BLK JUPTR

vi. the laundromat

The Dean never showed his face, so he ended up sending his assistant, Nicole, to come talk with us. At first, we didn't mind because she too, like the rest of us, was black. We thought that perhaps she could see our side of the story and help us out. Boy, were we wrong. But we all had an odd feeling from the start of the meeting when we saw that Nicole had some kind of history with Kendrick.

"Well if it isn't Kendrick Lamar Duckworth. Still trying to be Malcolm X and lead your little college revolution I presume?" She smirked at Kendrick.

"Nicole, I don't have time for your nonsense. I'm here on official business alright?" Kendrick responded.

She nodded but never removed the scowl from her face. "So what are you here about?"

Kendrick explained what happened to Estelle in detail, and Nicole was very sorry to hear what went down in the dining hall. However, she said that with the way the Dean handled things, the issue would most likely end up swept under the rug. It wouldn't be seen as a big deal. Estelle shifted in her chair and began to look down at her hands. Jasmine saw her disappointment and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.

"I don't get it," I spoke up, "so Dean Thompson doesn't care that no black students can even get into the dining hall to eat?"

Nicole sighed. "I mean, I can get in. I don't see why you guys can't."

"The rest of us don't shuck and jive like you, Nic. That's the only reason why whitey likes you so much," Kendrick said as he crossed his arms.

"How dare you! Excuse me the hell out of me  for not complaining about every little thing and screaming racism when something happens. That's what's wrong with black people today! Instead of trying to get ahead in society we always gotta blame white people for every damn thing!"

Joey kissed his teeth. "Yeah, because fighting institutional and systemic racism is such a waste of time, right? We should all just be content with settling for less and being treated like shit, that's a better idea."

"Uncle Tom has done a number on you, Nicole," Vincent added on. "You used to be about something."

"I still am," she argued, "I'm just sick and tired of trying to change the unchangeable. Get a grip, guys." She got up and exited the room.

The six of us all collectively groaned.

Kendrick shook his head. "I'm not giving up on this, we're still going to do something." He paused, then his eyes lit up like a lightbulb went off in his head. "How would y'all feel about holding a rally outside of the dining hall?"

All of us agreed to the idea. Kendrick said that he had to go, because now he had an event to plan out and he wanted to get a head start. As for myself, Joey, Jasmine, and Estelle, Vincent drove us back to our dorms. Estelle sat in the front with Vincent just like this morning and I sat on the end of Jasmine and Joey. I made sure that Jas was in between us because I knew he'd try and talk to me and I did not want to hear it. Throughout the ride I stared out the window and avoided eye contact with him. As usual, Vincent dropped us girls off first, and when I got out the car, Joey called my name. Not wanting to respond or be bothered, I simply rolled my eyes and kept on walking.

Jasmine and I invited Estelle to come to our dorm and hang out since she had nothing else better to do. The three of us chilled and watched a movie that Jas recommended called Daughters of the Dust on Netflix. During the movie, Jasmine braided my hair and we talked about things. When I told Jas and Estelle that I "took a nap" with Kendrick, they both started squealing like middle school girls.