🌎 🌎 “Path to Manhood” by Dane C. Hawkins

Duc then comes to the rescue for his friend, who he thinks has to be on something right now, and cleans up what Jairus said by telling Lisa he just didn’t know Ovaughn had the number. She, accepting the bullshit excuse from Duc because he is convincing, exchanges numbers and takes her cue from the awkward moment then leaves.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? One of the tightest girls in our class is trying to throw you the pussy and you acting stupid. It’s not like she ‘out there’ like some other chicks you know. Lisa is wife material, and you fuckin’ up. I mean at least holla so you can put your niggas on with her fine ass friends,” says Duc.

“Young, she is just trying to put the lock on me as soon as school starts but I don’t know if I want another girlfriend. She is tight but so are another two thousand girls on this campus and if I commit to her I might miss out on something better.”

“So you a playa now?” Mike asks.

“I didn’t say that shit either but why settle down with one if I can have seven,” Jairus replies.

“You ain’t even that type of nigga,” Mike replies. “You don’t be hittin’ chicks off left and right like that. If you let that shit that happened with you and Tania change who you are you’re only letting her win, dog. I know you ain’t that stupid to see that Lisa is a good thing. If you let one good thing pass, another one may never come along. You can’t let what happened in the past scare you away from your future. So just move on, nigga.”

“Yeah stop trippin’ and put us on with her friends like Duc said, then you can fuck up all you want.” Ovaughn says, jumping in.

The whole time Jairus sits and wonders why Mike always has to be the one that feels like he has to keep people in check. As right as he may be, it is annoying as hell when you are the one that he is trying to preach to.

The fellas finish eating and catching up, then leave the cafeteria. They sat outside of the caf until dinner was over so they could see everyone they knew coming in and out. Meanwhile, Lisa and her friends sit in the cafeteria and talk after they get done eating.

“So why do you think he was trippin’ like that?” Shana asks.

“Fuck that nigga. He’s just acting like that because his boys were there,” says Ashley. “You need to let him know he can’t get away with stupid shit like that and throw that damn number away.”

“She does still like the nigga. And unless you think he playin’ wit’ you, I wouldn’t throw away the number. Especially after what happened last semester. The only way you gonna ever know if he is for real is to talk to him,” Shana says.

“No, the only way I’ll know what’s up with him is not to call,” Lisa says finally. “I’m gonna wait ‘til he calls me to see if he wants to talk to me as badly as I want to talk to him. If he doesn’t call me then it’s not worth wasting my time. I’ll give that nigga the next two days, until class starts. If he doesn’t call by then it’s not worth it. I ain’t got time for games and I know if the roles were reversed, he’d say the same thing. And you right, after last semester and writing this summer, I don’t wanna just say fuck it. But I’m just mad he flipped on me like that.”

The guys get tired of sitting outside of the cafeteria just talking to people they already know and decide to walk around and talk to some new people. They walk around a little and when they get around the bookstore they run into Nat. “Duc, Ovaughn, Big Mike, my nigga Jairus. What’s up lil’ niggas. Jairus what’s been going on man, how was your summer? You get back at that shawty you used to be wit’? And what’s the deal wit’ Lisa?” Nat asks.

“I’m not even thinking about Tania anymore and it ain’t shit with Lisa right now,” Jairus replies with frustration in his voice.

Nat cracks a big grin. “Your voice tells more than words lil’ bro but I can tell you tired of talkin’ about it. I will tell you again, you might want to holla at Lisa. You know her cousin Tina and me used to mess with each other and if Lisa is anything like her... she is definitely one to hold on to. I fucked up with Tina but I had to learn. But anyway, I’m in the new coed dorm across campus, room 138. Got the room to myself for the last semester. Y’all niggas come holla at me if you need something. Alright Jairus, Ovaughn, Duc, Big Mike from the Wood.”

Nat laughs as he walks off and Jairus, Ovaughn, and Duc laugh also. Nat calls Mike “Big Mike from the Wood” because he thinks that Mike resembles the guy who played the young Omar Epps in the movie The Wood. It’s an inside joke they all find funny. They continue to walk around more, and Duc goes to work as usual. It is still funny for them to watch him just walk up to anyone and start running his mouth. He is a promoter at heart and that’s probably why he can throw the best party on campus.

It begins to get dark and Jairus and Duc haven’t unpacked their clothes yet, so the guys decide to go back to the rooms, which are right across the hall from each other. In the room with Ovaughn and Jairus, Ovaughn puts on some music and sits on his bed while Jairus unpacks. They begin to talk about some of the new women they met and Ovaughn says, “Man, I wish we would have known about the coed dorm. That’s like living with a permanent source.”

“Dog, you sound like Duc, but what about your girl Kennedy? I know you hit dat the night of the party last semester, right? Plus she from N.C. You was hittin’ all summer.”

Ovaughn gets a frustrated look on his face and rolls his eyes. “Nah, I didn’t hit yet. You know when I got home, I had other women to chill with and I just started feeling like all that shit she was doing last semester was her toying with me. I had to prove myself, but I was just supposed to be happy with whatever from her. Nah man, fuck that. So, we talked on the phone a little. She came to Charlotte once with her cousins and I met up with them, but it wasn’t that serious to me, and she was trying to come back and meet my family and all this other shit like I was her man. So, when I told her that meeting my family was something a girlfriend would do, then she started talking about us being a couple. So, I was straight up with her and told her I didn’t know if that's what I want yet. And the next time I called her she was acting funny, and I haven’t talked to her since. She was just trying to pressure me into… That’s what it is! It was the letter, wasn’t it?” Jairus tries to ignore Ovaughn and continues folding while giving him a look like he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. “She was hittin’ you over the head with that pressure about being her man. Or she said something about you going to New York to meet her family.” Jairus just shakes his head no. “Dog, you gotta tell me what she said in the letter, just between us, I won’t even tell Duc and Mike. I mean how bad could it have been. She is fine as shit and it’s not like she said some wild shit like ‘I love you.’”

Jairus looks at Ovaughn with a dead look that lets him know he’s right.

“Oh shit! Dog, I feel you now. I see why you didn’t want to give her the number. You just barely over ol’ girl and somebody else trying to snatch you up for the long haul.”

“It’s not even that, man,” he replies. “I’m not scared to have another girl but I’m not in love with her and I really don’t know exactly what she meant in the letter. I guess I’m just trying to avoid the line of questioning she is gonna have. I like her but I don’t want to rush some shit and it turn out to just be some rebound shit.”

Ovaughn looks at Jairus with a grin like he is about to start talking trash. Jairus stops him before he starts.

“I know your ol’ lovey dovey ass ain’t about to try and clown me. You the same type a nigga as me, you just fighting that shit right now trying to be like Duc. When you really have no reason too. You were chillin’ wit’ other girls’ back home but how many of ‘em were worth a real relationship? Kennedy is tight! You ain’t gonna be booking broads like that anyway, especially not as quiet as you are. The ones you do book won’t look no better than her. And from what you and Mike said about her you won’t have to worry about her doing some foul shit. Popular, Funny, got a track body and she only wants you. Nigga, you better fix that shit.”

Ovaughn begins to think about what Jairus is saying and gets a concerned look on his face. “So, you think I should make her my girl for real? You probably right…but since we giving out advice and all, I think you should give Lisa a chance. I mean you took a ass whooping and you ain’t even hit the ass yet. She is one of the prettiest girls we know, why not make her your girl. I mean, at the least give the girl a call. If you don’t you might not have a chance with her at all.” The two continue to talk about women and Jairus agrees to consider calling Lisa.

At the same time, Duc is across the hall unpacking and he and Mike have the stereo and the television on.

“Damn, I wish we had known about that coed dorm. That’s in-house pussy for the entire school year,” Duc says.

Mike, almost laughing, replies, “Is that all you think about? I can only imagine what New York was like.”

Duc jumps at the chance to tell Mike what he did in New York. He starts by telling about how the city was a lot more diverse than he thought. He then says, “Dog, it was a hoasis in that muthafucka. My sister had me around more beautiful women then you would believe. And all I had to say was, ‘I am Jamie Martin’s brother’ and they were on me. I’m talking about twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four year old women and I’m only nineteen.”

Mike just shakes his head with a grin on his face thinking that Duc has to be one of the luckiest people he has ever met.

“Being up there those four weeks made me see just how exciting that business is,” Duc says. “My sister wants me to work with her and after all the people I met I can’t wait to get back… that’s why I’m changing my major this year.”

“WHAT? Super engineer is calling it quits? Not the smartest engineer to grace this beautiful and prestigious university. Really! This shit is funny to me. But I kinda expected it when you told me who your sister is and started throwing parties last year. So, I’m assuming you coming over to my side of campus in business, right.”

“I think I’m gonna double major in marketing and sales,” Duc laughs. “I’m probably gonna be here another four years unless I rack up on the hours. I gotta go change my schedule tomorrow and I’ll talk to the dean of the business department about taking twenty-one hours this semester.”

There is a moment of silence as Duc continues to unpack. He breaks the silence saying, “So how are your people doing? I hope your mother is planning on cooking for us soon.”

“Momma fine, but I’ll have to talk to her ‘bout cooking for us. She said we eat like we ain’t never seen food before. My sister is the same as usual and my brother is still doing good. It’s the rest of the folks I’m worrying ‘bout. That’s the reason I couldn’t come to Charlotte when you and Jairus did.”

Just as he finishes his sentence Jairus and Ovaughn walk into the room. Jairus and Ovaughn both say what’s up when they walk in, and Duc puts Mike on the spot and says that he was just about to tell them why he didn’t come to Charlotte when they originally planned. Mike looks at Duc with a dirty look of anger then looks to the floor. “It was just because of my family like I said.” He pauses and looks up at his friends, who all have looks requiring more explanation. “It was my father. Y’all know he ain’t ‘round or whatever, but he had moved in with my grandparents, so I was seeing him even though I didn’t want to. So right before I was ‘posed to come up he went into cardiac arrest. Me and my grandmother, on his side, had just started to get close again so I wanted to stay for her and my grandfather. And I had to tell my family and I knew it was going to affect my sister. She cried every day until he got out of the hospital, and I took her to go see him at my grandparents’ house. I think it scared some sense into my brother though. He couldn’t even stand to see Tony like that. He knows that’s what he could be. The shit that surprised me the most though was my mother’s reaction. When I told her what happened tears just started running down her face. She didn’t bust out and cry, she didn’t even make no noise. She just held my sister with tears running down her face. I really didn’t think it would affect her at all, but I guess she still loves him even if she isn’t in love with him.”

They all sit there for a second in a deafening silence.

Jairus then says, “You told us about everyone else, but how did it affect you?”

Mike looks up at Jairus trying to figure out why he always has to ask those difficult questions. “I don’t know? Of course, it affected me because it had an effect on my family, but it affected me just like everyone else, too. I guess I’m still mad at myself for feeling sorry for him or I’m trying to deny I ever felt it. He ain’t never felt shit for me, why should I care about him.”