College Hill: Common Similarities Lead to Friendships & Relationships

By C. Z. King

Kevin and Anthony get a call to come home for a reunion at the church with all of their peers. Not really knowing what is going on they come home to find their classmates have many things going on. They get a loving reception from all including Darryl and Laquisha who have plans that will change their lives dramatically. They will also find that there are more surprises waiting for them that could lead to drastic measures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Oct 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781977235824

C. Z. King

Charles King was born and raised in Mobile Alabama and is a veteran of the United States Navy. He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Phoenix in Business Administration. As a serial entrepreneur focused on the transformation and rebuilding of the community, he plans to release several books throughout the next few years ranging from Fiction, Non Fiction to Economics. Through his books, he wishes to not only inspire but to encourage and motivate people to go after their goals and the things they want most. He believes in positive reinforcement to make life easy and better for all.

Book preview

Chapter 1

In the Beginning

Topeka, Kansas, has historical meanings to its existence, and they are not good. The city is known as the place that did not believe in segregation and the fairness of all ethnicities. Topeka is the place where it was known nationally that Blacks and Whites would not be in the same class. This was a clear violation of the law, and they were not going to get away with this. Thurgood Marshall took up the case of Oliver Brown. Mr. Brown sued for the rights of his daughter to be educated like any kid in America. He did not believe that his daughter should have less of an education because she was Black. When Mr. Brown’s daughter was denied access to the school, this is when the situation went national. Thurgood Marshall came in, took the case and argued it before the Supreme Court in 1952; it became known as Brown v. Board of Education. When he won the case, the case sent shockwaves throughout the country. White people could not believe the court ruled in Marshall’s favor. Well, what they did not realize is the fact of what the implications would be on the country for the rest of their lives. With Marshall winning this case was a combination of four other cases that were all combined into one. The impact of this case led to what many believe to be the Civil Rights Act, the Montgomery Boycott and the Voters Rights Act. This led to Marshall getting an appointment on the Supreme Court and becoming the first African American appointment in the history of the country. As a result, White people were protesting that they did not believe that their children should be educated with Black kids because their kids were smarter. This led to colleges and universities not being segregated without riots and fights. Overall, Topeka, Kansas, had a stain it could not remove. There were plenty of people who believed they were right. This led to most of Kansas desegregating and having a really negative impact on the Black citizens of the state. The kids were not educated the same, and it was figured that they would make a lasting impact on the lives of Black people that would take centuries to make right. Little did they know that there was a generation coming that would make an impact on Kansas that the world would take notice to.

My life has turned out to be better than I could have expected after the opportunities and decisions I have made. I have managed to graduate with a master’s degree in accounting from Kansas University, and I have taken my CPA exam for Kansas, Michigan and California. These are the places that I want to have offices over time. Yes, I am going to start my own CPA firm and make it better than any firm in the country. I have managed to rope the man of my dreams whom I will love for the rest of my life. Right now, this experience has made me not only a better man but a better person. I am now able to see people for who they are and what they are. I have learned to not be so judgmental. I am able to love people for who they really are. My decision-making has changed to where I am so sharp now. If you are not careful, you will get cut. I have decided to open my first location in Kansas or California, but I will talk with Anthony to see how he feels about this. Who knows—I might be able to expand quicker than I thought. I liked to always remain positive and upbeat because I believe in me, and so does Anthony. I really believe that I am going set a new standard for small businesses. I am going to compete with the best of them and make a difference.

It was June 7, 1992, when Anthony and I moved to San Diego to start our lives on our own. I passed my CPA exam in March of 1992, and we were thinking of moving on our own to create our own legacy. Before I took the exam, we were lying around and pondering if we were going to leave Kansas. We both came up with several reasons for us to stay here and live. I remember the Saturday morning before the exam, I woke up, we ate breakfast and we discussed what our lives would look like in Topeka. I said, Anthony, I love you, and I know you love me, but I am sure our lives would be so much better if we were thousands of miles away from here. There is no way we can create our legacy by being here. I think we should move out to California, and we can establish everything we need and want. We will not have the influence of family or friends that will cause problems. What you think, baby—should we try California? Yes, baby, I think we can make it on our own. I am sure we will struggle for a bit, but we can make it. I know you are very independent, but I will have to be the bread winner initially. Remember, I love you, and I am not trying to overshadow you and make you feel less than favored. I want you to understand and agree because you know how yo ass get. You start fussing and cussing and slamming shit. It scares me, but you know I love you. You are my man, my husband, so I want you to know I will cut a bitch. I am a jealous queen at times, and I will not share what is mine. It’s cool, baby, and I will support you like I want you to support me. My question to you is how are we going to break this to our families? Leave that to me, but I am going to need you to find a way to coax your mother to come to my parents’ house so we can break the news. I called my parents and told them that Anthony and I needed to meet with them, and we asked his mother to come over because we needed to find out our genealogy. My mother was like What? Kevin, what are you talking about? I said, Ma, why are you minimizing the way I am feeling? She looked at me and laughed and then said, Stop being so dramatic. Anthony’s mother came over, and I said, I am so grateful that you all are here. We asked you all here to tell you that we are moving to San Diego. They were all shocked and looking like we died. Everyone had a question at the same time, but I heard this from all: How do you all expect to survive? I said, We are going to work and make our own legacy. Remember, I just passed my CPA exam, so I will be doing accounting instantaneously, and Anthony is going to do construction work. Guys, we are going to make our legacy. This is what your parenting has done, and we need to try to make it on our own. We know we will struggle a little, but we will be fine. We are married, so you all do not have to watch over us like schoolgirls. I promise you we will make it.

That day came, and we were on the road. Our parents were crying and wondering what the hell we were doing. I convinced them that we would make it, but we were going to California from Kansas. OMG!! That is a big difference. I started to have doubts, but I never expressed them. I was scared, but I knew one thing: my baby believed in me, and I knew he loved me. Reality started to set in, and I was thinking, We are going to a real state with real cities. This will be nothing like Kansas. We packed the car with our belongings, and I asked my parents if we could leave the really heavy stuff there until we got settled. They said yes, and we were all packed by that time. When we got in the car, I looked at Anthony and said to him, Baby you know how much I love you, but I want you to promise me that you will always love me and never leave me. I promise, baby, and you know that I will protect you from anybody and anything. We are going to do this. We knew this drive would take three days, and we were doing this together, which was what made this so special. I set up a budget on an Excel spreadsheet. We sold Anthony’s car because it was of no use to us, and we saved money from school and work. We had $10,000. We decided that we would stay in an extended stay hotel for a few weeks until we got work, and then we would look for a place. We knew that when we decided on San Diego that we both wanted to be in luxury and in a place that would keep us stress free. We wanted to make sure we would be on the beach. The budget had our money allocated down to the penny. We both felt confident that we would have work within a week and be in our place in two weeks.

We arrived in San Diego and were starstruck at the views riding into the city. We went to the In-Town Suites and paid for the first week. I was off by $50 of the budget because it cost us $1,000 for the week. We got something to eat and just lay in bed, watched TV and went to sleep. Reality set in for both of us that we were grown, and we must make our own way. We looked in each other’s eyes and could see the concerned looks. My baby said to me, Baby, we are going to be fine. We are going to get some sleep, get up in the morning and start looking for work. I want you to stop looking concerned and worried because we got each other and your big brain. We laughed. He said, "I know you are a little worried, but I feel confident