Suds – Season 1, Episode 9

… a mini-soap opera that bubbles with Love & Drama

[Last time on Suds, poor Shantel sunk into depression from lack of having a man to affirm her beauty and worth. Sidebar: Ladies, this is completely unnecessary as we have been fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Meanwhile, her man, Terrance, was making arrangements to whisper sweet nothings into the ears of her roommate, Leilah. The nerve! Shantel’s only recourse for console in “her man’s” absence – both physical and emotional – was to seek comfort from the person who sent her spiraling into depression in the first place, her ex, Darien. Is the air thick enough, yet?]

Shantel woke up, groggy. She stared at the blurry numbers on the clock until her eyes adjusted to the shapes. It was almost ten o’clock at night, and Terrance still had not called her. Fishing through her contacts, she found a number and dialed.
“Shantel?”
“Yeah, Darien, it’s me.” She didn’t recognize the dry voice that came from her own mouth. Shantel turned onto her back staring vacantly at the ceiling of her dorm. She felt herself sinking away from her cares into a thick, dark place.

“Shantel?” Darien called gently as though sensing her frailty, “I’m not trying to brush you off. You’ll always be special to me.”
“Not special enough to be with you, though,” she whispered without emotion.
“Tel, I mean, Shantel. This really isn’t about you.” He said speaking softly enough to buffer the painful truth she would hear in his words.
“That’s right,” she said sarcastically, “It’s about God.”
“Yes, Shantel, it is about God, and everything we were is nothing He wants me to be.” He rubbed his braids while sitting on the sofa in his cramped, one bedroom apartment. “Me and you, Shantel, were mainly about one thing. We can’t even be in the same car together without trying to go back to that place. And, I’m not trying to be mean, but outside of that, there really ain’t anything between us.”

Shantel gasped, snapping out of her melancholy state, “How can you say that?”
“Come on Tel.” Darien slapped his hand on his forehead and corrected himself, “Shantel, be real.”

She sat up, swinging her feet off the bed and paced across the room. Her mind raced through various plots and schemes. Instantly, she brewed a fresh batch of tears. She stood in the middle of her room, and gave herself completely to the illusion of sadness. “So, that’s really all I was to you?” she whimpered, exerting every bit of anguish she could muster. Mortified cries escaped her lips as she crumbled to the floor, rocking back and forth.

Her cries pierced his heart, and guilt bore down on him. “Shantel,” he begged.
“Just forget it,” she cried through excess leakage of tears and her dripping nose.
“Shantel,” he called a second time with more desperation in his voice. He knew better than anyone the possible implications of Shantel’s depression. Their breakups alone required three times before he was able to part and know she wouldn’t make an attempt on her own life. And even then, it was only because Terrance – still full of hatred for Darien – stepped in as her new love interest.
“Just forget it!” she screamed, clutching her hair at the root. She curled into a ball and let out a shrill scream.

The phone clicked. Darien could only hear the dial tone.
~~
“Favorite or least favorite moment of Spring Break,” Terrance asked following Leilah’s car as they exited I-57, less than thirty minutes from campus.
“Least favorite,” Leilah laughed, and surprising herself, she answered in truth, “When my Granny knocked me out... literally.”
“For real,” he chuckled, “Did you step out of pocket with Grans?”
“Uh-uh, case of mistaken identity. Your turn.”

Terrance grimly remembered the way Shantel stared longingly at Darien on the beach. His hand gripped tightly around the steering wheel as an image of his former roommate and his freshman girlfriend protruded his thoughts. He grimaced.

Trying to hide his frustration, he answered in a normal tone, “I’m gon have to pass on that one.”
“Booo,” Leilah objected. “No fair, I told you mine.”
“Alright, free range, ask me something else. Anything else and I’ll answer.”

Leilah sorted through her mind, “Let me think.” She thought of many questions, but none seemed appropriate considering he belonged to someone else. She decided to stay in neutral territory. “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
“That’s your question? Sounds like something I had to write about in high school.”
“Then you should have no problem answering,” she teased, appreciating the sibling-like banter they shared.

Terrance grinned as he spoke to the cute and mildly comedic girl. Her laugh was full of life and her family stories overflowed with love in spite of hardship. As he answered the questions and listened to hers, he began to forget about Shantel, and his three year vendetta against Darien was suddenly less important.
~~
Darien parked in the tow zone in front of Shantel’s dormitory, feeling compelled to check on her. He couldn’t bear the thought of her hurting herself. On some level, he felt it would be his fault.

Opening his car door, he attempted to swing his foot out. It didn't move. His body became heavy like a mixture of iron and lead. His legs felt as though they were cemented to the floor and try as he might, he could not shift his posterior in any direction. He struggled unsuccessfully to climb out of the vehicle, tiring himself in the process.

Finally, the heaviness won, and he closed his car door, confused. Resting his head on the steering wheel, Darien prayed.

[Stay tuned: The swirling bubbles of boyfriends and betrayal are bound to 'pop goes the weasel'.]