School Daze (Back In Da Game)

I got the flu and I had it bad. I was so sick that I was on bed rest for two weeks and lost close to twenty pounds. A couple of my friends brought my work to me from my classes, as well as food. Neither Shelly nor Ice knew what had happened to me. I had seemingly dropped out of sight. Stevie Wonder kept me company during that time.

I hadn't been seen on campus but, I did talk to her roommate, Diane, on the phone who scolded me for not asking Shelly sooner. She was like "Damn, I gotta ride with that boring ass, stuck up wanna be a playa. Why didn't you make your move?" I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know he was moving that fast" (which was really a lie, I knew). She said, "I told you. I told you not to wait. You could've asked her a week ago. Now, what are you gonna do?" I shrugged and said, "I don't know." I was out of ideas. I was just plain out.

Forever Came Today!

I was in the supermarket and I accidentally bumped into her and knocked some of her canned goods on the floor. I apologized, helped her pick them up, and introduced myself. She was gorgeous... her name was Debbie and she was a grad student. She was a good three years older than me but, that didn't deter or intimidate me. I was enthralled. I walked Debbie to her apartment and we sat and talked about everything. I felt more relaxed around Debbie than I had felt around any woman up until now...so relaxed that I didn't try to front. I told her my true age (any other time, any other girl and I would have lied).

I told her about my predicament and about Shelly, the AKA who I had all but blown it with now. She said that she didn't think my situation was that hopeless and that she would even help me get Shelly. I asked her how and she said, "I'll be your date for the night and besides, you can help me out too." I asked her how and she asked me if I knew a Kappa named, "Disco Dave". Of course, I knew Disco Dave... he was a graduate assistant who had affiliated himself with my chapter once we got ourselves established. We weren't buddies but, he was my frat brother and I knew him.

Debbie had it bad for Disco Dave and if he saw her with me, she reasoned maybe he wouldn't take her for granted... maybe he would pay her some attention and they could get together. I didn't really want to work against my frat brother but, I agreed to do it. Debbie said, "After all, us Red and Whites have to stick together." Debbie was a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Like the prom, most people drove to the formal. If you didn't have a car, the school provided a ride on a yellow school bus (most of the blacks rode on the school bus). One of my frat brothers had a fit and said, "WE LOOK LIKE FOOLS, ALL DRESSED UP IN GOWNS AND TUXES AND RIDIN' ON A DAMN SCHOOL BUS. I AIN'T GOIN' OUT LIKE DAT! PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE LAUGHING AT US." I said to him, "Who is going to be laughing?" and he yelled out, "THE WHITE PEOPLE!" I just shook my head.

Lucky for us, Debbie had a car... I rode in the front with her and my frat brother and his date (also a Delta) rode in the back. Now, mind you... nobody had seen me in weeks and I didn't ride on the school bus so, when I walked in with a hot babe that nobody had ever seen before, heads turned and my frat brothers gave me dap. "Alright... way to get back in da game playa!" The other girls began whispering and even Shelly looked at me kind of surprised. I didn't look her way. I couldn't believe that I had pulled this off. (Really I didn't... God, fate, or something beyond me had just smiled on me, I suppose.)

Wishing On A Star

Disco Dave was there with some girl who got very drunk and vomited all over the back hallway. He was very embarrassed and I felt for him. (Well, not that much... just a little.) They had to put her in a cab and send her home. Disco Dave sat by himself the rest of the night. Debbie and I danced until we were drenched in sweat, sat at our table and laughed at everything and everybody, and had the best time together. The funny thing about it is, it wasn't fake... we clicked in a real way.

Late in the night, Shelly came over to my table and asked me if I was having a good time. I said that I was and I asked her if she was having a good time. She said, "NO! Oh my God... he's horrible and his hands keep going everywhere they are not supposed to go. He keeps trying to pull me into the hallway. I think he thinks he's going to get some after this thing is over but, I got news for him!" I didn't say anything.

Then, they played "Always and Forever" by Heatwave. Disco Dave came over and asked me if he could dance with Debbie and I said, "Oh, sure frat, go ahead, go ahead." I winked at Debbie and she smiled at me. I heard Shelly tell Ice, "No, take your hands off of my butt and get away from me!" Ice didn't take kindly to this, after all, he had spent $50.00 on her and he said as much. "You foul and you stuck up. I spent $50.00 on you! I hope they got a seat on the bus 'cause you ain't ridin' back with me." Now, of course, I guess you think I was gloating at this point. I wasn't (really, I wasn't... oh, okay... just a little bit).

Strangely enough, my mind was elsewhere. It was on Debbie... how nice she looked, how soft her body felt when I was slow dancing with her, and how lame Disco Dave's rap must have been. She shot him down. He stormed out of the hall and got in his car but it, wouldn't start. He came back and meekly asked Debbie if she had jumper cables. She did and she helped him get his car started... and then, he was gone. (See this is why I love black women, even when we brothers treat them bad, they still got our backs. I love all my sisters!) I wanted to say the Bugs Bunny line... "what a jamolke" but, lame or not, Disco Dave was my frat brother and I was loyal if not anything else. But, I know he must've felt bad about how his night turned out... not to mention being upstaged by one of his neophytes.

Shelly walked over to me and said, "You haven't danced with me all night." I said, "I didn't know that I could." She said, "We're still friends, aren't we?" I said, "Sure". They were playing "Wishing On A Star" by Rose Royce and we slow danced to it. Ice was not amused. He looked at me and smirked then, gave me the high sign. I looked at him and nodded. A sign of mutual respect... game well played but, game over. He wasn't done, he started talking to some other girl and was last seen walking with her to his car. I gotta hand it to him... he always recovered well.

As you can imagine, I was in hog heaven. I wound up with the best that Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta had to offer in one glorious night. That night, I had the best hand in the house. Debbie thanked me and said, "Go get your girl. At least one of us got what we wanted tonight." I told her that I was sorry that things didn't work out for her and Disco Dave but, she said that it was cool and maybe it just wasn't meant to be. She drove my other frat brother and her soror back to campus. Heaven forbid if "THE WHITE PEOPLE" would see him in a tux on a school bus!

I rode back to campus on the school bus. Shelly fell asleep in the seat next to mine. I covered her with my coat and put my arms around her. She didn't resist and she snuggled right up next to me. I looked up at the sky and silently screamed, "Thank You, God!" I was hyped and I couldn't hide it. Her roommate, Diane, looked over at us and winked. I winked back and as Ice Cube said, "All and all, it was a good day!"

Footnote: Fraternity & Sorority Shields (top-bottom): Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Omega Psi Phi.