory.

After this battle, officials from the city of Dorinda set-up a meeting with officials from the city of Hardaway. An agreement was reached. All three cities could use the water supply. The "Water Crisis" ended with over 190 men dead.

Dorinda grew out of this tragedy time to become a great city of culture, excitement, and industry. Dorinda has some of the best museums and cultural exhibits in the city. One of the more popular tourist attractions is the Angel Pass Monument. It is a monument dedicated to the daughter of Tom Dixon.

It has always been said that the spirit of Dorinda Dixon protects the city of Dorinda. Travelers that journeyed on Dixon Street during the 1940s and 50s often reported hearing an angelic voice singing in the night. Hundreds of other travelers have reported stories of being protected from robbers, thieves, wrecks, and precarious situations. In 1959, a monument was placed on Dixon Street to honor Dorinda Dixon, the protector of Dixon Street. It had been said that even today, if you listen closely, you can hear the angel sing on Dixon Street.

Dorinda is filled with historic buildings. One of the most historic buildings is Harmon Street Church of God In Christ. The church is not that old, but the location on which it sits is the site where the "Water Crisis Massacre" occurred.

In 1833, the plot of land where Harmon Street COGIC sits was purchased by Ben Harmon. It was 17 acres of land. He built a home for his family on the land. In 1837, one of Ben Harmon’s sons, Joe, let the soldiers from Dorinda use the house as a base. The house was stormed by the troops from the cities of Hardaway and Absanie. The house and soldiers were burnt to the ground. The land remained vacant until 1899 because people believed that the land was haunted by the ghosts of the fallen soldiers of the Water Crisis. The street was named Harmon Street after Ben Harmon and his family.

A man by the name of Andrew Deckard took over the land in 1899 because no one could lay claim to the land. Mr. Deckard built a house on one part of the land and gave the other part of the land to his nephew to build a church. The Deckard family lived on the land until 1910 when the house mysteriously burned down. Mark Deckard, Andrew’s nephew and only surviving relative, sold the land and the church to the Battles family in 1910.

The Battles family built a house on one part of the land and used the site where the church sat as a saloon and burlesque house. The Battles’ house mysteriously burned down in 1918. The Battles’ family built another house, which burned down in 1936. The saloon and burlesque house was turned into a school. The school was closed down in 1926 when two children were found murdered in the school. The Battles moved from the plot of land.

The land began to be used in 1938 when Turner Battles met a young COGIC evangelist who wanted to build a church. Turner told the evangelist the truth about the plot of land. The young evangelist still wanted to purchase the land after hearing its torrid history. Turner battles decided to donate the land to the young evangelist as long as he named the church after the street. Turner donated the money to help restore the land and to help build the church.

The church and the land where the Water Crisis took place began to flourish in 1943. Strangely enough, no one to this day has ever found any proof that the young evangelist ever existed.

There have been no more strange occurrences on Harmon Street. A monument was placed near the church that contains two plaques. One plaque reads, “In honor of our fallen soldiers” and the other plaque reads, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Harmon Street is a very popular street in the city of Dorinda.

Dorinda had been voted the #1 city to live in. It had received that honor numerous times over the years. The city’s economy is supported by businesses from all kinds of industries that included the metal industry, chemical industry, machine tools industry, and pharmaceutical industry. Dorinda was a city that made advancements in science.

Dorinda was a city of education. Many of the best rated schools in the state called the city home. The schools provided its students with the best education money could buy. It was no wonder that the best school for science was located in the city.

Anyone visiting the city would see what made Dorinda so special. It was a fashionable city that wasn’t afraid to show you its history, its struggle, its culture, its accomplishments, and its people. It was the city to be in on this day. Great things were going to happen in the city of Dorinda. Even greater things were going to happen on the campus of Caffco University, which sat in the city of Dorinda.

Many of the students of Caffco University were eager to begin their second day of school. Many of them were already roaming around the campus energized and ready to begin their day. Several students were having a jog around the campus. The group of five young ladies clad in their running attire breezed by the young men throwing the football. The young men smiled and greeted the young ladies with jovial hellos. A young couple, happily in love rode their bikes side by side down the side walk, bound for classes, not eager to separate from one another. The more bookish students had already found their way to the library, which opened its arm to embrace those who wanted to learn at 6:30 AM.

The cafeteria and Mrs. Shurley Greene welcomed hungry students to a healthy breakfast complete with eggs, pancakes, bacon, ham, and multiple types of juices. Of course, cereal and milk graced the menu. Extraordinarily enough, you could get a variety of cereal that included some childhood favorites. The cafeteria smelled so delectable that you just couldn’t resist being lulled into the cafeteria by its homey smell. Once in the cafeteria, you had to resist the urge to stay there for awhile.

Paula and Rick walked into the cafeteria together, having made up the night before, in their separate residences of course. They had made the decision to save themselves for marriage, which was an accomplishment in itself with so many young people partaking in forbidden sins to satisfy a lust and longing that would not be satisfied by a quick fling.

Rick MaCulvie was a strong young man, who had recently accepted his call into the ministry. He had strong features that made him look confident and at times over confident. His dark skin was a great contrast to Paula’s light skin. He had a bright smile that could make even the meanest man want to smile. His strong deep voice often sent chills up Paula’s spine. His deep voice was forceful enough to cause you to listen to the word of God as he preached it. He stood six foot tall. He had broad shoulders and a defined chest. It was easy to see why Paula had fallen for the would be preacher a year earlier.

The first person to see Paula and Rick was Mrs. Greene. She had a big smile on her face when she saw them holding hands. Mrs. Greene walked over to them and said, “Now, don’t ya’ll let the devil destroy what God is trying to put together. You all are gonna do something special for the Lord.” Before either of them could respond, Mrs. Greene sauntered off in the opposite direction. Mrs. Greene could see what they couldn’t see right now because they were blinded by love. Rick and Paula had been placed together to do a work for the Lord. Mrs. Greene could plainly see that in the spirit. She prayed for them constantly when she found out that they had chose to abstain from fornication. She wanted them to hold onto their testimonies.

Paula smiled at Rick. They had heard Mrs. Greene say that same thing so often that it no longer bothered them. It had bothered Paula at first. How dare that old woman pronounce marriage upon them without even knowing either one of them? For Rick, it was more of a confirmation. Although he had not told Paula, when he first saw her, he knew she was his wife. He could tell that Paula wasn’t ready for that step just yet.

Rick and Paula both ended up getting the same thing; pancakes, sausage, eggs, and orange juice. They choose a table and sat down to eat. Before long, Rick was ministering to a young man who had sat down at the table with them. Paula watched Rick as he ministered to the young man. Rick seemed to be enjoying himself. The young man appeared to be listened. He had looked a bit despondent when he sat down at the table.

It was going to take some getting use to the new preacher that Rick had turned into. Rick seemed troubled before he accepted his call. Paula knew he was supposed to be doing something for God because he would always end up talking about God some kind of way. It was cool with Paula; she liked seeing him so passionate about his calling. He had become a bit fanatical since he had started hanging out with this preacher named Brandon Treshon. He was a chunky overly zealous uncompromising person. He acted as if he was the only person that had ever read the Bible. Paula was probably too hard on Treshon. In all honesty, he was just like Rick, passionate about the God that he served. Paula just didn’t like the guy and didn’t want to like him.

Rick finished ministering to the young man. He had a smile on his face. Paula smiled because she knew that would be the outcome. The way that Rick had been acting lately, she half expected to see Rick and the guy down on their knees praying through. Rick shook the young man’s hand and then the young man left.

Paula braced herself for the 20 minute speech that Rick gave next about ministering to God’s people. Paula laughed inside. That boy could get excited when he wanted to. Rick continued to beam as he walked Paula to her management class in the Caffco Business building.

Colt didn’t have anything to do until 9:30. That was his first class with Dr. James Boone as his teaching assistant. Colt woke up at 8:12. He laid in the bed for a few minutes. He finally got up and began his morning ritual. He got down on his knees and prayed. He still prayed every morning when waking up and every night before going to bed. His mother had insisted that he do both growing up. It was something that he couldn’t’ stop doing even now, when he wasn’t going to church.

He finished praying and laid his towel on the floor and did 100 sit-ups. It was more like 95. He rolled over onto his knees and did 100 push-ups. He stood up and did 100 jumping jacks. He finished his work-up by doing a few stretches for key places on his body. He went to the mirror and looked at his bare chest. Colt never slept in a shirt. It seemed to strangle him as he slept, so he stopped sleeping in them when he turned 13. Colt flexed his biceps. He smiled. He flexed his chest muscles. He heard his mother’s voice say, “Boy, get out of that mirror.”

Colt smiled as his thought about his mother. He did miss his mother fixing him breakfast. Everyday, at 6:00 AM, he would be awakened by his mother singing. She had a marvelous voice. She would cook oatmeal at every breakfast. She made him eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast everyday. That was one tradition that he stopped when he got to college. At that moment, Colt had a craving for some oatmeal. He laughed it off as he went to take his shower.

Colt finished his shower at 8:55. He looked at the clock. He mumbled a curse word just before he said, “I can’t believe this. I have got to learn how to manage time better. I can’t believe its 9:00 already.” He finished the sentence with another mumbled curse word.

Colt got dressed and left the room at 9:25. He was going to be late for Dr. Boone’s class. That boy couldn’t be on time for anything. He ran out of the room, down the hallway, and out the door. He made a mad dash for the Science building, hoping that he wouldn’t be late, although he knew it was already 9:30.

Kourtnee woke up refreshed and ready for a new day. She wondered what this day would bring. She thanked God for another day as she went into the bathroom. She cleaned herself up before she made herself some toast and cereal. She kind of wished that Ramona Jackson, her childhood nanny, would have been there to make her some crepes and an omelet. Kourtnee couldn’t cook, too well. Ramona had always cooked for her. Kourtnee had learned to cook some simple things, but not anything as extravagant as crepes and an omelet, which she craved badly at that moment. She vowed to ask Ramona to come over and cook the breakfast for her on Saturday.

Kourtnee dressed in a pink pair of slacks with a white blouse. She picked her gold necklace and bracelet set with the pink accents on it to wear with the outfit. Her mother had taught her that a woman should be fully dressed, wherever she went. That was something lost on her sister Donna, who had insisted on being a tomboy and running all over the place with their brothers, Thomas and Andre. Donna could tackle their brothers harder than they could tackle her when she was growing up. Donna often teased Kourtnee for being Prissy. Kourtnee would tell her brother, Andre, who she was closest to and he would beat Donna up, at least try to. Donna would usually get the best of him and send him running to their mother. Donna was mean and hateful at time because Kourtnee would get attention from her mother and grandparents. Kourtnee was just being herself and it got her attention. It wasn’t Kourtnee’s fault that Donna would rather chase a boy down and beat him up than sit and get her hair combed.

Kourtnee put the finishing touches on her outfit. She looked fabulous, no matter how prissy she was. Her pick sandals accented her outfit flawlessly. She left her apartment at 7:30 to walk over to her Marketing class. She was a bit excited about the marketing class because she liked the class. She liked trying to sell things. She liked coming up with ideas on how to make the public buy your product. She had even inspired a marketing campaign for Shimmers Incorporated.

“Miss Complete Sentence Lady,” Kourtnee heard someone say behind her. She was going to ignore the voice, but the person behind the voice caught up with her. It was Setrick. He gave her a big kool-aid grin as he said, “OK, I suppose you are thinking this dork did not just call me out of my name.” Kourtnee rolled her eyes at him. He punched his friend on the arm and said, “Uhh oh, the eye roll. I’m in trouble.” Kourtnee was growing tired of Setrick. He and his cute friend were interrupting her walk.

Irritated Kourtnee said, “Do you want something?”

“Not really. I just saw a beautiful head of hair and thought it was you. I had to come say hi,” he grinned. Kourtnee ignored Setrick and looked at his friend as she said, “Apparently, your friend has no manners. I am Kourtnee Adams.” Setrick’s friend smiled and extended his hand to Kourtnee. She extended her hand to his. He kissed her hand. While still holding her hand, he said, “My name is Martin Nance. I am his cousin.” Kourtnee suppressed a giggle. Setrick, obviously use to this reaction blissfully said, “You was expecting a smoother voice, huh. Mart you crazy, how you gone try to be cool and got a high-pitched voice?” Martin huffed at Setrick.

Setrick was right. Kourtnee expected a bass filled voice to come from Martin, but instead, his voice was a bit high and squeaky. She looked the tall, lanky guy up and down. He had some pretty eye lashes that covered his jet black eyes. He could use some meat on his bones, but he was cute.

Martin was checking Kourtnee out as well. He took in her full figure from head to toe. She was a beautiful young lady, who filled out her voluptuous figure. Her hair was long, pretty, and healthy looking. Martin couldn’t resist girls who took care of themselves. It was obvious that this girl did just that.

Setrick saw the two of them checking each other out. He retorted, “Do you all want to be alone? Cause I will leave.” Kourtnee and Martin snapped back to reality from their brief involvement. Martin responded, “Dang, boy. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Setrick was getting upset. He had seen Kourtnee first and how dare his lanky, big headed cousin try to steal her away from him.

Kourtnee sensed the tension between the two guys. She said, “I have to get to class. It was nice to meet you Martin. I’ll see you later Setrick.” She started walking off. Martin caught up to her. Kourtnee looked back for Setrick. He was standing on the sidewalk, looking mad.

Martin said, “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be okay. Mind if I walk you to class?” Kourtnee responded, “I usually walk to class by myself to get ready for class.” Martin flashed his long eyelashes at her and said, “If you tell me no, I will understand, but I sure would like to walk you to class.” He flashed those eyelashes again. Kourtnee smiled and said, “Ok, as long as you don’t talk a lot.” Martin said, “I can do that.” That was a lie because Martin talked the whole way. It was fine with Kourtnee, because Martin was very funny and he had her laughing the whole time.

They reached the Caffco Business building. Martin said, “I guess I didn’t keep my word.” Kourtnee smiled and said, “No, you didn’t keep your word.” Martin laughed loudly as he said, “You do talk in complete sentences.” Kourtnee said, “Yes, I do.” Martin said, “Can I meet you here after your class?” Kourtnee said, “Yes, if you want to. Don’t be late, because I will leave.” Martin saluted her as he said, “Yes, Mame.” Kourtnee smiled and said, “Goodbye, Martin. Thanks for walking me to class.” Martin said, “Goodbye, beautiful.” Kourtnee walked into the building smiling.

Kourtnee’s 8:00 marketing class was packed with about 25 students, when the professor walked into the room. Professor Walter Etherman was a tall, handsome, light skinned man. He had on a stylish tan suit. It was very fashionable. His ties and handkerchief match the suit completely. It was a nice ensemble. His wavy hair was combed expertly, down to the part in his head. It was a straight line. His expensive smelling cologne filled the room, engulfing the female students in a cloud of contemplation and surrounding the male students with extreme jealous and envy.

Professor Etherman cleared his throat. His deep melodic voice leaked each word from his mouth smooth and effortlessly. Professor Etherman passed out his syllabus. He began class after he talked about the class requirements, projects, assignments, and tasks. He spent the next hour talking about marketing with a passion that resonated to each of his students. By the end of class he was out of his suit jacket and his sleeves were rolled up.

Kourtnee left her marketing class to go wait outside for Martin. She waited for 5 minutes only to be disappointed when Martin did not show up. She left, dejected. She was upset with herself for being dejected. She should’ve known better than to expect him to show up after class.

Her next class wasn’t until 11:00 so she decided to go to the library and work on her class work from Marketing and to read her Chemistry book. The girl who had sat next to her in Business Statistics had said something about reading a chapter and doing homework before class. Kourtnee thought that she would do just that. Perhaps it would get her mind off of that lanky nut that had stood her up.

It was 9:33. Colt was late for the class. He was supposed to meet Dr. H. James Boone in the classroom for Chemistry 211. Dr. Boone was already in the classroom when Colt walked into the room. Dr. Boone was a stocky short man. He had long brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He had on a pair of black slacks and a white shirt. He was greeting the students. After he greeted the students, he abruptly told Colt to pass out the syllabus to the students. Dr. Boone had a gruff voice. He spoke like he was mad at the world. He was nothing like Dr. Davis.

Colt sat down after he had completed his task. Dr. Boone showed no compassion for the students. He said, “I do not care whether you pass or fail my class. You can do what you want to do. If you do the work with some form of intelligence, then you will pass, if you don’t, then you want pass. I grade hard. I am not going to change my grading practices. I will not give any extra credit. No expectations whatsoever. I expect you to work hard in this class.” Colt felt sorry for the students. This was not going to be an easy class.

At 11:00 am, Kourtnee was seated in her Chemistry class. A short stocky man with a long brown ponytail entered the room. It was the professor, Dr. Boone. He called the class to order. His voice was curt and he seemed upset about something.

He passed out the syllabus. After he had past it out, he said, “I do not care whether you pass or fail my class. You can do what you want to do. If you do the work with some form of intelligence, then you will pass, if you don’t, then you want pass. I grade hard. I am not going to change my grading practices. I will not give any extra credit. No expectations whatsoever. I expect you to work hard in this class.”

He began his lecture. He spoke too quickly. He was going too fast. He seemed to get upset if someone asked a question. One student got upset and said, “Man, would you slow down?” Dr. Boone’s back was turned, so he didn’t see who said it. Dr. Boone asked that the coward who had blurted out in his class stand up. No one stood up. The guy next to Kourtnee, who happen to be the coward, looked at Kourtnee and pleaded with her not to tell his secret. Kourtnee put her head down and pretended to write. Dr. Boone exclaimed, “I want to know who said that!” No one told.

Dr. Boone went back to his lecture. He seemed to speed up. Almost every student in the class was frustrated. Kourtnee tried to take notes as best as she could. The guy next to her just stopped writing. He couldn’t keep up. Dr. Boone never turned around to face the class until he dismissed the class for the day.

The guy who sat next to Kourtnee caught up to her as she was leaving the room. He said, “Thanks for not saying anything.” Kourtnee resisted the urge to cover her nose because the guy’s breath was tart. She turned her head slightly away from the guy’s mouth and responded, “No problem. Someone needed to say something.” The guy maneuvered himself so that he was directly in Kourtnee’s face again. He said, “I hate to ask, but you seemed to be taking notes for the whole class. Do you think I could get a copy of your notes? My notes ain’t worth nothing.” Kourtnee felt sorry for the dude. She said, “Ok. Do you want to go to the library and make them now or do you want me to bring them on Thursday?” the guy looked like he was going to cry as he said, “You can bring them Thursday. Thanks again.” The walked off quickly. Kourtnee did the same.

CHAPTER 4

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:02:00 +0000

Kourtnee had just finished her Business Statistics homework. It was 6:00 PM. She was getting hungry. She wanted to go back to the café, but she knew Setrick wouldn’t be there. It was actually fun to have him fawn over her, even if it was his job. She decided against the café.

She sat down on the couch in the living room of her two bedroom apartment. You would have thought that she was a working adult with a good job the way her apartment was decorated. The sofa, love seat, and chair all matched. It was all dark brown. It matched the carpet excellently. Kourtnee couldn’t have furniture that didn’t match the carpet. The end tables and coffee table was strategically placed around the furniture. She had two painting on the wall that accentuated the room excellently. Kourtnee pondered, “What 19 year-old college student has a house full of furniture?,” as she thought about her bedroom. Her full-sized bed, complete with a four drawer dresser, two night stands, and chest almost didn’t fit in the bedroom. It took some creative arranging, but it all fit in the room. Her father had suggested that they take the chest home, but Kourtnee wanted the chest to remain. When she flashed her daddy’s little eyes at her father, he devised a way to make it all fit so that there was walking room.

At that moment, Kourtnee began to feel bad about her lot in life. Why had she been so blessed? Her grandmother’s voice said to her, “Sweetie, God has blessed us and ain’t nothing wrong with that.” Kourtnee felt a little better after that. She decided to just eat something from her fully stocked refrigerator. Her grandfather, Themophilis had went grocery shopping for her.

She walked into the kitchen. She looked in the refrigerator. There were three covered dishes in the box. Her former nanny and current housekeeper, Ramona Jackson, had cooked her some meals and given them to her. She took out the one marked chicken and rice. She heated it up in the meal that included green peas in the microwave.

Kourtnee sat down on the couch facing the TV to eat her meal. She turned the TV on. She ate her meal in solitude. Was this to be her destiny, always eating alone?

Colt was sitting in his Chemistry 528 class. His professor, Dr. Edward Alston, III was up talking. Dr. Alston was a short, balding man. His light brown face was home to a full beard that included a connecting mustache and sideburns. He had on a pair of blue slacks and a light blue shirt with a red tie. He spoke with a sight drawl. You could tell he was from the south. He talked with quickly. You had to pay close attention to what he said. Dr. Alston was a premiere professor of Chemistry. He was a highly sought after speaker. It was an honor to be in his class.

Colt had the lab for the class after the class. They would be doing experiments in the class. It was going to be a wonderful experience. Colt was looking forward to performing more advanced experiments.

Chemistry was finally over. He headed to his lab class. It was around the corner from the classroom. Oddly enough, in the same room number as his class. The class was in room 108 and the lab was in lab room 108. Colt chuckled at the coincidence.

There were 12 students in the lab room. It had a capacity for 16 students. The lab instructor walked into the room. It was a lady. She stood about 5 feet 6 inches. She had on a black shirt and a white lab coat. Even with her hair back in a ponytail and in glasses, she was a beautiful woman. she stood at the front of the room as if she was allowing the men to get over the fact that their lab instructor was a beautiful woman. after about two minutes, she said, “I am Dana Haddon. I will be your lab instructor this semester. This will be a learning experience that you will enjoy, if you participate and get involved. If you have any questions about science, you can always ask me.” She said the last sentence with a matter of factness that let the men know that there wouldn’t be any hanky panky going on.

The lab was finally over. Colt headed for his apartment. He shared the apartment with a roommate. He wished that he would have requested to meet his roommate prior to getting one. This guy was eccentric, to say the least. He was really borderline weird. The roommate was a geek of magnanimous proportion. The guy only talked about science. To top it all off, the guy talked on the phone nearly all the time. He was a quiet guy for the most part. He spoke very softly. It was a wonder that the person on the other end of the phone could hear him. Colt was definitely going to have to get a second phone line in the house. After Colt thought about his roommate, he didn’t feel like going home. He decided to go to the student center and hang out for awhile.

Paula sat in her room. She had put off calling Rick for the last 20 minutes. Paula had picked up the phone and put it down so many times that her skinny, stuck up roommate had left the room in a huff after mumbling what Paula knew was a few choice curse words. Paula ignored her roommate and continued to stare at the phone.

The phone rung and startled her into reality. She picked up the receiver.

“Hello.”

“Hey, it’s Rick.”

“Hey.”

“Hey, are you still mad at me?”

Paula sucked her teeth. Rick let out a sigh. He was tired. He didn’t like to fight with Paula because the girl could hold a grudge. You could tell that she was holding a grudge, too.

“Paula. You know I didn’t mean what I said the way that you took it.”

“Well, you said it and I took it the way I took it.”

Rick knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Paula hated anyone questioning her Christianity. That wasn’t what Rick had done anyway. He had just said that she could be a better witness for the Lord. He said it because he wanted her to go out with him and help pass out tracks. Rick had prayed before he called Paula. Maybe he should have prayed a little longer because her heart had not softened any.

“Mrs. Greene told me that you had been in the cafeteria. She said that you ate meatloaf. She laughed when she said that you smelled your food, like you always do.”

“What does that have to do with what we are talking about, Rick?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t have anything to do with anything. You are one mean woman. I’ll talk to you later.”

Rick hung up the phone. Paula was shocked. Rick had never said anything like that to her and he had never hung up the phone without saying goodbye. Paula was furious. How dare he hang up the phone in her face? She wanted to call him back and tell him off, but she remember Mrs. Greene’s words, “Stop being mean.”

Paula swallowed her pride, which was hard to do. She called Rick. The phone rung for the longest time. Paula thought that Rick wasn’t going to pick up the phone. She was about to hang up when Rick’s voice came through the ear piece. He sounded upset when he spoke. Paula had never heard him sound upset. Rick was always even tempered and happy. Paula decided to put a little sweetness in her voice as Mrs. Greene had suggested.

“What did you eat at lunch today?”

“Food,”

“I know that boy. What kind of food?”

“The kind you eat with a knife and fork.”

“Are you going to be more specific?”

“Nope, woman, I’m not.”

“That’s cool. Did you and Treshon go out and pass out tracks?”

Rick paused for a minute. He was wondering why Paula was being so sweet. He was even more baffled that she had asked about Treshon. Paula didn’t care for Treshon too much. He was a bit extreme when it came to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Treshon had told Rich that she would break up with Paula because she wasn’t saved. Why was this girl asking about someone that she did not like?

“Girl, know you know you don’t even like Treshon, why you asking about him?”

“Don’t know just asked.”

“Yea, whatever. You are up to something. Why you being so sweet?”

“I am just being myself. I am sweet when I want to be.”

“You got that right, when you want to be.”

“Boy, please. You know you like when I am sweet.”

Rick had to laugh because when Paula was sweet, she was the sweetest person you could possibly know.

“Yea, girl I like it when you are sweet. So, are you still mad at me?”

“A little. What did you mean to say to me?”

“I just wanted you to go out and pass out tracks with me. I didn’t mean to question your walk with God. I was just suggesting that you could do something as a Christian.”

“Well, why didn’t you just ask me to go with you?”

“Girl, I don’t know.”

Paula laughed her jovial laugh. Rick loved to hear Paula laugh like that. He knew that she wasn’t mad at him anymore. He apologized and they began a three hour conversation.

CHAPTER 3

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:26:00 +0000

It was lunchtime at Caffco University. It was about 95 degrees on the sunny Monday afternoon. Students walked around clothed in shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, and short sleeved shirts. Groups of girls were standing together giggling and talking about their eventful summers. Clusters of boys were boasting to their friends about the summer exploits. One girl sat on a bench reading her book. The epicenter of the school flurried with students trying to decide where and what to eat for lunch. It was a popular student hangout that incorporated the Student Center, Cafeteria, and Student Park.

The campus cafeteria was one choice, having some of the best cooks in the state. Caffco made it a point to provide their students with the feel of home when it came to food. Serving nutritious, excellent tasting food had garnered them some points with its students. One of the favorite cooks in the cafeteria was Shurley Greene. She was a Christian woman who many of the students, faculty, and staff often sought out for pray and counseling. She was a shiny vessel at the school. She had been their for 15 years or more. Three of her children had graduated from the school. One of her ten children was currently enrolled. Her greens, corn bread, and friend chicken were often in demand and her meatloaf was often requested. She would often come out of the kitchen to see the students. She walked with a happy saunter while singing God’s praises to herself. She was known to get the students to join in from time to time. One Christmas, she started a mass Christmas carol session that was so pleasing it became a tradition. Each year on December 18th, the students and cafeteria staff sing Christmas carols at lunch time. The cafeteria was often full. You almost needed a reservation to feast on the delectable offerings of the cafeteria.

The café in the student center was another choice. It served soup, salads, and sandwiches. It was a fun place complete with a recreation room that allowed students to blow off steam by playing pool, ping pong, fuse ball, air hockey, cards, dominoes, and other games. The student center also provided a patio dining area just in case students wanted to eat outside. The café was ran by a guy who was a bit feminine, but people rarely every said anything to him. Mrs. Greene often to Harold Casey he needed to get right with God, but he would smile at her and continue on his way. The café was always festive and colorful. The menu was diverse and the students could make rescues for menu items to add to the menu. You could get your sandwiches hot or cold. The service in the café was excellent, Harold always saw to that. The students that worked there were trained in the art of customer service. The tip jar of the café was always overflowing to the joy of the working students. It was a culinary experience to watch the chefs in the making prepare your sandwich with style and flair. If you wanted an entertaining lunch, it would be to your advantage to patronize the café.

The student park was always full of students who decided to sit under the shade provided by the Windsor Phonamie trees that filled the two acre park. Students that were enjoying their lunch could often see a Frisbee of football fly by the head as they were eating. The park was a place where girlfriends chatted happily with their boyfriends. It was a place where girlfriends with each other to talk about their days so far. It was a place where guys stopped to check out all the pretty girls. The campus police strolled through the park just to show that they upheld that motto to protect and serve.

Each school had a faculty lunchroom in it so that the professors could get together and talk to their peers. Each lunchroom was equipped with microwaves, vending machines, couches, and televisions. Of course, the students who lived in the on-campus apartments had kitchens that they could use. The students in the dormitories could utilize the on-campus facilities or the vending machines and microwaves in the common area of each dormitory.

Caffco University provided its occupants with many choices for lunchtime. It was a matter of choosing if you wanted to stay on campus or go off campus. The hottest off campus spot was Franklin's Eatery. It was located on the west side of the campus just behind the student living area. That was a good place for it to be because the student apartments and dormitories were directly in front of it. It was easily accessible to the students. Franklin’s Eatery served a wide –range of foods that included soup and sandwiches as well as hamburgers and steak. Most of the students choose their juicy hamburgers as their choices. Franklin's Eatery had some of the largest burgers known to man kind. The average female patron could only eat half of one of their Caffco burgers. The male patrons could finish one of the burgers, but they would have to loosen their belt afterwards.

Lunchtime was a brief break between classes. It was a fun time for those who choose to use the time for such. There was those who decided to use the time to study. The Brian Caffco Library was the ideal place to do so. Located between the Student Center and Cafeteria, the library could be reach by the students. The library was a top rated library used by the area residents as well as the students. The library use fee paid by the non-students was well worth it because the library had a large collection of books and particularly research material, since Caffco was a top research school. Caffco University had an arrangement with the Dorinda, Hardaway, and Absanie library systems that allowed the library’s patrons to use books from those cities libraries. So, Caffco University had a library collection that extended outside its walls. The university was trying to make arrangements with other surrounding cities. If you choose to spend lunch in the library, you had to be quiet and you brain was the only part of your body that could be fed.

Colt had to eat lunch early. He knew that if he would have eaten at 12:00 PM, he wouldn’t have made it back to Dr. Davis’ 1:00 class on time. He decided to go to Franklin’s Eatery. He felt good and wanted to indulge himself.

Franklin’s Eatery was crowded at 11:30 AM. It took about 10 minutes before he could get seated. Once he sat down, he looked at the menu. He already knew what he wanted, but he looked at them menu anyway. The waitress came over to the table to take his order. Colt told her that he wanted a cheeseburger, fries, and soda. She took his order and walked off.

While Colt waited for his order, he took in the scenery at Franklin’s Eatery. Franklin’s Eatery was a relaxed dining experience. The staff wore jeans and a Franklin’s Eatery t-shirt. Most of the wait staff were college students. The walls were painted white. They housed pictures of famous graduates from Caffco University as well as other famous people who had eaten at the restaurant. The picture on the wall nearest to Colt was of Morris Ripken. A basketball player for the Tarleton Arms Warrior. Morris had graduated from Caffco University. He was the #1 pick in the Maddocha Basketball League draft just two years earlier.

The restaurant was filled with big booths that could seat up to 8 people. The booths were closet to the walls. In the middle of the restaurants were tables. Colt was sitting at a table. Colt was wondering if someone would end up sitting at the table with him. It was common that if the restaurant was really crowded, someone from the wait staff may ask a diner who is by themselves, if they can seat another single party person at the table with them. Today, Colt wouldn’t have even minded any company, especially if it was someone female.

The waitress brought Colt his food. The fries sounded like they were still sizzling. Colt grabbed one of the hot fries and put it in his mouth. The fry was too hot. He grabbed his napkin and covered his mouth to spit the fry out. Colt heard his mother voice say, “Boy, you knew that fry was hot. Why did you put it in your mouth?” Colt smiled as he took a sip of soda.

Colt grabbed the knife and cut his burger in half. He took a bite of it. He heard his mother’s voice say, “Boy, say grace.” He put the piece of burger down and said, “God bless this food.” He picked the piece of burger up and began eating it.

Colt pondered how he could have grown up in a very religious household and not be more religious. He surmised that it was because he was a man of science. There was too much in religion that wasn’t explainable. Although, that was the best thing about religion, according to others, Colt still couldn’t get with it. He had gone to church, prayed, learned scripture, and sang, but he still wasn’t into the whole church thing.

Colt finished his meal. He left a tip on the table for the waitress. He got up from the table and left. As he was leaving, he bumped into one of his friends from Berkshire University. Colt said, “Hey John. What you doing here?” John responded, “Man, I am a grad student here. You know this school is K-RAD. It’s the school for a man of science such as myself.” Colt laughed at the chunky Caucasian dude who thought he was smarter than anyone else, even professors at time. Colt said, “That’s what I’m doing. I am in grad school. Are you still taking Physics?” John rubbed the bottom of his stomach and said, “Yea, dude. That’s what I am doing. I’m gonna show these folk something.” Colt nodded and said, “Alright man. It was good to see you.” John and Colt shook hands as Colt left the restaurant and John waited to be seated.

Kourtnee decided to do something different for lunch today. She usually picked something up for lunch from Franklin’s Eatery and ate at her apartment. There were times when her Mother, Anna or Grandmother, Mary would stop by and take her to lunch. She had heard good things about the café in the student center. She decided to go there for lunch.

She walked in the café. She was greeted by a lanky dark skinned guy who smiled a kool-aid smile at her as he asked her was it her first time there. When Kourtnee told him it was, he proceeded to give her a tour. He showed her the salad bar. The salad bar was stocked with over 30 items. It would an excellent choice. Kourtnee’s tour guy showed her the sandwich line and then the soup bar. The sandwich line was over 4 feet long, with all kinds of sandwich items. The soup bar had about 12 or 13 soup choices. Kourtnee’s tour guide flirted with her as he said, “After you have chosen your food, you have got to choose somewhere to sit. I would hate to have to share someone as beautiful as you with the rest of the world, so you may have to sit at my table. But if you just want to break my heart, you can sit in the dining, on the patio, or you can get your food to go and eat it elsewhere. It’s up to you.” Kourtnee smiled and her cheeks turned dark purple as she blushed. Her tour guide took her back to the front of the café and said, “Tell the cashier that you are Setrick’s special guest,” as he winked.

Kourtnee decided to get a salad and some soup. She figured that Setrick was just doing his job, so she didn’t really pay him much attention. She decided to have a salad. At the salad bar, you choose whether you wanted a small, medium, or large salad. You could pile the bowl has high as you wanted as long as the salad wasn’t falling out of the bowl. When that happened, you had to stop filling your plate. Kourtnee choose a medium salad. There were so many items on the salad bar that she really couldn’t choose.

The salad bar had avocados, black radish, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, chicory, cucumbers, spinach, mini-carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic, peppers, roma tomatoes, sliced tomatoes, basil, bay leaves, chives, cilantro, oregano, parsley, thyme, apples, apricots, cantaloupe, cherries, coconut, grapes, peaches, pears, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, and watermelon, just to name a few items. How was a person to choose?

Kourtnee decided on a more traditional salad. She would be braver the next time she came in. she placed some endive lettuce, cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers, chives, parsley, carrots, and cucumbers for her salad. There were some small condiment sided bowls near the salad dressings. She put some Catalina dressing in a couple of the cups. Setrick walked over to her as she finished and said, “Girl, did you read the sign? Quit being cute and put some more food in that bowl.” She laughed and said, “This is enough.” Setrick responded, “Alright, but next time you come in here, you are gonna have to pile it on.” Setrick smiled, winked at her, and then walked off. Kourtnee wanted some fruit, so she grabbed a small bowl and put some apples, coconut, strawberries, and watermelon in the bowl. She grabbed her tray and walked over to the drink counter. She fixed herself a cup of fruit juice and a cup of water.

Kourtnee reached the cashier. She wanted to tell the skinny peach, freckled faced girl what Setrick had said, but Kourtnee didn’t think it was right to pay less for something when she could very well afford it. She didn’t say anything to the girl. The girl rung up her food and said, “Setrick told me that I was supposed to take care of you because you was his special guest. That’ll be $5.95.” Kourtnee looked towards the front of the café. She saw Setrick. He flashed her a smile and went back to smoozing the customers as they walked into the cafeteria.

Kourtnee sat at a table by herself. She took a for full of her salad, after she had said grace. It was excellent. Kourtnee had never tasted anything like it. The vegetables were so fresh that you would have thought they had just taken them off the truck right before putting them on the salad bar. the fruit was just as fresh and good. The fruit drink tasted like it had been freshly squeezed.

Mid way through her meal, Setrick showed up at her table. He flashed her a kool-aid smile as he said, “That’s what I thought. You are sitting at my table. Uhh huh.” He laughed and continued, “How is everything?” Kourtnee wiped her mouth and said, “Everything great.” Setrick replied, “It’s supposed to be. So, what’s your name?” Kourtnee made a face at him before she said, “My name is Kourtnee Adams.” He said, “You ain’t even have to make that face. Are you gonna come back and see me soon?” Kourtnee responded, “Yes, I will.” Setrick smiled and asked, “Do you always speak in complete sentences?” Kourtnee giggled, “Yes, I do. It’s a habit.” He said, “Girl, you trying to make me fall in love. Beautiful, educated, articulate. I ain’t gone make it.” Kourtnee shook her head as she asked, “Do you flirt with all the girls like this?” Setrick looked at the front of the café suspiciously and said, “Okay, I be right there.” He grinned. Kourtnee rolled her eyes. Setrick said, “Oh no, the eye roll. I know I better get out of here. I’ll be looking for you again. Don’t break my heart. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for making a guy cry, would you?” Kourtnee made a face at him. He winked at her as he walked off.

Kourtnee finished her meal. She put her trash in the receptacle. She walked over the exit. Setrick was up there talking to a tall fine guy. He had to play basketball or some other sport. She walked by Setrick as if she wasn’t going to speak. He shrieked after her and said, “Girl, you better come back here and say bye.” Kourtnee walked back over to him and said, “Bye, Setrick.” The tall fine guy said, “Hey, girl,” with a sexy voice. Setrick looked at him and said, “Boy, back up off my woman, fo’ you get hurt.” The tall fine guy said, “That’s your girl.” Kourtnee answered, “No, I’m not his girl.” The tall fine guy responded, “I knew this fool couldn’t get a girl as fine as you for anything.” Setrick fumed as he said, “So, now I’m a geek. Whatever!” he stood in between Kourtnee and the tall fine guy. Kourtnee giggled and left the café.

Paula headed for the cafeteria. She ate at the cafeteria everyday. It was the meal plan that she chose. Plus, she liked the food served. She liked Mrs. Greene, too. It was nice having someone at the school that was an example without being pushy, like Rick about God. She was still upset with him. Paula swept Rick from her thoughts.

She walked into the cafeteria. She wanted to find Mrs. Greene first. Paula needed one of her famous hugs. A hug from Mrs. Greene was as if Love wrapped her arms around you and engulfed you in a radiant warmth that was never going to let you go. One of Mrs. Greene’s hugs could get you through a bad day and make a worse day better.

Paula was a bit hungry, so she went ahead an went through the line. She got some meatloaf, macaroni & cheese, green beans, and corn bread. She chose a piece of pecan pie for dessert. She grabbed a cup of soda and went on her way.

Mrs. Greene was walking around in the dining area. Paula made it a point to walk by her. Paula spoke to Mrs. Greene and went to find a place to sit. Paula bowed her head and blessed her food. She smelled her food. It was a crazy habit that she had. Her father also shared her habit. Before she eats her food, she had to smell each item. She doesn’t really know why she does it, but her food didn’t seem to taste right if she didn’t perform the ritual. Paula took a bite of the meatloaf. It was exquisite. It melted in her mouth. Mrs. Greene had outdone herself on the meatloaf. As Paula was about to put another piece of meatloaf in her mouth, a motherly voice behind her said, “Girl, put dat fork down and hug me.” Paula jumped up and hugged Mrs. Greene. The motherly love of Mrs. Greene’s hug invited Paula to remain in the motherly grip of the saintly woman, but Paula knew that would be out of order. She had to leave the tender spot that had made her feel better.

Mrs. Greene sat down next to Paula and said, “What did the preacher do this time?” Paula looked at the woman and asked, “What did you ask me that?” With a keen maternal look Mrs. Greene responded, “Anytime the two of you all do not have lunch together, you all have had an argument. Do you wanna tell me what happened or do I ask him?” Paula shook her hair before she said, “He started preaching to me again. He had the nerve to tell me that I wasn’t a good Christian. He done been a preacher all of a day and he wants to tell someone how to live. He made me mad.” Mrs. Greene patted Paula’s shoulder. Mrs. Greene said, “Sweetie, he is just trying to make up for lost time. Plus he is a bit zealous. He’ll calm down before too long. Give him a chance. Plus, you need to put a little sweetness in your voice and stop being mean. He probably meant to say something and it came out wrong.” Paula didn’t want to give Rick a chance. She wanted him to leave her alone about being a Christian. Mrs. Greene said, “Well, let me get up from here. Don’t worry baby. I am sure the both of you all will be in here tomorrow, sitting all close and smiling at each other.” Mrs. Greene walked off humming something that sounded spiritual.

Paula went back to eating her meal. People were walking by her left and right. The place was packed. She began to fill a bit cramped. She quickly finished her food, put her trash and tray up, and headed for the door. She needed some air and quick.

CHAPTER 2

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:21:00 +0000

Room 225 of the Caffco School of Business buzzed as students entered the room. Some eager to learn. Some there just because. Some there because a friend had ask them to sign up for the class. Some just there. The classroom seated 150 students. There were about 115 students already in the room.

The room smelled of cleaning solution, chalk, paper, cologne, and perfume. The room was rich with youthful anticipation, excitement, and hormones. It was a lively room with students talking to each other.

Students were talking to the students they knew from previous classes. They talked about what they did this past summer. They talked about the professor. They talked about the expected class load. They talked about registration.

The classroom was an eclectic compilation of students. There were so many choices to choose from. There was the pretty blond socialite who took the class to be near her boyfriend. There was the average student who needed the class to fulfill his degree requirement. There was the brainiac that took the class to only challenge himself. There was the athlete who wanted to prove to everyone that he was more than just a jock. There were rich men's sons in the room. There were wealthy women's daughters in the room. One could say of the classroom, "red, yellow, black, or white..." they were a precious sight. They were arrayed in every color that lined the color spectrum.

Kourtnee walked into the classroom. She surveyed the room to find a good place to sit. The first couple of rows were free. The walk down to the front of the room was going to be a long one, but she took the walk. She didn't believe in sitting in the back of the room. That was where trouble was. She was glad that she had worn loafers. The steps seemed steep and the walk was long. She reached the second row. She sat in the third chair of the middle section. She took her book, folder, and pencil out of her bag. She placed her bag under the desk. She arranged her supplies on her desk. She sat in her desk waiting for the class to start. All of a sudden she felt lonely. She didn't know anyone in the room. She felt as if she were the only person in the room that didn't have anyone to talk to. She tried to brush the thought from her head, but an evil voice in her head said, "Watch, no one is going to sit on this row with you." She refused to believe the voice.

Paula walked into room 225. She had met two other girls that she had met last semester. They were all taking the class. They were both Management majors, so this class was a requirement for them. Paula wondered if wither one of them would eventually be heads of million dollar companies. The three girls talked amongst themselves. When they walked into the room, the three girls parted ways.

Paula looked around the room. To her surprise, she only knew the two girls she had entered the room with. She didn't recognize any other face in the room. She looked around the room to find a seat. A soft voice spoke to her and said, "The middle section, towards the front." She looked in the direction that the voice had told her. She spotted the loneliest looking girl she had ever seen. All Paula actually saw was a head full of long thick black hair. But in her spirit, Paula could feel that the girl was lonely. Paula made her way to the chair next to Kourtnee.

Paula tapped Kourtnee on her shoulder. Kourtnee looked up. Paula responded with her trademark big smile as she said, "Can I get in here?" Kourtnee stood up and moved in between the adjacent desk and let Paula pass by. Paula said, "Thank you," as she sat down. Kourtnee said, "You're welcomed," as she refaced the front of the room.

Paula had expected Kourtnee to say something to her, but she didn't. Paula thought to herself, "This girl is crazy. Why isn't she talking to me?"

Kourtnee felt relieved when Paula sat down next to her. The evil voice in her head was wrong. The girl looked like she wanted to talk to Kourtnee, but Kourtnee didn't feel much like talking. She was content to have someone sitting next to her. A man in a tweed suit with a bow tie on that didn't match the suit in any way walked into the room. Thank God, I don't have to talk to her.

The professor walked into the room through a door on the wall of the front of the room. The students began to settle down and find a seat. He waited a minute or two before he walked to the podium and began talking into the microphone.

"I am Dr. Rothman. This is Business Statistics 101. Please look at your schedule and make sure that you are supposed to be in Caffco Business Building, Room 225," he finished in his high pitched squeaky voice.

Professor Rothman was an older man. He had to be about 5 foot 3. He look like he was as thin as a rail. He had brown and gray stringy hair. His beard was long and brown. He had a funny looking mustache that wildly covered his top lip. The left side of his mustache was longer than the right side of his mustache.

The people on the first row could smell the after shave that he was wearing. It had a strong smell of spice and musk. He smelled as if he had put some on just before entering the room. He must have purchase the stuff by the bushel because he had put too much of it on before he entered the room.

He continued on with his diatribe, "My teaching assistant will be passing out the syllabus for the class. You are expected to read the syllabus from beginning to end. There are some required supplies for this class that I am sure that you have not purchased. You will need to purchase these items for this class.”

A tall skinny girl began walking up the steps. She stopped at each row and handed the first person on the row a stack of papers. Each stack of paper looked like it contained forty or fifty pages. It took a little over five minutes before everyone had a syllabus. The teaching assistant took a seat in the back of the room.

Professor Rothman’s teaching assistant was scruffy looking. She had on clothing that were out of style for the time period. Her fire red hair was stringy. She looked as if she didn’t each much. She moved up the stairs quickly, much more quickly than her figure would have said that she could move. She had to be somewhere in her twenties. She was quiet as a mouse, almost stealth like.

Professor Rothman stated, “My syllabus is 42 pages long and you will have to read each page to know what is going on in the class. I am not going to go over the syllabus because as adults, you should be able to read a package of papers and gather some information from the pages. If you have questions, my office hours are in the syllabus, please use them.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Class starts at 8:00. I will be in the room by 8:01. You have until 8:06 to be in your seats and ready to learn. Anyone arriving after 8:06 will not be permitted to enter the room. That is my policy, I will not change it.”

He looked at his teaching assistant and said, “This is my teaching assistant, Holly Carmaine. She will be your best friend in this class. IF you have questions, you will need to write the question out on a piece of paper and hand it to her at the end of class. All questions will be answered at the next class. If you are not understanding something in the class, Miss Carmaine and my other teaching assistants hold tutorial sessions during the week. Read your syllabus to find out when and where.”

Professor Rothman was talking so quickly, that you could only grasp a word or two of what he was saying. His voice was so high and whiny that you wanted to plug your ears because it felt as if his voice was trying to drill a hole through your ear drums. His voice was trying to make your brain submit to what he was saying. His voice would ultimately win if you wanted to pass Business Statistics 101.

He continued, “This class moves at a brisk pace. That’s why my teaching assistant hold tutorial classes. I am here to impart knowledge to you. It is up to you to grasp the knowledge. I will teach you the methodologies. I expect you to take the methodologies and make them your own. I have my way of doing things. My way may not work for you. That is okay with me, we are all individuals and we must do things the way that they work for ourselves. I will not accept shabby work. All work must be neat and pristine. If it is not, it will not be graded. You are expected to give me your best. You are expecting the best from me. I in turn am expecting the best from you.”

He turned away from the class and grab a book on the table behind him. He faced the class and said, “Turn to page five of your book.” Pages rustled as each student turned to the page. After the pages stopped rustling he finished, “Your homework to be turned in for the next class is to read chapter one and answer all the questions at the end of the chapter. You are dismissed. Please use the remainder of the class time to read the syllabus, read the chapter, and complete your homework. You may think the time left is free time, but I am expecting you to go somewhere and work on your class work.”

He grabbed his book and exited through the same door that he had just walked in as students began to hurriedly leave the room.

Paula looked at her watch. It was 8:34. Paula looked at Kourtnee. Kourtnee looked at Paula. Paula said, “Girl, please. That man is crazy.” Kourtnee scowled at Paula as she responded, “I heard he was weird, but I didn’t know he was that weird.” Paula grimaced and asked, “Who conducts the first day of class and it only lasts 30 minutes?” Kourtnee gave Paula a sly look and shrugged. As Paula gathered up her stuff she mumbled, “It’s a good thing I read chapter one last night and did the questions.” Kourtnee thought to herself, “I wish I would have thought to do that.”

Paula and Kourtnee went in opposite directions as they left room 225.

Colt arrived at the Blanchard Science Hall at 8:05. He was 15 minutes late. He was supposed to meet Dr. Robert Davis in his office at 7:50. Colt rushed through the building. He reached Dr. Davis' office.

When Colt walked into Dr. Davis' office, Dr. Davis was looking at his watch. Colt apologized. Dr. Davis grimaced, waved Colt office, walked out of his office, closed the door, and locked the office. Dr. Davis walked towards the classroom.

Dr. Davis was a tall and distinguished gentleman. He had on a black suit, white shirt, and a gray tie. He had on black Stacy Adams. He walked with a proud stride, quickly down the hallway. Dr. Davis had white hair with gray ends.

Dr. Davis and Colt reached the classroom at 8:07. Thankfully, Dr. Davis' office was only a few steps away from the classroom. As Dr. Davis walked in the room, the students began to sit down. The students in the room were the future of Chemistry. They would be the ones who would change science and discover new things.

Dr. Davis began the class by saying, "I am Dr. Robert Davis. Welcome to Chemistry 102, Introduction to Chemistry. Please check your schedule and make sure that you should be in these class at this time." Dr. Davis voice was strong and filled with bass. You could hear the rustle of paper as students checked their schedules.

Dr. Davis turned and looked at Colt. Dr. Davis said, "This is my teaching assistant, Colt Austin. He will be your best friend. He will help you get in contact with me. He will help you find resources to help you with your studies." Dr. Davis turned back towards the class and said, "You all are the future of science. Many of you all will be making history in the future. But right now, you are depending on me to teach you something. That's what I am here to do. Teach you."

Dr. Davis paused for a moment and looked each student in the eye. The look down took a couple of minutes. Dr. Davis continued his speech, "I cannot learn for you, you have to learn for yourself. It is up to you to study, learn, and then study some more. It's hope to you. I can help you. Colt can help you. You have to do the work. I will be evaluating what and how you are learning. If you have trouble, please set-up an appointment to talk to me. Contact Colt to find out what resources you have available to."

Dr. Davis looked at Colt quickly before he continued, "I want you to pass my class with at least a B average. I do not relish in the idea of how many students I can fail. I feel that I am doing science an injustice by failing promising students. As long as you make an effort, I will help you as best I can. Colt has committed to helping you as best he can."

Dr. Davis appeared to care about the students. He seemed to care about the impact that they would have on the world. Higher education needed more professors like Dr. Davis. Colt had his share of professors who tried to flunk students. He had even upset one professor at Berkshire University by joining the number of students who had made an "A" in his class. Colt promised himself that he would do better at getting to class on time. Colt's thoughts were interrupted as Dr. Davis said, "Colt will be passing out the syllabus." Colt stood up and began passing on the syllabus to the 30 students sitting in the room. After Colt finished, Dr. Davis said, "You have the privilege of using as your textbook a book co-author by myself and a colleague of mine." Colt clapped his hands quietly. Dr. Davis looked at Colt and smiled. He faced the class and said, "You all must not have heard me when I said Colt was your best friend, which means, whatever your best friend does, you should do. Let's try this again." Dr. Davis cleared his throat as he forcefully said, "You have the privilege of using as your textbook a book co-author by myself and a colleague of mine." Again, Colt clapped his hands quietly. The class followed suit and clapped their hands. Colt laughed. Dr. Davis laughed. The students laughed.

The class continued on with a lecture that went pretty much in the same vain as the briefing had. At one point, the class was paying so much attention to Colt that Dr. Davis said, "I am feeling a bit left out. More of you are looking at Colt than at me." The whole class burst out laughing. Dr. Davis laughed as he said, "Ok, let's get back to science." Colt liked Dr. Davis. This was going to be a fun adventure.

Dr. Davis and Colt returned to Dr. Davis’ office. Dr. Davis walked in the office after unlocking the door. He asked Colt to have a seat.

After both he and Colt were seated, Dr. Davis asked, “What do you think of my teaching methods?” Colt responded, “It was good. You made myself and the other students feel as if we were important.” Dr. Davis responded, “That was my intent. You all are what is in store for the future of science. If I make you feel scared or apprehensive because of my style and delivery, then a great discovery may go unfound because of fright. I can’t have that happening. It only takes one professor to inspire greatness. I want to be that professor for as many students as I can possibly be. I want to be thanked in speeches and honored so that people will buy my books.” Colt laughed. Dr. Davis laughed with Colt as he said, “At least you have a sense of humor. I try to teach my students to have a sense of humor. It’s okay to laugh. But, it’s not okay to be late. I can’t stand for anyone to be late. You are going to have to be on time.” Colt smiled sheepishly as he said, “Yes sir, I will be on time from now on.” Dr. Davis said, “Ok. Meet me here at 9:50 for the next class we have.” Colt said, “I will,” as he stood up. Colt left Dr. Davis’ office after he grabbed his stuff.

Kourtnee arrived at the Henry Moore Gym. She was still in her street clothes because she didn't know if they were going to work in her aerobics class or not. She found room 12. There were about 10 other women in the room already. Several of them had on work out clothes. The others had on street clothes. There were two guys in the room.

Amy Coltree walked into the room. At least the students surmised that she was Amy. She had on a loud pink pair over leotards and a loud pink and blue jumper. She had on blue socks and pink tennis shoes to match her outfit. She was carrying a pink and blue bag over her shoulder. She bounced into the room all cheery and said, "Well, you all have made it, I see," in a high pitched nasal voice. She was thin, tall, and fit. She had a long blond ponytail that reach just above her small, shapely rear end. She smiled and said, "This is PE 105, Aerobics. I hope you are supposed to be here. There is a textbook for the class, but we won't use it. There should have been a journal near the textbook that we will use. Your grade will come from that book. Well, I hope you brought your work out clothes, because I am ready to begin." She did a cheerleader styled move as most of the students growled. She giggled and said, "I'm only kidding. Let's get to know each other. Ok, everyone find a seat on a mat."

She walked to the front of the room as they all sat down on the mat nearest them. After Amy got seated Indian style she said, "My name is Amy as I stated before. You all may call me Amy. I am here to whip you all into shape. Joking." She paused and waited for laughter. All she got was a couple of smiles. She continued, "I figured I would get at least one laugh, oh well. We will go around the room and get everyone's name." She pointed to a pleasantly plumb young lady and said, "Let's begin with you."

"Denise Orrick," pleasantly plumb girl said.

"Gina Davies," a skinny girl with dark brown eyes said.

Guy number one said, "Oscar Ortez," with a chicken in the henhouse grin.

"Kourtnee Adams," Kourtnee stated.

"Edwina Stevenson," a light brown young lady with light brown eyes and brown hair said.

The deep-voiced, well-built other guy said, "Bobby Cramer." He teeth sparkled next to his dark skin.

Anette Jamison, Patricia Paisley, Jill McGahan, Carrie Jonston, Chris Moore, Shellie Denton, Shanquill Hoom finished out the group.

Amy talked about aerobics and the effectiveness of aerobics. She droned on and on. Kourtnee studied each member of the class. She wondered what kind of friend each one of these people would be. The obvious choice would be Shanquill Hoom and Edwina Stevenson because they were of the same descent as Kourtnee. Kourtnee ruled Shanquill out because as Amy was talking Shanquill had an attitudinal twist to her lips as if she was ready to tell Amy off. Kourtnee surmised that she would be to confrontational. Edwina did not seem that interesting. Kourtnee studied the other female students, ruling each one out systematically. The guys were even in the running because they were probably in the class to pick up girls anyway.

Amy finally called the class to an end by saying, "Well, on Wednesday, come dressed to work out. Don't forget to bring those journals. I will tell you what they will be used for on Wednesday. Have a good day." Everyone grabbed their stuff as they stood up. The students exited the door quickly, going on their way.

Paula walked into room 116 of the Kathy Caffco Building. This was the building where the secretarial classes where held. Caffco University was a college that was started for secretaries to better their skills, it would only stand to reason that there would be a place dedicated totally to that effort.

The Kathy Caffco Building was the most historic building on the campus. It was the original building used for the college. It had been modernized to accommodate the changing times.

The classroom had 15 desks in it. At each desk, there was the oldest looking typewriters in the history of typewriters. These fifteen typewriters had to have been manufactured in the early 1940s.

Paula had taken Typing 101 and Typing 105 last year. She had aced both classes. She could type 135 WPM with an accuracy rating of 95%. That was the fastest time in the school’s history. The second best was 130, which was set in 1980. Paula had received a plaque for her efforts. She had competed in the city-wide typing contest. She placed 6th in the typing competition. She placed 8th in the accuracy category. Needless to say, her professors were proud of her.

She could have tested out of Typing 202, but she chose not to be cause she wanted to better herself through learning. Paula didn’t like skipping steps. She was meticulous like that.

Mrs. Denise Adkins was the professor for Typing 202. Mrs. Adkins had a reputation for being a mean woman and a hard teacher. It was often said that it was because she was so mean because she ate lemons as snacks, no one really knew because Mrs. Adkins never gave anyone a chance to get to know her.

Oddly enough, the people in the class were already seated when Mrs. Adkins walked in the room. Mrs. Adkins looked as if she were 45 years old. She was much older than that, from what had been said about her. Her eyes glared at each students from in her sockets that sunk into her deep dark black skin. Her tilted wig looked like a bouffant hairdo from the 1960s and a bad bouffant at that. Her horn rimmed glasses sat on the edge of her long nose. The rusted chain that they hung on dangled down the from of her dress. She had to be wearing a dress that she had kept from the sixties. The dark orange, brown, and green polyester dress did not flatter her in anyway. She really needed to take it off and put something else on.

Mrs. Adkins said in a shrill nasal voice, “I am assuming that you all should be in this class. If you shouldn’t be, you should quickly gather your things and leave. Hopefully, you brought your supplies because you will begin working today.” Some of the students gasped. Mrs. Adkins smiling a witchly smile as if torching the students gave her some kind of perverse gratification.

She continued, “I am here to help you improve your typing skills. If you have no real desire to be better typists, then you need to leave my classroom. I am not in the business of accepting excuses for why your assignments are not done. It is not listed in the class listings, but for this class, you will be required to attend an extra session for an hour one day out of the week.” This earned groans from most of the students. That seemed to agitate Mrs. Adkins as she declared, “I take this class seriously. This class is as important as a Math class in my eyes! The extra sessions are given on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The majority of your grades will come from these sessions. There are 2 sessions each day; one at 7:00 AM and at 5:00 PM. If these sessions do not fit your schedule, you will have to make arrangements to make-up the sessions with me individually. Anyone who has had my class before, will tell you that you do want to do that.”

Mrs. Adkins paused for a moment to sear at a couple of the students before she continued, “Let’s begin. Please demonstrate the correct posture for typing.” She waited as each student adjusted themselves with what they considered to be the correct posture. Mrs. Adkins walked by each student and adjusting what needed to be adjusted in their posture. Paula thought that she had the correct posture, but when Mrs. Adkins got to her, she touched Paula’s back so that it was straighter. Paula rolled her eyes as Mrs. Adkins passed her. Mrs. Adkins turned and glowered at Paula as if she had seen Paula roll her eyes. Paula quickly stared at the ground.

Mrs. Adkins returned to the front of the room. She retorted, “I am sure that some of you have thought something negative about the typewriters. I like to use these type of typewriters because, if you can type quickly and accurately with these, you will be able to type better on the newer models of typewriters. These will only be used in this room for instructional purposes. The ones you use for your assigns are from this century.” She paused and waited for someone to laugh. Paula and a subtle looking young lady was the only people to laugh. Mrs. Adkins remarked, “At least two of you all knew that I just told a joke. No matter, please take out a piece of typing paper,” as she passed out a sheet of paper to each student. She said, “This is a quiz. Please follow the instructions on the page exactly.” After she had handed the last student the sheet of paper, Mrs. Adkins walked to the front of the room, picked up an egg timer, turned it on and said, “Okay you may begin. You have ten minutes to complete the assignment.”

Paula looked at the sheet of paper. It was a typing test. There were a list of instructions. Paula typed her name on the top of the page as she was instructed. She then typed what the paper said to type. As fast as she typed, her assignment was completed quickly. The paper said to remove the sheet of paper from the typewriter and take it up to Mrs. Adkins and then leave the classroom. Paula did as the paper instructed her.

Paula handed her quiz to Mrs. Adkins. Mrs. Adkins took the sheet of paper, glared at Paula and whispered, “Just because you are a star around here, you will not get any special treatment from me. I am expecting more from you than any other student. Don’t let me down.” Paula smiled at her and quietly replied, “You don’t have to worry. I have heard that you have never given any student a compliment, I am intending to be the first student that you give one to.” Mrs. Adkins smiled back and whispered, “You are going to have to do a whole lot to make that happen. You may leave.” Paula gave Mrs. Adkins her trade mark full teeth smile and walked out of room 116 with a confident stride that made several students stop typing and watch her exit.

CHAPTER 1: BACK TO 1984

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:13:00 +0000

Caffco University was founded in 1967. By 1979, it had become one of the prestige colleges of Maddocha, catering to the upper echelon of the city Dorinda. The school had been the idea of a school teacher by the name of Kathy Caffco. Her husband was a wealthy businessman. He along with several of his colleagues put the money together to start the college. It started out as a school for woman to hone their secretarial skills, but Mrs. Caffco saw that many of the women wanted to be more than secretaries. She went to her husband again and he helped her reorganize the school. By 1975, Caffco University began attracting wealthy businessmen's children because of it's business curriculum. In 1979, it became a force in the world of science when it's science department began growing by leaps and bounds.

The school sat on 406-acres. The facilities were state of the art. Caffco University prided itself on being the example for other business schools. The endowments given by the alumni of the school, helped with this endeavor. The school was able to receive grant money that made the school fastly become a school that attracted top professors. The list for professors applying for teachers was longer than the teaching positions available. The school offered top services to its students. Caffco University was the school that everyone wanted to get into.

The Fall of 1984 was a good year for Caffco University. It had become one of the top universities for business in the state of Maddocha. The enrollment had reached it's highest in the school's 17 years existence. Some of the top students from the state were attending this year. The campus bustled with students new students eager to begin their college careers. Returning students were returning with anticipation of what the new school year held for them. This was going to be a great year for Caffco University.

Kourtnee walked on the campus of Caffco University on August 13, 1984. It was a sunny day. She was ready for her second year at the school. Her first year was filled with books, classes, books, and more classes. She had resigned herself to spend her freshman year studying and getting ahead. It hadn't been much fun, but she had made all A's in all of her classes. What college freshman takes 15 hours their first semester?

Kourtnee was born Kourtnee DeShay Adams Shields. She went by Adams, much to the dismay of her father, Thomas Shields. Her grandfather, Themophilis Adams wanted her to bear the Adams name. She was often introduced as Kourtnee Adams, so that's what she went by.

At the age of 19, Kourtnee stood 5 feet nine inches. She had blossomed beautifully into her full curvy figure. She was a beautiful dark skinned young lady. She was confident and self-assured. Her family, the Adams Family, had instilled that in her. She had to be confident and self-assured. She was the heiress to the Adams' family business, Shimmers Alot HairCare Products Company. Shimmer's was a haircare product manufacturing company started by her grandfather. Themophilis Adams had anointed Kourtnee the heir apparent of Shimmers at her birth on September 23, 1965. She had been groomed by her grandfather to take over Shimmers when she was old enough.

Kourtnee had a normal childhood. Well, the normal childhood of a girl born into a wealthy family. Her father, Thomas, instill a good work ethic into her. Thomas made sure that none of his 5 children were spoiled. They had to clean their own rooms, despite the fact that they had a housekeeper. Thomas would often get upset with his father-in-law because he insisted upon spoiling his grandchildren, often taking them on shopping sprees. Her mother, Anna Adams Shields, had taught her to enjoy life. Anna made sure that all of her children knew that their family had worked hard to earn what they had earned and that they enjoyed it. Kourtnee had went to museums, the opera, dined at fine restaurants. She had went to basketball games, football games, and went to the park.

Kourtnee had worked hard to get to where she was. Despite her family paying for her education, she deserved to be at Caffco University. She had graduated number 8 from Cynthia Pitts High School. She had been the student council president. She served as the president of the Young Women's Business Association in the city of Dorinda. No one could say that her family's money had gotten her where she was. It had helped her, but she had earned her spot at Caffco University. Kourtnee planned to make it own her own at Caffco without using her family name. She had made it through her freshman semester without anyone knowing that she was the heiress the Shimmers HairCare. She hadn't made any friends last year. She mostly stayed in her on campus two bedroom apartment, went to the library, or went to classes. Her existence had been lonely, but she had accomplished her goal for the year. She had completed 30 semester hours and received all As. Accomplishing the goal was a bit shallow because she had no close friends to share it with. Her family was proud of her, of course, but they were always proud of her. She was still lonely at school. One of her goals for this year was to make a couple of friends. She knew that it would be a task because once people found out who she was it would be a hard to decipher whether or not they were true friends or something else.

A week earlier, Mrs. Mary Adams, Kourtnee's grandmother, had told her, “Prissy, try to make some friends this year. It will be hard, but ask God to bring true friends into your life and He will.” Kourtnee hated her nickname Prissy, which her grandmother still persisted in calling her. Kourtnee hugged her grandmother and said, “Thanks Mama. I will do that.” As Kourtnee hugged her grandmother she said, “Lord, bring some true friends into my life.”

Kourtnee promised herself that she would not be Prissy., the nickname her Grandmother had given Kourtnee because she always had to be in order. Kourtnee hated the nickname She wasn’t prissy. She just liked order.

Kourtnee smiled as she brushed the right pant leg of her light blue slacks that match her light blue blouse exactly. He light blue shoes, earrings, watch, necklace, and bracelet matched her outfit perfectly. She shook her head as she thought, “Good grief, I am Prissy.” She continued her walk.

It was about 7:36 Am. Kourtnee liked to walk around the campus 30 minutes before class to clear her head and prepare for her classes that day. The brisk walk from her apartment to her first class always invigorated her. It helped her forget the crazy things that had happened the day before and focus on the new day that was in store for her.

That was the great thing about Kourtnee, she let things go easily. She didn’t hold grudges. She didn’t hold on to malice. She didn’t let failure side track her. She pushed negative things aside and thought about the positive thing that could come from the negative situation.

Kourtnee continued her walk to the Caffco School of Business building. It seemed as if this walk was taking longer than usual. Her books seemed a bit heavier than usual. She had a lot on her mind. It was the first day of her sophomore semester. She had goals that she wanted to accomplish. She had responsibilities that she want to fulfill.

She had chosen to take a business statistics class this term. She was beginning to think that she had made a mistake. She had taken most of the basic classes that she needed last year. She was beginning to take her degree classes. She thought to herself, “Do I really want to major in Business and minor in Marketing?”

She push that thought from her head. She had a plan and she was going to stick to it this semester. She was taking only 12 hours; Business Statistics, Introduction to Marketing, Basic Chemistry, Physical Education, and the Basic Chemistry lab. She knew that Business Statistics and Chemistry was going to take a lot of her time. She chose a light class load because she was determined to have some fun this semester. She didn’t plan on running wild or anything of that nature, but she wanted to experience the fun side of college life. Her brother, Thomas, had told her about the fun he had at college and she wanted to experience that fun. Thomas had warned her not to get carried away having fun. He had said, “Girl, if I found out you are at that school acting a fool and embarrassing yourself, I will come down there and whip your prissy little $%^!”

Kourtnee brushed her brother’s deep voice from her head and headed inside the Caffco School of Business. She was all set to begin her sophomore year. Has she walked through into the building, she couldn’t help but wonder what the year held for her.

Colt Austin finished his last sit-up. He completed number 100 without a struggle. He knew that he had to increase the number of sit-ups he was doing each morning. The hundred sit-ups that he had been doing had gotten too easy for him.

Colt was a semi-fit brown skinned six foot three man. He thought that he was fine. He had often been told that he was fine. He laid on the floor for a few minutes as he collected his thoughts. He was 22 years old, a graduate of Berkshire University, and a graduate student in the Caffco University Chemistry Department. Colt was on his way. His life was on schedule. He was doing what he had always wanted to do. He was going to be a scientist.

He knew that he couldn’t pay for his graduate studies, but as his mother had said, “The Lord made a way.” Although Colt was a spiritual person, he put more faith in science than he did in God. He knew that it was his hard work, grades, and studying that had gotten him the prestigious Portman Science Grant. Colt did give thanks to God for blessing him to be smart and to be able to live. The Portman Grant would pay for the majority of Colt’s graduate education. He had gotten a job as lab instructor for the Science Department of Caffco to help with various expenses. IT didn’t pay much of anything, but it would give him a chance to study science and have a little spending money.

His mother, semi-famous painter and author, Monica Austin, had requested that he spend the summer at home in Absanie with her. Colt had wanted to start graduate school in the summer, but he complied with his mother’s wishes. His summer was filled with culture events that showcased his mother’s talent. It was also filled with young ladies flirting with him excessively. He did like the attention at first, but after awhile, it became irritating. Colt wanted a real relationship, not just someone to roll around the bed with. He laughed at himself as he looked in the mirror. He thought, “Boy, you are a real trip.” He brushed he newly grown mustache as he continued to primp in the mirror.

Colt had lead a wonderful childhood. He was born to Thunder Stallion and Monica Austin. His father was one-fourth Indian, so he was fair skinned. His mother was deep dark chocolate. That union had caused Colt to come out a pretty brown color. He looked a lot like his father. Colt’s stature resembled his father’s stature. Colt even walked like his father. Thunder Austin had a swagger that was proud. He never let anyone talk down to him or belittle him. Thunder taught his son Colt the same thing. He would often tell Colt, “Son, people can only treat you like you allow them to treat you.” Colt loved his father dearly and respected him even more.

Monica taught her son the love of the arts. It wasn’t hard since Monica wrote, sang, drew, and painted. She played the piano also, although not as well as she did the other things. Colt was always going to some kind of art show or music show. He frequented museum and other cultural events. Colt could even speak French and Spanish, something that his mother made him learn. Colt could draw a little, but his talent failed in comparison to his mother’s talent.

Colt picked up his love of science from his paternal grandfather, Roaring Horse Austin. Horse, as he was called, taught Colt about the herbs and medicines of the earth each summer that was spent with Horse. Horse taught his grandson to think analytically. He taught his grandson how to combine herbs, leaves, and other things from nature to make brand new things. Colt would often go to the library and read up on the leaves, herbs, and barks that his grandfather taught him about. Colt’s love for nature grew as he grew.

Colt’ father named his son Thunder Colt Austin. Colt didn’t care for Thunder. What kid wants to be called Thunder. He went by his middle name. Colt’s name meant loud horse. His father said that he same Colt that because when the doctor slapped his behind, Colt let out the loudest noise he had ever heard. Thunder named him Colt because he was a baby and because he wanted his son to continue the tradition of his family. All of the men in the Austin blood line had the name of a horse as a part of their name. Colt’s mother had told him that she insisted upon Colt because she wanted something that was a bit more Americanized. She didn’t want her son to be teased about his name.

Colt had grown up to be a fine young man. He did have one flaw that he had disliked all his life. His bottom lip was a bit darker than his upper lip. When he first went to school, the children had teased him. He came home and told his parents. His father proceeded to tell him, “Boy, you go back to that school tomorrow and stand up to anyone that teases you about your lip. You WILL NOT let anyone tease you!” Colt went to school the next day. He got sent home for fighting, but after that day, everyone knew not to mess with Colt Austin.

Colt dressed for his first session as a teaching assistant. He put on a pair of black slacks, a white short sleeve dress shirt, and a red tie. He let his finger run over the tie. His mother had given him the tie. She told him that it was so that he would be successful his first day at his new school and job. His mother was so sentimental. It often time agitated Colt, but he knew that his mother did it out of love.

Col looked in the mirror. He looked good for sure. No one could have told him otherwise. He walked back into the bedroom from the bathroom of his crammed apartment and grabbed his hat. He looked at the clock. It was 7:50. He had 10 minutes to make a 15 minute drive. He was going to have to do something about his tardiness.

Colt put his hat on in the mirror. He tilted it to the right. He smiled at himself, ran back into the bedroom, grabbed his bookbag off the bed, and headed out the door to go to the Morton School of Science. He was the teaching assistant for Dr. Henry Caldwell, one of the leading chemists in the state of Maddocha. Colt knew that he was lucky to be this man teaching assistant. Colt was embarrassed that he was going to be late for his first class as the man’s assistant. He knew that he wasn’t going to make a good first impression being late.

Paula Brock sat up in the bed. She was still fuming. How dare her boyfriend of less than a year say something like that to her. She wasn't a good Christian. Since, Rick MaCulvie had accepted his call to the ministry early in May, he had become something of a nuisance, always talking about God. Not that Paula was a heathen or anything. She grew up in a Christian household. She was just tired of hearing sermon after sermon. When Rick got excited, he was very passionate about whatever he was excited about.

Paula rolled out of her bed. She smiled as she thought about how much she enjoyed seeing Rick's passionate manner. That's what she liked best about him. She brushed the pleasant thoughts from her mind. She wanted to be mad at him for a little while longer.

Paula went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She picked at the moles on her beige face. She needed to stop messing with those moles. Her mother, Barbara Brock, was always telling her to stop picking at her moles. Paula's mother was a quiet woman, very soft and demure. It was so funny that Paula was the exact opposite of her mother. She was often described as loud and flamboyant. Paula liked her loudness and flamboyancy. She liked being the center of attention. Paula knew how to act like a lady, though. She knew how to sit, walk, and act. She did just that when she chose to do it.

Born Paula Darlene Brock, Paula's mother once said, "Girl, you wouldn't keep still in my stomach. Anytime someone got near me, you would start cutting up. I knew you were going to be active." Barbara was always telling Paula to quit acting silly and be still.

Paula washed her face. She ran her fingers through her short black hair. Her father, Chauncey Brock, hadn't wanted her to leave the small town of Good to come all the way to Dorinda. Her father was very overprotective of her. He treated her as if she was fragile, but she had proven more than once that she wasn't, at least she had tried to. Her father called very day. He always said the same thing, "Sweetie, don't put yourself in any dangerous situations. Stay with a group. Be careful." Paula had heard that so much that it had gotten on her nerves.

Paula had completed her freshman year at Caffco University. She was happy about her "B" average. It had taken some work to get that average. College was a bit more hectic than high school was. Paula had promised herself that she would study more. It was going to take some restructing of her life. She was trying to get an education, have some fun, and date. Her life was full. If she wasn't always trying to be the life of the party, she wouldn't be spreading herself thin, but that's how she was; she always had to make sure that no one was excluded or made to feel left out. That's what Rick said first caught his eye about Paula. She seemed to care about everyone. She made sure that everyone felt like they belonged there. Being the life of the party, was a taxing job, but Paula was capable of answering the call.

Paula picked her clothes for the day. She chose a pair of black slacks and a pick and blue blouse. She chose a pair of pair loafers to go with her outfit. She found her pair of pink pants socks. Paula liked dressing up. She had worked all summer to save up money to buy her clothes. She took very good care of her clothes as well. Her mother was so happy to see Paula actually being feminine, that she matched Paula's saved amount. Paula had twice the money to purchase her clothes. Paula's mother had shown her how to take care of her clothes. Barbara was very meticulous when it came to washing. Paula followed her mother's example exactly. Her mother's methods did seem to make her clothes look brighter and last longer.

Paula thought about her schedule for a moment. She was taking Business Statistics this semester. Her father suggested the class as a way of knowing how to analyze business data. He said that it would help her be a better Administrative Assistant. For some strange that was what she wanted to be. She liked organizing things and tasks. Caffco University was the ideal place for her to be. She was also taking Typing 202, Introduction to Management, Technical Writing, and Aerobics. Her advisor told her to take a light load because she was taking statistics. Paula didn't want to take a gym class. She was perfectly happy with her full figure. She was a phenomenal woman and proud of it. Her advisor suggested the class to her to give her a break from the strenuousness of her other classes. This semester was going to be harder than her first two semesters, but she knew she could do it. If she got discouraged, she could always call Rick and he would pray for her.

Paula finished dressing. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her brown eyes sparkled. Her full length mirror told her that she looked fabulous. It was hard finding a mirror that was tall enough to show her full body. She stood five eight in stocking feet and taller in heels. Her mother was five feet seven and her father was six feet even. Paula had always been taller than most of the girls her age all her life. She wasn't teased too often though, because she had three brothers, who all stood over 6 feet and weighed over 190 pounds. All three of them had been football players. Two played defense and one played offense. Paula's mother expected her to be dainty. How was it possible to be dainty with three rugged, mean, tough boys always aggravating her? She couldn't be. She was the baby and the only girl, Terrance, Tolliver, and Terry made sure that she suffered at all costs.

Paula moved the clothes off the chair in her room. She grabbed her statistics book, folder, and calculator. She had a dorm room on campus, so it made it easy to come to her room and get her books in between classes. She made sure that she had at least two hours between each class. Her advisor thought she was crazy, but it made sense to Paula. She grabbed her all leather black bag that she had begged her grandmother to get her. It had her initials on the front flap. The gold PDB shined as Paula wiped it with the tail of the t-shirt that laid on the arm of the chair. She put her book, folder, and calculator in her bag. She had heard the professor of the statistics class assigned homework everyday, so she had read the first chapter of the book and did all the problems in both of the chapters. Hopefully, the professor wouldn't pull a fast one and assign some different problems. She would have wasted four hours doing 100 problems for nothing.

Paula took one last look at herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her short hair. She looked good. She knew that this year was going to be a great year for her. She smiled at herself. She made a mental note to call Rick and smooth things out with him. She put her bag on her arm and headed out of her dorm room to go to her statistics class. She was greeted by the sunlight as she pushed through the building doors. She said good morning to the day as she smiled and thanked God for another day that she was alive.

PROLOGUE - 2004

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:08:00 +0000

Kourtnee slowly flipped through the pages of the photo album. She looked at each picture of Colt, LaDawnya, and her. Who would have imagined that LaDawnya would find Colt and bring him back into her life after all the years that she had tried to suppress the love that she felt for him?

Destiny had played a trick on her when she walked into Madkinia Orphanage on April 2, 1997. Kourtnee spotted LaDawnya reading a book. Everyone else was standing out in the hallway trying to get a look at the millionairess, but LaDawnya sat in the library reading a book, oblivious to what was going on around her. The young lady had intrigued Kourtnee. Getting to know LaDawnya had been a ride Kourtnee wasn't quite ready for, but it had been a ride with a wonderful outcome.

Kourtnee let her mind flash back to the fall of 1984. That year was full of fond memories, new friends, and new experiences. It was a great time that lead to her meeting the love of her life. It ended sadly, but she was happy that she had gone through the experience.

Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Me) — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 01:22:00 +0000

This is a NaNo novel that I did in 2004 called Captive By History. I thought I would repost it.

I am working on a new NaNo Novel for this year (2005) called Flirting with Danger. I will begin on 11/01/05 and continue through 11/30/05.

This year, I plan to reach 50,000. Last year I wrote 35,431 words. You can view last year’s story, Captive by History. I worked on this story in April of this year for April’s Fool. I added 15,116 words to it.

Join me in my endeavors this year as I write Flirting with Danger.