Knight
Written By Hunter Johnson
"Give me the ball!"
“No, its ours."
Tom pushed Knight down and took the ball away. He looked down at me.
"Stupid Nigger," and he punched me in the stomach. I fell to the grounf in pain
Knight went after him after that, punching Tom in the face. Knight was bigger than Tom by about two or three inches, despite Tom being a year older than Knight. It was scary to see Knight fight Tom.
They both were best friends, despite Knight being black or “coloured" as the white people said. That was until Tom’s parents made him go to some meetings and he acted nervous around Knight. He didn’t let him over to his house anymore, and they rarely talked.
One day, Knight came home and talked to Pa. Pa went ahead and told him to stay away from Tom saying, “He’s confused about his teachings.” Tom still tried to talk to Knight, but Knight kept avoiding him.
“Knight, stop,” I yelled.
Knight took a few more swings, finally listened to me and stood up, looking down at Tom. Tom had a black eye, with a bloody nose. He was crying, and crawled into the fetal position. Knight offered him a hand and Tom looked up.
“Get your hand away fr-from me you Nigger!”
Tom got up and ran home along the dirt path, back to his farm. Knight didn’t go after him, he just stared ahead. Knight went for a long walk after that, me walking back behind him. When we got back home, it was dark out. Pa was in the kitchen putting some of the food away.
Knight walked me up to my room, staying silent. He sat down on my bed and I stared at him. Knight has always been the strongest person I’ve ever known, when Ma passed, he was the one that managed the house. He defended me when the whites were ganging up on me, fighting back, despite what Pa said.
“Can you tell me a story,” I asked. He turned his head toward me, and looked down at me for what seemed like forever. He then smiled a little bit and told me to get my pajamas on. I beamed and ran to my closet, grabbing the closest thing near me. I went into the bathroom and threw on my pajamas as fast as I could. When I went into my room, Knight was looking at a old picture of Ma and Pa. Ma had dark brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. She got sick one year and couldn’t hold on I guess. I was only three but I remember it well. I didn’t cry at the time, but as I got older, a lot came back.
Knight saw me and told me to climb in bed. He told me my favorite story, King Arthur And The Round Table Knights. When he finished, I was tired and about to fall asleep.
“Good night, Knight.”
“Frank, my names Alex, you know that.”
“But you’ll always be a Knight to me.”
He was silent when he lft my room. He blew out the candles and left. I heard the door shut from downstairs, and saw him walk out along the dirt path. Then he was gone. Pa cried for days, but i didn't now why, he wouldn't tell. He'd just say,"One day, they'll change their ways,one day".
