Summer

1

Finally, the big day had arrived! First day as Creative Director for Live Your Life Inc®. Sommer Breeze grooved to Ledisi´s Higher Than This  traveling north on U.S. Highway 71 heading downtown to her new gig. She was fucking stoked. She briefly looked in her rear view mirror and wiped some errant lipstick off her face. Her green eyes sparkling with energy. She had to admit, she looked good this morning. Really good! Slightly nervous but, she was fly.

Sommer, a twenty four year old recent graduate from Rockhurst University, stood five foot six, was slender and well proportionate with a rounded behind. Years of running track and a daily habit of running six miles at four in the morning three days a week kept her body lithe and in shape. Dark brown the color of copper. Sommer was a natural beauty, literally. Her name fit her to a tee. She'd shaved her head while in her sophomore year in college tired of the hassle of perms and battling hair breakage. Now, her natural chestnut hair when straightened, reached just below her bra strap. Today, she wore it in a twist out. She kissed her reflection and continued on her way...

This was the first day of the rest of her life and she was feeling amazing. Two months ago, Sommer began an extensive hiring process for the company which was an up and coming entertainment company owned by Kansas City native Ian Jacoby . She'd beat fourteen other candidates of various backgrounds, cultures, degrees and lifestyles. The company was only in it's forth year but, already had been featured on the covers of some influential magazines such as Time,  Enterprise and last but not least Forbes as a fortune five company. Mr. Jacoby was well on his way to becoming a young billionaire. 

She got off the highway at the 12th street exit. It was eight seventeen in the morning and her day didn't start till ten' o clock but Sommer wanted to give herself time enough to get in her office and set it up the way she wanted, creating a prime working space. The office staff seemed really positive and her staff of three gave her life. She still had a week to decide on who her assistant would be but she pretty much had already made her decision on Jeremy Bivens a twenty something Asian guy she'd interviewed last week. His resume was outstanding and he happened to be really cool. Certainly, better than the rest of the lot she'd met with.

Making a left onto Grand Avenue suddenly a man on a bicycle came out of no where and smashed into her car, flipping over the hood. Sommer screeched to a halt  immediately switching on her hazards in her old black 2009 Honda Accord. Sommer ran to side of the man lying on his stomach with one of his shoes off. He was out cold. Cars started stopping and people came from no where. Some trying to assist, some accusing her of driving reckless. Sommer's eyes bucked at the comment.

“What the fu...? Are you stupid? I didn't hit him he hit me. The guy came out of no where and smashed into my car!"

"Lady,“ a big fat white guy with stains on his shirt said looking at her with disdain, “oh yeah, he smashed in to your car. It's easy to say that when this kind man is laying on the ground fighting for his life!“ He ground out between thick greasy lips.

“Aye, get out her face man! I saw the whole thing! She didn't hit him. He ran into her car after she made the turn! Get out the sister's face." A young black man shielded her preventing the guy from getting in her face.

"Yeah, take up for your sister when she wrongfully hit this white guy! I already called the police and told em what happened. So we'll see about your sister, when the cops get here PUNK!"

"PUNK?? Mu'fucka, I'll beat yo white Willy ass! Look, man you need to back up off this woman and wait for the police. What are you even doing? Trying to incite a riot?"

“Any time ya fucking Mooley! You black niggas always band together. She hit him and she's going down..."  The black man shook his head in disgust for the other man's ignorance.

" People like you are ALWAYS at the beginning of a violent scene. Escalating shit, being disrespectful, stirring up violence. I can almost assure that at the beginning of every racial conflict that ended in violence, there was a person such as your character there to urge negativity. THAT'S the devil..." He shook his head sorrowfully. "Hey man, YOU need to back the fuck off this woman! Take yourself ON!!!"

The white guy was breathing hot hate down his neck irritating him as he was trying to keep him off the pretty black lady. He looked around at all the cell phones but no one was trying to subdue the guy. He pushed the fat guy really hard away from them.

“Oh no! Stop! Please just stop!“ The whole situation quickly escalated. She removed her sweater and placed it under the guys head, making sure to turn his face to the side. Noting that his eyes fluttered open to reveal some of most vibrant blue eyes she ever seen up close. Sommer wanted to see about the ensuing fight but she was concentrated on making sure the guy was alright. He turned over on his back breathing heavily reaching up to remove his helmet.

"Hey, be careful are you alright?" He nodded at her throwing the helmet. He tried to sit up

"Be careful! Not so fast. The police and ambulance are coming..." She could hear the sirens getting closer. They sounded like they were almost upon them. The crowd was getting larger and the men were fighting hard now. There was a lot of noise and people were throwing different racial comments. No one else was even trying to help the guy which should have been the important thing to do. Sommer noticed there were in the least, four people with smart phones in the crowd recording the whole episode.

"Worldstaaaaaar!!!“ Someone yelled. Sommer shook her head in frustration while she tried to talk the man into being still until the ambulance arrived. He wasn't going for it as he slowly became more coherent and alert. "Nah, I'm cool,“ he said trying to stand up on wobbly legs...

She looked over his body. He had to be at the least six feet with an athletic build. His body was decorated with tattoos everywhere and his hair was so black it looked slightly blue. You could tell he spent time outside because his skin was deeply tanned.  "Daaamn," she thought. Homeboy is fine as hell for a white boy."

Turning back to the ruckus, she became more alarmed when the police barged into the crowd and grabbed the black guy slamming him onto the ground. He immediately was silent.  The white guy that initiated the violence was left to explain himself. Soon the police came to where Sommer was and slammed her to the ground knocking the breath from her lungs.

"Whaaaaaaa?! Wha, what are you doing? Get off, get off me! I can't fucking breathe!" She hollered. Sommer struggled against the hold she was in and started  panicking when the officer put his knee in her back. She started to kick and scream. "I can't fucking breathe!!!"

"Hold on, what the fuck are YOU doing?! Get OFF HER!!!“ The white guy slowly, finally getting his equilibrium back hollered at the cops. He stumbled and the EMTs grabbed him putting him on a stretcher buckling him down.

"Sir, calm down! You've been hit and injured! We need you to calm down so as to not further injure yourself!!!" The EMT said pulling him and stretcher onto the ambulance driving off.

"You don't fucking get it! That woman didn't hit me, I hit her!! Let me up from here dude! Let, me up! They are beating on her and she didn't do shit wrong! I'm okay! Stop them from doing that!!!,“ he hollered to deaf ears.

“Patient is delirious, we need to give him something to calm down...." The EMT picked up a syringe and alcohol swab cleaning a space on the guys leg. Slowly, the guy's struggles ceased and his vision became blurred....

"Sir, sir, (snap*snap) sir what is your name?“
The guy looked up at the EMT with a distorted view and said, " Ian. Ian Jacoby muthafucka and I'm going to make sure none of YOU people have jobs after today. You OR those fucking cops!!!!" He passed out cold.

Sommer watched as the guy was put into the ambulance and drove out of sight, sirens blazing. She didn't understand why the police just rushed on the scene and only listened to the racist white guy. She hollered for them to stop. What they didn't understand was that she was the one that was hit but, they weren't listening. When the big cop put his knee into her back her natural survival instincts kicked in to fight back to save her life. That's when the cop leaned down yelling in her ear, “BITCH, I WILL FUCK YOU UP! STOP RESISTING!!!," then he proceeded to punch her in the back, face and any other place his fists connected with.

Sommer felt light headed and stopped struggling. "I CAN'T BREATHE!" She yelled with her last breath before blacking out.

The cop, realizing she was no longer struggling said, "I can, I'm breathing just fine...."