Golden Rule

twelve

GOLDEN
RULE
chapter twelve

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I was woken quickly by the sound of shattering glass. "Dad!" I didn't even care about trying to hide from whatever person invaded our house. I knew my dad went to sleep with a pistol sitting on their nightstand every night.

I heard a gun cock and I sure hoped it was my dad. Weight was lifted off of my shoulders when he ran into the living room—Mom on his heels. He scanned the small house hastily before resting his arm beside his leg.

"What's that?" I pointed to a small black rectangle.

Mom turned the lights on and it was a brick. She gasped as she picked it up. I noticed smeared black writing on it. Mom's lips quivered as she read it silently. "W-who are these people and why the hell are they threatening us?" Dad and I glanced at each other before staring back at her with blank expressions. "Fucking answer me, goddammit!"

Dad rubbed the nape of his neck and sighed. "Harmony and I have been protesting."

"Protesting about what?" Mom shifted her gaze back onto the brick as she rubbed it with her thumb.

"Them not charging Officer Roland anything for murdering an innocent African American boy."

"Didn't I say I didn't want you to protest?"

I answered her question, "W-Well, yeah, but—"

"And you continued to disobey me?" She pointed her skinny finger at my dad accusingly. "And you; you let her do this. You even joined her."

"Baby, I—"

Dad was cut off by the door being knocked down. I only got a glimpse of a police tag before one of them shouted, "Gun!" While pointing at my dad. They both tackled him to the ground while mom screamed in terror.

"Stop!" Mom pulled her robe tighter on her. "He's done nothing wrong! He's my husband!"

One officer got off of him while the other continued to pin Dad to the dirty carpet. "We've been informed by one of your neighbors that glass shattered and they suspected there was a break-in."

"Well, I can assure you he is not the intruder! He's my dad; he was just trying to protect us!" My heart was pounding out of my chest. He couldn't die too, not on my watch. "Get off of him!"

Mom put her arm out to hold me back. "Here," she handed the guy the brick that was thrown into our house. "That right there was thrown into our house while we were asleep." She pointed to the broken window. "Through that very window, Sir."

"Hm. . ." The officer that was holding Dad got up. "Maybe it was some kids fooling around." He glanced at me. "What grade are you in?"

"Eleventh." I gulped.

"Yeah." The other officer ran his tanned hand through his blonde hair. "I'm sure some kids are pullin' a prank on ya."

"A prank?" Dad's brows scrunched together. "Look, I'm not sure what sick world y'all live in, but someone threatening my daughter's life is no joke."

The officer looked at the broken window. "You're gonna need some insurance to fix that."

"Thanks for nothing." I subtlety pushed them toward the door.

"Harmony," Mom whisper-scolded me.

After the officers left, Mom looked between Dad and me with a disappointed look before heading back to bed. Dad smiled slightly at me before following Mom. I just lie in my bed all night.

After what just happened, there was no way I could get any sleep. I kept thinking about those officers. I didn't understand why some police officers didn't like African Americans.

I get it, we used to be slaves back in the 16- and 1700s. All that foolery should be over now. But, the Civil Rights Movement ended in 1968 and even then we didn't have full rights. Integration of schools didn't even begin to become immediate at first.

Maybe lots of whites were still holding on to the fact that they were superior.

Past tense.

I hated that our culture didn't teach their children that they're just as superior as the white folk, or any race for that matter. That they're melanin kings and queens, and that they're uniquely beautiful and handsome.

I sighed while fixing my gaze onto a stain where a leak in the ceiling once was. I couldn't forget that not all whites were racist and not all blacks were ignorant. There were always those few people that fuck it up for everybody.

After being swallowed in my thoughts for what seemed like forever, I eventually drifted off into sleep.

⚜

While Leala and I waited in the lobby for the first bell to ring, I told her about what happened last night.

"A death threat?" Leala's phone dinged and she texted the person back before asking again, "A death threat?"

"Yeah, and the cops—both white—told me that it was just some kids playing a prank." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Oh my goodness." Leala threw up her arms. "Why must they continuously embarrass me?"

"Who—"

"How'd you sleep last night?" That same brunette David had his arm around had walked up to us while we were too pulled into our conversation.

"Pretty good."

Leala pointed her index finger at the girl. "You threatened my best friend?"

"I did. And?" The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Leala put her hair into a messy bun. After doing so, she punched the girl right in the nose. The brunette swung, but Leala dodged it then rammed her into the lockers behind them. I ran to try and stop the fight and was fortunately unsuccessful.

David came running over when Leala slammed his new girl on the floor. "Stop your crazy friend!"

"I'm sorry, my hearing is not very good in this ear." I turned them pointed to my left ear. "Try again."

"Stop your crazy friend!"

I sucked my teeth. "I'm sorry, my hearing is poor in this ear too." I shrugged with a fake smile.

The principal's heels clicked as she approached us. "Alright now, get to class." She waved her arms to the circle of students that I hadn't noticed crowded around us.

"Why'd you do that?" I whispered to Leala.

"Because," she rubbed her bloody knuckles, "since she's all big and bad enough to send a death threat, it would be generous for someone to give her a chance to fulfill it. Am I right?"

I rolled my eyes while smiling.

"Miss Sparks and Miss Roland, may I have a word?" The principal pushed up her small glasses.

Roland?

I gasped once the realization hit me: that girl was Officer Roland's daughter.

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