Race On Race

Chapter 14 : One direction boy

Y e r i. POV

"So are you from around here?" Lara asked , "yeah , I'm actually a student by Princeton" , "No way so am I!" Lara responded as I couldn't help but feel out of place . We were currently in the orphanages playground where all the kids and the youth ministry members were , Lara had been asking Nate a bunch and I mean a BUNCH of questions, ranging from how old he was to where he attended kindergarten. It was annoying honestly but I can't deny the fact I got to know some information about Nate. "Well I'll leave and let you guys keep talking" I said , even though it was more of Lara doing the all talking , I left them and looked around to see if there was someone I could help out and then I spotted Jeremiah seated by the swings alone . Looking rather sad if I may add.

I walked over and when he noticed me he gave me a smile , one that looked forced , something was wrong , "hi Yeri" , "hi Jeremiah, why are you here all alone?" I asked as I sat on the swing next to him , "it's nothing, I just thought it was going to be just me and the kids, but hey at least there are other people who care about them too , I'm assuming you're with them?" He said as i nodded in response ,we sat in silence with nothing but the sounds of the kids laughing and running around in the background,but it didn't feel uncomfortable at all I kept thinking back to what Konane told me.

Flashback

"If you want to know about Jeremiah.........just know it's a going to be a lot" Konane said as I nodded my head "Jeremiah's dad was a lawyer , his mom was a house wife and he has a sister named Julia who's 14 years old. Though I don't know how much of this is true , His dad was working on this certain case ,his neighbor had killed his wife and all evidence pointed to him" Konane seemed to have been struggling a little to tell the story, was it that bad? "His dad tried his best to do something to reduce the man's jail sentence but failed , his Father told the man that and the man couldn't accept the fact he was going to jail . According to Jeremiah the man was white and had a lot of connections , so he hired people to forge evidence that would point the murder to His parents , since they were close to the his late wife or at least that's what Jeremiah speculates . When they went to court , Jeremiah's parents........" Konane paused for a while , contemplating whether he should keep going , "Jeremiah's parents?...." I inquired, the anticipation made me nervous "well......they were given a death sentence" my eyes widened in shock , a death sentence?! Weren't death sentences banned!? That neighbor of there's had some good connections huh? "That's how Jeremiah lost his parents , the police investigated but the man did an awfully good job at covering up everything and framing it all on Jeremiah's parents " that's awful!!  "what about the jury , they could've noticed that something was off right?" , "It seems like the man bribed them too , plus the jury was full of white people so it wasn't likely that they would defend a Black Nigerian man and his wife" He had a point , "But luckily! Jeremiah was able to get a scholarship here because of his high GPA , his sister is being raised by his aunt back in Texas , where he's from" Konane said trying to lift the mood with something positive "To him white people are selfish beings who will do anything to benefit themselves , except Liam , who managed to show him otherwise" Konane finished as I took all that in , I felt angry! Like I was the one who went through that.

End of flashback

Still sitting in silence on the swings , I decided to tell him "Hey Jeremiah" , "yeah" he replied and look at me , "*sigh* Konane told me about your past , I know it's none of my business but.......I just want to say sorry about what happened to you" I blurted as I couldn't hold it in anymore , I just had to tell him that I knew what happened, "it's okay Yeri , you've been in our friend group for like what? 2 years now , I trust you . Also there's no need to apologize , it's not your fault" he said as I smiled , but I just had to ask , "did they close the investigations on your neighbor or are they still on going?" , "woah , you know that much about my past huh?" He replied in shock as my body stiffened , he noticed and let out a laugh, "Calm down Yeri ,well if you really want to know , they closed the entire case a few months ago , there was nothing to prove that my parents were innocent " he replied as I saw the sadness in his eyes , "you know , this world's messed up" he said looking up as he continued , "I like visiting the orphanage 'cause when I lost my parents it made me realize just how terrible it felt to not have a Mom and Dad . So, I decided to be coming here every now and then to try and make these kids happy , something their parents sadly couldn't do" he finished . I just found a new admiration for Jeremiah. "you're a great person Jeremiah" I said as he looked at me , "well..........what can I say , my parents and my aunt raised me right" he replied finally smiling , "yeah , they definitely did" I responded and it was honestly true . "You know Nate's here right?" Jeremiah asked , reminding me about what was happening as I looked over at where I left Lara and Nate and saw them still talking , "yeah , he's kinda ...........busy" I replied . Jeremiah looked at the same direction and noticed what I was looking at , "dang" , "I know" I said in defeat, "so what , you're gonna let that girl steal your man just like that?!" Jeremiah said with so much determination in his voice making me laugh , "well what can I do , he's not 'my man' and I don't even know if he likes me back" , "oh Kim YERIM , did you ask him if he has feelings for you?" Jeremiah asked , "well no-" , "then you can't be sure he DOESN'T like you" he interrupted as I looked back at Lara and Nate , she was laughing so much , I know I shouldn't be jealous but , I was , "look at me yeri" Jeremiah said as I turned to face him , "you are KIM YERIM , Thee KIM YERIM , 2nd year med student at Princeton University with a 4.0 GPA and who probably has a black belt in karate , you can bag any man you want INCLUDING my homeboy Nathan Johnson over there , now go and show miss blondilocks who that man belongs to!" He said and I suddenly felt motived , I met Nate first , I had feelings for him FIRST , the man's basically mine! , "you're right! Nate's mine! And I can do anything! Also , I'm Korean and assuming I have a black belt in karate is kind of ......." , "stereotypical? I figured, sorry" Jeremiah said scratching the back of his head , "but go over there and GET . YOUR . MAN!" He added as I then confidently marched over to where Lara and Nate were as I heard Jeremiah hyping me up in the distance . I love my friends .