"My baby is a college man now!" My ma exclaimed as she looked around my room, trying to get a feel of where I'm living at now since I moved out of their house to live in a college dorm.
I sighed softly then crossed my arms over my chest.
"Ma, we've been over this. I can still come see you and pops during the holidays. Besides, the college is only two hours away from your house." I assured her.
My ma walked back over to me and looked up at me with tear filled eyes. My ma stood at five foot seven, just two inches shorter than me, but she still has to look up at me. She has the same caramel skin color that I have and she has beautiful long raven black hair that reaches her shoulders. She was a nice looking woman that looked like she could be my sister almost. I've always looked up to my ma because she always gave me good advice about handling certain situations. She raised me to not swing at someone first unless they swing first and she raised me to not deal with drugs and alcohol because since I'm entering college on a basketball scholarship, it would ruin my chances of becoming a bigger athlete so that's why I swore that I would never give into peer pressure when it comes to drugs and alcohol.
"You know your mom's just looking out for you. This is the first time that you'll be away from us." My pops told me.
I then rolled my eyes. "I get it, ya'll, but I'm not a baby anymore. I'm already eighteen which means I'm legally a young adult now." I noted.
My pops has also been the type of man to always tell me to be the man in any relationship and to never back down and give up when things become too hard. My pops has always been there for me when I got interested in playing basketball. He would always encourage me to try out for basketball teams at my schools and always practiced with me on the weekends. I definitely don't know what I'll do without them.
Then, my ma unfolded my arms and held my hands in her warm, soft hands. She looked me in the eyes and smiled softly.
"I remember when you were just a baby," She started.
I softly groan. "Ma, you're gonna start this? Now?"
My ma then chuckled and patted my hands.
"You're right. You need to unpack and get settled." She said then let go of my hands and wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.
"Give us a call alright? I want to know how you're doing." She said.
"Alright, Elaine. Let's give Terry some space. He needs to unpack. Oh, and Terry, don't forget to meet with your basketball coach when you have time alright?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I gotcha, pops." I said as my mom let go of me and smiled warmly at me before turning to my dad.
"Guess we should go, Robert." She said.
"Alright, bye, son and don't get into any trouble." My pops said as he and my ma started to head out of my room.
"Wait, I'll walk you guys to your car." I quickly said then jogged after them.
When we reached the parking lot, I walked my parents over to their car then opened up the passenger door for my ma.
"Thank you, Terry and be safe. Give us a call when you're not busy." She said as she got into the car.
"I will. Take care." I said then watched as they got situated and my pops started up the car. I then waved goodbye to them as they pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.
After a minute, I turned and looked up at the school building, still not believing that I'm a college freshman now.
"Though, it's good to be out of the house and on my own now." I mumbled to myself with a soft smile then I headed into the building.
When I made it back to my room, I opened up the door and when I stepped inside, I saw a random guy looking through a bookbag. He quickly looked at me once I entered the room then he smiled.
"Hey, roomie." He greeted.
I stood there, staring at him. "Uh...hey, man. Wassup?" I asked.
The guy was my height and looked a little nerdy. He was also pretty skinny which made him look a little like a stick since he's tall. Overall, he looked a little weird and I wasn't sure what to feel about the guy being my roommate.
"Nuttin much. Just unpacking the last of my things." He said then set his bookbag down on the floor by his bed then he sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at me, smiling.
"Guess we're roomies now. I'm Darrell. You?" He asked, holding out his hand.
I stood there, hesitating as I stared at his hand then I sighed and took it into my hand and shook it firmly.
"Terry. Terry Palmer." I introduced myself then let go of his hand and grabbed my suitcases. I put them on my bed and started to unpack them.
"Cool. Since we're both freshman, how many classes do you have?" He asked.
"Just three. I'm here on a basketball scholarship and they wanted me to get some sort of education here instead of just playing ball. I was a little annoyed at the fact, but knew I had no choice. You?" I asked.
"Lucky. I've got five, but they're all on different days and at different times. So, you play basketball huh? I'm not much of a basketball player. People at my old high school said I should play ball because I'm tall, but I could never keep the ball in my hands, y'know?"
I nodded. "Mhmm. I know. That stereotype is pretty stupid." I said.
As I continued to make conversation with Darrell, I realized that he's actually a pretty cool dude. Nerdy, but cool. I'm glad because I feared of getting a roommate that I wasn't going to get along well with at all. I finally finished unpacking and set my suitcases in the closet just when Darrell asked me a personal question.
"So, got a girlfriend?" He asked.
I sat down on my bed and faced him then shook my head. Since both of our beds are sitting right next to the wall, it's easy for us to sit down and face each other. In the back of the room is a computer desk with a desktop computer, the closet is on the left side of it on my side of the room and the dresser and other things are on the other wall near Darrell's side.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Nah. I don't swing that way."
His comment suddenly got me questioning. Did he mean he wasn't interested in dating? Or just not interested in dating girls in general? The look on my face musta showed what I was thinking because Darrell smiled.
"I know what you're thinking and yes, I'm gay. I hope that's not a problem."
I blinked my eyes after realizing that I was probably looking like a deer caught in headlights then I rubbed the back of my head.
"Na...nah. I'm cool with you liking dudes. I was just...surprised is all." I admitted.
Darrell smiled and nodded. "I'm glad because not everybody is accepting." He admitted.
I nodded and smiled nervously. "Yeah. I bet..." I said, trailing off.
We both got quiet for a minute and just sat there, staring at each other. Well, actually I was staring at everything, but Darrell, but I could tell Darrell was staring at me, probably analyzing me. Then, he broke the silence.
"Hey, have you heard that there's going to be a freshman get together tonight in the freshman lounge?" He asked.
"Really?" I asked, feeling a little excited all of a sudden.
I might not drink and smoke, but I do love a good party with cute chicks.
"You wanna go? I heard it's going to be fun."
I shrugged, not really wanting to seem all excited to experience my first college party.
"Yeah. Why not? I ain't got anything else to do."
"Awesome. I need to pick out something to wear." He said then stood up and walked over to the drawers.
I smirked and shook my head as I watched Darrell look through his things. I don't mind Darrell being gay, but it's not like I've been around gay people before. Plus, it's going to take a little getting used to since I know Darrell might talk about how fine a guy is or something. Either way, I don't judge and all I care about right now is partying.
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