All American Prediction Series: Season 3

Episode 12: Are We All We Are

Olivia woke up to hundreds of messages on her podcast. The night before she made the dangerous decision to leak the Tamika Pratt footage on top of sending it to one of the local news stations. She had slept a total of three hours that night, the bodycam video replaying in her head every time she closed her eyes. It was triggering and the urge to drink was stronger than it had been in days. 

Before looking at any of the messages, Olivia texted Joy and told her about the strong urge to quiet the noise around her with alcohol. Immediately, Joy texted her back saying she was on a shift but offered some words of encouragement and suggested spending time with loved ones to distract herself. The only loved ones she had, would be flipping out in the next thirty minutes when they found out she leaked the footage. 

While Olivia had no regrets, she knew the consequences could send her into a tailspin. She wanted to have a plan of action when things began to boil over to protect herself and sobriety. The journey downstairs felt like an eternity. Before she even reached the bottom of the staircase, Olivia could hear her mother on the phone panicking and unfamiliar voices. 

"I don't understand. How did they get the footage? It was password protected," Laura stressed, the grip on her phone causing her knuckles to go white. "Yeah....no...okay, Curt. Just call me back when you hear something. Thanks." 

"Mrs. Baker, I tried to get a hold of Channel 5 to tell them to stop running the story. They aren't budging on this," a petite, white man said, dialing another number on his cellphone. They were all in a panic and though Olivia hated to see her mother caught up in the crossfire, she knew eventually Laura would see the right side in all of this. 

"I can't believe this is happening. This tape being out could potentially cause a riot," another co-worker stated, shaking her head. The look of disgust on all of their faces made Olivia's blood boil. 

"Why do you think it'll cause a riot," Olivia replied, startling them all. 

"Olivia," Laura began. She could see the look of rage on her daughter's face and wanted to avoid a blowup in her living room. 

"No, mom. I want to know. What makes you think this will cause a riot," Olivia questioned the blonde-haired woman leaning against the sofa. 

"It seems to always happen," the woman stated. "Everyone better bunker down." 

"Well maybe if the justice system did its job people wouldn't be angry. A riot is the voice of the unheard. The system won't listen, then people will go other routes to be heard," Olivia continued. "People have tried to be peaceful and where did that get them? Aren't we still fighting this same uphill battle?" 

"Olivia!" Laura was embarrassed by the leaked footage and now her daughter was going toe to toe with one of her colleagues. 

"This is why no one can be heard. People are always trying to silence people when they feel uncomfortable," the teen's eyes began well up with tears from frustration. Even with her voicing her thoughts, she could tell she wasn't getting through to any of them, even her own mother. "Maybe you don't realize it, but all of you have a privilege to not feel this way. Yes, I'm biracial, yes I grew up with money and I recognize those privileges. But some my friends and people I love don't have those same privileges and I'm using mine to fight for them." 

"That's enough, Olivia," Laura yelled, silencing the room. "I don't know what's gotten into you but I will not have it. Hurry up and grab breakfast and go to school. I'll deal with you later."

"Are you going to let them talk about the community like that, mom? You don't see anything wrong with it?"

"I don't have time to deal with you right now! Do as I say or you're in even more trouble when you get home," Laura reiterated, pointing towards the front door. "We're trying to figure out who leaked this footage. This is a serious matter, Olivia."