The Black Girl

sixty seven

#5 Short Story ah!! 🎉

The last day of school isn't relevant nor necessary.

We get into class, our homeroom teachers suggest we watch a movie, so do the rest of our teachers.

The give us our report cards and send a copy home in the mail just in case people like my sister decide on hiding them, or they email them to our parents.

My alarm goes off at eight, meaning I have forty five minutes to get to school. Not that I was even sure I wanted to be there anymore.

I think about the embarrassment I will face today at school, and I feel knots in my stomach but I drag myself to the shower anyways.

I stay in there for thirty minutes and wear an outfit from my duffel bag.

A black turtle neck, black jeans and my jean jacket, rolling the sleeves up messily, past my wrists.

My hair is tied up in a bun and my eyes are red and sting from all the involuntary and unaware crying sessions I'd been having, so I wear my glasses rather than contact lenses.

The drive to school in real life is seven minutes, but seems like hours as I'm in a constant battle with myself whether I should turn around and go back home or not. And from how many times I get lost from lack of concentration.

When I get to school it's almost nine, and I'll probably have to press the late bell, and explain why I'm late, and explain why I missed the last two days of school.

"Hi, sorry I'm late." I say into the answering machine, and the door automatically opens for me.

As soon as I get to the office, the desk lady, whose name is Susan, tells me I need to go to the principal's office and I sigh, dragging my feet to the room.

I sigh too much.

Kim is seated on one of the two seats opposite the principal and standing beside Mrs Dean, our principal , is a tall man in a dark grey suit with his hand in his pockets.

And across his belt is a police badge.

Yay, I tell myself in my head while squeezing my mouth.

"Hey." Kim smiles at me, squeezing my hand when I sit beside her and I return the smile, with honesty behind it.

"Good morning Mrs Dean." I smile at her briefly, quickly glancing at the clean cut officer beside her.

"Lolade, morning to you," She smiles, leaning onto her table with her elbows supporting her.

"Kim and Lolade, I wanted you guys both here so we could discuss a very important issue that's been floating around the school halls the past few days." She begins.

Mrs Dean never intimidated me.

Her pixie cut blonde hair, young voice, round glasses and her liking towards me, made me like her a lot compared to most of the students that attended Palos Hills.

But the way her grey eyes poured into mine this morning, made my heart begin to race as if I had done something wrong, even though I knew exactly what she was going to talk about.

"Now, you both do know that sexual assault is a felony right?" She asks, probably rhetorically but I just let Kim answer for the both of us.

"And that felony is punishable for up to 25 years imprisonment and a 20,000 dollar fine by the supreme court." The officer adds, his voice deeper than I expected.

"Which is why we encourage you to speak up about things like this." She says, then continues, "I know it's very hard but it needs to be done especially when things like date rape drugs, or revenge pornography are involved."

"You may not want to speak to me, or to your parents, or to anyone, but I advice you do. Because offenders need to be jailed, in cases like this." She adds.

I zone out and stare at the parking lot from the large window behind her.

Words like conviction, and victims float around the room passing in and out my ears, but the second period bell rings and the principal is offering Kimberly a tissue.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." I say, slowly standing up to take my leave.

I just keep wishing what I said was true.

I wish I wasn't involved in this.

I wish I had no idea what they were talking about.