“I don’t what to hear about David right now.” She laid down on the bed and turned her back to Nia. “See you later.”
13
Nia pulled up to what she thought was her dorm, according to the map and the GPS. “We’re here, Auntie.”
Auntie unclutched her hands from the door handle. “So I see.”
“I don’t know why my driving scares you so much. I’m always very careful.”
“So you say.” She opened her door. “At least I can breathe again.”
When they found her room, it was empty. She’d been assigned a new roommate since Keisha wouldn’t be sharing it with her. “I guess my roommate hasn’t shown up yet.” She looked at her aunt. “I can’t believe Keisha won’t be here. I just…” She broke off as tears threatened.
“I know it’s very sad. Hopefully, she’ll get herself together and can be here next year. It would be a shame for her to not go to college. She’s so bright.”
“She really is smart. Smarter than me. I have to study hard to get my good grades but she barely even reads the assignments, let alone studies.”
“You need to stay in contact. Keep encouraging her. She’ll have a lot of tough choices to make. She’ll need your support.”
“I wanted to talk to her about giving up the baby for adoption the baby but couldn’t find the courage to bring it up.”
“That’s OK. It probably wasn’t the right time anyway. She needs time to process the whole thing. Hopefully, she’ll find peace and do what is right for her and what is right for the baby when the time comes.”
“I hope so.”
“Hi.” A blonde bounced into the room. Definitely a cheerleader type. She held a paper in her hand. Her mouth fell open when she saw Nia. “I...uh…I didn’t know you were…Never mind.”
Nia resisted a sigh. “Let’s not never mind. You didn’t know what? That I was African-American?”
“I didn’t say that.” Her gaze went around the room. “Don’t go getting defensive on me.”
Auntie pressed her hand against Nia’s back as if sending a silent message. But she wasn’t spending a year living with someone who didn’t want to live with her. “If you want a new roommate, let’s take care of the problem now.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I was just a little surprised. Honestly. No big deal. Really. I’m Tanya Reynolds. Your roommate. I guess.” She put a hand on her hip as her blonde ponytail swayed from side to side. “Unless you don’t want to room with me?”
Nia stared at her. Should she let it go? Auntie had taught her over the years to not be so sensitive. Time to start putting that into action. “I don’t have a problem as long as you don’t have one. I’m Nia Johnson. I was trying to decide what bed to take when you came in. Which one would you like?”
Tanya gave a nervous smile as she pointed. “The one closest to the door if that’s OK with you. I’m a bit of a night owl. If I have that one, I might not wake you up when I come in.”
“Fine with me.”
Auntie smiled. “I’m Margaretta Johnson. Nia’s aunt.”
“Where’s her mom and dad?” She put a hand to her mouth as her face turned red. “Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that. Forget I asked. I say the dumbest things sometimes.”
Nia was starting to worry. Did she have an airhead for a roommate? Keisha, it was supposed to be you and me. Not this girl. She counted to ten then asked, “Do you have things in the lobby to bring up? I can help with that.”
“Nah. All I brought was this.” She tossed a large knapsack on the bed. “It was sort of last minute. They only called me today to tell me they had an open spot.”
Keisha’s spot. Nia forced a smile. “What about books and things?”
“My mom said she’d bring them up tomorrow. Since I can’t live without my car, I drove myself up today. Did you bring one—a car?”
“Freshmen aren’t allowed to have a car. Does that mean you’re not a freshman?”
“I have credits that make me a sophomore so that’s why I was allowed.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.” Auntie headed to the door.
Suddenly Nia didn’t want her to go—didn’t want to be alone. For as long as she could remember, she’d always been with Auntie except for her trips to Puzzle House. “You’re leaving so soon?”
Auntie nodded. “Time for me to go.”
Nia hugged her aunt.
“It’s not her fault that Keisha’s not here. So be nice,” Auntie whispered.
Nia stepped back. “I’ll try my best.”
“That’s all God ever wants, sweetie. Speaking of God, I’d like to pray with you before I leave.” Margaretta looked over at Tanya. “With both of you.”
Tanya took a step back. “Oh. No, that’s OK. You don’t have to do that. I’ll leave the two of you alone so you can pray.”
Margaretta smiled. “Of course, I don’t have to do that. It’s what I want to do.” She motioned for Tanya.
****
With nowhere to run, Tanya slipped her hand into their waiting palms and listened to Nia’s aunt pray protection and blessings over both of them. Nobody’d ever prayed for her before. It probably wouldn’t do anything but it couldn’t hurt.
After the prayer, Nia and Margaretta hugged each other again.
Margaretta wiped tears from her face. “I better go before I make a complete fool of myself.”
How sweet. It was obvious that Nia and her aunt loved each other. But still, enough was enough.
Her mom had kissed her on the cheek before she left and said, “See you tomorrow and be good.” That was Mom-speak for ‘don’t do anything to get yourself kicked out of another school.’
Tanya waited until they left and then flopped on her bed. How stupid could she get? She’d been surprised to see that her roommate was African-American. Still she could have kept that thought to herself. No—not her? She had to make a scene about it. Well, not that big of a scene, but the girl had been smart enough to pick up on it anyway. How embarrassing. Nia probably thought she was prejudiced or something.
She wasn’t. At least she didn’t think she was, but just like everything else she did—she’d messed up. Again. And now her new roommate would probably hate her. And as if that wasn’t enough, she’d had to ask where Nia’s parents were. What did that matter? It wasn’t like her parents were here either. It was none of her business. Why couldn’t she learn to think before she talked?
She jumped up and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from her bag. Her gaze moved around the room. No smoke detectors that she could see. Smoking anywhere on campus was against the rules…she shrugged…but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
***
Nia opened the door and walked back in with a bag. She grinned at Tanya but it quickly turned to a frown. Wonderful—just wonderful. “Were you smoking in here?”
Tanya shook her head. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I can smell it.”
“Must be someone in one of the other rooms.”
Have an argument with her roommate within the first hour of meeting her? That wouldn’t be a good thing. “Well, I hope they don’t get in too much trouble. Smoking’s not allowed on campus, and I’m glad. Can’t stand the smell of it.”
Tanya shrugged.
Nia held up the bag. “Auntie thought I might get hungry. There’s subs and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Are you hungry?”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, me too. I’ll save them for later. But if you get hungry help yourself.”
“I never had anyone pray for me before.” Tanya looked at her. “I hope you’re not a Jesus freak or anything.”
“I’m a Christian, if that’s what you mean.”
“That’s fine. Just so you’re not too religious or anything.”
“Why did you come to a Christian college if you didn’t want to be around Jesus freaks?”
“This is the only place my parents would let me come a
fter getting kicked out of two other colleges. But that wasn’t my fault. Like being here at a Bible college will stop me from having fun.” She grinned. “We’ll have a great year together.”
“Why wasn’t it your fault you got kicked out of the other colleges?”
“Oh, that.” She shrugged. “No big deal. The first school I got sick and couldn’t complete the requirements for my classes that semester. Then I thought I was stronger, so I took some classes at my local community college, but I was wrong and didn’t finish all of them either.”
“What was wrong with you?”
Tanya gave her a blank stare.
“When you were sick?”
“Oh. I don’t know. They never did figure it out. Probably some type of mono or something.”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Much better!” She jumped off the bed and grinned. “In fact, I’m feeling so good I think we should go take a drive. Check out the area. Maybe find a place where we can dance or something. What do you say?”
“Thanks, but I don’t think so.”
“Well, let’s at least go see what’s going on around here. There must be something fun to do even if it is a Bible college.”
“Can’t. Gotta unpack.”
“Suit yourself, but I’m not going to be stuck in this room all night. See you later.”
14
Nia walked into the already crowded auditorium.
FRESHMAN ORIENTATION was written in a banner above the door.
“Nia. Nia. Over here.” Tanya waved. Apparently, Tanya was a freshmen even with her credits. So why was she allowed to have her car?
Nia waved but sat down in the nearest empty chair. She might have to accept Tanya as a roommate, but that didn’t mean they would be joined at the hip. The saying made her think of Keisha. She’d talked to her best friend last night, but the conversation hadn’t gone well. When she’d said the word adoption, Keisha had hung up on her and refused to answer the phone again.
Tanya came across as a party girl.
Nia rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure that was a certainty.
A dark-skinned woman stepped up to the podium. With a bright-colored, and obvious African-inspired outfit, she made a striking appearance. Her hair was short and natural. She put on a pair of glasses and waited for the room to go quiet. “I’m Dr. Danforth. Each year the freshman class is assigned a mentor and then that mentor follows the class for the next four years. Or however long it takes you to graduate. I’m hoping that will be four.”
A polite laugh followed.
“Think of me as your guidance counselor, your mother, father, and your spiritual counselor all wrapped up in one. In other words, you come to me when you have a problem, and we’ll work together to find a solution.” Her gaze moved around the group. “OK?”
No one responded.
“I said OK. I’m not the enemy. I’m here to help you and to make you successful here at St. John’s.”
Clapping broke out as Dr. Danforth smiled and opened her arms. “So just a few words about our program and our expectations. Even though you probably know all this anyway, it never hurts to remind you. Your first two years are mostly general education classes such as math and history and English. When you graduate, we want you to be able to read and write as well as to be knowledgeable about our world. In addition to those classes, you will have Bible studies classes that go through both semesters and a Freshman project. When you’re a sophomore, you’ll have a Sophomore project, and when you’re a junior…
Someone in the crowd yelled out. “A Junior project, right?”
“Right. When you’re a junior, it will be time to narrow your focus and declare your major.” She held up a hand. “But until that time, keep an open mind so that God can guide you to your correct path. Just because you think you know what you want doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have other plans for you. Along with your class requirements, you’ll need to pick a community volunteer program and donate twenty hours each semester.”
Groans filled the room.
“Oh, stop it. It’s not that bad. That’s less than two hours each week.” She held up a paper. “In the back of the room, you’ll find a list of possible places, or you can find one of your own and then run it by me.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll be teaching your Bible studies class and be your Freshman project advisor. So I look forward to getting to know each of you. Very well. Now, are there any pressing questions that can’t wait until the next time I see you, which will be tomorrow in Bible study?”
A hand went up and then another.
Nia half-listened to the questions and answers but her mind was on Keisha. Should she try calling again or give her a few days to calm down?
****
The next morning Nia hurried to Bible study—her first class of the day. Apparently, Tanya didn’t have a class because she was still in bed when Nia left. She’d been out late the night before.
Nia was pretty sure she smelled alcohol when Tanya had returned. They’d only been here two days so how had Tanya managed to find a place to serve underage people so quickly? Time to forget about Tanya and to focus on her first class in college. Butterflies swished around her stomach. Hopefully, her first class to her future—whatever that was to be. Now that Puzzle House wasn’t an option, she needed to be serious about her studies. She still wanted to serve God, but she needed to find out exactly how to do that. And to make a living doing it.
As long as she’d thought she would be working and living at Puzzle House, she’d never worried about her future. Now she would need to support herself. And she wanted to do something that she enjoyed. Life wasn’t just about making money.
Dr. Danforth was already there when Nia walked in the room. No African-inspired garb today. Instead she wore an elegant, mid-calf ivory dress with a lace bodice, but just as striking.
Nia went towards the front of the room. Second row, not first. First row meant one was trying too hard. Second row showed she was interested. At least that’s the way it was in high school. But this wasn’t high school And what did she care what people thought? She was here to learn. Standing up, she moved to the seat in front of her.
“Good choice.” Dr. Danforth said with a smile.
Nia smiled back.
“And your name is?”
“Nia Johnson.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that. Nia? That’s a pretty name.”
“It means special purpose in Swahili.”
“Excellent. And do you have a special purpose?”
Well, I was supposed to become a healer, but that didn’t happen so I’m open to suggestions. Probably not the best response. Instead, she said, “Don’t we all?”
“Excellent point, Nia.” Dr. Danforth looked up at the class. “Welcome to Freshman Bible Studies. I told you yesterday that everyone would have a Freshman project. What I didn’t tell you was that it’s actually a part of this class. And a full fifty percent of your grade.”
“Fifty percent?”
Someone groaned.
Dr. Danforth nodded. “Yep, that means it’s very important. And it’s also fifty percent of your English class since you’ll be writing a paper on your project.”
More groans.
“Welcome to college.” Dr. Danforth smiled. “Unlike the rest of your classes, this class runs through both semesters. So in the next thirty weeks, we’ll go through all sixty-six books of the Bible. Obviously, it will be more of an overview rather than an in-depth study. Your project will be an in-depth study of someone from the Bible. And it can’t be Jesus.”
More groans filled the air.
“Sorry, that would just be too easy.” She outright grinned this time. “And way too hard. My office hours are from two to four every afternoon. Sometime this week, each of you needs to stop by and tell me who you’ve chosen and why. Oh and by the way, you’ll be sharing your project with the student body the last week of the school year. We also want you to learn to be a public sp
eaker. Now are we ready to start with Genesis?”
***
Nia sat on a chair outside Dr. Danforth’s office. She’d thought about making David the subject of project. She’d spent so much time studying him that it only made sense—even if she wasn’t going to be a healer.
In the end she decided against it. She needed to forget all about David and her David years. Time for a fresh start. Instead, she’d chosen someone else who’d failed. Samson and how Delilah had been his downfall. It reminded her of Keisha and Marcus.
The door opened.
A girl Nia had seen in one of her classes walked out. She smiled. “Your turn.”
Nia walked in.
Dr. Danforth motioned for her to sit. “Hi, Nia. How are things going?”
“OK.”
“I heard you had a roommate change. Is that working out?”
“I think it might.”
“Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it’ll do for now. So you’re from Atlanta. This must be a bit different for you. We’re pretty rural.”
“It is, but I’ve spent the past few summers in the country.”
“Really? How nice.”
“Even learned to ride a horse.”
“Well if you have any trouble adjusting let me know. So have you thought about on the subject for your project?”
Samson and Delilah. And how their relationship ruined his life. Like Keisha was letting some man ruin her life. She opened her mouth and said, “David.”
“Mmm. Interesting choice. But which David?”
That wasn’t what she’d planned to say. She wanted to put David and his learning years out of her mind. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we have David the shepherd. David the poet. There’s David the giant killer. There’s David the warrior. David the King. David the adulterer and murderer. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.”
“Wow. I never looked at it like that before.” Maybe she did have more she could learn from David.
“I’m glad I gave you something to think about. So why David?”
Nia met her gaze. This was exactly why she hadn’t planned to choose David. That and it was time to put her childish hopes away and grow up. “Uh, he’s sort of special to me.”
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