Free Time to Shine by Nikki Carter Page A

writing assignment based on a selection from a Toni Morrison novel called A Mercy . I have got to get an A on this one, for real.
    After class is dismissed, Gia and I go over to meet Piper for lunch at the Manley Student Center. Mostly, we eat off campus, but this has got to be a quick lunch for me, because I have a stylist meeting me in my dorm with a boatload of clothes for the Grammys.
    Piper is already here waiting for us. She smiles at us as we sit down, but I can’t bring myself to match her chip-perosity. I’m too bummed about my grade.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you?” Piper asks.
    When I don’t reply, Gia says, “She got a bad grade on her paper.”
    â€œIt wasn’t that bad. It was a C,” I say.
    â€œExactly,” Gia says. “It wasn’t that bad. Professor Due rocks, but she has high standards.”
    â€œYou got an A, though. . . .”
    â€œI got an A, because I don’t have to go to the studio every other day, and I can actually do my homework. You’re trying to do too much,” Gia says.
    â€œNot you too! Everyone keeps saying that to me. I can go to school and do music. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.”
    Piper says, “Maybe you should just drop your class load some.”
    â€œNo. I want to graduate with y’all. I’m not going to be here for six years trying to finish.”
    â€œMaybe, you just need to get more organized. Have you thought about hiring an assistant?” Gia asks.
    â€œYou want the job?” I ask.
    â€œUh, no! I am your friend, so that’s not gonna work. Piper either. We’re too tight. I was thinking my homeboy Kevin.”
    â€œDoes he need the money or something?” I ask, unsure of how I feel about this idea, but not totally rejecting it.
    â€œHe could definitely use it. Kevin is here on full scholarship, and his grandparents are barely giving him enough to live on. If it wasn’t for that on-campus meal card, he’d be starving to death, but that’s not why I recommended him.”
    â€œWell, why did you say him instead of me?” Piper asks. “Because I would so make a great assistant.”
    â€œKevin is ridiculously organized, and no boyfriend you have would ever worry about him trying to holla at you, because he would never do that.”
    â€œBut Kevin is cute though,” I say. “If Sam and I were still dating, he wouldn’t be feeling that at all.”
    â€œYou and Sam are history, right?” Piper asks. “We don’t care what he would think.”
    Gia high-fives Piper across the table. “Okay!”
    I would join in with their celebration, but I’m not ecstatic about Sam being the past, especially when I have to see him all the time. I let out a long and tired sigh.
    Gia touches my arm lightly. “Don’t feel bad, girl. You aren’t the only one having boyfriend issues.”
    â€œYou too?” My eyebrows lift in shock. Gia and Ricky are like the epitome of teenage love.
    â€œRicky wants to break up. He says that it’s too hard staying chaste and being in a relationship.” Gia sounds sad, but not angry.
    â€œChaste?” Piper asks. “So, you guys haven’t . . . ?”
    â€œNo. We’re both virgins,” Gia says. “We’re saving ourselves for marriage.”
    Piper takes a long swig of her soda. “Whoa.”
    â€œI’m a virgin too,” I say.
    â€œAre you serious?” Piper says. “Now, y’all making me feel like a skank.”
    I throw a French fry at her. “Pretty much.”
    â€œWhatever!” Piper says.
    I turn to Gia and give her a hug, even though I’m not a hugger. She looks so sad that I make an exception.
    â€œAre you okay?” I ask.
    She nods. “I am. It’s just that I’m afraid that while we’re not officially together that he might find someone else.”
    â€œIf he does, then he wasn’t the