Kerina stared at the darkened bruises on her otherwise flawless wrists.
"What the fuck?" she muttered confused.
She rubbed at them before walking toward the bathroom. She reached into the sink cabinet to fetch her cocoa butter, gently applying it to the tender bruises.
She was going to stay clear of Brantley today. She didn't need him or dream Brantley affecting her. She showered hastily and went back into her room to study.
Kerina sat Indian style on her bed with all her studying tools spread about. Yellow, green and blue highlighter marks were scattered about her handouts and ledger sheets of notes.
Hours of reading, learning and memorizing were followed by hours of frustration, loud sighs and shuffling of papers.
Fuck it,
she thought.
If I don't know it now, I never will,
she reasoned.
She shoved all her study tools to the right side of her bed and laid back.
This dream was different than the others. This one was consumed of floating business terminology and marketing strategies.
*****************
Kerina smiled and stretched once she woke up from her catnap. She felt refreshed and actually ready for the business test she had the next day. She carefully placed a rubber band around the stack of flashcards she had made and stuffed them into her bag. She sorted and placed her papers back into her notebook, and put it and her textbook into the bag as well.
She stretched again and decided to get a snack and drink before her stomach decided to eat her alive. Her eyes drifted towards the window and she saw that it was dark outside. She looked at her phone and saw that it was almost 7. She'd studied and slept the day away! She remembered Brantley had mentioned something about some friends coming over, so she cracked her door open to look out. To her surprise it was quiet. She looked down at her clothes and fumbled with the thin fabric of her washed too many times white t-shirt and softball shorts.
She shrugged and padded out into the hallway when she saw Brantley and a few friends in the living room area around the teal green portable card playing table. She took in the bottles of beer and odd deck of playing cards before they noticed her. Brantley was the first to speak while the others just looked at her.
"Kerina, you're alive," he smiled. "You've been barricaded in your room all day."
"Yea, I'm alive," she said returning his smile. "I had a lot of studying to do."
"I saw. I went in to check on you, and I saw you stretched out in there."
"Mmm," one of the boys said, and another nudged him violently in the side.
"I was tired," Kerina said, dismissing the boy. "All that cramming gave me a headache. I think I'm good now."
"You damn sure look good," the boy spoke again.
They all laughed, except Kerina. She protectively crossed her arms across her chest and scoffed. Brantley stopped laughing and apologized for the boy.
"Don't mind them, Kerr Bear. They're all fucking idiots."
"Yea Kerr Bear. We're fucking idiots," the boy said.
Kerina didn't know the boy, but was quickly starting to dislike him. She figured he had been drinking and wrote his ridiculous behavior off as drunkenness.
"Dude shut the fuck up," Brantley said before mouthing he was sorry again.
He introduced the guys as Tyson, Mike and Derek, with the latter being the one she wasn't fond of. The rest of the guys seemed to be OK. Tyson was even cute. She'd seen him passing quick glances and smiles her way.
"Care to join us?" Brantley asked.
"Nah," Kerina dismissed. "I just came to get something to snack on."
"We got chips, dip and beer right here. Come sit and play with us," he offered patting his seat.
Kerina shot a quick glance at Derek, knowing he had some perverted comment, but he just looked at her. Actually more like let his eyes roam her body.
"What are y'all playin?" she asked squeezing onto the chair with Brantley.
"Anything you wanna play."
"I don't really know how to play many card games."
"You play poker?"
"No. I play Uno, Old Maid, Solitaire, War, Bullshit and Gold Fish."
"You mean Go Fish?" Brantley joked.
"You know what I meant!" she laughed.
"Yea, yea, yea. How 'bout Bullshit. The rest of those games are for babies."
"And ain't no babies round here! I'm a man!" Derek yelled, ripping his shirt.
"Man what kind of sick fuck are you?" Mike asked.
He just shrugged.
The group started playing Bullshit. Brantley decided not to play. He kept his arm around her waist to keep her balanced in the chair with him as he helped her play – for her card playing had gotten a little rusty.
"Kerr Bear," Derek said. Kerina shot him a dirty glance. "What? You don't want me to call you Kerr Bear, Kerr Bear?"
"What do you want?"
"Did you know that people actually call me Big D?" She shook her head in the negative. "Guess why," he said wiggling his eyebrows."
Kerina can only fault the alcohol for what she said next.
"Probably because the dick you lack in your pants, you make up for with your dickish attitude. Now shut the fuck up and don't call me Kerr Bear. And oh yea, bullshit."
