One Little Lie… by Christine Platt
One Little Lie…
Christine Platt
As Cleo “Leo” Pickett lay awake in his room in Young Hall, silently cursing the mattress he was certain was not an XL twin, he stared up at the ceiling and thought about how he’d never been the type of man to lie.
Not about where he came from in Oklahoma.
And certainly not about who he came from.
In fact, Leo could not recall a single time he’d lied to anyone… until now.
Damn Lion Camp.
The mandatory weeklong session for Langston University’s incoming freshmen had finally ended, and for that, Leo was grateful. Because even though Lion Camp had made him feel more prepared for his freshman year, unfortunately, it had also exposed insecurities he didn’t even know he had.
Leo had chosen an HBCU hoping that he’d feel more at home than he would at Oklahoma State. Beside sharing their Blackness, everyone was so…different. He shook his head, swinging his long black locs from side to side as he tried to erase the week’s worth of memories.
“I should have never come here,” Leo whispered to himself. “Why did I come here?”
Outside his door, faint beats blended with deep voices in conversation and occasional outbursts of laughter. The dorm’s hallway was in constant motion, its own gathering spot of sorts. Leo was grateful that at least he had his own room to escape to.
The melody in the hallway moved closer, gradually growing louder, and Leo realized that someone was walking with their boombox.
Instinctively, he reached for his Walkman and quickly removed the black cassette tape.
After holding it in his hand for a moment, he opened his top dresser drawer and hid it in the back.
No one at Langston University could ever know about that.
Leo stood there for a moment, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
He looked just like all the men in his family—tall with broad shoulders, his flawless skin a deep, dark brown, his locs wild and free.
Except now, there was one major difference between him and the other Pickett men—Leo was a liar.
Someone started banging loudly on Leo’s door, catching him by surprise and causing him to jump. Which made him feel like a liar and a coward.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Hold up, hold up, I’m coming.” Leo sighed as he walked over and reluctantly opened the door. He exhaled with relief once he saw who it was. “Aye, what’s good, Scootie?”
A tall, thin, light-skinned teenager from Houston, Scootie Harris lived a few doors down. His tee and jeans were so baggy, Scootie looked like he was swimming in his clothes. Yet somehow, he was pulling off the style, because even Leo had to admit that Scootie looked dope.
“I’m good. Just checking to see what time you’re headed to the party. Want to roll together?”
Shit.
Scootie was in Leo’s Pride, a group of fellow freshmen randomly assigned to have each other’s backs during Lion Camp and, ideally, throughout their first year of college.
Which meant the two men were supposed to look out for each other.
They were supposed to help and support each other so that no one felt like they had to go it alone.
Which meant Leo was supposed to say yes to Scootie’s invitation even though what he really wanted to say was “Hell, no!”
Instead, Leo looked down and frowned at his socks and Nike slides. “I don’t know, man. I mean, it’s Sunday night. Classes start tomorrow and—”
“Classes?” Scootie looked at him with sincere confusion. “Classes.”
“I’m just saying!” Leo laughed uncomfortably. “I got a scholarship, dawg. One I can’t afford to lose.”
“Man, first of all, you ain’t gon’ lose your scholarship over going to one lil’ party the night before classes start,” Scootie began. “Secondly, did you see what I saw this week? Tender Roni after Tender Roni after Tender Roni? Bruh. They’re all gon’ be at the party tonight!”
Leo had noticed that was one thing Langston University had working in its favor: There were plenty of beautiful women.
Every body type. Every shade of brown. Long hair.
Short hair. Those who looked sweet as pie.
And those who looked like they caused a lot of problems. The best and worst kinds of problems.
And then there was her.
He hadn’t actually met her, yet.
Earlier today, as he stood in the Student Success Center with his plate stacked with herb-roasted turkey, mashed red potatoes and gravy, and a warm dinner roll that he couldn’t wait to smother with butter, as he’d looked across the room for a place to sit alone, Leo had seen the first woman who’d ever taken his breath away.
Strolling across the marble-gray floors like she was on a scholarly catwalk, a red leather messenger bag slung over her right shoulder.
Her skin the perfect shade of chocolate brown.
Her box braids pulled into a high bun, accentuating her striking cheekbones, wide eyes, button nose, and glossy full lips.
Her body a human hourglass in a simple white tee and fitted jeans.
Her Air Force 1’s clean like she’d just pulled them out the box.
Leo wondered if she was going to be at the party tonight.
“So, you’re coming, right?” Scootie continued to lay on the pressure. “You gotta come, dawg!”
“Look, I want to go but I’ll be honest, I ain’t got nothing to wear. All my best gear…” Leo paused for dramatic effect before sucking his teeth. “Man, I don’t even want to talk about what happened to my stuff. But ain’t no way I’m going out wearing this and getting clowned.”
This —a white T-shirt and black sweatpants—had become a uniform of sorts. An ensemble that gave an air of “I’m too cool to dress up” for Lion Camp. A look that definitely would not work for an off-campus party.
“So I’m just gonna chill until my new gear gets here,” Leo reasoned as he continued to stare at the floor. Because he most certainly was not being honest.
Again.
Scootie nodded. “Sorry to hear that, homie. I mean, you’re a little more swole than me.
Looks like you stay in the gym,” he teased, giving Leo’s chest a playful jab.
“But I got some joints that you might be able to rock until your stuff gets here. I mean, if you’re cool with that.
I know some folks be funny about wearing other people’s clothes. ”
“Word?” Leo asked. “Yo, that would be amazing ! And man, I got a bunch of cousins, and we stay wearing each other’s stuff so I’m cool with that. Besides, I’m in a real jam so whatever you got I’d be good.”
“Gotchu, dawg.” Scootie smiled as he fist-bumped Leo. “I’ll be right back.”
Leo had clothes. Plenty of clothes. His favorite clothes. It’s just that he wouldn’t get caught dead wearing anything that he wore back home anywhere on campus, let alone to a party.
Around 9 p.m. , Leo and Scootie left Young Hall, both decked out in oversized gear—Leo in FUBU and Scootie in Cross Colours—looking more like fraternal twins than two strangers becoming friends.
Leo closely watched how Scootie moved, and he tried to match his swagger and confidence.
Small groups of other students headed in the same direction.
The neighborhood where the party was being held was so close that it might as well have been on campus.
Leo felt like he’d stepped onto the set of a music video on BET’s Rap City, which seemed to be the only television programming in Young Hall.
Inside, the living room was even more packed than it looked from the outside.
Walking through the crowded space with Scootie was like being with the unofficial freshman mayor—Scootie knew everybody!
After every dude he dapped up and every girl he hugged, he made sure to introduce them to Leo even though it was nearly impossible to catch their names with all the chatter and music.
“You down with ‘O.P.P.’?” a man rapped through the speakers.
“Yeah, you know me!” everyone in the room shouted back.
Everyone in the room except Leo.
He tried to maintain his cool, like he was one of those men who didn’t sing along to songs no matter how popular they were.
Tried to pretend like he was hard, like he was the slightly reformed bad boy from one of Oklahoma’s toughest hoods like everyone thought he was.
But fronting wasn’t as easy as Leo thought it would be.
He started sweating. Then his heart started beating fast like it did when he was back home and…
Leo tried not to think about his life back home.
I gotta get out of here!
Anxious, he scanned the room filled with swaying bodies in search of an escape route. He could see the front door, but he couldn’t imagine wading through the vast sea of people to get there.
Breathe. Breathe.
Scootie was deep in conversation with a woman wearing baggy jeans and a bright green crop top that called attention to her toned abs.
Leo watched as Scootie gently moved her long hair away from her ear before he leaned in and whispered something that made her smile.
Leo hated to interrupt but he tapped Scootie on the shoulder and mouthed that he’d be right back.
He made a beeline toward the kitchen. Students were gathered around the marble island littered with a few half-eaten bags of potato chips and several pitchers filled with colorful concoctions.
“Nupe Juice, jungle juice, or omega oil?” an upperclassman asked as he held up an empty red Solo Cup.
“What?” Leo mumbled. “Oh, no. I’m good. I…I had some earlier.”
As soon as Leo opened the sliding glass doors and stepped out onto the deck, he felt his body relax. Even though there were a lot of people outside, the crowd was much smaller than inside. He walked off the deck into the lush green grass of the backyard and took a deep breath of fresh air.
Now this was more his speed.
“Nice to know I’m not the only one who’s not drinking the Kool-Aid,” a soft voice said.
Leo turned around to see who had walked up behind him, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.
It was her.