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

trucks with no steering wheels, causing him to accidentally collide with several of them.
    â€œGosh, that guy just bumped all into me!” said a White girl dressed in an all-white nursing uniform. “Why doesn’t he slow down or something?”
    Troy, already late for his first class, decided not to waste more time with a rebuttal, even though he wanted to give her one.
    Entering an auditorium that held five hundred students, he noticed Peter, the well-mannered, underhand-shooting, baby-faced, cream-colored boy. Wanting to join Peter in the front row but not wanting to ruin the class lecture, Troy ruled against it. He knew he would draw too much attention walking down thirty rows of seats in the middle of their first meeting. So he sat in the back, counting brown faces. Four, eight, thirteen, nineteen; twenty-two Black students out of an estimated total of 450. The small number of Blacks represented merely five percent of the student population.
    Troy threw a friendly hand on Peter’s shoulder after the lecture. “What’s up, Pete? I ain’t know you was in this class.”
    â€œOh, my man, Troy,” Peter responded, extending his hand for a shake. He was surprised to see him. “I heard that you, Jay, and Mat were exempt from taking the C.M.P. classes,” he mentioned.
    â€œWho told you that?”
    â€œJay told me.”
    Troy frowned as soon as he heard the name. “Yeah, that figures. But we still have to take that study skills class.”
    They headed for the cafeteria, still dodging floods of White students, as it started to drizzle. Neither of them had carried an umbrella to class, so they hurried before it started to rain harder.
    Inside the cafeteria, Black students continued to jump in line, angering White students, who dared not to speak on it. Troy and Peter followed the lead.
    â€œYo, what’s up, boys?” Troy said, speaking to some new associates. He had met a lot of students over the past few days. “Oh yeah, Pete, if you need a haircut, I can hook you up, man,” he added, turning back and facing Peter. They moved to the Black section of the cafeteria in the back corner.
    â€œI didn’t know you cut hair,” Peter said. He patted how much his hair had grown since his last cut. “So you got a license?” he asked.
    Troy shook his head and hastily swallowed his bite of turkey sandwich. “Naw, man. I just did it as a hustle around the way,” he answered. “I charge six dollars a head. I give some fresh-ass cuts, too.”
    Peter suddenly raised his head to look over Troy’s. “Ay’, Troy, here comes Jay now,” he said.
    James excitedly sat his tray down next to Troy. “Yo, homes, I got some sex last night from that sophomore girl,” he bragged.
    Troy joined in with his own excitement. “Yeah, me too, cuz. I ended up bein’ late for class this morning.”
    Peter shook his head. “I don’t believe you two are disrespecting our beautiful Black women like that,” he interjected.
    James looked at Peter and laughed. “Where you grow up at, homes?” he asked, planning to make fun of him.
    â€œOh, I grew up in a nice home in a mixed neighborhood,” Peter answered reluctantly. He could sense a setup coming on.
    â€œYou mean you grew up wit’ the White peoples,” James said, giggling.
    Troy smiled, trying not to.
    â€œYeah, but it was a lot of Black people there, too,” Peter explained.
    â€œNaw, homes, my family didn’t move to the suburbs until I was sixteen, so I already had my Black identity,” James said. “Then my pop had gotten this big government job.”
    â€œI’m still a Black man,” Peter snapped. “I know myself. I don’t talk like no Oreo and I don’t live in no suburbs. I just live in a nice area,” he responded to redeem himself.
    â€œSo did you get some sex up here yet, homes?” James requested.