Separate But Not Equal

Chapter XXXII

Slow updates because GCSE's are just pushing me beyond my breaking point.

Also, on top of that I pulled a muscle while at a track meet and now I have to take like three months off sprinting which was the only thing that let me forget about all my problems so...

I feel really bad but I've got so much going on.

I'm gonna start planning out my chapters before I type them so the updates will be faster and my chapters will make more sense.

Take a deep, strong sniff, Ivory.

Body odour.

It's the distinctive smell of body odour that immediately reminds me of one of the minor horrors that I'll have to ignore throughout the next year of school.

Yes, one of the minor horrors, the other ones being every other student that attends this school and every student who aims to make my life a challenge with every opportunity.

I've always thought that if I focused on my grades enough and kept my marks high, I'd be able to attend some outstandingly marvellous college with the money I've collected.

Maybe convince Papa to sell the house, although I doubt there would be many people willing to buy it, and he could use the money to come with me our move somewhere else.

The north? Canada? London?

Anywhere out of the south that I could afford a place to live really.

Now the possibility seems smaller and smaller.

No one wants to sell a house to an African-American anymore, it would be almost impossible to find anywhere to stay, if our house didn't get burnt down first.

Would colleges and jobs even use logic and look at my grades or would they use judgement and look at the colour of my skin.

Most likely the latter.

Seeing as it's actually been a couple of weeks since I've made an appearance in school I had a lot of time to think about how I don't really have a way out of Birmingham

... and because of the fact that I've never missed a day of school, everyone may have assumed that I just happened to drop dead and they're probably jumping in joy and hosting celebrations.

Speaking of celebrations.

My 18th birthday passed just a week ago.

May the 19th.

Rhiana and Jess, Acacia and Lottie knew about it and they all wished me a happy birthday separately.

However the day was spent staring at old framed pictures and consuming large amounts of ice cream that I had stolen from the restaurant.

Papa is supposed to be coming back tomorrow. Yet, I have a foreign feeling in my stomach that he won't be coming back tomorrow.

"Is that really?"

"Ivory, Yeah."

"Ugh, there were rumours going around that she was lynched and burnt in church, I was hoping that one of them was true."

"I didn't really care. I was just praying that she was gone for good, maybe they're trying to accept that breed of dogs into other places but I thought our school could finally become a pure dirt-free area."

It really does amazing things for my self-esteem when I hear students in the hall whispering these compliments as I pass by.

"Jones?"