ASHES, ASHES (The Story of the Minneapolis Riots)

1.

May 27th

"Jacob! Are you ready? I'm making breakfast for you!"

I already made Jacob cinnamon rolls with chocolate chips on top, along with his dinosaur cereal and milk. And yet, he is still not coming from bed.

"JACOB!" I yelled, "I'M NOT GONNA ASK YOU AGAIN!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he yawns. "Don't rush me."

He runs downstairs to the kitchen, still in his favorite dinosaur pajamas. I was already on my laptop preparing for my math Zoom conference. Jacob sits down and drinks his milk.

"Hey, Miriam," Jacob says, turning to my direction. "Do you want my cinnamon roll? I don't feel like eating it today."

I take the cinnamon roll from his plate and eat it.

"I'm going to my room for a Zoom conference," I tell Jacob, "Promise me you won't come to my room to ask me for your Gameboy. Okay?"

"Okay," he responds.

I rush up to my room to get the Gameboy Advance for Jacob to play with [since he finished all his homework and final exams earlier than me]. I got the bag full of game cartridges that he likes to play with: Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda, Lizzie McGuire [for some reason], and many more. I then take the computer with me and lock the door shut. 

I open up the Zoom website and typed in the code to get in the meeting. I saw my teacher, Mrs. Armando, and my other classmates on the Zoom chat. As usual, they would chat nonstop about current events in the nation. Mrs. Armando calls us for her attention.

"Before we start today's lesson, I want you to know that I looked at the news. This weekend, New York City will be doing a protest in memory of  a local man in Minneapolis named George Floyd."

Everyone suddenly stopped chatting on the chat box. Then, another student, Karina Anippe, texts, "This is awkward :/"

"I will be going to the protest. If you want to join, you must remember to bring a sign with a message pertaining to the #BlackLivesMatter project. You could write about another person who was killed by police, the message 'I Can't Breathe', as George said over the video, or anything like that. You must also keep social distance and wear a face mask due to COVID-19."

Alfred raises his hand.

"Yes?" Mrs. Armando asks.

Alfred looks as if he has seen a ghost go through his body.

"I - I don't feel comfortable around protests."

Mrs. Armando starts to feel a little concerned about Alfred's response.

"How come?"

"There was a riot last year in my older brother's school where they went to protest about allowing manga to the school library," Alfred explains. "A bunch of students sustained injuries after the protest."

"No, no," Mrs. Armando responds. "This protest will be very peaceful, I'm sure of that. If someone starts a riot, I will know for sure by the fights and fire."

One other student, Emmie O'Connell, types, "yah, there's definitely a possible chance of a riot happening."

I type in, "Wait, REALLY?!!!!!!!! 😱"

Emmie responds in text message, "well, we're nyc, WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO PROTESTS WITHOUT VIOLENCE HAPPENING?"

That's when I immediately left the meeting, white-washed.