Be long gone

Chapter seven

History is the last subject for the day and I hate it. Who even thought of it? I should be learning color combinations in the art class rather than the history of the slave trade. To top it up, Ms. Young sucks. She is also my class teacher and her class is so boring. I guess she's in her forties because she behaves in a way like my mum. Note, my mum is way cooler than she is.

"Good Afternoon Class" She stated with her hand full of textbooks

"Good Afternoon" We responded

"How's been your day?"

Fine of course, she's wasting time on purpose. This class is a forty minutes class but I'm sure she'll use an hour teaching.

"Fine" We answered

"We'll be dealing with the Slave trade this afternoon" She stated

"This is going to be an interactive class" She added

'We have how may Blacks in this class?' She inquired looking around

"Nine Blacks" Emery responded

"Okay, nine blacks, twelve whites" Ms. Young announced

Who wears long skirts in this century? Ms. Young does. Her hair is brown and she always let it fall on her shoulders. There's a look she gives me every morning I enter the class and I don't know why. Her eyes are Brown but she uses a green contact lens that doesn't suit her at all. She derives joy in sending students to detention, for the past two days that I've been here, she's sent eight students to detention. And now, she's been explaining what led to the slave trade and its effects.

"By the 1480s, Portugeseships were already transporting Africans for use as slaves on the sugar plantations in Cape Verde and Madeira Islands in the eastern Atlantic. Spanish conquistadors took African slaves to the Caribbean after 1502, but Portuguese merchants continued to dominate the transatlantic slave trade for another century and a half, operating from their bases in the Congo-Angola area along the west coast of Africa." She read

I'm sure the textbook she's using is from the 16th century. As she opens the pages, specks of dust come out of it.

"Peter, I'll love if you continue from here" She declared

"Africans were illiterates, so they were exploited. They lacked a lot of things and were desperate. They got things like raw copper, coffee, textile, and mechanical toys. And as you said, it started in the 15th century....."

After ten minutes of explanation by Peter

"Great Peter, I'm impressed

"Mackenzie, you want to add to this?" Ms. Young inquired

No, let me just get out of here

"Yeah," I said standing

"The Europeans that engaged in the Slave trade were educated. If they were, I see no reason why they exploited Blacks. Slave trade brought about the issue of racism today and daily, innocent Blacks' lives are lost. It's a thing of the past but its effect still lingers........"

"Hold it there" Peter disrupted

"We didn't exploit you, we just took advantage of your ignorance" He added

"That's literally the same thing. And besides, no one interrupted when you were explaining, so, let me do the same in peace" I snapped

"I think you should keep quiet Peter" Zoey stated

Thank you, Zoey

"Listen and listen well, I have freedom of speech. I speak when I want to" He yelled

"No, you don't" I added sharply

The only thing my brain is telling me to do is to punch him in the face.

"Okay, okay. I said interactive not an abusive class" Ms. Young declared

"He should apologize to me" I demanded

"Nobody is apologizing to anybody. He did nothing wrong by expressing himself" She appended

Are you for real? Her statement affirms my thoughts that she has a series of issues. Why is she supporting him?

"Why? He did something wrong" I defended myself

"Sit, Kenzie" She ordered

This is so unfair, and that's what I was explaining. Of course, because they're both Whites, they have each other's back. Pure racism was just exhibited here and everyone's okay with it. I can feel my cheeks turning red and my heart asking for vengeance. I not that great with Biology but I know that adrenaline has been released by my adrenal glands. This is so annoying, what do Blacks face in this Class?

*****************************************

The alarm finally goes on signifying school's over. Ms. Young ended her class giving us a heartfelt lecture on cooperation as classmates.

"Kenzie, you're really brave. I love what you did in History Class" Zoey complimented

"Who am I to blame you. You're mixed so, it really didn't affect you. Peter was so rude and Ms. Young was on his side" I responded

"Whites support each other" She stated

"Support my foot"

"Hey Kenzie" I heard Peter call

"What is it? After what you said in class, do you think I'll forgive you? Don't bother asking" I announced

He burst into laughter. His expression intimated me, I didn't expect it

"There's nothing to apologize for. I came here to mock you. You should have known better than to challenge the great Peter" He declared

"The great Peter? Who do you think you are? Look, I don't know if this is how you bully others but I won't be a victim" I snapped

"I won't have you talk to her that way" Zoey defended

"Don't waste your time Zoey, why are you on her side? I expected you to support the Whites, not the Blacks" Peter announced

"I'm a mixture of both" She yelled

"No, you're more White than Black" He added

"We don't wanna miss the bus" Zoey stated as she dragged me to the parking lot