Dark Like Me

3~Slightly

Brown, black, and blue blurs zoom past me as I walk towards the barracks on the sidewalk. 5:30pm, the time where some of the soldiers are on their way home from work or going to work.

The way to my sister's boyfriend's barracks is about a two-mile walk, it's also where she spends the majority of her time when she is not in school with me. Barracks are for single soldiers who have yet to get married, I have never completely understood why they have to stay there even if they have family where they are stationed.

"Military rules," my father would say when I questioned him. Whenever he told me such, I guessed he didn't know the real reason either.

I zip my jacket up, fold my arms across my busty chest, and walk slowly while thinking. Across the street, I can see Alchemy snuggled up at the kiddie park with a boy she likes from school.

Alchemy smiles and waves to me and I wave back. I figured Alchemy would call me later and tell me about what is going on or what is being said between her and the boy. However, he does not look like the boy she described to me in school today, I shrug it off.

Alchemy lives with her mom and twin sister. Their father left when they were six years old, leaving their mother to raise them alone and struggling to put food on the table. Alchemy's father remarried a little over three years ago and spends little to no time with Alchemy or her twin sister.

Making it to the barracks in ten minutes, I looked for the barrack number my sister told me a few times. Finding it, I knock firmly on the door and wait. Fifteen minutes pass and someone answers the door after five minutes. Then someone must be my sister's boyfriend's new roommate; Sydnie does not have much nice things to say about him. The male looks disheveled and hooded eyes possibly high or drunk.

He looks me up and down, "En busca de un buen momento?" I arch my brow not understanding what he is saying.

"You looking for a good time?" He slurs while smiling and leaning on the doorframe.

He reeks of booze; I stand back cautiously and shake my head. "N-no, I am looking for my sister; Sydnie." I stammer nervously.

He scoffs, "Psh, come on, baby. I have the money and a huge one-eyed snake. He is waiting to enter your tunnel of love."

He slurs taking a wad of dollar bills out of his pocket; he begins to wave them around in my face as he sways back and forth. Next thing I know, he faceplants right in front of me in the doorway; knocked unconscious.

My dark grey eyes widen, I slightly nudge the man with my foot.

"S-sir?" He does not budge but a pained groan escapes his throat. I cautiously peek into the apartment, "Syd?" I call out my voice breaking a little.

"Sirrah?" Sydnie calls out, then comes to the door, buttoning up her shirt. "What are you doing here?" She looks at her boyfriend's roommate laid out in the doorway. "Ugh," She groans in disgust. "Brent, come get your roomie. He's passed out again!" Sydnie turns back to me. "What are you doing here, Sirrah?"

"Mom wants you home for dinner, Sydnie," I say.

Brent Mester comes through the living room shirtless and sees his roomie on the floor. I blush a little at Brent's washboard abs and toned arm muscles.

He complains holding his nose against the sudden stench of his roomie pissing himself, "Ugh, I am awaiting requests for a new roomie, he drinks too much."

My sister's boyfriend mumbles to himself while dragging his knocked-out, drunken roomie half way into the living room, just enough to get him out of the doorway.

With a huff, he comes back and stands next to Sydnie, "You leaving, Sweetness?"

"Yeah. Dinner time."

He removes the blonde hair out his blue eyes and plants a kiss on Sydnie's cheek causing Sydnie to giggle, I look away. I do not want to see them make kissy faces at each other. I can feel the jealousy swelling up in my chest.

"See ya tomorrow." They say to each other.

We begin our walk home.

"Sirrah, I want you to one day have what Brent and I have." Sydnie burst out of nowhere.

I look up at the clouds. Not this talk again.

"I'm not interested in finding a man, Sydnie." I lie. "I am more into getting my school work done and looking to get into a decent college. Besides, no one would want my black ass and being adopted just addsa sting. Everyone here tends to date within their own race," I mumble thinking Sydnie did not hear the 'black ass' part.

Sydnie's brown eyes widen at my sudden honesty, "You're still pretty and smart, Sirrah. Rather you're black or not, adopted or not. And if these close-minded boys cannot see all those amazing things, then something is wrong with them. Not you, sissy." Sydnie snaps her fingers and rolls her neck with attitude.

I can't help but giggle as we lock arms and slowly walk home so we can converse about other things we're going on with us. Since she had started dating Brent and with me focusing on getting into a decent college, I felt as though we do not spend as much time together as we used to. However, times like this are the times I value the most.