(right after getting tests back at the end of the period)
Evan: What did you get, Jayla?
Jayla: Um, well…
Evan: What, are you too embarrassed to even talk about it? *snatches paper from her hands*
Jayla: Wait! It’s not...
Evan: *explodes* What? How did you get a perfect score?
Jayla: I- I-
Evan: How could you get a better score than me? You don’t even answer anything in class! There’s no way you could’ve done this well!
Jayla: Pl- please-
Evan: You must have cheated! Of course you did! My dad was right - all of you black people are just no-good cheaters!
Jayla: I- I didn’t! I didn’t cheat!
Evan: Yeah right. Everyone knows that you did.
Jayla: *tears prick her eyes* I didn’t!
(later on in the day, Kalisha tells Simone about the encounter)
Kalisha: I felt so, so bad for her. He just kept attacking her, and she didn’t do anything about it. *starts talking faster and faster* I don’t want to become that girl. I want to be able to defend myself. But I’m really not any better than her, am I? If Evan ever did that to me, I wouldn’t have done anything either. And-
Simone: Kalisha. Calm down. You’re starting to work yourself up.
Kalisha: But it’s all true! I want to stand up for myself, but I don’t know how.
Simone: Yes, you do. You’re just too scared to.
Kalisha: What’s that supposed to mean?
Simone: You know how to speak up. You’re just too scared of what will happened if you do. Don’t be scared. It’s not you who’s doing anything wrong; it’s them. So the next time anything happens, whether it’s involving you or someone else, just say whatever you want to say. Stop thinking so much about it; just say it.
YOU ARE READING
Speak Out
Short StoryIn which an adopted African American girl learns to accept herself and her culture through a series of conversations over thirteen years of her life. (Entry for DiversityinLit's Black History Month)
