'Jules' mind went back under the moonlight and night air of Baldwin's Fine Arts Center Garden, where intense anger shifted into an intimate moment of curiosity with a blow of the wind.
Maybe two flames weren't supposed to be that close when raging...
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"If you can't do what you imagine, then what is imagination to you?"
— Kid Cudi
PRESENT DAY
Westdell, Georgia
"ONE , two, three...Happy Birthday to you," Jules' roommate serenaded her as a chunky 2 and 0 topped the whipped icing of her cake.
The sounds of the night seeped in through the window of their small dorm room. Hoots and hollers from the students of Baldwin University fought over dominance with the wind of the brisk October air.
She laughed at her terrible attempt of harmonizing the popular celebratory song, "Alright Ayden, that's enough—"
"At least blow out the candles," She pleaded.
Jules waved her off while giggling, "Alright, Alright," Her full pouted lips making an "O" and her slanted brown eyes closing as she blew.
Jules was entering her third year at Baldwin, a prestigious HBCU known for its stellar English and Journalism program and named after the legendary James Baldwin. One of the first things her mother told her before she could even think about high school, was that she was definitely going to college.
"Happy?" Jules asked while crossing her arms over her chest and looking at her roommate.
"Ecstatic." Ayden responded, her locs shook a tad as she waved her hands in the air with sarcasm.
Jules looked into her full length body mirror, admiring how the lacy long sleeved black gown fit her form perfectly. The mocha-nude lining adding just the perfect tint of illusion.
Her bone straight mane swayed from side to side as she did a double take in the mirror.
"You look so amazing Julie," Ayden exclaimed, referring to the nickname she'd given her freshman year.
"If only I felt amazing."
Ayden's soft and supple brown forehead now held a wrinkle, "Huh? What's wrong—I thought you loved celebrating your birthday?"
Jules sighed, "I do, it's just—I'm twenty and I haven't done anything that makes me feel alive. I haven't ridden any rollercoasters, snuck out of the house, hell even take a spontaneous trip somewhere—my life has just been art, school, and family."
"Hey, you're just twenty, not eighty. You still have life in those bones—let's not speak like you're dying tonight."
Jules giggled, her white teeth revealing behind the strawberry colored lipstick, "You're right, I'm overthinking again. Are you ready?"
