HAZEL ➝ D.SWING x AALIYAH.

Chapter 42 { acceptance to college }

DeVante Swing
April 4th,1990
Brooklyn,NY

Yes I did a large ass jump because I felt 1989 was too stagnant. But regardless of the jump, thank you for reading and look out for everything. Remember to vote and comment. I enjoy reading y'all comments. With that being said, carry on to your readings. Until next time, H A Z E L.

The past year has been crazy. 1989 was a year to remember because I basically fucked it up for the most part. The 80's may have been a disaster but it's a new era, it's the 90's. Time for a new beginning. Time for a change. Jodeci has earned great recognition due to the Father MC song 'Treat then how they wanna be treated' and we gained a large fan base. 'Forever My Lady' the album has been set to be released in February of 1991 so this year is kind of a chill year.

Nyla has been over worked about the next chapter of her life. She doesn't know if she wants to go to college although she did apply to go to Juilliard and had her audition in January. She also applied to UCLA, Clark Atlanta University,UPENN, Columbia, and FAMU. She has been working at Uptown Records writing songs for herself and other artists.

Our relationship has been on a good course so far. Tamara gave birth to a beautiful baby boy in October and we named him Justin. He is now 6 months and is so precious. Nyla has came to terms with the outcomes and loves Justin as her own son. Y'all probably asking if we had sex since the time I took her virginity. Yes the fuck we have and it has been even more exciting each time we did it. I'm planning on marrying her though. I'm saving up to buy a house so I can take care of her. She deserves it.

Life works in mysterious ways. Turns out DJ wasn't the one that shot me. I was set up by Charles. Charles found out I told Nyla about my cousin he recruited and got killed. DJ must have been eavesdropping and probably told Charles about me knowing him. Charles then hired them to shoot me at the studio. Y'all probably like... didn't you see DJ's necklace on the floor. Well that was his necklace, Charles set DJ up to make it seem like he was the one who tried to kill me. Ain't that some shit. DJ still gonna be in jail though for drug possession but not for attempted murder. He'll be coming out by 1995. As for his friends, them niggas in there for a long ass time.

I'm currently at Nyla's house helping her go through acceptance letters from colleges. She called me over because she wanted to share the experience with me.

"Aight Nyla... this one is from Juilliard." I say handing her the envelope and she looks at it with fear.

"You open it for me." She says and I shake my head no.

"Let's open it together." I say and she nods in agreement.

I rip open the envelope with my finger nails and I take out the risky paper. I took out the letter for her to see and I read it out loud.

"Dear Nyla-Janae Jones, Congratulations! It gives us tremendous pleasure to inform you that the Juilliard Music Faculty and the Admissions Committee have granted you admission to the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the Juilliard School   for the 1990-91 academic year. Enrollment at Juilliard is an opportunity to join a community of accomplished performing artists from around the world in an exciting and challenging education. We would like to extend to you every encouragement to join us in the fall. All the best, Juilliard." I read out loud and I notice Nyla's excitement grow at every word I read.

"DeVante..." She says looking at me.

"You made it Baby." I say and tears start to form in her eyes.

"I made it." She says starting to hug me and crying into my arms. I hold her tightly. My baby got accepted to Juilliard!

"Now stop all that crying... let's open this other letter. It's from UCLA." I say picking up this new letter and opening it.

I look at the paper and I start to read out the fine print.

"Dear Ms.Jones, We are pleased to welcome you to UCLA, and to inform you of your admission for the fall 1990 quarter. You have already demonstrated your scholastic ability and potential for academic success at the University. You have entered the university with a full ride scholarship. Congratulations and we hope to hear more from you. Sincerely, The University Of California." I read out loud and Nyla starts to jump up and down mad hype.

"Two acceptances! Thank you Jesus." She says and I smile at her. I'm so proud of her.

"Alright this one is Clark Atlanta." I say picking up this envelope.

"Dear Nyla, Congratulations on your admission to Clark Atlanta University... blah blah... yeah baby you got in." I say getting tired of reading these long ass letters.

"Woahhh." She says staring in disbelief.

"You wanna open more?" I ask her and she shakes her head no.

"Not now I wanna do the rest on my own and with my family." She says and I nod my head.

"You might yell at me De... but I don't know if I wanna go to college." She says and I stare at her like she's crazy. She got accepted into 3 good ass schools and she's about to sit here and tell me that she's unsure if she wants to go to college or not. Not to remind you, but she got a scholarship for all 3. She don't even have to pay so what's the problem?

"Have you lost your mind?" I ask her and she just stares at me.

"I know... I know... I'm just focused on my career." She says playing with her fingers.

"Who said you can't be a college student and still have a music career? You can multitask." I say lifting up her chin with my index finger.

"You're right De. I'm just not ready for this next chapter." She says looking at me.

"Ima Be here so don't worry." I say and I kiss her cheek.

"Now let's celebrate." I say standing up from the couch we were sitting on.