ODDS OF LOVE SEASON TWELVE

Episode 26

Faith Lane had not been in school or a classroom since her old police academy days. Of course she was a lot younger than she was now. She had been just out of high school. Eighteen actually. Mama was still alive and married to Sam and they were living in Largo. DuBuis was twenty one and a college senior at GWU. And Sylvia was twenty at NYU while newly engaged to rookie cop Malcom Moore. She still remembered her mother and brother's disapproval over her joining the force. Her sister's looking down at her for wanting to be a cop even as she was head over ashy heels for a cop. She remembered the camaraderie between herself and the other academy students. She remembered feeling like she belonged there.

But as she walked the long winding path on the large sprawling private college in Greenbelt she didn't feel like she belonged. She actually felt like she was lost. And alone.

Lost and alone in a sea of too young to life untried faces that saw her and turned away with smirks and rolled eyes. Even though the admission staff bragged about their small number of " nontraditional students" on and off campus, mostly off , she didn't see anyone who looked remotely like herself there. In a ocean wave of giggling , hoverboard riding , scooter gliding , school hoodie wearing, colorful , heavily pierced and tattooed young people she seemed like the mother who had gotten lost visiting her kid. Or grandmother, she mentally snorted as she entered the large lecture room with her handheld wheeled bookbag. In the past she would have headed for the back of the classroom but this time she actually wanted to learn this time around instead of just coasting by on secret weed and midnight study sessions before tests in high school.

As she settled in her seat and began to take her laptop out of the backpack the short round White girl next to her with the red and green dyed hair and numerous ear and nose rings glanced at her with a lot of shock. She blinked her big brown eyes at Faith. " Are you the teacher or aide or something? ," the girl asked as she popped open a tall can of an energy drink called Zam and took a long greedy swallow.

Faith swallowed a groan and tried to smile. "No. I'm a student. Freshman. First semester here. Faith Lane. Education major. "

The girl looked amused. " Yeah. My mom took pottery classes too when I went to college. I'm Kit Keller. Freshman. Which is kinda sexist. I mean freshman; really ? What about freshperson ? Anyway My Aunt Kris and my mom want me to major in education too but I'm studying psychology and political science with a minor in history. I'm running for president of the SGA. There's a couple of open senate seats. You should run. We could use your..... experience and years. I live on campus in West Hall. It's all girl which is good because men are just a distraction. Though so are girls really. I'm gender neutral by the way. My pronouns are they and them. "

Faith looked at Kit. She now thought she had landed in Oz or Wonderland or something. " How many energy drinks do you drink a day?"

Kit laughed. " Not enough. My dad the doctor hates it. He thinks they're dangerous. I tell him my getting less than all a's is the real dangerous thing. I have a very high IQ by the way. Not as high as Dr. Spencer Norland - Lane. He's the highest ever. In this country. He's also my hero. Which is also a sexist word. I heard him lecture once. He was amazing. I hear he is retired now. "

Faith wanted to really laugh now as she opened up the baggie of chocolate chip cookies Joy had given her before she left for classes. " Ironic. He's my brother in law. My brother DuBuis is his husband. "

That impressed Kit. " Fire. You're lucky. We're both lucky to get into this sociology 101 class. The professor is so good and has written ten books on race relations and gender relations. Her classes usually fill up fast. "

Faith looked up, and, in mid cookie crunch glanced at the front of the classroom where a tall slender Black woman with perfect coal black skin and a small tidy afro walked into the class.

What the hell......

Faith nearly dropped the cookies as she stared at her once upon a time ex girlfriend Dr. Ada Abara.

Well , she silently groaned , this was going to be interesting.

Then she felt her phone vibrate in her jeans pocket. She pulled it out discreetly. Text from Joy.

Joy : Faith, I just got a call from Richard. That poor man can't catch a break. I swear. Nigel was attacked and stabbed in their house. He's at St. Paul. They don't think it looks good. Jas and I are heading to the hospital to see if we can help the family.