CHAPTER 4
TOSHA
The buttered iron skillet sizzled as I carefully flipped my grilled cheese sandwich. My mouth watered as I watched the cheese melt gracefully.
\”Girl, what you got cooking up in here?\” Niecy, my roommate, spoke as she walked through our apartment door. She\’d just come back from her eight a.m. class.
I turned to her while putting the stovetop temperature on a low setting as I knew she would distract me once she smelled my food.
Meet Niecy Coleman. Niecy and I shared the student apartment that Dean Dr. Walker helped house me in. She was going to school for nursing. We were in our junior year of university, and although I had moved in not too long ago, Niecy and I got along great. She was from the south side of Ridgeport, living in the same area in which I resided with my father. All in all, becoming her new roommate was a match made in heaven.
Niecy was about 5\’8 with wide hips and a bodacious body. People always assumed we were sisters with the slight similarities we shared, the only difference being that I was shorter and probably a bit chubbier in the face. Although we shared similar physical attributes, we differed majorly in our styles. While I resorted to graphic t-shirts and jeans, Niecy always dressed up. She loved flowy tank tops, patterned rompers, and even dresses.
Today she wore a floral dress with sandals to match. Her hair was styled in neat box braids pulled into a low ponytail. With her bag dangling on her shoulder with books in her hand, a bright smile rested on her face, showcasing her colored braces.
She sniffed the air dramatically, causing me to shake my head at her foolery. \”Hmm! Is that cheese I smell?\” She asked.
She dropped her bag and books on our sofa, made her way to me, and rested her chin on the crook of my shoulder. \”I only see one sandwich; you haven\’t started grilling mine yet?\” She sang into my ear.
I pushed her head off my shoulder and flicked the air.
\”You\’re like an annoying mosquito that won\’t leave a room,\” I said to her jokingly.
Reaching for the microwave, I revealed a crisp sandwich with a cup of soup already portioned out for her. She grinned, doing a little dance as she accepted her lunch. \”Oh, Tosha, girl, I don\’t know how I would survive without you in my life.\”
I laughed at her dance. \”Yeah, yeah, I know. Remember this later when you\’re buying my Christmas gifts at the end of the semester.\”
\”Gifts?\” She questioned, emphasizing the plural form.
I nodded to her. \”Yup, gifts.\”
She snorted, taking her meal and plopping down on our sofa.
\”What\’s this?\” She asked.
Glancing over, I saw my bag resting on our coffee table. My bag was open, allowing the yellow flyer that Jasmine gave me to poke through. She kicked her feet up and leaned back with her meal in her lap, taking the booklet in one hand. \”The dance squad is having a party on Friday?\” She questioned.
I focused my attention back on my grilled cheese. \”Yeah, I believe so.\”
\”How\’d you get this? You never told me you knew folks from the dance squad.\”
I took my sandwich off the skillet and plated it. \”I don\’t. Supposedly I know a dancer\’s sister. She gave me the invite.\”
Instead of sitting next to Niecy on the sofa, I opted for the bean bag chair adjacent to her.
\”Hmm,\” She eyed the flyer while I stuffed my face with my hot sandwich.
\”Well, since you didn\’t throw it out, you thinkin\’ about going?\”
