there. In my rush to get to my car before I was pummeled with spiral notebooks, I ran right smack into a young woman, knocking her book bag off her shoulder. It turned out to be Cherisse Craig.
“Whoa, what’s the rush?” she asked as she picked up the book bag and flung it over her shoulder. She was dressed down in jeans, a blue cotton tunic, and espadrilles. Her long blonde dreads were pulled back with an elastic scrunchy.
“Sorry. I’ve just been to my first class since college and I was just reminded of why I didn’t further my education.” She laughed and it lit her whole face up.
“Are you taking classes, too?” I asked, following her to the parking lot.
“Uh huh, for about a year now. Just a couple of classes a quarter. It’s all I can manage working full-time. After I lost my job with Julian last year, I decided to go back to school and get a degree. I’m just taking electives right now. I haven’t declared a major yet.”
“That’s great,” I told her. Once we’d reached my car, my stomach rumbled loudly reminding me that it hadn’t been fed.
“You want to go have dinner?” Cherisse asked timidly.
Her shyness made me wonder if she’d made many friends in the eleven years since high school. Back then her only friend was her twin sister, Serena. I had no other plans since my so-called man was avoiding me like I was plague stricken, claiming he was swamped at work.
“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed.
We met ten minutes later at the Red Dragon Chinese Restaurant. The usually jam-packed restaurant was half empty on a Monday night and we were seated right away. I ordered my usual cashew chicken and fried rice while Cherisse ordered shrimp lo mein. We both had mai tais and egg rolls.
“You know, I always wondered what happened to you after high school. You were one of the few people who didn’t torture me,” Cherisse said after we’d placed our orders.
“I wasn’t exactly Miss Popularity, either. Picking on you would have been dweeb on dweeb violence.”
She laughed so hard I thought mai tai might squirt out of her nose.
“Can you believe how fat Audrey and Dennis got? I can understand gaining weight when you’ve had five kids but what’s Dennis’s excuse?” she asked.
I wasn’t going to touch that one since my scale regularly swung back and forth between fat and fabulous.
“Remember how Audrey and her crew all acted like they were going on to big things after graduation? Audrey was going to model. Dennis was going to play pro baseball. Julian was going to be a brain surgeon. Remember how they bragged about all their big plans?” I asked, chuckling. Cherisse laughed too.
The waitress brought us our egg rolls and I took a bite without waiting for it to cool and almost burned my tongue.
“Gerald seems to be the only one doing well professionally but then again he has three ex-wives and four kids. He must be spending a fortune on child support and alimony, “ she said.
I nodded in agreement and suddenly remembered the missing reunion fund money and Gerald’s reaction at the meeting. Thirty-five hundred dollars might not be a fortune but to someone like Gerald with ex-wives and children to support, it wasn’t exactly small change.
“Gerald used to visit Julian at his office a lot. Do you know he had the nerve to act like he didn’t remember me?” She curled her lips in distain.
“Well, you do look a lot different now, more stylish.”
“Thanks.” I could tell she was flattered.
“Can I ask you a question?” I was unable to contain my curiosity about the Julian situation any longer. I wanted to know if her version matched what Ms. Flack had already told me. She laughed and took a big gulp of her drink.
“Go ahead and ask. It’s what everyone wants to know,” she said dryly.
“What happened? Why’d he fire you?”
“It’s simple. I forgot to give him an important message from a potential client. He lost out on the account and I got fired as a result.
“Whoa, what’s the rush?” she asked as she picked up the book bag and flung it over her shoulder. She was dressed down in jeans, a blue cotton tunic, and espadrilles. Her long blonde dreads were pulled back with an elastic scrunchy.
“Sorry. I’ve just been to my first class since college and I was just reminded of why I didn’t further my education.” She laughed and it lit her whole face up.
“Are you taking classes, too?” I asked, following her to the parking lot.
“Uh huh, for about a year now. Just a couple of classes a quarter. It’s all I can manage working full-time. After I lost my job with Julian last year, I decided to go back to school and get a degree. I’m just taking electives right now. I haven’t declared a major yet.”
“That’s great,” I told her. Once we’d reached my car, my stomach rumbled loudly reminding me that it hadn’t been fed.
“You want to go have dinner?” Cherisse asked timidly.
Her shyness made me wonder if she’d made many friends in the eleven years since high school. Back then her only friend was her twin sister, Serena. I had no other plans since my so-called man was avoiding me like I was plague stricken, claiming he was swamped at work.
“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed.
We met ten minutes later at the Red Dragon Chinese Restaurant. The usually jam-packed restaurant was half empty on a Monday night and we were seated right away. I ordered my usual cashew chicken and fried rice while Cherisse ordered shrimp lo mein. We both had mai tais and egg rolls.
“You know, I always wondered what happened to you after high school. You were one of the few people who didn’t torture me,” Cherisse said after we’d placed our orders.
“I wasn’t exactly Miss Popularity, either. Picking on you would have been dweeb on dweeb violence.”
She laughed so hard I thought mai tai might squirt out of her nose.
“Can you believe how fat Audrey and Dennis got? I can understand gaining weight when you’ve had five kids but what’s Dennis’s excuse?” she asked.
I wasn’t going to touch that one since my scale regularly swung back and forth between fat and fabulous.
“Remember how Audrey and her crew all acted like they were going on to big things after graduation? Audrey was going to model. Dennis was going to play pro baseball. Julian was going to be a brain surgeon. Remember how they bragged about all their big plans?” I asked, chuckling. Cherisse laughed too.
The waitress brought us our egg rolls and I took a bite without waiting for it to cool and almost burned my tongue.
“Gerald seems to be the only one doing well professionally but then again he has three ex-wives and four kids. He must be spending a fortune on child support and alimony, “ she said.
I nodded in agreement and suddenly remembered the missing reunion fund money and Gerald’s reaction at the meeting. Thirty-five hundred dollars might not be a fortune but to someone like Gerald with ex-wives and children to support, it wasn’t exactly small change.
“Gerald used to visit Julian at his office a lot. Do you know he had the nerve to act like he didn’t remember me?” She curled her lips in distain.
“Well, you do look a lot different now, more stylish.”
“Thanks.” I could tell she was flattered.
“Can I ask you a question?” I was unable to contain my curiosity about the Julian situation any longer. I wanted to know if her version matched what Ms. Flack had already told me. She laughed and took a big gulp of her drink.
“Go ahead and ask. It’s what everyone wants to know,” she said dryly.
“What happened? Why’d he fire you?”
“It’s simple. I forgot to give him an important message from a potential client. He lost out on the account and I got fired as a result.
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