A Little More Than Love

Chapter 7: No Looking Back

The whole night I cried, my eyes were puffy but I had to get up and go to Ms. Lovebed's class today.  My roommate was back, sitting on her bed looking through a biology book, "hey girl."

"Sleep good?" She asked.

"Girl no, what made you ask?" I asked back. I sat on my bed putting detangler in my hair, giving it a wet and wavy look, for now. 

She closed her book and sat back against the head board, "your eyes sweetie, you should put a cool towel on them to reduce the swelling." Sam was a sweet girl and I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. We didn't hang in the same crowd, but she was definitely a southern belle, with a hint of sass. She always wore a sew in, you barely caught her with her natural hair, but it was nothing wrong with that. 

She got up to fix me a cold compress for my eyes. I went to brush my teeth and wash my face while she prepped it. When I got back she was waiting, " Alright lay back lady and close your eyes. What time is your class?"

"Ten thirty," I said. 

"Good, that gives me a good amount of time to ease this swelling. Whatever or whoever is bothering you, let it go." I nodded my head at her words and took heed. Sam and I never really talked, it was a hey and bye every so often, but her presence was nice. We didn't know much about each other, probably nothing about each other. 

Two compresses later and a little girl talk she was done. I walked to the mirror and looked at my face, I was shocked. My once puffy eyes were back to normal. I walked over to Sam and hugged her. "If you ever need somebody to talk to I'm here," she said. In this world us women have to stick together.

I walked into Ms. Lovebed's class early. It was just a few students here, but that gave me time to prep my supplies to take good notes. I looked at my syllabus and saw that we were supposed to talk about the double standards between genders. I loved this class because we talked about world issues, and we got a. lot of points for participation, which I did a lot. I looked up to see more students trickling into class. This class got heated sometimes because the debates were hot, and those things we chose to ignore in society were put on the forefront. 

I felt my phone vibrate and looked at the screen. I rolled my eyes seeing Yuri's name, but I instantly declined. I texted him and let him know that I was in class. I put it in do not disturb and watched as Ms. Lovebed cut on projector. 

"Okay class! If you paid any mind to your syllabus you should enjoy today's discussion. We are discussing double standards in society today. The title in self-explanatory so let's begin! What are double standards that women face today?" She asked. 

The women in the class raised their hands in anxiety. "Amber." 

"Well I think that's unfair that we can't explore our sexuality without being bashed, but when men do it they're sowing their oats and stuff." Ms. Lovebed nodded her head in agreement. 

"Anybody want to add to that?" I instantly raised my hand.

"Erykah." 

"I agree with her, and I want to add that why is it so important for a woman to know how to cook and clean? I mean I would think those are basic life skills. On top of that men use that to add to our worth, but what about them? It's barely anything that measures a mans worth, well something as simple as basic life skills." I stated. 

Ms. Lovebed nodded and looked around the class and pointed at the boy in a blue V-neck. "Well I mean ya'll want men to be able to provide, and fix shit around the house. Ya'll use that mess to measure how much of man we are." His rebuttal was valid, but I had to test him. 

"But when you get done women are fighting for that equlity, but yet ya'll want to remain stagnant. In the old way of doing things, but women are working their butts off, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, and sexing you so who's working the most. What? You mow the lawn once every two weeks, or change the oil on the car every three thousand miles? That's hard work? It's not a everyday thing." I stated. The room fell quiet but this black girl raised her hand and Ms. Lovebed chose her to talk next. 

"I agree with Erykah. We have to prove our worth so much more than you guys. Ya'll measure us by the ability to keep the house up, how many men we've slept with, and by how we dress. Like ya'll never satisfied, " she said. 

The debate went on and on, the men stated their double standards and class was coming to an end. "I have to add something to all the madness I just heard." I looked around for the deep baritone voice, but couldn't find it until this dude stood up. He was tall, dark skin, and had these juicy lips that was surrounded my this thick coat of hair. 

"Why are there even gender roles? I mean why can't men cook and clean? Why can't a woman come home to a cooked meal? Don't get me wrong, men do face injustices, but not as much as women. Not as much as black women. Let's be real they're the last to be picked and not valued enough.  My mom died because of the tremendous stress of trying to be a wife, a mother, and consistently prove her worth, " he paused for minute and looked down. "We focus so much on what women aren't doing, but we don't see how much they are doing. My ma busted her ass trying to get promoted just so her white counterparts could rise above her, or black men. These ladies are right though. Everything a woman does is to satisfy men damn near or made to look that way. My daddy did his part but still had time to drink his beer and watch the game, but my mom was still doing house work. Her job was never done, I saw her wither away. I would help her, but these roles are killing our women." He sat down and grabbed his things. 

"Wow that was enlightening," Ms. Lovebed. Everyone was speechless, but my mind flipped. I was trying to take in everything that he said. He was knowledgable of his privilege. After listening to my roommate and this dude I grabbed my phone and blocked Yuri for good. We were over. I tried my hardest to be the woman he wanted me to be without losing myself and still got stepped on. I wasn't anyone's welcome mat anymore. Elle was right,  and this time there is no turning back.

Oh snap! Erykah really done now, but how will Yuri take it?

Should Sahif forgive Elle?

Was the mystery dude in class right? 

We shall see! I apologize for the length of my updates, but I haven't forgot about ya'll!