The smell of pizza and laughter filled Touwkey's apartment that Friday night. Karaoke night. Their sacred ritual since high school. Seven women, seven different lives, but one God they all somehow clung to - sometimes with faith, strong enough to move mountains, and other times barely holding on by a thread.
"Okay! Next up - Batso!" Touwkey announced dramatically, holding the mic like she was hosting "Idols SA".
Batso rolled her eyes. "I'm NOT singing in front of Salome," she snapped.
Salome crossed her arms. "What's your problem with me THIS time?"
Everyone groaned in unison. Here they go again.
Rea nearly choked on her soda laughing. "Guys! It's been ten years and we still don't know why you hate each other. Just hug it out already!"
Batso glared at Salome. "I just don't like her aura."
"AURA?!" Stompiey burst out laughing so hard she dropped her phone. "What are you?A prophetess now?"
Touwkey doubled over next to her, tears streaming down her face. "Batso! Since when do you see auras?! You must be fasting too much!"
"Whatever," Batso huffed.
Tyra sighed dramatically. "Can we not do this right now? Let's go on singing cause my boyfriend will be picking me up soon and I don't want negative vibes."
"Oh! Of course!" Rea teased. "We can't upset Tyra. Heaven forbid she loses her man - AGAIN - just for spending time with us!"
"Shut up, Rea," Tyra snapped.
"Girl," Stompiey said, laughing, "you dropped church choir practice for that man last week!"
"I did NOT!"
"Yes, you did," Dee mumbled quietly from her corner. She was curled up next to Touwkey, sipping her tea like an old woman. Dee and Touwkey had been low-key trauma-bonding for months after their messy breakups. They didn't talk much about it, but they just got each other.
"Anyway," Touwkey said, trying to keep things fun. "Who's singing 'Oceans' next? We need Jesus back in this room!"
"ME!" Rea yelled, snatching the mic. She belted it off-key like her life depended on it. "SPEEERIT LEEEAD MEEE…"
Everyone howled with laughter, except Dee, who whispered, "This is exactly why Hillsong broke up."
"OKAY!" Stompiey laughed, holding her stomach. "We need to talk about the REAL tea - Stompiey forgiving Sipho AGAIN!"
The room went wild.
"Oh no, we're NOT doing this," Stompiey said, but she was laughing too hard to even be mad.
"Girl," Batso said, shaking her head, "he cheated on you like… three times?"
"FOUR!" Rea corrected, sipping her drink. "We count in this group."
"Seven times seventy-seven," Dee murmured.
"Bible verse incoming!" Touwkey cackled.
"Yes!" Dee shot back with mock seriousness. "Matthew 18:22 - 'Forgive seventy times seven.' So technically, she still has room!"
Everyone screamed laughing.
"Y'all are demons!" Stompiey said, covering her face, but she was laughing too hard to care.
"Look," Tyra said defensively, "love is forgiveness, okay? Me and my man? We're happy."
"Girl, he blocked you last month!" Rea hollered.
"REAA!" Tyra shrieked.
"Don't worry, Tyra," Stompiey said, smirking. "We're the loyal ones. Ride or die. God's working on them."
"Oh He's WORKING alright," Touwkey added, nearly collapsing from laughter.
Later, they all sat in the living room eating ice cream straight from the tub, hair messy, makeup ruined from laughing.
"Sometimes," Dee said softly, "I think about how different we all turned out. Like… high school feels like another lifetime."
They all got quiet.
"But you know what's crazy?" Salome said. "Through all the fights, bad men, ugly crying, everything… we're still here. We still pray together. We still laugh."
Rea nodded. "Exactly. Even when we don't agree, I know y'all have my back. And my wig."
Everyone laughed again.
Touwkey smiled. "I think that's why God put us together. Not to be perfect… but to grow. Even if we fight like cats and dogs in the process."
"More like lions and hyenas," Rea said, pointing at Batso and Salome.
They all burst out laughing again until Tyra's phone buzzed.
"My man's outside!" Tyra squealed, grabbing her bag.
Rea rolled her eyes. "Of course."
"Leave her alone," Stompiey teased. "At least someone's getting picked up. The rest of us are just getting picked on."
They all laughed again. As Tyra left, they prayed over each other, holding hands in a messy circle with ice cream spoons still in hand.
"Lord," Touwkey said, smiling, "thank You for this crazy group of women. We're a lot, but You knew what You were doing. Amen."
"Amen!"
And just like that, their laughter carried into the night - the kind that only comes from years of friendship, shared heartbreak, and faith that no drama could break.
