A Necessary Struggle: Spring Semester

Chapter 13: A Major Day

Lela woke up to the smell of burnt toast and stringent coffee. She broke one of the rules she had last year and filled the armoire in Trevor's room with her clothes. She also bought some curtains, two more pillows for his bed, and a floor lamp with a copper-lined shade.

Lela plaited her ponytail as she trotted down the stairs with her backpack on one shoulder. She was getting tired of her hair being straight and couldn't wait until Lolli was free to do her faux-locs.

Lolli tossed her backpack on the leather chair and twisted the rubber band at the end of her hair, "What's going on in here?" She fanned the haze of smoke as she entered the kitchen where Trevor stood at the stove.

"What!" Trevor shouted over his shoulder, raising his voice over the music blaring from the built-in speakers.

Lela grabbed the remote off the island and held down the volume button, "Why are you cooking?" A cough escaped her mouth. "You know you can't cook." She sidled by him at the stove.

"Is that done?" He titled the saucepan giving her a good view of the eggs that had a pile of shells pushed over to the side.

Lela pulled the skillet handle out of his hand, "Eggs aren't supposed to run." She dumped the runny mess in the trash, "They aren't supposed to have an odor, either."

"I thought eggs smelled like sulfur."

Lela dropped the skillet in the sink, "When they've gone bad." She frowned at the platter of toast that was battling coal for the darkest substance on earth. "Did you have to use the entire loaf?"

"You know what they say...if first you don't succeed, try, try again." He grinned then used his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"Where are your Lucky Charms?" She tossed the toast in the trash to keep the eggs company. "Why aren't you eating cereal, like usual?"

"Sam threw them out, along with everything else..." Trevor moved to the fridge and opened the door. "With high fructose corn syrup and GMOs." He leaned over and peered into the icebox filled with more green things than Lela had ever seen. "He said my six-pack is turning into a two and love is making me fat." He slammed the door closed and fell back onto the fridge.

Lela huffed with a shake of her head, "I don't know what I''m going to do with Sam and Fiya and their New Year's Cleanse." She glanced over at the clock on the microwave. "I gotta get to class. Go get something from Jolt."

"I can drive you." He pushed off the fridge.

"You're class isn't until one." She placed her backpack strap on her shoulder. "Oh!" She slapped her thigh. "I forget. Today's the day."

"Yep." He held his palms up to the ceiling. "It's the day Trey Voss becomes a man, baby."

"Relax." She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the smile, "You're just declaring your major."

"Cinematography." His smile glowed as he leaned back against the fridge.

Lela made her way back to the kitchen, "Just like your father."

"I'm nothing like him." His features turned rigid as he folded his arms across his bare chest.

"Your father majored in film and you're about to." She stuck her thumbs in her belt loop and pulled up her jeans. Safiya's no starch and sugar cleanse wasn't helping her. Her thighs were still thick. "A similarity." She patted his folded arms.

"He makes that bull shit," Trey uttered with distaste. "I want to make documentaries."

"Movies aren't bull shit, baby." She patted his cheek. "They're entertaining."

"The books are always better." He shrugged. "So, why bother."

"We're not having this debate, again." She hopped on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek. "Congrats. I'm borrowing your Rover, again." She swiped his car keys off the island. "My car fell dead in the driveway last night."

"Just keep it." He said as he opened up the fridge, again. 

Should Lela keep Trevor's Range Rover or is that a slippery slope of dependency?