N.A.O.M.I
I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping outside of my window. Blinking to clear my eyes of sleep, I sat up. Every part of my body ached from the five mile jog I did with my girls, Briana and Ki Ki, but I managed to force myself out of bed. Once I was standing up, I clumsily stumbled to my kitchen, fighting to stay conscious. The calendar on my fridge reminded me of my upcoming exams, and I shook my head, choosing instead to focus on the task of making some tea.
Humming to myself, I made my way around the kitchen. I set the kettle on the stove then got to work with grabbing a package of Raspberry tea. As I waited for the water to heat up, I grabbed my cell phone off the iHome. Immediately, my heart sunk as I noticed the seven missed calls all from Prodigy. Hoping that what he had to tell me wasn’t important, I called him back.
“Hello,” his voice sounded scratchy, and I could tell that I had just woken him up.
“Hey, Prod,” I greeted him warmly, turning off the stove so that he wouldn’t hear the loud whistling of the pot. “What’d you want to ask me last night? I was busy studying for the Psychology exam.”
He sighed, and I heard the sounds of him moving around. “I wanted to ask if you were free tonight. There’s a new jazz cafe around, and I’m performing. It’d mean the world if you would show some support.”
“Alright, I’ll come to see you,” I replied, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. I busied myself with pouring the hot water into my mug, trying not to get too excited. “What time should I be there?”
“Umm,” he paused, and I could already imagine the way his nose would scrunch up as he thought. “Be there around seven. I don’t start until 7:30.”
“What song are you gonna sing?” I questioned, unwilling to end the conversation. My eyes drifted upwards, and I sucked in a large breath when I saw a flash of color outside. Panicking, I leaned forward, struggling to see anything unusual on the small patio of my apartment.
“What happened?” Prod asked, concern lacing his voice. “I heard you make a weird noise.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, unsure of whether or not I was attempting to reassure him or myself. I blinked dumbly, staring out at the emptiness. “I thought I saw something...”
There was a short pause, and he made a half-hearted grunt. “You mean you saw something on the sidewalk?” I could hear the exasperation in his voice, and it took all of my concern to prevent myself from replying sarcastically.
“No, negro,” I bit back. “I meant on my patio. But... there’s nothing there now.”
“Maybe you’re just tired,” he offered. He yawned as if to back up his statement, and I found myself nodding in agreement. “After all, it is ten in the morning. All the normal folk are still in bed.”
“You’re right,” I mumbled. My eyes once again scanned the patio as though waiting for the mysterious object to reappear. “Besides, who would want to creep around my apartment?”
“I don’t know,” he said teasingly. “Maybe you have another person captivated by your all-inspiring beauty.”
I laughed at his joke, returning to my task of making tea. “Anyways, I should get going or I’ll be late to my first class. I’ll see you at lunch, right?”
He chuckled lowly, sending a shiver down my spine. “Of course I’ll see you, Shawty. You know I make it a point to see you.” He laughed again, and I couldn’t help but join in. “See ya, babe.”
I hung up my phone, grinning. It was only morning, yet I had already managed to secure myself a meeting with Prodigy. I can’t lie when I say I’ve been crushing on him since Freshman year when he sat next to me at the orientation. I had originally told myself that I was not going to get distracted by any boys at college, but damn, I couldn’t help but check him out. And now that we were halfway through Junior year, I could proudly say that I might have him thinking of me as more than a friend.
