2:00 AM// S.C

Chapter 1

The song for this chapter is "Change is gonna Come" by Sam Cook

Louisa's POV

Life as a young black teen can really change your perspective on things. You can never truly stay young and naive to the fact that your character and intellectual capability is based on your skin color. I can remember very clearly at the tender age of seven walking down the streets of Downtown Birmingham with my mama and a white lady going out of her way to avoid any contact with us.

"Mama is there something wrong with us?" I remember asking, She paused, "Honey there are just gonna be some people in life who will try to knock you down and make you feel inferior to them, but I don't ever wan't you to feel as if your not good enough!" That was enough confirmation to me that I was just as human as any of the white folk in Birmingham.

At the age of ten my daddy saved up just enough money to take me to go see James Brown live in concert. It was a life changing experience that I would never forget. His energy on stage was something I had never witnessed before, his smooth dark skin glistened under the harsh lighting of the spotlight as he sang lyrics that proclaimed love of his blackness and his pride of being an African-American. At that point in time I didn't know it yet but I was feeling the rush of exhilaration in my very bones at the fact that, even though America says it doesn't , my black is beautiful.

My mother and father are both very hard working people, they both instilled in me the values of labor, as they told me time and time again "for only when I work and till the soil, will I reap the sweet crop of success." We are a God fearing family and we go to church down the street from Auntie Grace's house every Sunday. I used to dread the mornings when the searing hot comb stretched and yanked at my coarse hair. The hand me down baby blue dress my gramma gave me that was becoming to small for my growing body. Frilly church socks with the little white heels that clicked where ever I stepped foot where always the finishing touch to my Sunday's Best. Nowadays now that I'm older with what my mama calls "some damn common sense" I always pray and ask the lord to guide and protect my family from the evil that exists in the world.

My parents will never admit it but they had always put my own needs before theirs, we are barely making ends meet with my daddy working as a carpenter and my mama a schoolteacher at an all black school. Some days we don't even have enough food to feed us three, they would would claim they're not hungry and give me the rest of their food. When I know good and well the empty hollowness that resides in their stomachs that aches and moans until it is finally pit to rest when they scavenge the garbage for my leftovers.

There is only so much I can do to ensure that my parents don't overwork and starve themselves over me. A parent's love runs deep and there is always that deep need within them to be a provider and protector for their kids, to ensure they have a better upbringing than they themselves did. Which is why they encourage me to do well in school, " Education is the key to success" they always tell me. They need not remind of that fact as they already know that I am very gifted when it comes to learning new concepts. I love to learn about the adventures of Ancient Greek heroes in English class and I also find it interesting to understand the concept of the Pythagoras Theorem. All of my teachers say I'm on the fast track to making it to an excellent college. However, they don't have any high schools that cater to black folk in all of Alabama.

My gramma quickly suggested over the phone that I can come down to Tulsa, Oklahoma where they have an excellent high school for black students and an advanced math program for gifted kids. I didn't actually believe that my folks would ship me off to Oklahoma with my gramma without even so much as batting an eyelash but alas, here I am at 2:00 AM in the morning having to wake up to catch the 9:00 AM bus that leaves for Tulsa later on in the morning. At the thought of this,  I clutch tight to my pillow and allow my sobs to ring out. To leave everything I've ever known? My friends , parents and home where to much to bear at the moment. I fell a sleep with a tear streaked face and distressed mind.

9:00 AM came quick and I was clutching to my parents tight sobbing at the bus station. "Please don't leave me mommy!" I manage to choke out as I squeezed the living day lights out of her. " Baby please don't make it any harder that it has to be, call us as soon as reach and-, she chocked up, " Please stay safe, your daddy and I love you so much and only want what's best for you." As I looked at both of their weary faces with wrinkles that stretched across them like overpasses on a highway I had decided. I have to do this for them because it wasn't just about me, it was about making them proud of me and for me to one day be able to care of them in their old age. As we said our last goodbyes and shared one last hug, I boarded the bus and watch as them and Birmingham grew smaller.

"Next stop! Tulsa Oklahoma!" Yelled the bus driver.

A.N: Hi guys so this is my very first fanfic and I decided to write this book because I love the outsiders so much and after having read many of the books there wasn't a lot of diversity in them so I decided to create this! Please, Please, Please like, vote and comment.💕

OceansWaves242

1048 words