Homecoming Weekend Read Online Free Page A

parents were able to supply her with steady doses of money.
    Mary was a talker and Tranise couldn’t wait for her to stop, so she interrupted her. “Girl, you look so good,” she said. “Where are you?”
    â€œThanks. And so do you. That extra weight looks great on you,” Mary said. “I come to Atlanta all the time. I live in northern Virginia. I work for the FCC in D.C. It’s expensive up there, but everything is fine.
    â€œI was talking about you to Charlene last night; she should be here any minute,” Mary went on. “I’m going to meet her at the airport in about thirty minutes. Charlene lives in Charlotte, working for Bank of America. You know her and numbers.”
    â€œHow could I forget?” Tranise said. “She was a walking calculator.”
    â€œYou should go with me to the airport to surprise her,” Mary said. “She will shit a brick when she sees you.”
    â€œOkay, let’s do that,” Tranise said. “I don’t have any otherplans. But you know, Mary, this is so exciting. I have not been on campus in four years. Don’t you feel proud?”
    â€œI’ve come back every year for homecoming and I still feel the pride you’re talking about,” Mary said. “It’s like this is the place where we grew up.”
    Suddenly, another of their old classmates came up behind Mary and lifted her off of the ground.
    â€œYeah, who is this? Who is this?” he said. “I could kidnap you and you’d never know who did it.”
    â€œPut me down,” Mary said, laughing. “Whoever it is needs some deodorant and a breath mint.”
    â€œAh, that’s cold,” the guy said, letting her free.
    She turned around to see Cedric Collins, one of the biggest guys on campus who did not play football.
    â€œCed, you’re so crazy,” Mary said, and they hugged. “Ced, you remember Tranise?”
    He looked at Tranise with a smile and extended his hand.
    â€œI don’t, but happy homecoming,” he said. “You sort of look like Tranise . . . Knight, I think her last name was.”
    â€œI am Tranise Knight,” I said. She remembered Cedric; fun-loving, loud guy who did not mind being in the spotlight.
    â€œOh, wow,” he said. “It is you. Tranise, you look great.”
    They hugged.
    â€œNobody’s seen you since graduation,” he said. “Looks like you’re doing great, as everyone expected.”
    â€œThanks, Cedric,” she said. “What are you up to?”
    â€œYou know, keeping it moving,” he said. His voice was booming. It almost sounded as if he spoke with a megaphone. “Lawyer in Chicago. Just passed the bar. Loving Chicago, not loving the job. But, hey, it’s just good to have a job these days, you know?”
    The three of them chatted for a few minutes as the pep rallywound down. The last of the fraternities and sororities put on a prelude to the step show that night at Joe Echols Arena and the band cranked hip-hop songs that made the huge crowd dance.
    â€œHow great is this?” Tranise said. “I remember being over there, in that crowd of students, having a ball. This is almost like an out-of-body experience.”
    The Student Government Association president, a strong-talking young man named David Allen Brown from New Jersey, ended the pep rally with these words: “It is so great to see so many alumni back to our beloved Norfolk State University. This still is your school as much as it is ours. You have helped make this university what it is. You have laid the groundwork and been an example for us to follow. When we graduate, it will be an exciting and a sad day. But it’s good to know that when we come back for homecoming, we’ll be welcomed as you all are this weekend . . . Happy Homecoming.”
    Mary, Tranise and Cedric hugged each other. The band blared the school song and Tranise felt overly