"But I don't get it." Leala put her hair into a ponytail. "How could a male African American teenager with no weapons be a threat to a police officer who's armed?"
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Harmony's older brother was found dead, and the cop who killed him wasn't charge...
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"How do you even start protests?"
"Does that mean you're thinking about protesting?" Calo nudged my arm.
"Just answer the damn question."
"Alright. You gather a group of people who believe the same thing you do: that Officer Roland should've got charged something; then, you organize—find out when you're going to have the protest and where; you also have to publicize it, which won't be hard with me helping you along the way. Lastly, you have to be vocal. Speaking in a hushed tone demanding justice will get you nowhere."
I blew out some air. "And here I am thinking that you just make a sign and march to the capital."
Calo laughed melodically. "You're funny." He grabbed my hand while jumping off of the table. "Follow me."
"Like I have a choice." I rolled my eyes.
I stumbled after Calo whose long legs were allowing him to jog quicker than me. I noticed our surroundings become more into the woods than the park. I sure hoped he didn't get us lost back here. He stopped jogging after some time.
I looked at the tall trees that surrounded us. "Are you about to kill me?"
"No." Calo turned to face me. "I wanted to see how loud you can get."
"What," I panted.
"You're going to yell as loud as possible."
"Why would I do that?" I put my hands on my hips.
"To be a protester, you need to be loud. Is that not what I told you like ten minutes ago," he teased.
"Oh, shush." I swatted at his arm.
Calo grinned before saying, "Yell 'justice for Khalil.'"
"Justice for Khalil." I rose my voice a little.
"Again."
"Justice for Khalil." Now it was above my inside voice.
"Again."
"Justice for Khalil!" My voice echoed through the woods. That's the first time I've ever yelled that loud. Ever.
"Perfect." Calo applauded me. "Now, I'll get your number and we can talk about when you wanna protest."
"Okay." I put my number on his phone. "When you text me, say your name first or I'll block you."
"Aight. Let's head back."
I looked up into the night sky. Stars were shining back down on us and I couldn't help but think if Khalil was looking down on me.
Would he be proud of me?
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"But I just don't get it." Leala put her hair into a ponytail. "How could a male African American teenager with no weapons be a threat to a police officer who's armed?"
Because he's black.
I shrugged. "Ask Officer Roland." I laced up my shoes. "I'm thinking about starting a protest about the whole thing."
Leala's face lit up. "Really? I'm in."
Leala and Khalil used to have a thing. Well, they both liked each other but were too scared of rejection to ask each other out. It was obvious to everyone else except for the two that they liked each other.
The P.E. coach—Coach McGill—blew his whistle. "Gather around!" I got off of the gym floor and began walking to where the others were. "Alright, today we'll be playing dodgeball." A lot of the girls groaned while the guys jumped with excitement. "Settle down, settle down. I'll be making the teams."
Leala and I ended up being on the same team and David was on the opposing one. I'm not even gonna lie, I was not athletic. I wished I could've avoided taking this class, but the councilor told me that I had to if I wanted to pass, so here I am.
I stood beside Leala while she dodged and threw balls at the other team. "Here." She handed me a blue ball.
I took it and just stared at it. I moved it around in my hands a little. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
Leala let out a laugh as she dodged an orange ball. "Throw it."
I shrugged and threw it. It didn't even make it across the half court line. Damn, my upper body strength was worse than I thought. I looked around to make sure no one saw what happened when a ball hit me dead in the face, causing me to fall backwards.
I heard snickers from a couple of guys, including David.
"That's it." Leala grabbed four balls and got each of the guys out in less than ten seconds. She then turned to me. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"
I nodded. "I think I've got a concussion."
"What's up with them?" Leala helped me off of the ground.
"I don't know," I muttered.
"Ever since Khalil was murdered, they've been coming for your throat. You've never done anything to them."
"I know." I rested my arm on her shoulders for support.
"But don't worry, I'll be here for you." Leala smiled before opening the nurse's office.
