Chapter One
I was never the lucky girl, and when I was, it was something I didn’t care for.
That’s how life always went, didn’t it?
There was a knock on my door, and when I opened it, one of the room assistants stood at the entrance. This better not be a room inspection, because my dorm looked like an elephant trampled through it.
The RA, a smiley white man, said, “Are you Alisha?”
I gave him a nod.
“Okay, great. I have some good news, Alisha. You’ve been chosen for free tickets to the game this weekend. You get two, so bring a friend.”
The game. No description of what it was. Just ‘the game.’ Of course, I already knew what it was, because everyone wouldn’t shut up about it. Allen Ames University cared more about its football team than the actual students. I mean, they could pamper their players like they were pharaohs, but couldn’t fix the leak in the women’s shower.
Today was a big game for their football team, the Bobcats. All my friends in the dorm were planning on going, including my roommate. At first, I rejoiced, because that meant more peace and quiet for me. But now, it seemed that God Himself wanted me to go to this game.
Without even asking if I wanted it, the RA handed me the tickets and went away. I looked at the tickets, sighing a bit. They didn’t even ask me for my name to be put in the lottery.
Yes, tickets weren’t free, not even for students. Students had to pay $20 for tickets to the game. While twenty bucks may not seem like much, if you’re from the hood, it’s a luxury.
I laid the tickets down on the table and continued my homework, wondering what I should do next.
On one hand, I was sick of football. My roommate would always come in and blast the current football game on our TV, shoving it down my throat like a Jehova’s Witness. On the other, maybe I should get out of my comfort zone.
Since coming to college, I had holed myself in my room, studying my little heart out. While that’s what college was built for, I didn’t leave room for any enjoyment. I wasn’t in any clubs, I never went out with any friends, and I didn’t even explore the town this college was in too much. I kept in my dorm like a boy in a bubble.
A game would be noisy and crowded, but maybe I could make some friends. If I didn’t like it, I could leave, and it wasn’t like I wasted any money on it.
Suddenly, the door walked in, and Julie, my roommate, waltzed into the door. Julie was the opposite of me. I was black, she was white. I was big, she was small. I was quiet, she was expressive, calling it her “personality.” I thought she was more annoying than anything, but I digress.
“What’s up, Lee Lee?” she asked me. I told her not to call me by that dumb nickname quite a few times, but she never takes no for an answer, does she?
“Not much,” I answered. “Just trying to get this homework done.” My pencil danced around the paper, not knowing where its next stop would be. Damn Julie, always breaking my train of thought.
Julie hopped on her bed, spreading her long legs like a prong, and then turning on the TV. The blast from the television took my train of thought and threw it off the tracks like a superhero.
“Sorry!” she said, and started lowering the volume by a few decimal points.
I put my pencil down, sighing. “It’s fine. I was almost done, anyway.”
I sat on my bed, watching the football game. Did people really find this entertaining? Maybe if you’re in the audience, it’s a bit more fun to watch, but here, it seemed so dull. Just a few people the size of ants running around to and fro.
While Julie watched TV, she alternated her glances to her phone, texting on occasion. Was she talking to one of her dozens of fake friends? Her boyfriend of the week? The world may never know.
“By the way,” I said. “I won something.”
“What is it?” she asked, her eyes far away
I was never the lucky girl, and when I was, it was something I didn’t care for.
That’s how life always went, didn’t it?
There was a knock on my door, and when I opened it, one of the room assistants stood at the entrance. This better not be a room inspection, because my dorm looked like an elephant trampled through it.
The RA, a smiley white man, said, “Are you Alisha?”
I gave him a nod.
“Okay, great. I have some good news, Alisha. You’ve been chosen for free tickets to the game this weekend. You get two, so bring a friend.”
The game. No description of what it was. Just ‘the game.’ Of course, I already knew what it was, because everyone wouldn’t shut up about it. Allen Ames University cared more about its football team than the actual students. I mean, they could pamper their players like they were pharaohs, but couldn’t fix the leak in the women’s shower.
Today was a big game for their football team, the Bobcats. All my friends in the dorm were planning on going, including my roommate. At first, I rejoiced, because that meant more peace and quiet for me. But now, it seemed that God Himself wanted me to go to this game.
Without even asking if I wanted it, the RA handed me the tickets and went away. I looked at the tickets, sighing a bit. They didn’t even ask me for my name to be put in the lottery.
Yes, tickets weren’t free, not even for students. Students had to pay $20 for tickets to the game. While twenty bucks may not seem like much, if you’re from the hood, it’s a luxury.
I laid the tickets down on the table and continued my homework, wondering what I should do next.
On one hand, I was sick of football. My roommate would always come in and blast the current football game on our TV, shoving it down my throat like a Jehova’s Witness. On the other, maybe I should get out of my comfort zone.
Since coming to college, I had holed myself in my room, studying my little heart out. While that’s what college was built for, I didn’t leave room for any enjoyment. I wasn’t in any clubs, I never went out with any friends, and I didn’t even explore the town this college was in too much. I kept in my dorm like a boy in a bubble.
A game would be noisy and crowded, but maybe I could make some friends. If I didn’t like it, I could leave, and it wasn’t like I wasted any money on it.
Suddenly, the door walked in, and Julie, my roommate, waltzed into the door. Julie was the opposite of me. I was black, she was white. I was big, she was small. I was quiet, she was expressive, calling it her “personality.” I thought she was more annoying than anything, but I digress.
“What’s up, Lee Lee?” she asked me. I told her not to call me by that dumb nickname quite a few times, but she never takes no for an answer, does she?
“Not much,” I answered. “Just trying to get this homework done.” My pencil danced around the paper, not knowing where its next stop would be. Damn Julie, always breaking my train of thought.
Julie hopped on her bed, spreading her long legs like a prong, and then turning on the TV. The blast from the television took my train of thought and threw it off the tracks like a superhero.
“Sorry!” she said, and started lowering the volume by a few decimal points.
I put my pencil down, sighing. “It’s fine. I was almost done, anyway.”
I sat on my bed, watching the football game. Did people really find this entertaining? Maybe if you’re in the audience, it’s a bit more fun to watch, but here, it seemed so dull. Just a few people the size of ants running around to and fro.
While Julie watched TV, she alternated her glances to her phone, texting on occasion. Was she talking to one of her dozens of fake friends? Her boyfriend of the week? The world may never know.
“By the way,” I said. “I won something.”
“What is it?” she asked, her eyes far away
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