“Mmm, yes,” Gabby interjects. “The center is the seat of the soul. I was just watching Venetia last night—”

“That random white woman that lives in Japan and walks through the forest picking berries and shit?” Keli asks. “I can’t with you either this morning.”

“Listen, Venetia provides wisdom for stressful times,” Gabby argues. “She always says that home is not a place, but the center within us. If we learn how to tap into that, we’ll always feel grounded and at peace. Isn’t that profound?”

“Sure,” Keli says dismissively, turning to me to change the subject. “What’s up with that curly-haired white boy? Did he make any moves yet? I think he might be gay.”

“Or racist,” Earnell retorts snidely. “I personally think interracial relationships will never work because white people can never truly understand what we go through.”

“I thought you were trying to be more open, Earnell?” I ask.

“Oh, I am,” he says. “But my openness has its limits. You won’t catch me kissing no blue-eyed devil.”

“Help him, Lord,” Keli says while laughing and playfully smacking his arm. “Help him.”

“We went to get ice cream yesterday,” I mention, “and sat on a bench outside of campus just talking. It was actually kind of romantic, but nothing happened. So I don’t know.”

“Well, why don’t you give a brotha a chance?” Earnell asks forcefully. “It’s some good brothas on this campus.”

“Yea, and they full of themselves,” Keli reminds him. “They the shit and they know it. All the girls be checking for good-looking Black men: white, Black, Asian, Latinx. Pumps up their ego too much. They walk around like they are God’s gift. Look at the Alphas. They have all those women throwing themselves at them. I won’t participate in that foolishness.”

Gabby takes a deep breath and places her hand on her heart. She only does that when she’s preparing to channel the wisdom of the elders. We know a long spiritual dialogue is about to unfold.

“I feel moved by spirit to share.”

“Oh God,” Earnell says. “Here we go.”

Gabby looks each one of us lovingly in the eyes for way too long. “I just see such beauty in each of you. I’m being told, from the guides, that love will find you when you least expect it. And that the magnitude of your beings cannot fully be comprehended by what we see with our eyes. You are much deeper than you can imagine. The right one will see that and accept you for who you are.”

“Do you smoke weed?” Earnell asks abruptly and mockingly. “Cannabis is not the answer, baby girl.”

“You stupid, Earnell,” Keli says while hitting him again. Keli always feels like she has to smack sense into him.