A Black Girl (Book 1)

Two Black Kids

"I've never disliked you, you know?" Malik looks down at the arm rest, it's a cream colored couch with pastel pink flours covering it, and continues "I was caught up in wanting to dislike you, but you're too sweet to dislike. You know? Maybe we can be friends. Look out for each other? I heard your grandma wants you to transfer to my school. I was thinking we could look out for each other while there. You don't know a whole lot about me, but I promise you I'd make sure you were ok...is that weird?"

I've been holding my breath for a long time, as long time I've been holding out for him to proclaim his love for me so I can throw Jamal under the bus and tell him that I have a new nigga. Thankfully, Malik just wants to be friends.

That's cool.

I nod, thankful for a new friend, and hopeful that I'll make some more.

"Yeah, we can be friends."

---------------

One year Later

My group and I aren't much for throwing parties, much less graduation parties, so we've decided to hit up a party of one of our mutual friends.

I'm not slutted out like I would have been if I had come with Jamal. I'm wearing my outfit from earlier, a fitted beige dress that ends an inch above my knee, complete with unfashionable (yet very very comfortable) sandals, my graduation robe from earlier, and my, slightly stretched, but still very curly surrounding my dark face like a halo. Malik has his robe on too, complete with his dress shoes, white dress shirt (devoid of a tie that choked him out for the entire graduation) and black slacks. His hair, an unruly mess of wool that I'm going to tease him about later, because I love his hair.

We've enjoyed the day so much that changing out of our ceremonial outfits didn't make any sense. We grin at each other as we step into the medium sized house. We can tell that the party is going to last until the early morning of the next day. It's that hot.

Malik grasps my hand and shivers, "Nice party, huh?"

I lean into him so that he can hear my soft voice despite the harsh music "Yeah."

I know he'll deny it, but later I'll tell him that I know the real reason why he's been holding my hand since we graduated. It's because he can't bear to tell me goodbye, and this is his only way to do it.

I grip his hand hard and carry over the sentiment. We might be going to different schools, but that won't change how much I'll miss him. Over the past year he's become my best friend, we have other friends, but I know that there's something special between him and I, and I don't think distance is going to kill that.

We weave in and out of the crowd, grasping each other's palm and searching for somewhere to sit so we can talk about our plans for the next few years. He's dead set on going to Xavier University, and I'm on my way to Texas A&M College Station. So much has happened this year and I have been motivated by so many people. If it wasn't for my grandma, Malik, my church family, and my awesome teachers, I don't think I would have made it this far, or hoped this much. I had no idea that a change in environment would change me too.

Soon, we find a group of friends going over college plans, and why one thinks that being an English major would be stupid. I sit on the arm rest of the couch and scowl at the handsome Latino "Bobby, how would you know how stupid being an English major is? You haven't even started college, yet."

Bobby sips his beer and winks at me, before tapping at his forehead with his index finger "I know it up here. That's why I'm going to be an engineer. Money, EVERYWHERE!"

Angelina tosses her long black weave to the side and says in her most proper manner, "Well, I know for a fact that English majors can do just about anything they want. Like my sister, she's going to law school with an English degree."