College Boy : A Novel (9781416586500) (27 page)

“Lot of people, ain't it, Troy?” Karen asked him.

“Naw, not really. I just don't feel like standin' in no lines.”

She smiled. “Tell me something new.”

After Troy didn't respond, Karen felt concerned.

“What's wrong? Did you have a bad day or something?”

“Yup,” he pouted.

Karen chuckled, disclosing her chinky eyes and her beautiful smile. Having seen her smile at least a hundred times before, Troy still got a chill down his spine, loving how pretty she was. He felt proud of himself for having her.

“Yup, all my buddies need education,” he alluded.

“Oh, is that it? You've been preaching again, hunh?” Karen asked, grinning at him. “You always gotta have people see things your way. Come on, they're all gone now.”

She stood with her bag and headed for the table.

“Do you think I'm wrong?” Troy asked her, moving up to the desk and getting out his I.D.

“No, but you have to understand that some things take time to happen,” Karen explained. “Just because you've become conscious doesn't mean everyone else has.”

“Yeah, but it's gon' have to happen sooner or later.” Unfortunately, an old White woman, whom Troy didn't like too much, was the nighttime monitor. She irritated him every time he went to sign someone in.

“Come on now, dear, get out your I.D. I don't have all day, and other people are waiting,” the woman said to Karen, who was searching through her pocket book. “Do you have an I.D. card with you?” the woman persisted.

Troy gritted his teeth, giving the woman an evil eye.

“Come on, come on,” the woman repeated impatiently. “She's getting the shit out, OK! Damn!” Troy shouted, no longer able to suppress his anger.

Karen finally pulled out her I.D.

“You don't have to display an attitude and use profanity young man,” the old woman said.

Troy was unleashed. “
What?
Well look, you ain't gotta be rushing her!” he screamed through the glass window.

White couples behind them looked on with astonishment, as if it was unheard of to argue with the dormitory monitor. To make things worse, a White resident accidentally bumped into Karen as he got off the elevator.

Troy shoved him to the side. “Ay', yo, cuz, you better watch where the hell you walkin'! You 'bout to get punched in your damn jaw!”

“Jesus Christ, man! What did I do?”

Troy attempted to launch a mob of fists, but Karen quickly grabbed him onto the elevator. And like throwing kerosene on a house fire, a White girl smiled at him.

“What the fuck are you smiling at?”
Troy shouted in disdain. “I'm tired of you fake-ass White people! Gon' smile at me for no reason!”

No one dared to speak a word on the elevator as Karen covered her face and looked to the floor. Fortunately, Troy only lived on the fourth floor.

“Yo! Public Enemy!”
Doc hollered down the hall. Karen asked Troy what Doc was referring to as soon as they arrived at his room.

“Don't worry about that. He's just jokin' around,” Troy told her.

She walked inside and stood at the door after closing it.

Troy turned and wondered what she was doing as he kicked off his shoes. “What the hell? Are you modeling now, or are you gonna take your coat off?”

Karen simply stared. “You know, Troy, you can't go around flaring off like that. That was extremely embarrassing.” She then unbuttoned her coat. “And I thought you said you was gon' stop cursing.”

“Shit, I'm fuckin' trying, Karen! But I can't help it when I get mad!”

“OK, that's it!” Karen snapped. She tugged her coat back on and reached for the doorknob.

Troy rushed over to her. “OK, OK, OK. It's my fault and I need to learn to control my mouth and my actions, but I love you and you can't leave me or I'll kill myself,” he said, grinning and grabbing her hands. He placed them around his waist and held her at the door. “I need you more than anything in the world. You can't leave. Without you, I would have fallen to pieces months ago.”

“But you don't listen to me, Troy, and I'm sick and tired of trying to tell you things.”

“I know, I know,” he said, just holding her there.

After a few minutes, he finally got her to hang her coat inside the closet. Karen wore a red, yellow, and green plaid skirt, a green turtleneck, and green stockings.

“Well, don't you look colorful and green today,” Troy teased.

“If you don't like it, I can go back home,” Karen responded with a smile. She kicked off her black shoes and pounced onto the sofa next to Troy's desk.

“So where's the books?” he asked her.

“They're in my bag,” Karen told him. “You thought I was gon' forget them again? I said I would bring 'em this time.” She got up and fell across his bed, stretching out like a cat.

“Dag, this is a big book,” Troy said, taking one from her bag. “I wish I could scan it and have all the information in my mind already.”

Karen playfully rolled her eyes at him. “You silly, you know that?”

“So why you love me, then?” Troy quizzed, thinking he had caught her off guard.

At first Karen just laughed, but then she answered him. “Because you remind me of my father,” she responded, turning the tables and catching him off guard.

“Hmm, that's a new one. No girl ever told me that before.”

Karen grinned seductively. “If I can have it my way, no other girl will ever have you either.”

Troy was excited on the inside but remained calm on the outside. Karen's boldness was a major reason for him liking her so much. All he could do was smile, reflecting his comfort and trust in her as he cuddled up beside her on the bed. Karen covered them both with his heavy quilt blanket.

“Karen?”

“Hunh,” she husked, sounding tired.

“I got two weeks till finals, and then a semester to go before I'm outta here,” Troy told her. “I came to this White school like a fool, and it changed my entire life.”

He stared up at the ceiling as he continued. “Had I known I would have come across all this racism here, I would have gone straight to Harriet Tubman. Then again, maybe all of this was for a greater purpose.”

The room got quieter, it seemed, with each word he spoke; and Troy began to tell his story from day one, freshman year, to a wise and beautiful companion whom he had grown to love.

T
ROY ' S CHATTER TO
K
AREN , REMINISCING ON ALL HE HAD
learned and how much he had changed in only a year of college, put him in a deep sleep. His peaceful rest was abruptly ended in the middle of the night.

Bloomp bloomp bloomp bloomp bloomp.

“Open up! It's the campus police!”

Bloomp bloomp bloomp.

“Hey, kid, you're 'bout to be heading downtown if you're not out here in two seconds!”

The sudden disturbance awoke Troy. Karen followed suit.

“Aw, Karen, I don't believe this. That old White lady must of called the cops on me.”

Troy struggled from his bed to open the door. Outside in the hallway stood the Black security guard and four White police officers from Marsh County. The officers all wore black leather jackets, black hats, black nightsticks, black leather boots, and shining silver-and-gold badges. The security guard wore only a dark blue uniform with sewn-on cloth labels for identification.

“You got some kind of a problem, son?” the first White officer asked. He stared into Troy's face to see if he could provoke him. He was heavyset and tall, reminding Troy of the riot control police in Philadelphia.

Troy was familiar with being questioned by officers throughout his childhood and he remained perfectly calm.

“What are you looking at, kid? Do you want me to bust your head open?” the officer challenged.

Troy looked to the Black security guard. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Well, the front desk monitor said that one of the kids had an attitude problem,” the security guard answered meekly. It was apparent he no longer had any authority in the situation.

“Look, I oughta run you down to the precinct. Now, when the lady tells you to do something, you do it, and with no back talk,” the first White officer demanded. The three others just stared, waiting.

Troy remained poised until the heat cooled off.

“Next time you do just what the lady says,” the Black guard suggested.

Troy looked at him with a sly smile.

“Yeah, well I tell you what, he better do what she says,” a second, thinner officer interjected. They then walked to the elevator down the hall, and Troy returned to his room.

“You believe that, Karen? They called all them cops up here for one student. They really trying to keep us in check up here,” he said.

“Yup, the cops are always beating people up in this city, especially if you're Black,” Karen told him. She dropped her head back into the pillow.

“What time is it?” Troy asked before looking. “Dag, it's only two o'clock, Karen. I thought I was sleeping for days.”

“I was just happy that you finally shut up and went to sleep.”

“What, I bored you?”

“No, you had an important story to tell, but I was just too tired to be listening, that's all.”

“Yeah, well now you know how it happened to me.”

Karen smiled and closed her eyes for some much needed sleep.

 

After signing Karen out that Saturday morning, Troy maintained a high level of racial annoyance and hostility. Anything could trigger an outburst if he was provoked. White students never failed in making him flip. Nevertheless, he had to remain focused to complete one more semester at State U.

He headed toward the main cafeteria for breakfast. To enter the cafeteria, student employees would check identification cards for a meal plan. Most of the students would simply run the card through the electronic device. Few looked at the pictures; it was tedious and very time-consuming.

Most of the student employees were White. However, a Black student, whom Troy had known since freshman year, was on duty.

“Hey, what's up, Troy?” he asked.

“Nothin' much, George.”

Troy gave up his card on the go, expecting to get it right back. George flipped it over to check his photo and slowed him up.

“Ay', George, what chew do that for, man?”

“I have to check I.D.'s. It's my job.”

Troy gave George an evil eye. “Aw, man, you've seen me come in on other weekends. I don't see dem White people checkin' for the picture,” he argued. He was causing another stir as White students looked on from behind. But George withheld a response as Troy went in to get his food.

He spotted Matthew sitting by himself. “Yo, Mat. I can't seem to catch up with you at all, cuz,” he commented, sitting down to join him.

“I've been studying at the library,” Matthew quickly responded.

“Cool, man. But I need help studying chemistry.”

Matthew nodded while forcing down a mouthful. “Aw'ight. But I want you to know that I got other finals to study for. And I always study a week in advance,” he informed Troy.

“Well, just get with me when you study chemistry,” Troy said, pressed about the lab exam. “Don't they put all the sections together for the final?”

“Of course, man,” Matthew snapped.

Troy decided to ignore it. “Ay', Mat, you know George?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, that goofy dude think I'm trying to get over with my meal plan.”

“What did he do?”

“I was in a hurry, right, like I always am, and he's gon' turn my card over to look at the picture.”

Matthew chuckled. “That's his job, man.”

“So what? It ain't like he don't know me. He acts like he's gonna get whipped if he don't check I.D.'s or something.”

Matthew thought Troy's complaint was trivial. “Yo, man, you be gettin' into that race stuff too much,” he alluded.

Troy sighed. “Yeah, maybe I oughta cool down about that until I can get outta here. But hell, I've calmed down a lot already,” Troy said. “This White environment is making me run around in circles.”

Matthew leaned over the table to whisper to him. “When I was young, this White boy called my mom a black bitch, and I kicked his ass,” he said, chuckling to himself. He then leaned back to speak aloud. “Yeah, but I'm cool with White people now.”

Troy wanted to say something about the whispering. It annoyed the hell out of him! Yet he needed Matthew's help for the final and he didn't want to hurt his feelings, so he kept it to himself.

 

Troy studied all day after breakfast and then after dinner. He was taking his finals seriously. His application to Harriet Tubman University had already been sent off and he could not wait until his final term was completed.

Bloomp bloomp bloomp.

“Yo, Troy! Walk to the video shop with me, man.”

“Who is it?” Troy shouted from his desk.

“It's Demetrius.”

“Aw'ight, hold up.”

He got up and grabbed his coat and hat from the closet for the bitter cold. He opened the door and Demetrius was all ready to go. “Dag, cuz. It musta gotten colder, hunh, Meat?”

“Yeah, man, it's freezin' out dere. I don't see how them White people can do it,” Demetrius said, walking toward the elevator.

When they got downstairs to the lobby, Clay was waiting for them. “Oh, Mr. Transfer is going with us,” he said with a smile.

“Like Public Enemy said, ‘Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude,' “ Troy responded with a smile. They walked outside to begin their cold evening journey.

“Watch, Troy gon' go up there with all the girls and probably end up failing,” Clay predicted.

“My girl is goin' there with me. And she's the only woman I need.”

Clay frowned with doubt. “You say that now, but it's a lot more pretty girls up there. I mean, we got nothin' compared to Tubman.”

Demetrius nodded. “I know, man. You could have, like, five girls up there and they probably won't even know each other.”

Troy sucked his teeth. “All y'all thinking about is the girls. I'm thinking about gettin' more out of college. It's gon' be Black people from all over the country there.”

They ran across Charleston Street in their rush to the video store while still conversing on the way.

“I'm tellin' you, Troy. Go on down there and have fun, and watch I get a job over you. I'd rather get C's at State U. than get A's at a Black college, 'cause they don't get no respect,” Clay said.

Demetrius looked at him as if he were a lunatic.

“Man, you going crazy now. I'd get straight A's at
Shit
State and come out the man! Fuck what you sayin'!”

Troy laughed helplessly. “I can't even believe he said that. That just shows how brainwashed he is. That's why I can't wait to get outta' this school,” he mentioned.

 

They finally arrived at the video store and began looking through different titles. Most of the Black films were placed on the shelves toward the back of the shop. Troy was still in a race-conscious mood. Yet he remained calm about it.

“Ay', Troy, look how they got the Black movies all the way in the back,” Demetrius said, instigating.

Clay chuckled and nudged Demetrius in his ribs. “Come on, man, don't get him started.”

Troy just shook his head, tired of it all.

“Look at all these dumb movies they put Blacks in. And we always be in the ghetto and shit,” Demetrius tacked on. He and Clay shared a laugh. Still, Troy was unprovoked.

As they searched the shelves, Troy noticed the many titles where women of color were seduced by White men. He was overwhelmed by their numbers. It was something worth speaking on.

“Ay', man, you ever notice how White guys always get a jungle girl in their movies? A Black guy never gets a White girl,” he shared with Clay, who was closer to him. However, he spoke loudly enough for the surrounding customers to hear.

Demetrius and Clay started to snicker as Troy continued:

“They always get the island woman, the Asian woman, the African woman. That's pitiful, man. And we gotta kiss ass or be a fuckin' star to get with their White women.”

“Dig, man,” Demetrius agreed. “The only movie where a black dude got a White girl is
Mandingo
. And they roasted his ass.”

“That's probably how they started porno movies, from rapin' slave women,” Troy suggested.

Clay and Demetrius laughed again.

“Ay', Troy, cuz, cool out, man,” Clay told him.

“Aw man, shut up. You scared of White people,” Troy rebutted. He turned and stared at a middle-aged White man, who turned his head to avoid a confrontation. “Tell y'all the truth, I'm 'bout to just Rambo some White people,” he warned aloud.

“That's it, cuz. You gonna get us rushed in here,” Clay whispered. He was serious, too, but Troy didn't care.

“Yeah, whatever,” he snapped. “I know White people think we loud and violent, but what we ever do to them? They messed the whole world up, but now they the nice ones,” Troy shared with everyone who cared to listen.

None of the video store members dared to respond.

The young man appeared to be losing his sanity.

Clay and Demetrius quickly trotted away from him.

“Troy's goin' crazy,” Clay uttered.

Demetrius agreed. “I know, man. He's a brick-ass nigga.”

They giggled as Troy wandered over to the front counter. He looked down and read it, right in front of the counter as people walked in. Black customers walked right past it and didn't say anything. Troy read it five times, making sure he wasn't imagining. Clay and Demetrius then stepped up to the counter to rent the movies they had chosen. They were still laughing, considering Troy crazy, and yet they missed it. But the sticker was right there in front of them.

“Yo, Demetrius, read that out loud,” he said, pointing to the sticker at the front desk.

“ ‘If your children are unattended, they will be captured and sold as slaves.' “ Demetrius was shocked. Clay read it too, before they left.

“Now, y'all still think I'm overexaggerating about this race shit?” Troy asked them both. “White people think that shit is funny. But any Black person who laughs at that needs help.”

“Dig, man. That shit is out!” Demetrius exclaimed. “Why didn't you say something about it, or tear it down or something?”

Troy hunched his shoulders. “What difference does it make? If other Black people walk right past it and don't say nothin', then they would just call me crazy for sayin' somethin', like y'all do.”

“Man, they couldn't put no sign up in Philly like that. Black people in our city would tear that store down. Wouldn't they, Troy?” Clay asked.

Troy was hesitant. “I don't know anymore, man. Black people are just a big disappointment to me. That's why I gotta get out of this environment. I can't emphasize it enough.”

Troy went on to tell his college friends something else. “Four White cops tried to intimidate me last night for some dumb shit,” he revealed.

“What did you do?” Clay asked him, smiling.

“That's typical of a nigga to ask,” Troy snapped.

“What did I do, right? What about asking me what happened, instead of assuming that I did something already? Anyway, I told that White lady off at the front desk for disrespecting my girl.”

Clay said nothing. He simply grinned, heading back to the dorms.

“Yo, man, you just gotta learn to be cool,” Demetrius said to Troy.

“Yeah, well that's easier said than done when you're a warrior. This school is driving me crazy. I gotta get the fuck out of here!”

 

Back inside his room, Troy thought about the present state of Black consciousness. His deep thoughts inhibited him from concentrating on his studies. As he wrangled to free his mind of unnecessary mental stress, his friend Peter walked in on him.

“What's up, my brother?”

Bruce and Scott walked in behind him.

“Yo, y'all better knock next time,” Troy commented playfully. He was more than happy to have pleasant company.