Black and White

Chance Encounter

River opened their sketchbook and took out their pencil. They looked at the huge dinosaur skeleton looming above them. They started sketching the skull. They looked around. Everything was black and white. They are colorblind.
After sketching the skull and part of the rin age, River stood up. They put the sketchbook and pencil in their bag. They had already sketched parts of several exhibits, and figured that they'd just enjoy the museum. The Chicago Field Museum did have quite a lot to offer. They made their way to one of the gift shops, which had an assortment of interesting souvenirs based around rocks and minerals.
After choosing out a small marble box and a necklace, River made their way to the checkout desk. In front of them, there was a girl about their age, it looked like, buying a worry stone and a bag of jewels, as well as a necklace int a heart-shaped jewel on it.
"Oh, I don't have enough..." River heard the girl say in a surprisingly masculine voice. "If I take out the necklace, will I have enough?" She asked, and the lady at the desk nodded. She put the necklace away and paid for her things. River then paid for theirs, and when the lady at the desk was looking the other way, they pocketed the necklace that girl had put away and walked out.
"Hey, excuse me!" River called to the girl she saw in the store. She turned around, and River took out the necklace and held it out. "I saw that you couldn't afford it, so I got it for you." The girl looked surprised. "You didn't have to-" she started to say, but River cut her off. "I did anyways," they said. The girl took the necklace, hesitated, then said, "Thank you."
"No problem," River said. "I'm River, by the way." They held out their hand, and the girl shook it. "I'm Destiny. Thanks again." River nodded. "Are you from around here?" They asked. Destiny shook her head. "I'm from Grand Rapids, actually," she said. River raised their eyebrows. "I'm from there, too!" They said. Destiny smiled. "Maybe we can meet up there sometime!"
River took out their phone. "What's your phone number? I'll text you." Destiny shook her head. "Um, actually, my parents took away my phone. I'm sorry." River nodded. "All right. Well, we could set up a time to meet right now?" Destiny thought for a moment, then said, "How about on Wednesday, we could meet at Woodland Mall. My parents are going to bring me there to get clothes. They're bringing me right after school." River checked their phone calendar, to see if they had any plans, but they didn't have any. "Okay, then," they said.
"DESTINY! GET BACK HERE!" River looked around to see a woman walking over to where the two teens were. Wow, she looks like a bitch, River thought immediately. "Gotta go," Destiny said quickly, then walked over to the woman. River heard them whisper to each other, arguing. They heard bits from the woman, such as "dressed like a tranny," "disobedient shit," and they heard Destiny say things like "my life," "too strict," and "do what I want." It reminded River of what their parents would say to them before their dad had beat them and they got kicked out of the house. Thankfully, they had a friend to go to, and the friend brought them to Grand Rapids. Thinking about the past, River wandered the museum aimlessly until they had to return home.