Page 30 of Blake University: HBCU Chronicles – Yon & Imole

The sun had just dipped below the horizon, leaving a soft amber hue stretched across the sky. The air was still, almost reverent, like the universe was giving them this one quiet moment before everything broke loose.

stood by the campus fountain, hands in his pockets, waiting. Imole arrived, hoodie drawn tight and eyes guarded, but they softened the second they met his. He pulled her into a hug immediately, no words, just warmth. Just breath. Just her heartbeat slowly syncing with his.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“I was gonna wait ‘til crossing night.”

Imole leaned back slightly, brows furrowed.

“Wait for what?”

looked down, a rare glint of nervousness flickering in his eyes. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box.

“Don’t get all emotional on me,”

he said, trying to keep it light.

“It’s not a ring or nothing. But... it’s something.”

He opened it.

Inside was a silver necklace. Simple and delicate, with two tiny initials: Y + I.

Imole gasped softly. “…”

“I had it made a month ago,”

he said.

“Was gonna give it to you after the ceremony. Ask you to be mine. Officially.”

She looked up, eyes full and brimming.

“I thought I already was.”

He grinned.

“Nah, you were just test-driving.”

She laughed, the sound broken and beautiful.

Then grew serious.

“But after what happened... after what you told me, I’m done waiting. Imole, I want you to be my girl. No conditions. No delays. Right here. Right now.”

Imole’s voice was soft, scared even.

“Are you sure? I’m... I’m still healing. Still trying to understand how this all happened.”

“I’m sure of you,”

he said, clasping the necklace around her neck.

“And I’m not going anywhere.”

Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back.

“Thank you.”

He took her hand, kissed her knuckles gently.

“I’m gonna handle Terrence.”

Her whole body tensed.

“, no! Please don’t. He’s not worth you getting in trouble.”

“I’m not looking for trouble,”

said, voice low.

“But I am making sure this never happens again. To you, or anyone else.”

“I don’t want to lose you,”

she whispered.

“You won’t,”

he said, pulling her close.

“But I meant what I said. He touched what matters to me. And he’s gonna feel that.”

Imole rested her head on his chest, heart thudding. She didn’t argue again. She knew his mind was made up. For now, she let herself breathe him in. She felt safe, secure and like he was finally hers, even if the rest of the world was falling apart.

Shawna

Shawna was all smiles when she opened the door to her off-campus apartment, her hair perfectly slicked back, makeup flawless, like she was ready for a photoshoot instead of a confrontation.

“,”

she purred, stepping aside.

“Didn’t know you still had my number saved.”

He brushed past her without a word.

She shut the door behind them, folding her arms, and leaned against it like it was all just another game to her.

“To what do I owe the pleasure? Or is this about the step show? I saw you trying to shine”

“This is about Imole,”

cut in, voice low but deadly serious as he walked up on her.

Shawna’s expression faltered for a fraction of a second before the mask snapped back into place.

“Imole? Why would I?”

“Cut the bullshit, Shawna.”

She blinked, straightening.

“Excuse me?”

“You think I don’t know?”

stepped forward.

“Tree doesn’t make moves unless someone points him in a direction. And lately, he’s been coming for Imole hard. Too hard for it to be random.”

Shawna’s laugh was hollow.

“You’re giving me way too much credit.”

’s jaw clenched.

“I know how you move. I know who cleans up your messes. And I know Tree’s not bold enough to come at her like that unless he thought you’d back him up.”

She scoffed.

“You think I’d set someone up for something like that? Wow. You really don’t know me at all.”

He stepped even closer, eyes narrowing.

“No, Shawna. I do know you. That’s the fucking the problem.”

Her lips parted, but the words didn’t come.

“You’ve always been good at pretending,”

continued.

“Pretty smiles, fake laughs, the whole queen bee act. But deep down? You’re just bitter. Mean. Jealous of anybody who doesn’t worship you.”

Her eyes flashed with something sharp.

“And what, Imole’s your savior now? You’re acting like she walks on water.”

“She doesn’t need to,”

he said.

“She’s real. Something you’ve never been.”

Shawna’s voice dropped to a wounded whisper.

“You really love her, huh?”

didn’t flinch.

“What about us?”

she asked.

“What we had, doesn’t that mean anything?”

“There is no us,”

he said, spitting the words like venom.

“And every second I gave you, I regret. I must’ve been outta my fucking mind to think someone like you could love anybody but yourself.”

Shawna’s breath hitched. The room fell silent.

He turned to leave but paused at the door.

“If anything happens to Imole again, if Tree so much as breathes in her direction I swear to God, I’ll burn both of y’all down. This ain't no threat. It’s a promise.”

He opened the door, then added without turning back:

“Think real hard about what you’re doing, Shawna. 'Cause the next time I come knocking, I won’t be talking.”

The door slammed behind him.

Shawna stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest.

For the first time since the plan began, she felt something unfamiliar coiling in her gut. Fear. And somewhere under that… the unsettling feeling that Tree had gone too far. Maybe this wasn’t a game anymore. Maybe it never was.

Shawna and Tree

Shawna paced the room, arms crossed tightly across her chest, chewing the corner of her thumbnail. She hadn’t told anyone that had shown up at her door, not even Stormii, who was barely holding it together as it was.

She shouldn’t have opened that door. He looked at her like she was filth. Like she was nothing. And worse? For the first time in a long time, she felt like it. The knock at her back door startled her. Only one person ever came that way. She unlocked it, stepping aside as Tree slipped in, hoodie low over his eyes and cocky smirk already in place.

“You called, I came. What’s the emergency, cuz?”

he asked, falling onto her couch like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“I think we need to call this off,”

Shawna said, cutting straight to it.

Tree’s smile faltered.

“Come again?”

“I said we need to end this. Before someone really gets hurt.”

Tree chuckled.

“Too late for that.”

“I’m serious, Tree.”

She folded her arms tighter.

“ came by. He knows. He came straight to me asking about Imole. He said if anything else happens to her, he’s coming for both of us.”

Tree sat up slowly, his gaze sharpening.

“Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“Threaten you?”

“Yes.”

“Then he better be ready to find out what happens when you push a real one,”

Tree said, standing now.

“Because I don’t give a fuck about . Never did.”

“Tree…”

“No,”

he snapped, pointing at her.

“Don’t start flipping out now. You wanted her humbled. You wanted to remind that chick who really runs this campus. You asked for my help. Now you’re getting cold feet?”

“This was never supposed to go this far!”

Shawna snapped back.

“She was supposed to get embarrassed, maybe drop line, but now, this is spiraling!”

Tree’s jaw clenched.

“We’re in too deep, Shawna. That video? Stormii? The text messages? This whole setup? If anything leaks, we’re all fucked. So we see it through.”

Shawna shook her head.

“This isn’t who I am.”

“Yes, it is,”

Tree growled, stepping closer.

“You just forgot for a second. You got spooked. But I got you. Like I always do.”

She looked away, unsettled by how calm he sounded. Almost… thrilled.

“Worst case?”

he continued, voice lower now.

“I take the fall. I’ll eat it. You and Stormii walk. I’ll say it was me acting alone. But we’re not backing out.”

“Why are you so obsessed with her?”

Shawna whispered.

Tree sneered.

“It ain’t about her. It’s about respect. And that dumbass boyfriend of hers is walking around like he’s king. Nah. Fuck and Fuck that stupid bitch, Imole. He needs to learn. She needs to learn. We run this fucking yard not them.”

Shawna sat down slowly, her head spinning.

“I don’t know how this ends anymore…”

Tree walked over, knelt in front of her, and rested a hand on her knee.

“I do,”

he said.

“It ends our way. We finish what we started.”

She stared down at him, heart pounding, and nodded slowly but the knot in her chest only grew tighter.

And for the first time, she wondered if Tree would really take the fall…Or if he’d burn them all down instead.

Stormii

The crowd was electric. They had phones out, music blasting, people pressed shoulder-to-shoulder under the string lights that lined the Quad. It was the night every Veta Xi pledge had been working for, dreaming about. And despite shadows creeping at the edges of her mind, Stormii was right there, center stage.

Dressed in all black like the rest of the line, face covered in a sleek silver mask, she blended in perfectly. That was the whole point, anonymity. Power in unity. No one could tell who was who… and Stormii needed that tonight more than anything.

Her palms were sweaty under her gloves. The chants echoed, bouncing off the buildings. The sisters had drilled them for weeks on timing, posture, delivery. Tonight, they weren’t girls anymore. They were Veta Xi women. Sorors.

But, Stormii wasn’t thinking about legacy or sisterhood.

She was thinking about the footage.

She was thinking about Tree.

She was thinking about Imole’s eyes that night, the way they locked with hers through the dark, like some unspoken truth passed between them.

And she was thinking about what Lala said when she saw her creeping out of the Phi Ro house.

“I knew it was her.”

Stormii’s breath hitched.

“Line up!”

barked one of the Grad advisors, snapping her back into reality. The line of masked girls straightened in unison, hands at their sides, heads high.

The crowd erupted again as the drumline started. The show was beginning.

Stormii tried to focus, but the whispers behind the mask were louder than the cheers.

You’re not supposed to be here.

You betrayed your friends for what? Some letters?

They know, Stormii. They know.

Terrence’s voice slithered through her memory:

“You’re mine. You screw this up, and I will destroy you.”

Then Shawna’s:

“The only thing you got left is this sorority. So shut up and cross. Or be a nobody.”

Stormii blinked hard. Forced her limbs to move in sync with the others. Step. Step. Clap. Pose.

Everything was perfectly choreographed.

But inside her chest, chaos reigned.

And just as the line turned toward the crowd for the final formation, Stormii’s eyes scanned the audience and froze.

Because there in the front row, arms folded, chin lifted with that same quiet fire, Stormii thought she saw Imole. And next to her, stone-faced and still, was Lala.

Stormii’s heartbeat went nuclear.

They know.

It couldn’t be them. They were four people ahead of her in line. It wasn’t them she convinced herself by blinking a few times as reality set in. Stormii stumbled slightly just for a second but enough for the girl behind her to whisper harshly, “Get it together.”

She nodded mechanically.

But her mind was already unraveling.

Because they were here front and center, then it was only a matter of time before the mask wasn’t enough to hide behind.

And when that time came… Stormii knew she’d have to choose.

Lie again. Or confess everything.