"We must do something to help our brothers and sisters at this school, there's a lot of discrimination around here," Malika Diallo said thoughtfully, and Stephen Salomon nodded sagely, even though he was preoccupied by the many things on his mind. His heavy class schedule and his bills and his job, among other things. This was his final semester at Carleton University, and he was taking six courses this winter just so he could graduate with all his peers in the spring.
Still, as Stephen looked at the round-faced, curvy, brown-skinned and raven-haired, forty-something Muslim woman standing before him, right as he was about to enter the University Center Building, rushing to his Criminology class, the truth of her words struck a chord within him. Part of him agreed with Malika, because Stephen had a hell of a time dealing with the financial services department of the school, and their frustrating lack of flexibility. It's hard out here for a brother, the big and tall young Haitian thought to himself.
"Oh, sister, I agree, myself I encountered a lot of difficulties at this school during my days as an international student, thankfully I became a permanent resident just this month," Stephen said, and Malika flashed him that not-quite-motherly smile and patted his arm. Her touch awakened something within the young man, who smiled shyly. When the lady asked for his number, Stephen happily gave it to her, and then excused himself because, well, the brother had places to be...
"That's the spirit, keep in touch, brother," Malika hollered, and Stephen paused in front of the U.C. Building door, and turned to reply, but Malika was already walking away. The curvy gal seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere. Stephen watched the ever-smiling, curvaceous African Muslim gal until she disappeared from view, and smiled. Malika the mother hen, as some students around campus called her, had a really nice, round ass...
Like a lot of the students of African descent at Carleton University, Stephen knew Malika Diallo in a general sort of way. The vivacious, ever-smiling lady was ever-present in student clubs, always hanging around the school library or the atrium. Malika was friendly and easygoing, and Stephen figured that she was one of those mature students on campus, taking courses for professional reasons or simply to enrich their lives. Stephen envied such people, he couldn't wait to get the hell out of Carleton, with his degree, of course...
Stephen couldn't recall the last time he'd been with a woman. Oh yeah, there was his co-worker Ariel Raymond, whom he had a fling with, but the cute, green-eyed, flame-haired gal from Ohio turned out to be quite nutty. Stephen had reasons to suspect that Ariel was having an affair with their co-worker Leticia Ferreira while he was seeing her. It was much too late to matter now. Stephen and Ariel had both moved on with their lives. Six and a half months ago...
Stephen went to the campus library, to get a head start on his course load. As he tried to work, he thought of the many twists and turns his life had taken. This year, new though it was, was turning out to be quite challenging for him. He'd been struggling as an international student at Carleton University for years, working odd jobs ranging from shelf stocker at Loblaw's to security guard at various stores, and many more. Stephen did whatever he had to in order to make ends meet, and then some.
The atrociously high tuition rates that the school charged international students made Stephen's life a living hell, and now that he was a permanent resident, he was euphoric about his change of status. No more paying through the nose for school. This semester, Stephen's sex life was virtually nonexistent. He hadn't gotten laid in ages. Life was meant to be lived and enjoyed, what Stephen had been doing wasn't living but merely surviving. It was time for the lonely, brilliant Haitian scholar to find out how the other half lived...
Stephen remembered his recent encounter with a young man named Yassin Okafor, whom he met while working security at Walmart. Tall, lanky and dark-skinned, Yassin Okafor was handsome in a way that was unique to those hailing from the realm of West African masculinity. The two of them had become good friends, always at the front of the store, one working security while the other worked as a cart guy. One night, after work, Yassin invited Stephen over to chill, since they both had the day off the next day, and Stephen acquiesced.
Stephen and Yassin hung out outside of work, even chilling at each other's schools. Yassin was taking up neuroscience at the University of Ottawa, and intended to be a doctor. The tall, handsome Nigerian Muslim student had a complex life, to say the least. Yassin had a mixed-race daughter, Amelia, with a young red-haired White woman named Donna Barstow. From what Stephen gathered, Donna was a problematic woman with anger issues, and her racist parents disapproved of her relationship with Yassin, simply because he was Black. Yassin and Donna were separated at the moment. Stephen didn't know how the Nigerian brother did it, given his weirdly complex life, but somehow Yassin kept his sanity...
