Imagining Us

Chapter 1- Sophomore Year

He'd done it again.

He'd sworn that he understood.

That he would try to do better and be better. But did he truly care about her? Maybe he never did.
So here she was sparkling from head to toe in a pale blue sequin dress that did nothing for her brown skin tone and a mass of curls haloed around her head.
She stood out like a sore thumb—sorer than that.

It was a formal affair.

Esi should have known that something was wrong from the looks that the valet gave her at the entrance.
She should have known that something was wrong when Andrew came up with that sorry excuse for not being able to pick her up to attend the soirée.

She was usually so thorough. She should've asked more questions. She should have known better, but he'd lulled her into a false sense of security. He'd been the Andrew that she'd first met months ago. Sweet. Thoughtful. Reassuring. Curious about everything. Needing to know the answers to everything. That was one of the reasons why she'd liked him so much. His child-like curiosity. It made her curious too. It made her want to know things. It made her trust him.

Esi Solomon's mum raised no fool. At least she probably thought that didn't, but here she was—like a clown— skulking in the shadowed corner of the Psychology department's Atrium at this meet and greet for current psych majors and alumni. A meet and greet where everyone was dressed business casual, and she looked like she was going to an 80s disco.

Why was she even still here?

She was seeking answers. So, here she was barely sipping a Negroni that she grabbed from the open bar.

She'd wanted a club soda with lemon. When she'd ordered it, she'd seen the bartender look down his pretentious nose at her and scoff at her drink choice.

He'd expected better from someone with her accent.

English.

It was so interesting how many assumptions and expectations that she faced here because of how she sounded.

But what the bartender didn't realize was how hot her Trinidadian blood was running in contrast to her controlled, Ghanaian nerves.

She sucked her teeth.
Her eyes were darting over the expanse of the room. Looking for Andrew.
She knew the truth, but her heart was trying to find a way to justify her situation.

Maybe he'd gotten the details mixed up. Or maybe she had misunderstood him.

No.

She'd heard him clearly because she was an astute listener. It was something that she was good at, something that she loved to do—she listened to people, because their words were normally layered. Behind a statement—behind a story was always another story. Words And, if you listened keenly enough, you could even determine the truths that people often didn't recognize for themselves.

That was how she knew that this was deliberate. Her brain made her see what was really happening, but her stupid heart overshadowed that thought. Her cousins, Afi and Brianna had warned her after she told them everything that was happening, but she was always one for second chances. Although, she couldn't even remember which chance this was. It was definitely more than two.

Her search was seemingly fruitless as she couldn't spot Andrew anywhere in the room, and he wasn't answering his phone. For some strange reason, she felt as if someone was watching her thoroughly , but every time she looked around, she would only see mild glances of disdain.
Esi checked the time on her watch.
It was 8:27.
Andrew had told her to meet him there for 7:45pm since the mixer would start at 8:00.
A flush of embarrassment coated her as she stood in the corner, and she could feel the hot tears welling in her eyes. It was probably futile to try to call him again. Esi pushed off of the wall and kept her head down as she made her way to the exit. Halfway there, she remembered that she still had her glass of Negroni in hand. She spun around too quickly and instantly smacked right into someone. Her drink sloshed in her glass and some of it trickled over the rim onto her hand and the carpet.