Separate But Not Equal

Chapter XXI

"Oh freedom-"

"Oh freedom, oooveeer me,"

"And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave."

I skip along, promptly running my fingers along the small vehicle holding a singing Acacia who is currently attempting to cause my ears to bleed.

The ground underneath us seems to have turned surprisingly soft, seeing as my feet have been moving for too long, and are too numb to feel anything.

I look around at the little children who are all laughing and jumping and I instantaneously know that their smiles are infectiously contagious, because after only five seconds of observing them I find myself smiling just as widely as they are.

It makes me sad to think that when they grow up and reach a certain age they will have to carry on living the same way that me, Acacia, Nieve and other African-Americans have to live.

I've been trying to meet Nieve's attempts to treat me with hatred and anger each time we step within a few metres of each other with absolute indifference.

But it's becoming increasingly difficult to deal with her foolish remarks.

Or her accidentally bumping into me, causing me to fall over.

Which leads to an unwelcomed knife of pain to leisurely trail itself up the side of my stomach each time the impact of concrete affects the reddening bruises that David decided to leave yesterday.

Each time is worse than the other, and every time the marks hit any other object it becomes ten times harder for my body to function properly.

I smile remembering the crowd of adults and children that were screaming at us furiously earlier on today near the shops, threatening us with strange, unrelated racist insults.

After an hour, they got tired of chasing us, when they finally realised that we didn't plan to stop marching any time soon.

It made us all laugh obnoxiously, watching all the sullen people who were quick to lose their own spite-filled energy and unwilling to act normal or maturely about the situation.

Yet, in the midst of everything I can't find it in myself to be truly happy about everything.

I don't know why.

I should be.

I mean, right now is one of the only time I'm not worrying about everyone and everything in my life.

But it's just like there's something missing...

Someone missing.

My conscious just seems to drift off, struggling to figure out why I can't be satisfied with the protest.

"Ivory, IVORY, Ivy we need to leave, NOW," I turn around curiously, seeing Acacia and everyone else in the group jumping off the cars and running back into the direction we were just walking from, worried and panicked expressions on their faces, as they push back and forth causing my sight to turn almost blurry.

I feel like my brain has just left my body and I'm incapable of basic human skills.

Sadly, all I can do is turn my head looking for Acacia and ask people 'what's wrong?' or 'what's happening?'

I slowly start stressing myself out with my own thoughts and befuddlement.

When I finally understand what everyone is running from it's too late for me to escape, and I'm falling... stumbling on my own feet, cursing my clumsiness and kicking my legs stupidly shoving away from the floor .