The day finally came where Kayla was entering the real world. Nobody was holding her hand anymore. No one was gonna tell her when to get up for school or help her study. She was going to be on her own now. Even though, Dominique was going to be around she couldn't make choices for Kayla. This is the day where Kayla is verified as a freshman at NYU.
Kayla was standing in a long line full of students waiting to get their schedules. Some people seemed very excited and ready to start school as others were nervous and wanted to go back home. As the line continued to move, Kayla's heart started to beat faster. In less than 10 minutes , she stood in front of a brown skinned woman. The woman looked like she was in her mid 30s. She wore her hair in a bun in the back and she wore glasses.
"Hello. Freshmen right?" The woman said in a happy tone.
"Yes." Kayla smiled.
The woman found the stack of schedules for Freshmen's. "What's your last name?"
"Richmond."
The woman scanned quickly through the schedules. "Kayla?"
"Yes ma'am."
The woman handed her the schedule and told her to have a great first year. Kayla smiled and told her thank you. She then headed over to Uncle Lenny's car and hopped in. Uncle Lenny drove Kayla to the apartment that she was staying in. As they arrived to the room, Kelsiee burst into tears. Her emotions began to overflow because she thought about how she won't see her mother every morning. Kayla tried to comfort her as she rocked her on the mocha colored couch. As she listened to Kelsiee cry, she had broke down too. They both sat there crying together as Uncle Lenny continued bringing Kayla's things inside. After he finished bringing all of her necessities in, he calmed Kayla down by telling her that Kelsiee could call/video chat at anytime. That sort of made her feel better.
"Kelsiee, I love you sooo much." Kayla embraced her softly. "You're so beautiful and always remember that."
"Okay. I love you too mommy." Kelsiee wiped her face. "You're beauty too." Kelsiee smiled as she held on to her mother. "I won't fowget you. I Prwomise."
"Thank you and good I won't forget you either." Kayla froze. "Oh. When you go to preschool, have fun and be good for mommy."
"Uncle told me that alrweady. I make friends too rwight?" Kelsiee raised her eyebrows.
"Yes you can, but listen to the teacher too. When she says be quiet, what do you do?"
"Be quiet. I got this mommy." Kelsiee giggled. "You be good too. Hehe."
"Okay. I will." Kayla giggled.
"Now, Kay I trust you and believe you will be okay. But." Uncle Lenny picked Kelsiee up. "Some tips. When you go to a party, keep your drink in your hand. Don't let no one slip something in your drink."
"Gotcha."
"Be careful at clubs and at night in general." Uncle Lenny nodded.
"Okay."
"Remember to keep up with your studies and don't get behind. I want you to stay here and I don't want to have to come here and take you back to LA." Uncle Lenny raised an eyebrow.
"I know. That's what I'm here for." Kayla embraced her uncle. "I'm going to miss you. Tell Charity I said hi."
"I'm going to miss you too and I surely will. She told me to tell you good luck on this year."
"Aww. Well I'll see you guys during Thanksgiving." Kayla nodded.
"Alright."
Kayla embraced Kelsiee once more making her cry again. Uncle Lenny teared up a little too and embraced Kayla as well. He had to break apart the mother and daughter moment sadly because they had to catch their flight back to LA. Kelsiee and Uncle Lenny said their last goodbye and made their way out. As they were leaving, Dominique and Aaron came in with her things. After Dominique put her things down, she hugged Kayla excitedly then walked back with Aaron to get her other things.
Kayla decided to set up her new room while Dominique finished settling. She pulled her bags to her room and set them aside in a corner. She began to pull out her clothes and hang them up in her closet, since she didn't have a dresser yet. She then hung up two pictures of Kelsiee and made up her bed with lavender sheets and purple pillows. After she finished making her room feel like home, she headed over to help Dominique.
Around this time Dominique was unpacking things our of her suitcases. Kayla helped by hanging some of her photos of Julissa. She hung up her clothes as well She also put her body lotions and other hygienic things in the bathroom like she instructed. Some things she wanted to stay in her bag until she had gotten furniture. An hour later, after the girls were settled they both decided to go out to a close grocery store.
They bought several kind of meats such as, grilled chicken , pork chops, turkey wings, and others. They bought plenty of fruits such as, strawberries, grapes, bananas, and also mangoes. They also bought breakfast foods such as, bacon, eggs, sausages, pancake mix, and other foods. Kayla also got her favorite dessert ice cream and Dominique acquired some sweets for the household as well. Dominique didn't know why Kayla was putting all this food in the cart because she could not cook, but Kayla could. She learned food tips from Uncle Lenny and the cooking channel.
After the quick trip to the grocery stores, the girls headed back to the apartment. They began to unload bags of food and put them up. Dominique wanted to eat out because Aaron wanted to double date. Kayla wasn't sure about this double dating thing because she didn't know if she was ready to talk to boys quite yet. Dominique assured her that she didn't have to talk to the guy, but just go with her for fun. After she said that, Kayla decided to go with her.
In the meantime, Kayla decided to head out to the Freshmen Bash. The Freshmen Bash was a fun party for freshmen's to celebrate their first year. They would listen to bands perform, dance, and socialize. Dominique just wanted to get herself ready for the date and she didn't want to go to a lame bash. While Kayla was at the bash, she conversed with upperclassmen about what college is really like.
"College is no joke. If you constantly fail, you get kicked out. No ifs , buts, or ands about it." A tall Caucasian guy said.
"The parties are better in college. Trust me." An Asian girl said in an excited tone.
"The beautiful thing about college is that you don't have to listen to your parents guide you around. You're on your own." An African American girl said in a calm tone.
Kayla mostly knew this stuff already, so she walked around meeting other freshmens. She socialized a lot more often and she got to see that some freshmens were friendly and nice. Some were mean and coldhearted. After having a blast at the Freshmen Bash for two hours, Kayla returned home to get dressed for this double date. Dominique was all ready when Kayla appeared in the house. She had on a loose blue dress with blue and black pumps on. Dominique had mascara on her eyelashes and red lipstick on her perfect sized lips.
"Wow, you ready huh?" Kayla giggled.
"Yes, now it's your turn to be ready." Dominique shooed her to the bathroom. "I know you will look good."
Kayla searched through her closet and picked out a half red and half black dress. She was going to wear her red bottoms her uncle got her for Christmas. She went into the bathroom to wash up for 5 minutes. As she finished dressing herself, she put on some burgundy lipstick and put on her diamond earrings that Nick got her for Christmas. Kayla curled her hair into big curls. 10 minutes later, she came out the bathroom to two guys standing by Dominique. One of the guys was Aaron and the other guy was Kayla's date. He was light skin with hazel eyes. He stood to be 5'7 to Kayla's 5'3 stature. His hair was short and curly. Kayla was mesmerized by his perfect smile and his fashion. The guy stared at her in shock, but Kayla thought he was staring at her because he didn't like the way she look.
"That's my date?" The guy whispered to Aaron.
"Yup."
The four of them headed to a small restaurant on campus. As they arrived at the restaurant, it wasn't too crowded. It was a good bit of people dining as well. Aaron and the guy helped pull out the girl's chairs for them and they sat in their own seats.
Aaron sat across from Dominique and the guy sat across from Kayla. A waiter saw they didn't have anything to look at, so he picked up 4 menus and took it to the customers.
"Hi I'm Randy. I will be your waiter for tonight. I will come back later when you have looked through menus. In the meantime, what would you like to drink?"
"I would like lemonade." Dominique spoke up first.
"We have regular, pink, and Strawberry lemonade. Which one would you prefer?" Randy asked in a interested tone.
"Oh pink lemonade is fine." Dominique smiled.
"Okay and for you ma'am?"
"Just give me iced tea." Kayla said in a bland tone.
"Okay."
"I would like a Coke." Aaron said in a polite manner.
"Okay and you sir?" Randy looked at the guy.
"I'll have iced tea." The guy gave a bored look.
"Alright I'll be back with your drinks momentarily." Randy walked away from the table.
"Kayla, why don't you ask your date what his name is?" Dominique put a hand on her shoulder
"I'm okay." Kayla took a look at her phone.
"Okay. Can I speak to you for a sec?" Dominique pulled Kayla up and walked with her to the bathroom. "Excuse us." The guys nodded.
"What is wrong with you Kay?" Dominique asked in a sad tone. "You're not being yourself. You need to get over Nick."
"I'm trying. You can't make me get back in a dating mood. I'm not ready." Kayla said in a serious tone. "Besides, I don't even think he's interested in me. He hasn't tried to talk to me at all."
"Maybe he's shy Kay." Dominique convinced. "I mean I think he likes you. He was really staring at you when we was at the apartment and he took a couple of looks at you in the car." Dominique nodded.
"Nah. He probably couldn't believe I'm his date." Kayla rolled her eyes and walked out.
"Kay, I'm not forcing you to talk to him okay?" Dominique sighed. "I just don't want you moping about someone that is gone across seas. I bet $5 he likes you."
"I bet 10 that he doesn't."
The girls headed back to the table as the guys just finished conversing. As the girls took a seat, Kayla took a look at the guy and he looked down.
"Dee talk to her man." Aaron said in an agitated tone. "I'm sorry Devon hasn't dated in three years." Aaron shook his head.
"Why ?" Kayla asked in a curious tone.
"I haven't found the perfect girl that I've always wanted." Devon looked down as if he was ashamed.
"Sorry if I interrupted, but may I take your order?" Randy blurted out as he set the drinks on the table.
"Alright mozzarella sticks for the appetizer. I want the Quesadilla meal." Aaron said in a polite manner.
"I would like Chicken Alfredo with mushrooms as well." Dominique smiled.
"Let me have a Cowboy Burger with fries." Kayla said in a blunt tone.
"Can I have what she's having?" Devon pointed in Kayla's direction.
"Sure. Alright will that be all?" Randy asked in an excited tone.
"Yes."
"Alright your food will be served in 20 to 30 minutes." Randy walked away to another table.
"He is a bad waiter. It takes 20 minutes to fix four drinks?" Kayla gave a perplexed look as she took a glance at her phone.
"Maybe he's serving other people." Dominique shrugged.
"Hmph."
"Dee say something." Aaron nudged him.
"Aaron we shouldn't force them to talk to each other. When the time is right, they'll speak." Dominique said in a concerned tone as Aaron agreed.
Devon actually likes Kayla. He just doesn't know what to say. He thinks she's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. Kayla is still very insecure and thinks boys talk to her once in a lifetime.
"So um..Kayla what are you..majoring in?" Devon paused between his sentence .
"I wanna major in Arts. " Kayla texted her uncle on her phone.
"Oh okay. You're a freshman too?" Devon asked in an interested tone.
"Yeah."
Dominique snatched Kayla's phone. "Kay he's trying to make conversation with you."
"I know I hear him." Kayla said in a anger.
"Talk back to him." Dominique raised an eyebrow.
"Okay. So Devon how are you?" Kayla fake smiled as he gave her full eye contact.
"I'm okay. I just miss my family in California." Devon said in a sad tone.
"Awe. What made you come to New York then?" Kayla asked in a curious tone. "USC is a good school in California. My sister goes there."
"I just wanted to explore more out of California." Devon took a sip of his iced tea. "Where are you from?"
"I'm originally from Atlanta, but I moved to California in the 6th grade." Kayla shrugged. "I wanted to come because...that's a long story."
Devon and Kayla began to click. They were conversing as if they were the only ones at the table. They conversed about interest,hobbies, and other fun things . Dominique and Aaron finally got to talk about their baby girl and catch up on other things. Two different conversations were now going on at their table. 15 minutes later, the mozzarella sticks were delivered and Kayla decided to confront Randy. He was acting like a delinquent with their table, but quick with other people's table.
"Randy, I really am getting tired of you not approaching our table well. I seen you accomplish the people across from our table missions more than us. I don't think you deserve a ...." Aaron cut Kayla off.
"Listen, Kayla it's okay. I'm paying anyway and I love us socializing together." Aaron nodded.
"Okayy. Well Randy , carry on." Kayla said in an odd tone.
"Mhm. Food will be ready soon." Randy rolled his neck and strutted to the back.
"I really like how you speak up for yourself." Devon said in a happy tone.
"I really like...you." Kayla blushed as she looked away.
"I feel the same." Devon blushed. "We share a lot in common."
"Exactly."
"So it's not so bad after all huh Kay?" Dominique giggled.
"Nope."
Finally Randy delivered their plates of food. They begin to devour their food and converse more. After the four came to a finish with their food, Aaron paid for the dinner and they traveled back to Dominique and Kayla's apartment. Dominique took Aaron to her room and closed the door. Kayla and Devon sat in the living room and watched television.
"So do you think we could go out on a second date?" Devon asked nervously.
"Yes, sure I would love to." Kayla smiled as she lightly hugged him.
"Okay, you said you like dancing right?" Devon asked to verify.
"Yes. You?" Kayla replied.
"Yes, so second date could be going to a dance club?" Devon smiled as he gave Kayla a happy look.
"No, I wanna socialize more, soo maybe like a place where we could be alone." Kayla slightly smiled.
"I agree with you. I know the perfect place." Devon moved a little closer.
Devon wanted to know about Kayla's family. She didn't say a word about her family , but she listened to Devon talk about his. She didn't wanna scare him off so early, but him saying the word 'family' made her tear up. Her family was divided up. All she basically had was Kelsiee and Uncle Lenny. She excused herself to the balcony as Devon followed her. He couldn't help but wonder why she was crying.
"Did I do something wrong?" Devon asked as he rubbed Kayla's back.
"No, it's just that I don't have much of a family. I just have a daughter and an uncle who have been there for me." Kayla glanced at the lit up city.
"Aww a daughter? How old is she?" Devon asked in an awe tone. "Where's your mother , father , and sister?"
"My daughter is 3. My mother and I see eachother every now and then. My sister at a point was becoming more friendly, but she stopped talking to me again. My father, why do I even bother? He never loved me because I'm dark skinned."
"Is your family light skinned or something?"
"My dad is brown skinned, but he likes light skinned people like my mom and sister ." Kayla sighed. "I'm the only dark skinned one."
"Oh that's why you thought I didn't really like you?" Devon asked in a sad tone.
"Yeah I'm very insecure. I thought I'll be dating again when I'm in my 30s." Kayla turned away.
"Awe, see I'm different from other guys. I love dark skinned and brown skinned women. They're just beautiful to me." Devon said in an excited tone. "Your skin is so chocolatey and it looks smooth." Devon said as he grabbed Kayla's hand.
"You're so sweet." Kayla blushed.
"Thanks. That's truly how I feel. I don't think it should matter about skin tones. It should matter about where their hearts at." Devon said in a serious tone.
"Exactly. You're so right." Kayla nodded.
Kayla began to talk about her horrible childhood with Devon, so he would grow more closer to her and he did. As Kayla cried and talked about herself and her father, Devon hugged her and teared up a little. He felt bad that she had to go through so much.
"Wow your story should be written in a book. You could inspire so many girls." Devon gave her a comforting look. "Now I see why you wanted to live here. I would've ran away though."
"Yeah you're into journalism right?" Kayla asked.
"Yeah, maybe I can write this down for you and you could get your story published for the whole world to read someday ." Devon said in a calm tone as he smiled.
"That would be cool, but I don't know about that right now." Kayla slightly smiled and looked down.
"It's okay . I understand." Devon lifted her chin up.
An hour later, Aaron was ready to leave , so Devon left behind him. Devon hugged Kayla once more and told her he had a great night with her and they can hangout alone next time. Kayla felt the same way and she appreciated Aaron bringing him along. As they left, Dominique giggled and smiled.
"Where's my $5 Kay?" Dominique laughed. "I knew you liked him and he liked you too."
"Okay you were right." Kayla reached into her clutch and handed her the five dollar bill. "We're going out again."
"I heard. He seems like a sweet and considerate guy." Dominique grabbed a cake out of the cabinet.
"Yeah he is. Well I'm going to video chat with Kelsiee and my uncle." Kayla made her way to her room.
"Alright I'll be watching a movie." Dominique sat on the couch with her cake and phone in her hand.
Kayla sat comfortably on her bed and pulled her MacBook from under her pillow. She typed in the password and watched the screen come up. After the screen came up, she typed in Kelsiee's screen name for her iPod. She clicked her name and Kelsiee popped up on her screen in two minutes.
"Mommyyyy." Kelsiee squealed. "I just got home from the plane. You having fun?"
"Aww Kelsiee. I'm having fun, but I miss you kiddo."Kayla smiled staring back at her daughter.
" I miss you too mommy." Kelsiee said in a sad tone. "I go to school next week rwight?
"Yes. You remember what I told you?" Kayla raised an eyebrow.
"Yessss. Have fun... be good..um make frwends.. And listen to teacher." Kelsiee gave her mother a thumbs up. "I cowwect?"
"Yeah. You're right." Kayla giggled. "Where's your uncle?"
"He's sleep." Kelsiee giggled.
"Tell him I said goodnight. Goodnight Kelsiee I gotta go sleepy bye."
"Okay night mommy. Sweet drweams. I love youuuuuu!" Kelsiee smiled.
"Aww I love youuuuuu tooooo!" Kayla blew a kiss as Kelsiee did the same.
Kayla ended the call and shut down her MacBook. She was going to call it a night now. She slipped in her pajamas, told Dominique good night , and fell asleep. Kayla couldn't believe she had so much in common with Devon.
She really liked the way he appreciated dark skinned and brown skinned women. She never knew a guy that felt that way about women. He also seemed like he cared more about personality. Kayla didn't think she was going to move on about Nick , but she felt like Devon was her next hope.