, everything is going great over here, no need to come see me." I said to my mother over the phone. "Finals are coming up soon though so I have to work harder, that's all."

"But baby, you sound stressed. I'm not convinced. Do I have to send Tracy over to see how you're fairing?" My mom suggested with concern. I caught a little fever last week after staying out for so long in the slight cold, amidst people at the café a few blocks from my apartment and then my mother found out and has been worried ever since to the point of wanting to send my eldest and only sister from my hometown to New York to confirm if I was okay.

I blew a raspberry and blew some air into a spoonful of chicken noodle soup and said, "Mother, nan gwaenchanh-a deo isang jalmosdoen geon eobs-eo (I'm fine nothing is wrong anymore)." I tried to sound convincing to the most adamant woman I knew.

"geuleohge malhamyeon gwaenchanh-a jagiya (Fine, if you say so baby)." I sucked off the residue of soup on the spoon with a smile before putting my phone on loudspeaker and heading to the kitchen to wash my empty plate. I nearly dropped the plate on my feet with what she said next, "Less I forget, jagiya, Lulan will be moving in with you."

I silently screamed a 'What?' to myself. How could this lady do that to me!

"What? Why? I thought she stayed in a dorm room without lacking anything, so why would she wanna live alongside plain ol' me." I said in the words of Lulan herself.

Lulan was my cousin and my mother's niece, who stopped being close with me since we got admission into college— well, around the time we were graduating from high school. For reasons I still haven't registered. But I always thought it was caused by her mixing with the wrong crowd.

"Be the bigger person and forget all those times. It's only healthy you know." I rolled my eyes and continued clearing the few dishes in the sink.

"When should I be expecting her?"

"A few moments from now. Bye Jagiya!" Beep.

What the– "Mom, how can you just be telling me this now?!" I whined like she could still hear me. I wanted to cry out so bad cause Lulan was huge meanie and very aggravating, I could just picture us dragging each other by our body parts.

After tidying up the kitchen, I went back to the living room to continue reading like I was doing before my mom called. I forgot my phone was still on the kitchen counter till it started to ring, I went to retrieve it and returned to my position. Daraja, the caller ID read.

I answered with a smile, "Hey."

"What's good, booty Judy."

"I have no booty, Darajah it's all just chunks." I rolled my eyes and sighed. Coffee and Darajah were the two good things that came from me going to the café last week. She unenrolled from NYU to focus on broadening her YouTube channel and just entertainment at large and modeling per-time for Fashionnova.

I heard her gasp, "I know damn well you lying. You packing shit behind you for me and two other girls combined, May. So don't even."

I wanted to laugh at it being funny and at the same time cry because it was literally the first time ever someone complimented my size and not make fun of me about it, asides my mother. "That's a good thing right?" I carefully asked.

"A great thing shuga. I need me some of your sumptuous thickness cuz it gets boring carrying around all this slim-barely-there-thick, I need more." I giggled at how serious she sounded.

"You're a mess."

"But forreal May, we going out tonight."

I nodded, "Okay, safe journey y'all. Don't have too much fun."

"Girl, I'm talking 'bout you and I. You ain't even funny." But she still laughed.

"No Rajah, I wasn't tryna' be funny though because you should have figured by now that I don't go out, it's like a once in a blue moon thing, necessity or emergency." I explained. I'd prefer to be head stuck in my books and take funny selfies on my phone rather than step out in the name of having a 'good time'. I'm good luv, enjoy.

"Mayyy," she prolonged, "It's not even finna be crowded I promise, just a few people to wish the celebrant a happy birthday, blow out the candles and eat the cake. Dassit."

"Why can't it happen without my presence though?" I boringly said knowing if she convinced me further I'd give in and I hate that I'm that easy to convince.

"Cuz you's an MVP." I laughed loudly at that. "It's true, anyways it's a lil house party with a few friends and I don't got company so I'm taking you, I promise not to ditch you like in the movies or whatever fictional shit you be seeing."

"Don't come for me, Rajah or I'm not going nowhere besides I don't have anything to wear for—"

"Say less, I got everything you gon' need to wear even the wig so don't worry. See ya in an hour." She hung up before I could say anything else.

I scrunched up my face at the thought of wearing a wig. Why wear a wig when my hair is long enough? Or makeup when I have smooth skin? All these stress just for a 'lil' house party, I was already second guessing my attendance. But life is all about risks, if none is taken— who the heck am I kidding, I'm not taking any risks and I'm not going to any 'lil' party. So guess what I did, I took fat behind to my bedroom and snuggled under the covers with my AirPods plugged in enjoying 90s RnB as I snored.

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