PERCY
I watched as that nigga Xavier dozed off.
Who was he to judge me? The nigga was lying there with a fucking boot on his leg from an injury.
I knew he was probably angry, but I wasn’t the nigga he thought I was.
It was nothing for me to rumble with his ass in this room, but I was trying to think smart.
What star player wanted to be injured in the height of the season?
I had a moment like his last year and worked my ass off on the field to get back in good standing and back in the scouts’ eyes.
Then shit changed for me: football was still there, but my mind had shifted from the potential of making the league to needing a backup plan.
I snatched up my bag and my coat and left the room.
The party had somewhat died down, leaving some niggas drunk, barely holding on to the wall, while girls crept from dorm rooms, taking their walk of shame.
Once I was out of Avery Hall, my first thought was to chill with my niggas, but instead, I decided to take these final hours and try to get ahead of some of my coursework in the library.
When I got inside, the silence that filled the space was damn near spooky.
It was a shame that I had been at this school all this time, and this was the first time I had set foot in this muhfucka.
I moved through the library, and I could tell the bones of the building were sound, but the age it held made it time for a facelift.
I got so caught up in looking at the building's structure that I tripped over a chair someone had left out.
“Shit!” I shouted.
The few people who were in here gave me dirty looks. “My bad,” I said.
One of the nerdy-looking niggas shook his head and put his headphones back on, while a girl in the corner snarled at me like she smelled something funky. I waved them off as I found an empty table and sat. I swung my bag onto the table and began pulling out what I needed.
Suddenly, the smell of soft perfume wrapped around me. “Can you please be quiet? You're disturbing those who are trying to study,” she said as she leaned on the side of me, showing her face.
My eyes narrowed in on her pretty brown face and fluffy hair. Her glasses sat on the tip of her nose as her stare became deeper.
“I got you, mama,” I said as I pushed her glasses up on her face.
She looked me up and down before rolling her eyes and walking away.
My head swung, and my eyes followed her.
The way the jeans she wore hugged her ass showed every fucking curve that her momma blessed her with.
She had a country ass, one that was fed with cornbread and collard greens.
Her waist wasn’t slim, but shit, I was a big nigga; everybody was small to me.
She was like five-foot-nine, but she didn’t lack in beauty.
I knew that I came here to study, but shit, there was no way I could pass up an ass like that.
I rifled through my bag and pulled out my laptop so I could get to one of my syllabi. I needed an excuse to ask her a question, and off the top of my head, I had nothing. I scanned my email, and the first thing I saw was a communication from the school about our dean.
“What the hell?” I mumbled.
Dean Clark Mercier was being temporarily replaced by Ms. Cecily August. I shook my head because, with all the research I had done on this school, this was the first time they had a woman as the dean.
I closed out the email and pulled up what I had been looking for.
I got up from the table and walked toward her.
“Aye, I need some help,” I said while standing behind her.
The top of her head stopped a little above the center of my chest. She slowly turned around and glanced up at me. “Can you back up? And what do you need help with?”
I smirked. “Why are you so mean? Is that how you treat students who need assistance in this muhfucka?”
She tossed her hand on her hip. “I’m waiting?”
I had gotten lost in her eyes. “Oh yeah, I’m looking for books that have to do with child psychology.”
She let out a light sigh as she scratched her forehead. “Follow me.”
I allowed her to lead the way as I watched her strut that fat ass. I knew chasing a girl was the last thing I needed on my list, considering a nigga got played the other night, but seeing a fresh face on campus was good.
Once we reached the aisle, she pointed to the shelf. “Here is where you will find what you need.”
I stepped around her and pretended to look for a book. I caught glimpses of her out of the corner of my eye. “What’s the name of the book?” she asked.
I ignored her as I continued to search. I suddenly paused and looked at her. “Are you new here?”
“I see what you’re trying to do. Bye,” she said and walked away.
A chuckle came from me. I wasn’t going to fuck with her anymore, or at least not today, but it was good to know that a new, pretty girl was here on campus.