mixed || n.h

1

"wake up, curly q. it's time for class!"

november groaned, tossing and turning in her bed. she felt a pillow smack her arm, then her face, causing her to jolt up.

"i'm up, i'm up! stop!" november screeched as her dorm mate, bri, hit her with a pillow over and over again.

"your class starts in an hour, babe. hurry up and get ready. have a good day and you need to tell me who's picking on you! you know i'll kick their ass' for you, roomie," bri smiled, grabbing her bag.

november chuckled, climbing out of bed, "it's fine, bri. i'm fine, honest."

"it's not fine! you can't just let these white boys pick on you. it's not our fault our hair is bigger than their dicks."

november laughed, heading to her closet to start getting dressed. "hurry and go to class. you're going to be late."

"oh shit, yeah. see? looking out for you and not for myself. bye, nov!"

november listened for the door to close, and began getting dressed. she pulled out a white baggy crop top and some black jeans. nothing too much since she was too lazy to look through her closet to find something appealing.

after getting dressed and doing her makeup, november looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. now came the hardest part.

her hair.

her hair was a jungle of curls. it was thick and long and way too messy for her liking.

she pulled her hair out of the braids she had them in, and sprayed argon oil and hairspray in it. it looked decent.

looking at the time, november saw she had 30 minutes left to get to her first class, which was english lit.

she grabbed her white nike's and slipped them on. looking in the mirror once more, she was happy with how she looked.

she took a quick mirror selfie and headed out the door.

☄

after english, november rushed to her next class, not wanting to be late. she bumped into people along the way, quickly apologizing.

once she got to class, (which was art), she let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang as soon as she sat down.

"today we will be working on realism. we've gone over this before but i think we should continue with it," november's art teacher, ms. tyler spoke loudly.

ms. tyler was black, with tight curls and ringlets. the white boys in november's class would make fun of her behind her back, which bothered november, since she was her favorite teacher.

"look at her hair. you think it's a weave?"

"probably. you know how they always wear them because they're hair is complete-"

"can you guys stop talking? i'm trying to listen to ms. tyler," november angrily whispered.

"why would you want to listen to her? aw you're defending her because she's one of you, right?" the boy taunted.

november felt tears swell up in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them. she wasn't about to let these boys make her cry, especially for defending her race.

"and now you're crying. what a dumb nigg-"

"mr. thompson, that's enough!"

everyone in the class looked at the two boys, then to november.

"we were just teasing ms. tyler, honest," the boy with the brown hair faked a smile.

"yeah, yeah. teasing," the other boy patted november on the head, causing her to pull away.

"november? come see me at my desk, please. as for everyone else, draw anything you want. we'll pick up the lesson tomorrow," ms. tyler glared at the two boys.

november grabbed her things, slowly walking to the front of the room.

"do you want to go back to your dorm and work on the assignment there for the rest of the week? i'll mark you here and give you the supplies," ms. tyler smiled.

"n-no, ms. tyler it's fine. they were just teasing. i overreacted."

"november, sweetie, i hear what they say to you, that's not teasing, they're being racist to you, and to me. it doesn't bother me because they're just stupid boys who are uneducated when it comes to people of color. you're going to come across people who don't like you because of who you are, and it's your job to make them see who you really are inside."

november sniffled, nodding.

"now i want you to go to your dorm, and take a break from this class for today. i'm not asking you to, i'm telling you. you're dismissed, ms. rivera."

☄

november made her way to her dorm, tears still running down her face. she was looking down, not wanting anyone to see her in such a vulnerable state.

a group of boys passed by november, pulling her hair and slightly tripping her.

"i didn't know this was the 1980's? afros are still a thing?" one boy laughed.

"stop it!" november shouted, running to her dorm, tears streaming down her face.

"hey! watch out!" a voice yelled.

before she knew it, november was on top of a blonde haired boy with blue eyes, blushing like mad.

(A/N: this was a hard chapter to write because these things have happened to me and i hate looking back at it but??)