Meals to be Shared

As I walk around the quad, trying to find my way

So much on my mind, but no reason to say

'Cause my best friend has been off campus all day

For a doctor's appointment; I hope she's okay

I skipped the cafeteria and the breakfast prepared

The tables were too big, too many chairs

It would be too awkward with nobody there

Food is for eating, but meals to be shared

In the back of a classroom, the roll being called

Notebook on the desktop, my head to the wall

She'll be back this evening; it's late in the Fall

But despite her condition, she's in for the haul

So I'll be here to get her assignments and all
My first class conveniently right down the hall

Back at the dorm room, I check my messages

Roomie leaves for home, "Until next week then"

It's Friday: the staff is serving Mexican

I sit still on the futon; the sun is settling in

Cartoons on television give my day some color

Can't get this kind of animation hangin' with brothas

Still, my head nods, mind inching toward covers

Neverminding hunger; only my heart flutters

"I hope she's okay..." Then the telephone tweets

Any other time, I would probably cuss and retreat

But I leap to my feet , grab the receiver and greet

What happened to the sleep that awaited so sweet?

Upon hearing her chime, my instinct is to smile

But my concern for her heart defers it a while

I call her my sister... or is it my child

She's almost back on campus, just a few miles

I ask her her favorite toppings on a pizza

That is, if she hasn't already eaten

She answers she hasn't; I reply, "Me either

Get back on campus safely; later we'll meet up..."

"One bacon and ham and my usual please
Pepperoni, pineapple, regular cheese
And rush delivery, piping hot degrees
And money's no object; I'll cover the fees..."

It wasn't much later, she finally came
Welcomed as if preceded by fame
Happy as I was, I should've been 'shamed!
I remember the scene as mentally framed...

Too old for watching cartoons, maybe so
But I passed her the remote; she quickly said, "No"
So I smiled... but then asked, "How did it go"
She answered, "How should I know... the doctors are slow"

Her choice of words told me it was safe to laugh
No sense on a Friday doing any math
But I retrieved the notes that I got from her class
Wrote neatly for once to make sure she could pass

Then we joked and played, and talked about flames
Her crush from the Congo by foreign exchange
And my girl from Jordan, so pretty and strange
Me feeling that she was far out of my range

Like I needed to change, 'til she asked me, "What for?..."
---Interrupted by a few knocks at the door
Pizza delivery, on the money, of course
I returned and gave her a box, "That one's yours"

"The whole thing?" she asked, as the box aired
I thought it was so cute the way that she stared
"If this stomach's empty, I know nothing's in there
So you get no less than I'm getting... that's fair"
Must've been two hours or more we were paired
For food is to be eaten, but meals to be shared