The Thirteenth

Chapter 3

Antebellum Georgia - 1858 (Two Months Later)

"What they doin'?" Jimmy stood up from being bent over for the last nine hours of picking cotton to observe Master Wyatt and a boy going around each section of the plantation talking to the slaves. It seemed as if Mr. Wyatt was introducing the young man.

"Just keep doin' ya work," Anita insisted. Jimmy bent back over to continue his cotton picking. Jimmy's question made Anita secretively curious, so she looked over in the Slave Master's direction, then back down again. He waswith a young boy who looked just a few years older than her. After she had looked away, she whipped her head back in their direction. She had realized that the young man Master Wyatt was with was the same boy that was waiting on that canoe for Darrell. What was he doing here again? She continued to stare over at them to see if she could read their lips. But quickly put her head back down as they headed over to where her and her brothers were working.  

"Why if it isn't my favorite Negroes," Master Wyatt announced stepping in front of the three children. Anita looked up at his devilish smirk, and instantly back down again. Her two brothers refused to look up. They knew better than to stop working.

"These Niggers right here, Uncle George?" the boy asked looking up at the man with the same smirk. 'Uncle?!' Anita thought.

"Yep," Master Wyatt replied.

Being called Master Wyatt's "favorite Negroes" didn't do any of the three children any good. They knew where they stood on Master Wyatt's favoritism scale. They were obedient and respectful. All three of them. And this was because their parents taught them that the White man has the power. You do whatever the White man tells you, and you're bound to live longer. While other slave parents taught their children that Whites were evil. And to fight for freedom whenever they had the chance.

But being called the N word by someone they didn't even know bothered no one, except Jimmy.

"Look up at here," Master Wyatt commanded. Anita and Theodore looked up while Jimmy continued to violently pick his cotton.

Every since the day Darrell had commanded Anita to look into his eyes, she began to look every White person in the eyes for a quick second just to capture the color of it. It was a beautiful sight to Anita. She quickly looked up at Master Wyatt's eyes and then guided her eyes behind him to the back of the big house. She smiled. He had the same color eyes as his son.

As Master Wyatt began to talk, she decided whether or not she should take the risk of looking at the boy's eyes. She had originally decided against it, but there was this sudden force that pulled her eyes to his. And she couldn't fight it. The boy had already been staring at her, and usually Anita would've quickly looked away. But this boy had the most beautiful eyes she's ever seen!

The fact that he was staring dead at her didn't even threaten to break the lock their eyes had. She was mesmerized by his, and she didn't even know what color they were. They were a hazel green that had light brown closest to the iris, then coming outward was yellow, then green near the edges.

"Girl!" Master Wyatt snapped causing Anita to snap out of her gaze. "You listenin' to me?!"

"Yessir," Anita quickly replied.

"Good," he said ending the conversation. He turned to face his nephew. "I'm gonna be ridin' 'round on ole' Pearly to introduce you to the rest of 'em," he announced. "This plantantion's too big to be walkin' 'round."

"Alright," the boy agreed. Anita continued to stare as they walked off to retrieve Master Wyatt's horse.

Jimmy stared too, but in vile irritation. "Who is that?" Anita asked.