Zebrahead (interracial)

B-B-B-B- Brenda Anne

The journey to school was just as eventful as I imagined. I met two girls around my age waiting for the city bus to pick us up. There was Donna, and there was Karen.

Donna wore her hair in a high ponytail, with a green bow to compliment her green dress with white polka dots. Her face was caked heavily with so much makeup, I was afraid for her that with the hot sun, it was soon start to drip from her face if she overheated. She talked constantly about how she was going to "stick it to the crackers" if any of them tried to get in her way, she said she refused to let them degrade us anymore.

Karen took my by surprise when I turned the corner and saw her. Karen was white. She said that she was adopted into a black family when she was nearly three, but these were people that she and her family had trusted. Her parents were strong supporters of the civil rights movement happening everywhere, and one night they left for a rally, and never returned.

Karen was now sixteen and has not seen the smallest glimpse of her parents. She was a beautiful girl. Karen also had braces, which she was not a big fan of. To me, they did something to her face that made her even more beautiful.

I clutched the books in my hand as I saw the bus approaching us. My heart rate picked up and I felt like collapsing in the concrete beneath us.

The bus rumbled in front of us, stopping with a squeak and the doors opening. Donna went first, paying her fare, stepping off, and heading to the back. Though we were finally blessed with the privilege of going to a real school, things like this were still an ugly reality for people of color.

Karen did not look surprised. In fact, Karen's face told me that she had seen this many times before. I went after Donna, repeating the same thing. Karen smiled at me, wholeheartedly and made her way to the front of the bus as I made my way around and to the back, sitting one seat diagonal to Donna.

A few glares were thrown my way by some whites that made me uncomfortable. Then there was Karen, who flashed her pretty smile at me once more that made me confident about today. I stuck my chin up, fixed my posture, and rotated the necklace.

My name is Brenda Anne Maywood and I make my family proud.