It was my freshman year at a small HBCU in the south. It had always been my dream to come here. I grew up a die-hard fan of the school's football team. I was in disbelief when I received my acceptance letter. Tyler Miller was headed to college!
The players were treated like kings at our school. You couldn't get close to them or any of their parties unless you had a certain level of status.
My step-brother Max was a junior in the business school. Max was a couple of inches taller than me and a tad more muscular. We were both unimpressively skinny. Max managed to get in with the football team early on. They let him come to all of their parties. Max never specified what occurred at them, but he always emphasized they were the best on campus.
Although he wasn't my real brother, I looked up to Max. He was always very popular no matter where he went. I did what I could to impress him.
My only connection to the football team came through class. I happened to be placed next to Reggie Wix in math. Reggie was our starting running back. He stood at 6'3" with dark skin, diamond earrings, short dreads, and big tattooed arms. He typically wore a hoodie with gym shorts or sweats. I was a skinny white boy at a generous 5'7". If I didn't look small already, standing next to him certainly didn't help.
Although I wanted to, we didn't speak much. He was hardly in class to begin with. When he was present, all we discussed were the answers to the homework.
As the fall semester progressed into October, Halloween rapidly approached. Outside of some lame freshmen orientation events, I had not been to any parties on campus. Halloween was a weekend packed with parties. The holy grail of them all was the football party.
Somehow, my friend Sam received an early invite to the football house. Sam was a freshman like me from the same hometown. Like Max, he was also an inch or two taller than me, however, he was among the skinniest guys I knew. We always remained close friends throughout our childhood. Sam was timid unlike me. I couldn't believe he of all people would get an invite.
Eventually, the week of Halloween arrived. I didn't have a costume or a party to attend. I headed to class each day hoping for a last-minute invite. To no luck of mine, my final class of the week began with no prospects. Surprisingly, Reggie attended class that day. No real conversations emerged as usual until the bell rang.
"Aye bro, what you got going on this weekend?"
Taken by surprise, I awkwardly replied.
"Oh umm...I don't know yet. Still figuring things out I guess."
Reggie got right to the point.
"You should come to the football house. We need one more for our group costume."
It seemed too good to be true. Not only was I being invited to the football house, they had a costume for me as well. I tried my best to play it cool.
"Yeah, I guess I could come. I haven't figured out my costume yet anyway."
Reggie and I exchanged numbers before parting ways. I headed back to my dorm in shock. I texted Sam right away. We had to show up separately with the guys who invited us, but at least I would know someone there.
I waited patiently all day Friday and Saturday for a text. As Saturday night drew closer, I feared Reggie had forgotten about me. Just when I thought all hope was lost, a rare vibration came from my phone. It was Reggie.
"Ayo brotha you ready?"
I quickly texted him back. He shot me his address and a time. I quickly showered, shaved, and got dressed. I threw on a polo, shorts, and some flip-flops.
I finished up and headed to Reggie's. I texted him once I arrived and was let up to his door on the 8th floor. Another black man a few inches taller than Reggie peaked at me suspiciously through the cracked door. It was one of our defensive ends, Von Royce. He had freshly braided hair and was dressed as Fred from Scooby Doo.
Before letting me in, he called for Reggie's attention.
"REGGIE! Your boy's here."
Nerves overwhelmed me once I entered. The air was filled with cologne and loud rap music. Reggie's apartment was spacious and modern. It had floor-to-ceiling windows and a lot of nice furniture.
I approached the back of the couch where Reggie reclined between two beautiful light-skinned black girls. The girls looked like models dressed in their skimpy Velma and Daphne costumes. They both had crop tops and tiny skirts on with heels. I couldn't help but stare as they headed to grab drinks from the kitchen. Both of them looked me over and giggled as they walked past me. I was too shy to introduce myself.
Reggie slowly looked over his shoulder. He had on a green shirt and brown pants like Shaggy. He spoke in a smooth chill tone as he rose from the couch.
"Aye, what's good fam? Welcome to the crib!"
Reggie went in for a dap-up while I clumsily grabbed at his big hand.
"This Von. The two girls are Britney and Keisha. We the Mystery Crew for the night though!"
Von gave me a silent nod. The girls remained in the other room. I felt out of place but managed to get some words out.
"Dope. Sick place by the way."
Reggie nodded.
"Yeah appreciate that. Ayo we gone pop over to the party soon. You said you'd join the group costume right? We could use a Scooby Doo."
I had no choice. I couldn't show up to the party without a costume.