BLK JUPTR

iv. bloodstains

We sure as hell found out what happened in the morning, and it was definitely a big deal.

I was on my way to have breakfast with Jasmine. She had woken up early to go on a jog, so she told me to meet up with her in the dining hall. Before I even left my dormitory hall, I saw all the girls on the couch on in the hallway, crying. I didn't understand what was going on. My phone buzzed twice and I saw that both Joey and Jasmine had texted me, telling me to go look at the news. I walked to where the dormitory's television was, which was where a lot of girls were, watching the news. I stood in the room and saw what they were saying. Two people had died last night at a party, a party that was held in mansion. They were both black too, so there were speculations of a racially motivated crime being committed. When the names were released, I nearly loss my balance and fell from disbelief. There names were Keith Johnson... and Diana Gibbons. My mind began racing; maybe it wasn't our Diana, but another one. But that was a slim chance: after all how many other black women named Diana were at that party? Close to none was my guess. When they showed Diana's picture on the news, I knew it was true and she had died.

I went outside to go clear my head and the first person I saw was Joey, who seemed like he was waiting for me. He appeared just as saddened and teary eyes as I was. He tried to talk to me about everything but I said didn't want to talk.

"We don't even have to speak, Xo. You ain't gotta talk to me but at least let me walk with you."

"Fine."

All of this was my fault. I shouldn't have gotten to Vincent's car and left the party without finding her her first. This was all too much. I had known Diana for less than 24 hours and already she had slipped through my fingers. The worst part is that I could've prevented it, but I lost her. Joey looked at me like he could read my mind, and I almost thought he could when he said that he felt like this was more of his fault than anyone else's. He told me something he said he hadn't told anybody else yet: the girl he saw last night who was screaming and bleeding everywhere was Diana. Joey said that perhaps if he had helped Diana anyway, she would've lived to see the next day.

"I know you're not thinking about breakfast right now Xosha, but do you wanna go eat at the dining hall?"

"I was supposed to meet up with Jasmine there anyway, so I might as well go see if she's there."

We went to the dining hall and as soon as we went inside we both knew we had made a big mistake. All the white students were in there, and when we came in all eyes were on us, like we were some kind of never before seen extraterrestrial species. They didn't even try to whisper and hide their slick comments and remarks. We heard all kinds of stuff before we made it to the counter to get food. The only other black people were the ones working in the dining hall bussing tables, they were the only ones who looked happy to see us. I personally thought I was handling the minority situation quite well until I heard snickering and one person said, "I know she was with Diana last night. It's a shame they couldn't have gotten her too." That was when I turned around and stormed out.

Joey came after me. "You can't let their bullshit get to you."

"I'm not, that's why I'm going somewhere else to eat!" I snapped.

He sighed at my impatience, but chose to follow me to a nearby diner located off campus. Just like the vegan restaurant Jasmine and I ate at yesterday, everything was half off for freshman as long as we showed our students IDs. We sat down at a booth away from the windows, because I had a headache from the self induced stress and didn't want the sun shining in my eyes. When the waitress came and took our orders I ordered a cup of tea and some pancakes. Joey got an orange juice and some toast because he wasn't too interested in what was on the menu. The atmosphere of the restaurant was gloomy, and the lights were dimmed down, as if they knew Joey and I were coming here, plus we were some of the only people in there.