Benevolence

Chapter 3: Drew's Kaleidoscope

"I don't know how you do it," I say staring up at the five-story residence hall. It's chilly outside, yet students adorn the neck of the building like jewels, riveting in the sounds of Rap and R&B. To the far left end of the block, boys dressed like Eskimos are congregating in a circle, cigarettes lit and alcohol bottles topless: the perfect combo to warm their chilling blood. And, standing amongst them is a girl, who seems to outshine all of the lighters flaring up around her. "It looks like this place never sleeps."

"You get used to it," responds Drew, stretching his arm behind my headrest, and looking over his shoulder as he guides the car into park. "Especially those rusty ass showers heads."

I laugh. On the ride here, after we dropped off my car, we got into a little debate: Commuting Vs. Dorming. I'm winning— hands down. Or at least I'd like to believe so. "I could never get used to that," I say. "Your tolerance is just impressive."

"Quit playin'," he says with a deep chuckle. "I don't gotta tolerate that shit. I visited a few of my friends' spots and the bathrooms dirty as hell. I'm talkin' muck and pubes everywhere, Lay." He glances over at the side mirror. "Don't get me wrong I wear my shower slippers regardless, but that shit just foul."

"I feel sorry for the maintenance department," I say cringing.

"Not even. Shit like that makes me appreciate them more than my goddamn professors. Oh—and don't even get me started with y'all females."

"Here we go with the 'Females' connotation," I say rolling my eyes.

"My fault." He grins sheepishly. "Y'all girls..."--I tilt my head-- "...women?" He quirks a brow looking for my approval.

"You're adorable," I say in between laughter. "It's ok," I cup his face with one hand, patting it like I would a puppy. "You're still learning."

He barks out a laugh, settling into his seat. "You're somethin' else."

"It comes with the territory--you know... off campus," I tease.

"Quit roastin' me, Lay. This baby is solar-powered," he says in reference to the building. "Way better than half the damn dormitories on campus, aight'?" He takes the key out of the ignition. "It gets blazed and holds that shit in longer than a nigga takin' a hit from his blunt. Better yet it puts its high to use."

I chuckle, unbuckling my seatbelt. "The fact that you just compared a building's energy consumption process to a man getting high... is ridiculous."

"Put respect on it," he says smugly, leaning over the console to peck me on the cheek.

"It's not like you've given me a choice not to," I say biting back a smile. Wind engulfs me the moment my door is opened, quickly penetrating my thin leather coat. "Shit," I breathe. I should've changed when I had the chance.

"Lay you're draggin' it," he says, chuckling with one arm balanced on the door. "Whatchu' curlin' up for? It's not even that cold."

"Speak for yourself," I say, doubling the scarf around my neck.

"All that chattin'," he says, closing the door behind me. "I guess all these years of livin' Upstate don't come with no perks like immunity to the cold, huh?"

"First off, that's an unrealistic belief," I say with a weak glare. "Unless you're a meta-human, hypothermia is still very much a threat."

He chuckles taking my hand in his. "Leave it to you to go all out for the defense."

When we make our way through the parking lot, we're met by a flowerless garden, one that splits into a path to the entrance. I won't admit it to him, but it's pretty stunning compared to the rest of dorm buildings on campus. It's a physical statement that living eco-friendly can be modish too. "So this is the building that was taking them a millennium to renovate," I voice.