Boys And Girls

                                                                                I

As the first term wore on, I stopped going to my biology class. The class was held in the Hilberry theater. All seats were filled. Getting in on time was a trial. Hilberry's first floor, lounge, balcony, and second balcony were packed. The lectures weren't challenging. Besides, I couldn't understand a word he said. He was a Japanese person with a pronounced accent.   The other isolating thing in that space was that I still hadn't begun dating, and I saw no one I knew in all that crowd, no one I thought i could get to know.  I had had one date in my life - senior prom with my auntie's friend's son! I felt I had better get on with it in order to get on with having some sort of life. I also had to keep up with having something in common with the other young black women of college age. I had had a lot of fun in high school; but I was afraid fun could be quickly over if I didn't get a social footing.