run of the mill.

2nd

"So where you headed looking all done up?" Beyonce asked from her stretched out position on her bed. She had just gotten back from the shower down the hall from her dorm room and noticed T in the mirror applying perfect makeup. She secretly envied her skills.

Makeup and other things that appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine were never apart of her life. Instead of spending her time watching her mother Caroline put on eye shadow as her sister had done, Beyonce opted for tossing the ball around with her father. Somewhere along the line her mother stopped asking if she wanted to tag along and her father's jump-shot became more and more intriguing.

T turned from her mirror where she was picking through her hair with her fingers to Beyonce. "Well my man Chris pledged Alpha Phi Alpha and their having a party tonight. Fraternity's always have parties."

"Oh so you reppin' for yo man?" Beyonce asked as she looked over the outfit. T had an eye for style. Tonight she wore a pair of gold skinny jeans with a Chanel silk black halter top and black open toe heels. Her brunette hair was straightened to a bone straight perfection and hanging down her back.

T looked at her and grinned. "Oh yes, I rocks the black and gold for my man." She shuffled around the room putting her things back in order and grabbing her purse to switch. "You wanna come? Chris'll wait for you?"

Beyonce shook her head. "Na, I'm not a party go-er."And she was but she didn't feel like it. College had made her a real social outcast. She never bothered to do anything that she would have usually done. She just felt deathly out of place.

"You sure?"

Beyonce just nodded. Besides, she was sure she didn't have anything in her closet that made her look like T looked right then.

"Hey I need a favor," T stated looking at her from the closet. "Can I borrow this? I'll love you forever." T held up a gold Marc Jacobs purse that Beyonce had gotten as a graduation gift from a distant family member. The pretty accessory went with her to college, but she didn't know why. She didn't intend to wear it.

"Yeah go ahead."

T emerged with the bag and sat on her bed. She started taking things from her current purse and putting it into the gold one. "So don't wait up alright? I might crash in Chris' room." T smiled mischievously.

Beyonce laughed. "It's like that?"

T smiled. "Oh yes. That's my baby."

Sitting her old bag on her lap, she looked through it. "Where's my gum?" she checked the bag on her bed beside her, leaving the old one to fall from her lap to the floor. Contents spilled onto the ground and she hissed a curse word. She leaned over and scooped up the purse.

Among the many things she picked up was a row of three condoms. "Always stay protected," she said in a fake stern voice. "You need these?" she asked holding them out to Beyonce.

Her response was a chuckle. "Na I'm good."

"You sure? Chris has more. I don't want another roommate so you can't get pregnant."

Beyonce laughed again. "Girl I don't need those."

T looked at her a second and then put her purse on the side of her and looked at Beyonce with a serious, yet playful face. "So when you say you don't need it... you mean you don't need it cause you have some or you don't need it cause you have never needed it?"

Beyonce laughed, "Latanya!"

"What we're roommates, we talk about this stuff." T shrugged and waited for an answer.

Beyonce sat up and pushed her pillow in her lap as she sat Indian style. "I mean... I have my own."

T smiled. "Oh good." T breathed out exaggeratedly. "I didn't want no virgin for a roommate. I want somebody that understands that the rubber band on the door means do not enter."