You Should Know (BWWM) ✅

Chapter One

ELOWEN

"Some things never fail." Her mother told her this often. When she wasn't pressing flatirons onto hair or stirring dinner on the stove, she was giving her children long needed advice. "And the things that do fail are the ones who prosper."

Never understanding what it meant only left Elowen confused. In her mind, she went straight to race. When she was young she would ask, "Black folks is always failin'. Why we ain't prosper yet?"

Thus her mother would reply, "because some things take time."

Mrs. Walson sent her kids off to school every morning. Spencer, a nine-year-old with a lot of sass and golden glory for her fine curly hair, goes to the fourth. Henry, eleven years old and face drained from his third week of sixth grade. Then Elowen, just turned fourteen over the summer and proud that freshman year has treated her great so far.

"Now you watch and make sure your brother and sister get inside that building, you heard!"

Elowen blew a kiss to her anxious mother before pushing the two young ones around the corner. An orange tree would usually force them on to the street in which Spencer sneaks one just to piss off the neighbor.

"One day Mrs. Gardner is gonna swat you with her broom and you're gonna be cryin' to mama making her believe she did it for no reason." Elowen silently agreed with Henry but Spencer simply dismissed him. "Okay. I'll just tell her myself then." She slapped her older brother's arm but he knew better than to hit her back.

It wasn't long before Elowen was screaming at them to get inside the building and stop torturing each other. The moment she saw them disappear behind the dark blue doors, she headed to East Langton High. The only place she was proud to go to during the day only because she's made many first impressions.

Before first hour she would meet up with Kellie and Marcus. They used to date and became good friends after their split. She was surprised her and Kellie became so close because Marcus asked her out months before she met Kellie. Luckily she declined the offer, because Kellie is such a good friend to her.

There were many nights Kellie and Elowen cried together like when her parents split. They laughed when Kellie cut off her permed hair and switched to an afro. Their first fight was over a boy who turned out to be gay after being exposed during gym class.

Then Marcus, a stocky African American with a voice so deep it travels and eyes so dark they don't shine. He's often talking down about his coffee bean colored skin and coil patterned hair. The girls are always trying to cheer him up but they lost the point. He'll never love himself anytime soon.

"She's always talkin' and everyone hears it. Patricia never knows when to close her damn mouth!" Marcus sipped the juice out of his pickle in anticipation. "Do i look pregnant?"

"Never," the two replied to her at the same time.

"Damn right never! I'm not stupid enough. She was gone for a whole school year. What on earth was she doing!"

Their morning went like this for another twenty minutes. Kellie didn't close her mouth until the bell rung and the three had to part ways. But it only brought on relief to Elowen's ears.

Her first class was calculus. She enjoyed it very much because she was placed with the big kids. A freshman around juniors and seniors. Who wouldn't feel a sense of superiority?

"Pass those worksheets right over to the front. I'll be checking right away so don't think sneaking it into the pile before the end of class will get you anywhere."

Elowen passed her homework to the girl in front of her. She watched carefully to make sure it reached its destination. Not only was she the only underclassman in her math, but she was the only black.