Zaria

taunt

Lily's Pov

i ran as soon as I saw them
they never would leave her alone
if only she knew they were jealous of how her curls intertwined like holding hands
and her glowing, chocolaty skin.

bitting down on her tongue to stop the venom-laced words from slipping out
her eyes were wild and her teeth stained with blood
i grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the circle of ignorance
filled of white boys with grimy hands and white girls with harsh laughter

they talked all at once, the sound's enough to at least drive someone insane.
"hey nigger girl they'd taunt, why'd you press your curls out
don't make you less of a nigger. "
the chorus of giggles makes my head spin.

I started to feel so nauseous; I could barely move
but they kept closing in, spitting at her feet and in her hair
her small velvety fists were balled up and she dug her fingernails deep into her palms
her eyebrow furrowed and her mouth still foaming with words to yell at the crowd.

i just grabbed her wrist and ran
their voices echoed in my head, "Lucas likes the nigger girl, Lucas likes the nigger girl!!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and kept running. her name was not nigger girl.

her name was Zaria.