Novel Excerpt #1

 

As many of you know from previous posts, I have written a novel and a novella. Currently, I am in the process of trying to do self-editing on my novel and eventually publish these works.

The below is an excerpt taken from a Chapter 5 of this novel. Please read and comment below!

Taken from Chapter 5 of “untitled” Novel…

It was humid out. I thought about taking my little chair and sitting outside on the front walkway in front our suite, but not today. I decided it was best to stay in my room and try to get some more reading done for my Government 101 class before heading over for dinner. But the stories I had already made up in my head kept playing over and over. After reading for about 5 pages about Government and it’s history in America, I put down the book and got on my computer.

Maybe Xavier would be online on Instant Messenger and I could chat with him.  I knew anytime he turned on his computer it automatically signed him in to his account, but sometimes he didn’t turn his computer off and it just looked like he was online. I logged on and didn’t see that yellow happy face next to his name.

“Where the heck is he?!”

I was beginning to get that sick feeling in my stomach. The same one like when we had broken up before. Maybe it was all the excitement of the first day, maybe it was that I had to eat dinner soon because I was starving. I knew something wasn’t right and wanted to know why. I needed an explanation. He was not going to play me to the left again THIS time.

I tried not to think about it. Shoving all the negative thoughts to the back of my head. I, Melody Thomas was most certainly was not going to chase him. But forcing myself not to dial that number for me was like taking a deep breath and seeing how long you could your head under water. 

We had just started back dating four months ago and now this again. I was starting to feeling like a Yo-Yo. A toy. I most certainly didn’t like being toyed with. Being played with emotionally was the worst feeling.

“Damn!,” I said out loud.

It was too early in the school year to be havin’ drama already. I had to figure this thing out.

It was time to play Shirlock Homegirl!

As I dialed Kianna’s number, I shook my head.

“I don’t have time for this.”

If anyone had experience with guys and the games that they played it was Kianna.

“Hey what’s up,” Kianna replied on the other end.

“Hey girl”

“You haven’t seen Xavier today, have you?”

“Naw, but I saw his friend Mark earlier,” Kianna replied laughing.

“Dang you know Mark already?,” I chimed.

“Oh my goodness, everyone or excuse me every female know’s that fool by now. He was in one of my classes for orientation and was trying to holla at my roommate.”

I rolled my eyes. “He is always trying to spit game to some chick. He’s so full of it,” Natasha echoed.

“I know……I haven’t seen or heard from Xavier all day and I told you how he’s been playing me to the left. I don’t know if he’s trying to make me mad so I’ll dump him first or he’s about to dump me. I just wish he’d just do it instead of stringing me along again.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with him. He seems so sweet,” Kianna replied.

“Let’s go to dinner though, it’s about that time and I’m starving.” I looked at my clock and it read 5:30pm on the dot.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you over in the Student Union in about 5 mins,”I said. I hung up, still frustrated.

I guessed I was caring about Xavier too much. I was feeling distracted, unfocused and off my game. That wasn’t like me. I had to do something fast. But what? I didn’t want to let a relationship ruin my joy. My mother’s word echoed in her head about if I didn’t do good my first year.

“Girl, you are there for one reason and if you don’t do good your butt will be back home next year.”

Xavier knew how I was with my studies, he knew me. Sometimes lately though, it seemed it didn’t matter. After dinner and talking with Kianna, I still felt like I needed to clear my head a bit more. I came back to my room said, “Hey” to Elle who was watching yet another re-run on TV Land. I grabbed my green folding chair and walked back out the room.

As I proceeded to unfold my chair to sit on the walk way outside our suite door, I knew I was taking watch. Watching for him, Xavier Michael. I would see which direction he was coming from and certainly he had to come walking through the courtyard to get to B Hall, in which everyone had already name “Watts” or “Compton”. They said it’s where they had stuck all the kids from the ‘hood.

It had seemed that they had purposely stuck all of the kids from the inner city schools in one dorm. It had already been one fight over there in the courtyard between two girls during orientation. What the fight was over, I never really found out.

The dorms looked like three square shaped U’s. Some say they looked like the projects. They all had ugly beige colored thick metal doors with the Suite number stamped on the front in black letters.

However to get to B Hall from campus where all of the classroom buildings are you had to walk through a passage way and down a long side walk that split off into three pathways like a “Y”. So there was no getting past my dorm unless he took the long way around, which no one did unless coming from the dorm parking lot.

As I sat outside “observing”, “watching”,“waiting” I saw Anthony coming out of his room down the way. I hadn’t noticed, but he must have stayed just around the way from me three doors down.

As he passed he nodded his head and spoke a quick, “What’s up?” I stared and managed to whisper,“Hey” as he walked by. I looked, surprised that he even spoke to me.

Just then I felt my heart drop then flutter. Anthony was cute.

“I have a boyfriend, right?”, I whispered to myself.  And He’s Xavier’s friend.

My eyes followed Anthony as he passed me and jogged down the loud clanking metal staircase. I waited for a minute to see if he was going to visit someone downstairs, on the first floor were a bunch of girls rooms were too. Sure enough he appeared in front of the door to the farthest suite room downstairs at the end, 112. The door opened by itself and shut and my eyes scanned back onto the courtyard pathway.  

I heard two all too familiar laughs coming my direction and to my surprise there was Xavier and Mark walking toward B Hall laughing loud, slapping each others shoulders. My eyes eagerly followed them and I saw them go upstairs to the second floor in their building to the room just above them.

My heart started beating rapidly, as I forced myself to take a deep breath. I got up and moved further down the railing to see where they were going. I almost passed out trying to hold my breath and not say one of their names as they had passed by. I wanted to see where they were going and I got my answer. I thought I wanted to see if he was lying. But I didn’t brace myself for the way I would be feeling. My head was racing. I ran back inside to my room and grabbed my room phone to call Kianna.

What should I do, what should I do?

All I knew was to call anyone of my friends who would listen to me vent at that point.

She didn’t even wait for the phone to stop ringing, but I knew she would answer.

“Kianna, girl I got something to tell ya! I just saw Mark & Xavier go into the room above theirs and I know it’s an all girl’s room!”

“Oooooooh, I am soooo mad right now I’m shaking.” I whined.

“Breathe, girl, just breathe,” Kianna replied.

“Do you want me to go up there with you,” Kianna asked gently

I wasn’t sure Kianna had my back like that yet, but I  knew if she came with me it might be a fight. Kianna had been in several fights in Middle School and High School, but I didn’t want trouble like that. I just wanted to find out who she was.