Consequences

10

Nic sipped on a coke as she attempted to understand her Shakespeare assignment. She wiped the sweat off of her head.
"You look stressed."
Larissa laughed.
"It's not that serious.
"That's easy for you to say. I can't get through this shit,"
Nic said.
"OK, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There are movies of Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and Midsummer's Night Dream. Rent them and watch them. Maybe then you can make it through the book better?"
"You think he will know if I only watch the movie?"
Nic said.
"Hell, yeah, he will."
Larissa laughed.
"He asks questions that they don't discuss in the movie. Shit. Where the hell is my man?"
"Oh, Thomas is on his way?"
Nic said.
"How are y'all doing?"
"It's all good. Let me go wait for him outside."
"T'll walk with you."
Nic stood and packed her books. Larissa looked at Nic as she opened the cafeteria door for her.
"Nic, you know you are a true gentleman. You act more like a man than half of the men I know."
"Umm, OK. Is that a good thing?"
Nic laughed.
"Yeah, it is. You do the little things. You open doors, pull out chairs. I can't get Thomas to open a door for me. Hell, I bet if there was a puddle you would put your jacket over it."
"Naaa, I'm not fuckin" up my clothes. If it's that seri-ous, I'd just pick you up."
Nic smiled.
"See, that's what I'm talking about. If you were a man, you would be fucking perfect."
"Aww, thanks, but seriously I'm not. I just believe in letting women be women. I guess a lot of men forget that women are supposed to be treated with pure respect."
Larissa smiled.
"I know Zaria isn't going anywhere. She is a lucky girl. Well, let me go. See you later, Nicole."
Nic waved good-bye. She sighed. She only wished Zaria could see her the way other women did.

"OK, are you all ready?"
Fantasia yelled from out of the dressing room. Zaria and Armani let her know to come out. Fantasia stepped out the dressing room. It was her final fitting and she was now completely flawless. Zaria and Armani were speechless. Tears began to form in Zaria's eyes.
"Zaria, don't start,"
Fantasia said.
"What, girl? You look so beautiful. I am going to be no good at your wedding. I already know it,"
Zaria said, wiping the tears from her face. Fantasia turned around and looked at herself in the mirror.
"One month. One month till my wedding."
Fantasia took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror again. She felt butterflies starting to form in her stomach.
"Actually, it's only twenty-four days,"
Armani corrected as she smiled at Fantasia.
"And I have planned the best bachelorette party. Exams will be over on that Thursday, and we are going to party all night long!"
They all laughed.
"Oh, my goodness, look at my baby."
The girls turned around to see Fantasia's mother, Kelsey, standing in the door. She walked up and hugged Fantasia.
"Mom, I didn't think you were supposed to be here for another two weeks,"
Fantasia said, still in shock at seeing her mother.
"Oh, I decided I needed to be here with my baby. Oh, you look so beautiful, but -"
Kelsey looked at the dress on Fantasia. She snapped for an attendant.
"Look right here, it is missing a bead."
Fantasia, Armani and Zaria looked down at the dress.
"Mrs.King, how did you spot that?"
Armani said, surprised at the small defect Kelsey noticed.
"Oh, sweetie, it's called a trained eye. Everything needs to be completely perfect for my baby's wedding, so I am going to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb."
Fantasia headed back into the dressing room to change.
"Mother, it's not that serious. That's why I hired wedding planners."
"Wedding planners are there to assist. You are to make sure that everything is perfect. It's your day, after all,"
Kelsey corrected, grabbing Fantasia's wedding dress out of the dressing room. She handed it to the attendant.
"I expect you all to go back over this dress thoroughly. If I see any mistakes, there will be hell to pay."
Kelsey walked back over to Armani and Zaria.
"So, ladies, how are your dresses?"
"Absolutely beautiful. We already had our final alterations,"
Zaria replied
"Great. Well, if you don't mind, can I have a few minutes alone with my daughter?"
"Sure. We will head over to the restaurant and get a table. See you soon, Tasia."