Bridge of Graffiti

One

"Cal...Calvin...CALVIN!" I jolted awake to see my roommate Shelton staring at me.

"You fell asleep drooling on your homework again, bruh." He said as I noticed he was walking in.

I rubbed my face hard before taking my homework and throwing it in the trash.

I looked down to see my school shirt wasn't buttoned right.

"Fuck this homework." I said before standing up and going to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water.

Shelton was staring in the doorway of our dorm room while I was staring at my own eyes. My pupils were huge and I didn't understand why I was tired even with my energy pills.

"I hate to bother you, but your girl was asking about you." Shelton said to me. I wiped my face.

"What girl? Natalie?" I asked him.

"Mmhmm. She really thinks you two have something going." I rolled my eyes and threw the towel at him.

"We don't have anything going on. She just wants to do something for my birthday, but I'm going home for my birthday this year. I wanna see my mom." I said to him before sitting on my bed and running my face some more.

"I thought you weren't fond of your mom." Shelton said sitting next to me. I picked my head up to stare at him. I probably looked like a serial killer.

"My mom has cancer, bruh. She's the only family I got. If I lose her, I ain't got nobody. If worst comes to worst, I'll live with my big brother or something." I said before holding my face in my hands.

"Wait, she forreal has cancer?" Shelton asked.

"Yes! Damn, I've been telling you for months she has cancer. She's going to die! Wouldn't be shocking if she dies on my birthday. You know, my dad died the day I was born in a car crash." I said.

Shelton was staring at me. He was only my roommate and I always had a problem over sharing. I don't know why...no one really cared anyway.

"I'm sorry, bruh. When are you leaving?" He asked.

"As soon as this semester is over. I gotta call my brother and see if he can come get me." I said standing up and walking to my closet. Shelton stood.

"Let me go tell Natalie to go find something else to do. Are you ever going to come back?" Shelton asked as I grabbed some clothes.

"Hell no. I'll go back to public school before I ever walk back into this place." I said confidently.

Shelton leaned against his dresser and stared at me.

"Let's see, you got expelled from Hackensack for fighting. You got expelled from Sudbury for...what was it?"

I rolled my eyes before replying, "I showed up high to school. I don't need my own history lesson from you. I might call my brother to see if he can get me out early. I have an excuse to go."

I threw my clothes into my large suitcase.

"Just leave me be, Shelton. I gotta think." I told him.

Shelton left the room and as soon as he did, I popped a couple more energy pills. It was the only way I could stay awake for now. They helped me focus and stay awake...and hopefully would make me sleep better later. In the time I was awake, I was packing everything I could into my suitcase. I was sweating like crazy despite the fact it snowing for the fourth time this week. I was alone in this dorm, there was no one else here. That's how it's always been and I was prepared for it to always be like this.

When I was done packing, I went downstairs to the dorm office.

"Hi, can I use the phone?" I asked the office clerk. She knew what it was for and we were allowed a call home every day. I was allowed to go into the room with the phone for privacy and I called my older brother Arnie. He was seventeen, almost eighteen and had dropped out of school to help mom. He was adopted just like I was. I held the phone to my ear feeling my hand shaking as I could hear the ringing.