“What’s taking her so long?” said Tracee. She and Maurice stood across the busy street from the arena, anxious to see their favorite band Boom Sheik.
“She’ll be here soon, just…look through your phone, it’ll kill time,”
Tracee did just that, but half-heartedly. She kept looking at Maurice under the neon lights that colored the city. He had a way of making whatever he wore look fashionable without even trying. Today it was high-top cheap looking sneakers, jeans with holes in the right places, and a t-shirt wrapped in an opened faded jacket. He seemed distracted, maybe he was getting tired of waiting too.
“So how long have you known Freddy?” she asked.
“Uhmmm…if I have to think about it, I would say a good five years” said Maurice. “I met her in tenth grade, and we just wound up at the same college.”
“Cool. You guys must be close.” What she thought was her best friend just gave her a hook-up. Now she understands the extra ticket.
“Yeah, I guess. You?”
“Oh, I met her freshman year. At orientation. We’ve been thick as thieves ever since.”
Maurice looked to the street while Tracee foundered for something to say. Freddy wasn’t there to help break the ice, and she needed her right then.
“So what are you studying?” She asked.
“Oh, uhm, calculus. You?”
“I’m going for my English major” she said, lilting at the end.
“Cool” he replied. Having nothing else to say, he began looking out at the street again.
I’ve got to get a seat next to him, she thought. That’s when Freddy’s cab pulled up.
She climbed out of the back and stopped short of us. She looked at Tracee, then at him, and asked, “What?”
Arid Testimony 