me & tomfoolery

Enclosed | Jahan Dotson Short Story

"Bruh, why are they so loud?" Wynn groaned. It was 3 am on a Friday morning and she had class at 8. She knew the loud rumbling voices were her roommates, Terrance, Robert and Jahan.

Throwing the cover off her body, she trudges to the door, opening it wide. With deliberately long strides she makes it to the living room before they could think of finding the way to their rooms.

None of them acknowledged her as they didn't notice her presence in the first place.

"Are y'all fucking serious?"

The sudden change in atmosphere caught all three of the boys off guard. They had different expressions as they looked in her direction.

"WYNN! Good morning" Robert, the father of the group smiled.

"Ain't shit good about this morning since it's starting too early. Can y'all be mindful and keep it down? I have class in a few hours." Without another word, she retreated to her room and slamming her door.

The guys were a little less rambunctious than when they came in, but the damage had already been done. She laid awake until she knew they were tucked away in their own rooms. No point of going to sleep and then abruptly waking up to unexpected noises.

Jahan felt bad which caused him to check in on her. With a slight knock at the door, he awaited an invitation to enter. Wynn and Jahan seemed to have the most in common, but spent the least amount of time together due to his football schedule.

"Why are you bothering me?" She asked not even caring who was at the door.

"Wynn, can I come in?" He asked being cognizant of his noise level. He could hear her sigh on the other side of the white painted wooden door. With a few shuffles heading his way, he stepped back knowing the door would soon swing open.

She looked at him up and down before stepping to the side to allow him in. The lamp on her desk being the only illuminating light in the room. Jahan sat at the desk while she comfortably got back in bed

"Hey look, I'm sorry we came in loud. I didn't even realize how late it was." And that was true, it seemed like it was still early.

"Okay, well now I need to go back to sleep so that I won't miss my class".

"I'll make sure you won't miss it, just talk to me for a little. How was your day?"

Wynn sat up, at him wildly. The clock showing 3:47 am proved that her window for REM faded into the night. Jahan had the audacity, but it was such a bizarre ask that she wanted to indulge, even if that meant a bad start to her day. "It was fine Jahan. I went to bio lab and then Med Club for about an hour. Did some studying for the Psych exam this Friday. How was your day?"

"Honestly it was trash. That's why we went out in the first place."

"What happened?"

Jahan failed a pop quiz. In a class he already had declining grades. The professor had been trying with him, especially understanding the athlete in student-athlete. He just couldn't get it right.

"What class is it?"

"Bio".

Wynn had a flawless grade and lab score in Biology. It was one of her favorite subjects. She also needed it for her career which made being great at it, better.

"I can help you with that. You know that's my thing."

Jahan didn't like asking for help, he was embarrassed to talk about it and regretted asking her to talk. She picked up on his hesitation and wanted to salvage the moment they were sharing.

"You can think it over and get back to me. Right now I really need to go to sleep." She yawned for the third time in three minutes. Jahan understood and made his way to the door. "You want me to lock this?" He asked.

"No, cause you're gonna be my alarm in the morning Dotson."

Jahan up at 7 AM made his way to Wynn's room. He knocked first and waited until he heard movement. But Wynn didn't move an inch. She snuggled more into her plush purple blanket feeling comfort. He knew he would get cursed out for how rudely he needed to wake her, it would be even worse if he didn't. Wynn never skipped a class. Turning the nob of her door, Jahan walked into the space, seeing it in the light. Her desk, organized and every item was neatly placed. He noticed there was a violin case in the corner and remembered that she was a trained musician as well. Tossing the covers off her body, she immediately tensed as the morning air lingering from her window hit her bare legs.

"Wynn, you gotta get up."

She groaned and turned over to block him and the sun pearing into the room. She did not want to get up. Jahan tugged on her arm and snickered as she snatched it away. He began drumming on her leg which ultimately caused her to get up and move.

"I hate you." She mumbled.

"So what" he shrugged as she mugged him. Without a question she was annoyed but also grateful. She didn't miss the change to bump his shoulder as she headed into the bathroom to prepare for the day.

Wynn made it to class on time but with no energy at all, she could barely keep it together as she listened to the lecture.

A very boring lecture.

Jahan made his way through the building trying to find where Wynn could be. He knew her class was in the building but wasn't sure where. Sitting in an empty chair in a nearby lounge area, he waited. Once her class was over she slowly built the energy to get up and walk out the door. As one of the last people to leave, she couldn't see through the crowd of people as she moved. Once the coast cleared she noticed th brown skin curly headed roommate that kept her up all night

"And what are you doing here Dotson?"

"I was looking for you actually. Wanted to ask you something?"

Wynn looked side to side before pointing to herself, "Me?"
"Yeah, you" he smirked, "We're the only ones here."

"Okay, what's up?"

He was nervous about asking but, it was aligned that the one thing he needed help on, his savior was right in front of him. "Could you tutor me in bio? I'll pay."

"Pay me in what?"

Jahan would pay her in cash, food, he would even sell a body part if he needed to get the job done. He needed to pass this class.

"Whatever you want, just please help. I don't even like to beg."

"Okay," she reached her hand out so they could shake on it. They both held contact as the firm shake solidified their agreement.