Chapter Two
*****
When you left me yesterday, Mr. Johnson-excuse me, Dwayne-was talking about
how he wanted to get to know us. And so what he did was he pass out these
index cards where we had to put our name, address, number, e-mail, and
whatever else we wanted him to know. By the time everyone had finished that
up, the bell rang to end the period and it was time to go.
Dany quizzed me about him, asking if he was cute and all this other stuff. He's really cool, and I think I'm really going to look forward to having him this year! This semester I have him for Criminology and then I have him again in the second semester for Criminology: Courts & Society. So right now you KNOW my stomach is doing flips! I get me an all-year-round dose of Mr. Johnson! What are the odds of that happening to ME of all people?
"Hey Dany, I'm just gonna go up to the Wellness Center and chill out in the jacuzzi. You game?" I ask Dany, who's on the computer.
"You know what? You may see me at the WC later on...I have to do some research for this paper that was assigned to us the FIRST DAY in Finance. I can't believe Mr. McMahon would do this to us!" Dany said, sighing.
"I can!" I said, laughing at Dany.
"Kiss my ass, bitch." Dany said, giving me the finger and laughing.
"Yeah well, I love you too bitch. I'm out." I said, laughing and walking out the front door.
Our Wellness Center is really cool. There are so many things to do up in here! There's an outdoor AND indoor pool, a jacuzzi, sauna, squash court, track, weight room, cardio classes, aerobics, Tai Bo, Yoga, and more!
One of my morning rituals I like to do is get up early and go chill out in the jacuzzi all by myself. It enables me to clear my mind and relax without having to worry about what awaits me later on in my classes for that day. I've been doing it ever since I was a freshman here.
"Hey Crystal!" Eileen, the secretary that's always working at the front desk said to me with a smile.
"Hi. The WC looks pretty empty this morning." I said, stopping to talk.
"A few people are upstairs in the weight room and working on their yoga, but that's about it. Not many people are like you, getting up at the crack of dawn to come in here each and every morning." Eileen teased, smiling.
"Well you know me...gotta get myself prepared for the day ahead!" I said.
"Ain't nothing wrong with that, baby. Shoot, I think I may need to take some of your advice!" Eileen said, laughing.
"You look like you've been doing something! You been losing some weight, Miss Thang! Who you trying to show off for?" I asked, laughing.
"You know Miss Eileen...I'm trying to get me a husband, child! I can't stay no single forever. I may be 45, but I still know how to work it!" Eileen said, posing for me and making me laugh.
"Them menz better watch out there now!" I said, smiling.
"Go head, girl!" Eileen said, laughing and sitting back down.
"Well, you know where I'm going. I'll be upstairs and in the jacuzzi if you need me. I'll talk to you later." I said, tossing my bag over my shoulder.
"I know, I know. Take care." Eileen said, waving as I headed up the stairs.
I set my bag down in the women's locker room and then take my shirt and pants off, exposing my black bikini. Let me grab one of these UM towels, and then I'll be on my way.
Walking down the hall from the women's locker room with the towel wrapped around my waist, I make my way to the jacuzzi room. I open up the big glass doors and start walking towards the jacuzzi.
The more I edge closer and closer to the jacuzzi, I notice that it appears that someone's already in there. They look relaxed and whoever they are, they're a guy for one, and they have short black hair and a nice caramel complexion.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that anyone was here." I said, giving a half- smile.
"No, it's okay. I was just leaving." The man said, standing up in his black shorts and turning to face me.
"Mr. Johnson!" I said, very shocked and taking the towel from around my waist to cover up the front of my body.
"Crystal, is that you?" Mr. Johnson said, grabbing his UM towel and wrapping it around his waist.
"Yes. As a matter of fact it is." I said, a little nervously.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you came up here. I heard that there was a jacuzzi up here in the Wellness Center, and I just wanted to try it out." Mr. Johnson said, smiling.
"Well, I come up here every morning just to get my head together and stuff, so I mean...if I was intruding, by any means..." I started.
"Don't apologize. There's no need for it." He said, smiling again.
"You sure?" I asked, smiling at him.
"What'd I just say?" Mr. Johnson asked in a serious voice.
"Okay." I said, laughing and heading past him and towards the jacuzzi.
"I'll see you in class." Mr. Johnson called after me as he went to leave.
"Mr. Johnson?" I asked, turning around and tossing the towel to the side.
"Yeah?..." He said, peeking his head back into the room and gulping nervously. I guess it was because I didn't have my towel on anymore!
"Actually if you want to, you can stay. I wouldn't mind the company."I said, sitting down in the jacuzzi, still looking at him.
"Really?" Mr. Johnson asked, coming back into the room.
"What'd I just say?" I asked, mocking what he'd said earlier.
Mr. Johnson laughed and then started to walk towards the jacuzzi, taking his towel off. Ooh, what do we have here?!!! Them black shorts of his are kinda just barely hanging below his waist. The view is fine, and the water's bout to get even better, ya'll! And I'm LOVING these bubbles!
"So you said that you come up here frequently?" He asked, sitting across from me in the jacuzzi.
"Yes, I faithfully come up here every morning at the same time. The woman at the desk, Eileen, is like one of my best friends! She's used to me coming up here all the time, so we talk a lot." I said, starting to relax.
"Okay, I see. And why do you come up here so early?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"For the same reason you did." I said, making him laugh.
"Smart, very smart." He said, shaking his finger at me.
"I can't help myself." I said, laughing.
"So what about you, are you involved in any extra-curricular activities, here at UM?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"Not at the moment, but I am definitely considering going out for a few things. It's funny you mention that, because as soon as I was about ready to leave I was going to go sign up for Salsa dance classes. I know a little bit of some Latin dancing, but I've always been most fascinated by the Salsa." I said, smiling.
"Oh really? I used to do some dancing back in the day. Because I'm assistant coach under Larry Coker, my days are getting ready to start becoming full. He told me that in 2 months he wanted me to start touching base with him. Of course, that'll probably be almost in the middle of the season with it being November then, but he knows what he's doing."
"You used to dance? That's crazy, Mr. Johnson!" I said.
"I can throw DOWN, girl! You don't know! And I thought I told you about that Mr. Johnson stuff!" Mr. Johnson said, giving me this challenging look.
"How old are you?" I asked, looking at him curiously.
"28." He answered.
"You're only 28?!!! You look older!" I said, amazed.
"How much older? You wanna PASS my class, don't you?" He asked in a serious tone, making me laugh.
"How old are you?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"I'm 22." I answered.
"Only 22? Damn, you look older too." Mr. Johnson said, shaking his head.
"So I guess that makes us both even." I said, smiling.
"You know what? Maybe I will check out them classes since I won't be doing nothing for the next two months." He said, thinking for a quick second.
"For the past 2 years I've been meaning to sign up, but I always manage to forget and then I never do it." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Well, I'm signing up too, so I'm going to make you remember." Dwayne said, smiling.
"You do that." I said, laughing.
Dwayne relaxed on his side of the jacuzzi and I relaxed on mine, and we didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes. This water was great, and the bubbles was hitting all the right spots so I had no reason to complain.
"Damn, this feels good." Dwayne said, reading my mind. LOL!
"When it becomes routine and you do it every day like me, it becomes apart of life, for real. I never miss this." I said, putting my head back.
"They're aren't too many people here, so it's not inconveinent either. I think you have something here, Crystal!" Dwayne said.
"Hey now, don't be piggy-backing off my ideas! I was here first, and I've been doing this much longer than you." I said.
"Girl, who you getting smart with? You forget that I'm the one that's gonna be giving you a grade?" Dwayne asked, looking at me seriously. I didn't say anything.
"I'm playin!" He said, laughing at my moment of silence.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So class, what do we call this?" Dwayne asked us, pointing to the board.
"Manslaughter." We all answer.
"a.k.a?" Dwayne asked.
"Heat of Passion Murder." We all answered.
"Good. Now, I'm just gonna pick somebody, um....Crystal, give me an example." Dwayne said, pointing to me.
"Me?" I ask, giggling.
"Yeah you, girl! Go!" Dwayne said.
"Okay, let me see. We're married and all the sudden I walk in on you cheating on me with some other woman, right? Out of a fit of rage, I go in the kitchen, grab a knife and stab you both, killing you." I answer.
"Okay, just for the record, you wouldn't go around killing none of your teachers or anything like that, would you honey?" Dwayne asked, giving me a fearful look, making the class laugh.
"No! I'm just using you for an example." I said, laughing.
"I know I asked for an example on your behalf, but...don't scare me like that, for real. I mean, teachers have feelings too." He said, still looking scared and making the class laugh.
"Can you calm down? Look, do I need to come down there?" I asked, getting out my seat and walking down to the front of the room to where he was.
"Ooh!" Said everyone in the class.
I walked up to Dwayne and he backed up as I went to stand by him. The class is still laughing, by the way. Why's he gotta be so dumb? I was just using him for an example! LOL!
"Hey! I don't want no trouble!" He said, getting behind his desk and still looking fearful.
"I'm not gonna hurt you!" I said, getting frustrated.
"I'm just playin." He said, laughing and coming over to hug me.
"Awww." The class said.
"You can go on back to your seat, honey." Dwayne said as I headed back up to my seat.
"Quick question...it's the second day, and already you're picking favorites. What's that about?" A girl named Yolanda asked him.
"I'm picking favorites now, honey? And why would that be?" Dwayne asked, sitting on the edge of his desk looking at her.
"You're ALWAYS calling on Crystal to do something for you. You know, there's other people in the class." Yolanda said.
"People, I didn't know that it was THAT big a deal...do I have to go elementary school on you and pick out who's going to be Mr. Johnson's helper each and every day so that it's someone different every time?" Dwayne asked, somewhat annoyed.
Noone said anything in response to what he had said. Instead we all just stared down at our books and didn't say a word.
"I thought this was college, NOT first grade all over again. For your information Ms. Wilkins, she's been nice enough to help me out as far as getting the class in order and things like that. I'm new, so I WOULD need some kind of assistance when dealing with a class of this size, wouldn't you think so?" Dwayne asked, still annoyed.
"Whatever." Yolanda said, rolling her eyes.
"No Yolanda, it's NOT whatever. You got my attention, so why don't you do something about it? You made such a damn fuss about me choosing Crystal to help me, so I have a thought..... why don't YOU come on down here and help me. That's what you wanted after all, wasn't it?" Dwayne asked sarcastically.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Johnson." Yolanda said, getting out of her seat in the front row and walking towards Dwayne.
"I know it's whatever I say, because it's my class." Dwayne said.
"What do you want me to do?" Yolanda asked, looking at him.
"Give me an example of a felony murder." Dwayne said, looking at her.
"I go to your house and rob you and then afterward I kill you in your sleep." Yolanda said, putting her hands on her hips.
"What IS it with you people and you wanting to kill me today? I know I'm new, but DAMN!" Dwayne said, shaking his head in much disappointment.
We all had to laugh, because he was acting like he was crying now from what Yolanda and I had used in our examples where we both killed him.
Dwayne stopped his act of crying as soon as Yolanda tapped him on his shoulder and started to whisper in his ear. He started to laugh and then looked up at the last row. Next to me, sound asleep, was my girl Nikki. From the way he's smiling, they are about to play a mean trick on her, and she's gonna be so pissed off.
Everyone turned around in their swivel chairs to look up at the last row. Their eyes were all on us in the back. Yolanda walked back to her seat and then Dwayne went into his desk and grabbed a black marker. He started walking up the side of the rows, and he brushed past me as he made his way over to Nikki. She had her arms rested on her desk and her head on top. Dwayne leaned over, smiling at me and my girl Cerisa who was on the other side of Nikki. He started drawing cat whiskers on her cheeks (We were giggling the whole time...the whole class too! He is so wrong!) and then started coloring in her nose. Nikki started to stir but still remained asleep. Dwayne stood back and admired his masterpiece at having turned one of his students into a cat and smiled. Then he handed me the marker and put his face right up next to Nikki's right ear.
"WAKE UP, GIRL!" Dwayne yelled, making Nikki jump.
"What the hell?!" Nikki asked, looking around at her laughing classmates and most of all, hysterical professor.
"You sleep okay?" Dwayne asked, chuckling.
"That was cute, Mr. Johnson. REAL cute! Crystal! Cerisa! Why are you guys laughing at me? It's not funny!" Nikki asked both of us.
"Your face!!!" Cerisa and I both answered, pointing and laughing hysterically.
"What about my face?" Nikki asked, frantically going in her bag and grabbing her compact.
"Aight, who the hell thinks they Picasso up in here?!" Nikki asked, getting pissed off as she saw her face in the mirror.
Ooh! I forgot Dwayne gave me the marker! She's gonna think it's me! I throw it back to Dwayne and he throws it back to me behind her back. Pretty soon we're tossing this thing back and forth, not wanting her to catch us with it.
"You did it!" I said, gritting my teeth at Dwayne.
"You want a detention?" Dwayne threatened, throwing it to me.
"For a damn marker?" I asked, throwing it back at him.
"Yes!" Dwayne said, gritting his teeth and throwing it back.
"Hell no!" I said, throwing it past his head on purpose.
Nikki snapped her head back at me and then looked from me to Dwayne. She looked at us suspiciously, then turned away.
"Hiram!" Nikki called down to the first row at Dwayne's nephew.
"Yeah?" Hiram asked, trying not to laugh at her face.
"Who did this? I know you won't lie to me, baby." Nikki said to her boyfriend.
"I wouldn't ordinarily do this and rat on family, but Uncle Dwayne...you know you was wrong." Hiram said, smirking.
"Hiram! How you gonna do this to me, man? I thought we was cool! I thought we were boys! We're family!" Dwayne said, shocked at Hiram's confession.
"Man, pick your jaw up off the floor FIRST of all. Secondly, you better HOPE that washes off her face." Hiram said, smiling.
"Oooh!" That's us, the class full of instigators! (LOL!)
"And it BETTER come off, too! You tell him, baby!" Nikki said, taking out a facial wipe and trying to get the marker off her face.
"Boy? I KNOW you're not trying to catch a beat down!" Dwayne said, heading down the steps and to the front row where Hiram was sitting.
"Let's go then!" Hiram said, getting up to face his uncle.
"Oooh!" That's us again!
"Will ya'll shut the hell up?" Dwayne asked, not being able to hold back his laugh.
"Don't pay no attention to them! I thought you was all big and bad! Mr. Professor is a tough guy now!" Hiram said, instigating.
"Oh yeah?" Dwayne asked, eyeing Hiram.
"Yeah!" Hiram challenged back.
In a flash, Dwayne had gotten Hiram into a headlock that he was SURE of never getting out of. He had Hiram's head flat against the desk, and Hiram's face was turning red. Still, he was cracking up! I guess this was the usual in the Johnson household? Hey, how should I know?
"Oohh!" We're all cracking up at our teacher's sudden moves on his nephew.
"You give up, big man on campus?" Dwayne asked, still not losing his position.
"Alright, man! Yes!" Hiram shouted.
"That's what I thought." Dwayne said, letting Hiram go.
"He GAVE it to you, Big H! You gonna let him punk you like that?" Steve said, egging him on.
"I know where he lives...he keeps it up, I may just enlist the help of Yolanda and Crystal and go CSI on his ass." Hiram said, giving his uncle a watchful eye.
"Oooh!" The class said. Yolanda and I looked at each other and started cracking up.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
Dany quizzed me about him, asking if he was cute and all this other stuff. He's really cool, and I think I'm really going to look forward to having him this year! This semester I have him for Criminology and then I have him again in the second semester for Criminology: Courts & Society. So right now you KNOW my stomach is doing flips! I get me an all-year-round dose of Mr. Johnson! What are the odds of that happening to ME of all people?
"Hey Dany, I'm just gonna go up to the Wellness Center and chill out in the jacuzzi. You game?" I ask Dany, who's on the computer.
"You know what? You may see me at the WC later on...I have to do some research for this paper that was assigned to us the FIRST DAY in Finance. I can't believe Mr. McMahon would do this to us!" Dany said, sighing.
"I can!" I said, laughing at Dany.
"Kiss my ass, bitch." Dany said, giving me the finger and laughing.
"Yeah well, I love you too bitch. I'm out." I said, laughing and walking out the front door.
Our Wellness Center is really cool. There are so many things to do up in here! There's an outdoor AND indoor pool, a jacuzzi, sauna, squash court, track, weight room, cardio classes, aerobics, Tai Bo, Yoga, and more!
One of my morning rituals I like to do is get up early and go chill out in the jacuzzi all by myself. It enables me to clear my mind and relax without having to worry about what awaits me later on in my classes for that day. I've been doing it ever since I was a freshman here.
"Hey Crystal!" Eileen, the secretary that's always working at the front desk said to me with a smile.
"Hi. The WC looks pretty empty this morning." I said, stopping to talk.
"A few people are upstairs in the weight room and working on their yoga, but that's about it. Not many people are like you, getting up at the crack of dawn to come in here each and every morning." Eileen teased, smiling.
"Well you know me...gotta get myself prepared for the day ahead!" I said.
"Ain't nothing wrong with that, baby. Shoot, I think I may need to take some of your advice!" Eileen said, laughing.
"You look like you've been doing something! You been losing some weight, Miss Thang! Who you trying to show off for?" I asked, laughing.
"You know Miss Eileen...I'm trying to get me a husband, child! I can't stay no single forever. I may be 45, but I still know how to work it!" Eileen said, posing for me and making me laugh.
"Them menz better watch out there now!" I said, smiling.
"Go head, girl!" Eileen said, laughing and sitting back down.
"Well, you know where I'm going. I'll be upstairs and in the jacuzzi if you need me. I'll talk to you later." I said, tossing my bag over my shoulder.
"I know, I know. Take care." Eileen said, waving as I headed up the stairs.
I set my bag down in the women's locker room and then take my shirt and pants off, exposing my black bikini. Let me grab one of these UM towels, and then I'll be on my way.
Walking down the hall from the women's locker room with the towel wrapped around my waist, I make my way to the jacuzzi room. I open up the big glass doors and start walking towards the jacuzzi.
The more I edge closer and closer to the jacuzzi, I notice that it appears that someone's already in there. They look relaxed and whoever they are, they're a guy for one, and they have short black hair and a nice caramel complexion.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that anyone was here." I said, giving a half- smile.
"No, it's okay. I was just leaving." The man said, standing up in his black shorts and turning to face me.
"Mr. Johnson!" I said, very shocked and taking the towel from around my waist to cover up the front of my body.
"Crystal, is that you?" Mr. Johnson said, grabbing his UM towel and wrapping it around his waist.
"Yes. As a matter of fact it is." I said, a little nervously.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you came up here. I heard that there was a jacuzzi up here in the Wellness Center, and I just wanted to try it out." Mr. Johnson said, smiling.
"Well, I come up here every morning just to get my head together and stuff, so I mean...if I was intruding, by any means..." I started.
"Don't apologize. There's no need for it." He said, smiling again.
"You sure?" I asked, smiling at him.
"What'd I just say?" Mr. Johnson asked in a serious voice.
"Okay." I said, laughing and heading past him and towards the jacuzzi.
"I'll see you in class." Mr. Johnson called after me as he went to leave.
"Mr. Johnson?" I asked, turning around and tossing the towel to the side.
"Yeah?..." He said, peeking his head back into the room and gulping nervously. I guess it was because I didn't have my towel on anymore!
"Actually if you want to, you can stay. I wouldn't mind the company."I said, sitting down in the jacuzzi, still looking at him.
"Really?" Mr. Johnson asked, coming back into the room.
"What'd I just say?" I asked, mocking what he'd said earlier.
Mr. Johnson laughed and then started to walk towards the jacuzzi, taking his towel off. Ooh, what do we have here?!!! Them black shorts of his are kinda just barely hanging below his waist. The view is fine, and the water's bout to get even better, ya'll! And I'm LOVING these bubbles!
"So you said that you come up here frequently?" He asked, sitting across from me in the jacuzzi.
"Yes, I faithfully come up here every morning at the same time. The woman at the desk, Eileen, is like one of my best friends! She's used to me coming up here all the time, so we talk a lot." I said, starting to relax.
"Okay, I see. And why do you come up here so early?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"For the same reason you did." I said, making him laugh.
"Smart, very smart." He said, shaking his finger at me.
"I can't help myself." I said, laughing.
"So what about you, are you involved in any extra-curricular activities, here at UM?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"Not at the moment, but I am definitely considering going out for a few things. It's funny you mention that, because as soon as I was about ready to leave I was going to go sign up for Salsa dance classes. I know a little bit of some Latin dancing, but I've always been most fascinated by the Salsa." I said, smiling.
"Oh really? I used to do some dancing back in the day. Because I'm assistant coach under Larry Coker, my days are getting ready to start becoming full. He told me that in 2 months he wanted me to start touching base with him. Of course, that'll probably be almost in the middle of the season with it being November then, but he knows what he's doing."
"You used to dance? That's crazy, Mr. Johnson!" I said.
"I can throw DOWN, girl! You don't know! And I thought I told you about that Mr. Johnson stuff!" Mr. Johnson said, giving me this challenging look.
"How old are you?" I asked, looking at him curiously.
"28." He answered.
"You're only 28?!!! You look older!" I said, amazed.
"How much older? You wanna PASS my class, don't you?" He asked in a serious tone, making me laugh.
"How old are you?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"I'm 22." I answered.
"Only 22? Damn, you look older too." Mr. Johnson said, shaking his head.
"So I guess that makes us both even." I said, smiling.
"You know what? Maybe I will check out them classes since I won't be doing nothing for the next two months." He said, thinking for a quick second.
"For the past 2 years I've been meaning to sign up, but I always manage to forget and then I never do it." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Well, I'm signing up too, so I'm going to make you remember." Dwayne said, smiling.
"You do that." I said, laughing.
Dwayne relaxed on his side of the jacuzzi and I relaxed on mine, and we didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes. This water was great, and the bubbles was hitting all the right spots so I had no reason to complain.
"Damn, this feels good." Dwayne said, reading my mind. LOL!
"When it becomes routine and you do it every day like me, it becomes apart of life, for real. I never miss this." I said, putting my head back.
"They're aren't too many people here, so it's not inconveinent either. I think you have something here, Crystal!" Dwayne said.
"Hey now, don't be piggy-backing off my ideas! I was here first, and I've been doing this much longer than you." I said.
"Girl, who you getting smart with? You forget that I'm the one that's gonna be giving you a grade?" Dwayne asked, looking at me seriously. I didn't say anything.
"I'm playin!" He said, laughing at my moment of silence.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So class, what do we call this?" Dwayne asked us, pointing to the board.
"Manslaughter." We all answer.
"a.k.a?" Dwayne asked.
"Heat of Passion Murder." We all answered.
"Good. Now, I'm just gonna pick somebody, um....Crystal, give me an example." Dwayne said, pointing to me.
"Me?" I ask, giggling.
"Yeah you, girl! Go!" Dwayne said.
"Okay, let me see. We're married and all the sudden I walk in on you cheating on me with some other woman, right? Out of a fit of rage, I go in the kitchen, grab a knife and stab you both, killing you." I answer.
"Okay, just for the record, you wouldn't go around killing none of your teachers or anything like that, would you honey?" Dwayne asked, giving me a fearful look, making the class laugh.
"No! I'm just using you for an example." I said, laughing.
"I know I asked for an example on your behalf, but...don't scare me like that, for real. I mean, teachers have feelings too." He said, still looking scared and making the class laugh.
"Can you calm down? Look, do I need to come down there?" I asked, getting out my seat and walking down to the front of the room to where he was.
"Ooh!" Said everyone in the class.
I walked up to Dwayne and he backed up as I went to stand by him. The class is still laughing, by the way. Why's he gotta be so dumb? I was just using him for an example! LOL!
"Hey! I don't want no trouble!" He said, getting behind his desk and still looking fearful.
"I'm not gonna hurt you!" I said, getting frustrated.
"I'm just playin." He said, laughing and coming over to hug me.
"Awww." The class said.
"You can go on back to your seat, honey." Dwayne said as I headed back up to my seat.
"Quick question...it's the second day, and already you're picking favorites. What's that about?" A girl named Yolanda asked him.
"I'm picking favorites now, honey? And why would that be?" Dwayne asked, sitting on the edge of his desk looking at her.
"You're ALWAYS calling on Crystal to do something for you. You know, there's other people in the class." Yolanda said.
"People, I didn't know that it was THAT big a deal...do I have to go elementary school on you and pick out who's going to be Mr. Johnson's helper each and every day so that it's someone different every time?" Dwayne asked, somewhat annoyed.
Noone said anything in response to what he had said. Instead we all just stared down at our books and didn't say a word.
"I thought this was college, NOT first grade all over again. For your information Ms. Wilkins, she's been nice enough to help me out as far as getting the class in order and things like that. I'm new, so I WOULD need some kind of assistance when dealing with a class of this size, wouldn't you think so?" Dwayne asked, still annoyed.
"Whatever." Yolanda said, rolling her eyes.
"No Yolanda, it's NOT whatever. You got my attention, so why don't you do something about it? You made such a damn fuss about me choosing Crystal to help me, so I have a thought..... why don't YOU come on down here and help me. That's what you wanted after all, wasn't it?" Dwayne asked sarcastically.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Johnson." Yolanda said, getting out of her seat in the front row and walking towards Dwayne.
"I know it's whatever I say, because it's my class." Dwayne said.
"What do you want me to do?" Yolanda asked, looking at him.
"Give me an example of a felony murder." Dwayne said, looking at her.
"I go to your house and rob you and then afterward I kill you in your sleep." Yolanda said, putting her hands on her hips.
"What IS it with you people and you wanting to kill me today? I know I'm new, but DAMN!" Dwayne said, shaking his head in much disappointment.
We all had to laugh, because he was acting like he was crying now from what Yolanda and I had used in our examples where we both killed him.
Dwayne stopped his act of crying as soon as Yolanda tapped him on his shoulder and started to whisper in his ear. He started to laugh and then looked up at the last row. Next to me, sound asleep, was my girl Nikki. From the way he's smiling, they are about to play a mean trick on her, and she's gonna be so pissed off.
Everyone turned around in their swivel chairs to look up at the last row. Their eyes were all on us in the back. Yolanda walked back to her seat and then Dwayne went into his desk and grabbed a black marker. He started walking up the side of the rows, and he brushed past me as he made his way over to Nikki. She had her arms rested on her desk and her head on top. Dwayne leaned over, smiling at me and my girl Cerisa who was on the other side of Nikki. He started drawing cat whiskers on her cheeks (We were giggling the whole time...the whole class too! He is so wrong!) and then started coloring in her nose. Nikki started to stir but still remained asleep. Dwayne stood back and admired his masterpiece at having turned one of his students into a cat and smiled. Then he handed me the marker and put his face right up next to Nikki's right ear.
"WAKE UP, GIRL!" Dwayne yelled, making Nikki jump.
"What the hell?!" Nikki asked, looking around at her laughing classmates and most of all, hysterical professor.
"You sleep okay?" Dwayne asked, chuckling.
"That was cute, Mr. Johnson. REAL cute! Crystal! Cerisa! Why are you guys laughing at me? It's not funny!" Nikki asked both of us.
"Your face!!!" Cerisa and I both answered, pointing and laughing hysterically.
"What about my face?" Nikki asked, frantically going in her bag and grabbing her compact.
"Aight, who the hell thinks they Picasso up in here?!" Nikki asked, getting pissed off as she saw her face in the mirror.
Ooh! I forgot Dwayne gave me the marker! She's gonna think it's me! I throw it back to Dwayne and he throws it back to me behind her back. Pretty soon we're tossing this thing back and forth, not wanting her to catch us with it.
"You did it!" I said, gritting my teeth at Dwayne.
"You want a detention?" Dwayne threatened, throwing it to me.
"For a damn marker?" I asked, throwing it back at him.
"Yes!" Dwayne said, gritting his teeth and throwing it back.
"Hell no!" I said, throwing it past his head on purpose.
Nikki snapped her head back at me and then looked from me to Dwayne. She looked at us suspiciously, then turned away.
"Hiram!" Nikki called down to the first row at Dwayne's nephew.
"Yeah?" Hiram asked, trying not to laugh at her face.
"Who did this? I know you won't lie to me, baby." Nikki said to her boyfriend.
"I wouldn't ordinarily do this and rat on family, but Uncle Dwayne...you know you was wrong." Hiram said, smirking.
"Hiram! How you gonna do this to me, man? I thought we was cool! I thought we were boys! We're family!" Dwayne said, shocked at Hiram's confession.
"Man, pick your jaw up off the floor FIRST of all. Secondly, you better HOPE that washes off her face." Hiram said, smiling.
"Oooh!" That's us, the class full of instigators! (LOL!)
"And it BETTER come off, too! You tell him, baby!" Nikki said, taking out a facial wipe and trying to get the marker off her face.
"Boy? I KNOW you're not trying to catch a beat down!" Dwayne said, heading down the steps and to the front row where Hiram was sitting.
"Let's go then!" Hiram said, getting up to face his uncle.
"Oooh!" That's us again!
"Will ya'll shut the hell up?" Dwayne asked, not being able to hold back his laugh.
"Don't pay no attention to them! I thought you was all big and bad! Mr. Professor is a tough guy now!" Hiram said, instigating.
"Oh yeah?" Dwayne asked, eyeing Hiram.
"Yeah!" Hiram challenged back.
In a flash, Dwayne had gotten Hiram into a headlock that he was SURE of never getting out of. He had Hiram's head flat against the desk, and Hiram's face was turning red. Still, he was cracking up! I guess this was the usual in the Johnson household? Hey, how should I know?
"Oohh!" We're all cracking up at our teacher's sudden moves on his nephew.
"You give up, big man on campus?" Dwayne asked, still not losing his position.
"Alright, man! Yes!" Hiram shouted.
"That's what I thought." Dwayne said, letting Hiram go.
"He GAVE it to you, Big H! You gonna let him punk you like that?" Steve said, egging him on.
"I know where he lives...he keeps it up, I may just enlist the help of Yolanda and Crystal and go CSI on his ass." Hiram said, giving his uncle a watchful eye.
"Oooh!" The class said. Yolanda and I looked at each other and started cracking up.
~TO BE CONTINUED~