College Boy : A Novel (9781416586500) Read Online Free PDF Page A

here, cuz,” Troy commented.
    Matthew grinned. “I know.”
    â€œI’m gon’ have to charm a few of ’em,” Troy said with a devilish smile. “But these White people are impolite as hell, cuz, leaning over my plate and all,” he added.
    â€œEverybody does that here,” Matthew assumed.
    â€œDo you do it?”
    â€œNo.” They giggled as Matthew continued. “But you can’t get all worried about little stuff like that, man.”
    â€œYeah, yeah,” Troy said, brushing off Matthew’s advice.
    They soon finished lunch, traveling back to Mason Hall for the results of the placement exams, only to bump into James, who appeared to be coming from that direction already.
    â€œDid y’all hear, homes?” James asked them.
    â€œHear what?” Matthew piped up.
    Troy stuffed his hands inside his pockets and leaned up against a tree.
    â€œUs three busted the placement tests. We can take other hard classes with the White people,” James answered. Troy still was uninterested.
    Matthew got excited. “Yeah, so only us three passed, hunh?”
    â€œYup. The rest of them are still in them C.M.P. classes,” James informed them, snickering. Matthew smiled, but Troy frowned, standing upright.
    â€œSo how do you know this?” Matthew asked James.
    James grimaced. “Damn, you ask a lot of questions, homes,” he said, jokingly. “I asked our counselor. What’s her name again?”
    â€œMs. Whatley,” Troy said, finally joining in.
    â€œYeah, that’s it. Ms. Whatley,” James repeated.
    Troy turned to surveyed his surroundings. Swarms of students were passing by. “Well, since we all exempt, let’s go register for our classes,” he said.
    Matthew and James agreed, following Troy across Madison Avenue to the campus’s west side. Inside the registration building they cut in the lines again.
    â€œIt’s nice meeting you here, Clay,” Troy said. They all laughed, softly, to avoid the extra attention from the already angry students who waited patiently in line.
    â€œYeah, aw’ight, Troy, just don’t make this a habit,” Clay said, smiling back.
    Troy, Jay, and Matthew got in front of him. As the line moved, Troy spotted the executive-looking White woman and got nervous.
    â€œNext,” she ordered from behind a computer desk. Troy stepped forward and took a seat. “Fill out your name, social security number, and complete your courses over at the desk,” the administrator said, pointing to a section of the registration room. It was packed with Whites. Seeing that, Troy decided, instead, to fill out his form near his friends. Taking about ten minutes to finish, he returned to the registrar to submit his course form.
    â€œCheck over your classes to see if everything is correct,” she told him. Troy did so, skipping information to quickly return the form to the woman. “Did you check all of your alpha codes?” she asked doubtfully.
    â€œYeah,” he told her with an attitude. She gave him a disapproving look. He captured it, and gave it back to her.
    â€œOK. Thank you very much,” she responded, calling for the next student.
    The four Black males all finished in a short time and walked out.
    â€œWell, fellas, tomorrow starts a new day,” Clay announced with a glow. “Doesn’t it, Troy?”
    â€œYup, man. It feels like starting over again, with a million White people and shit.”
    They all laughed.
    â€œI know what you mean,” Matthew said.
    James shrugged. “At least we’re here,” he commented. “This school is the shit.”

FITTING IN
    T HE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES PRESENTED THE MOST HECTIC crowds that Troy had ever witnessed in his life. Thousands of students traveled in a hundred different directions as he swiftly dodged and weaved through them. White students were extra clumsy, though. They kind of moved like