Forbidden Fruit (Urban)

two

I absolutely loved everything about me, until I saw Tay and heard the words everyone spoke of her. No one who looked like me ever got that same kind of attention, and in some twisted way I became envious.

It was lunch time and we made our way to the packed cafeteria. By now everyone had cliqued up.  While walking in line, we saw Taylor. I never spoke to her before, but I decided why not see what everyone loved about her.

"Hey girl," I spoke.

"Um, hey." She gave her friends a weird look.

After getting out food, we all sat at the same table and began eating. The girls congregated around Taylor, and as always Ada and I stuck to ourselves.

"Y'all, Draymon said I was cute today," the whole table filled with 'ooh' and 'getchu some then' . Dray was the finest boy at McMillan. Him and Tay were both the talk of our class, and everyone wanted to see them together.

"Girl let me get like you," one of her friends said. "That makeup on pointtt," A said to her, and she smiled.

I had a question I really wanted to ask. "Where you buy all that face stuff? It's cute."

All ten girls that sat at the table burst with laughter. Tay scoffed. "Baby they don't make it in yo color." Her friends joined in, taunting me.

"Girl you bout dark as night"

"No one gon' want you, black bitch"

"Makeup don't come that dark"

"Both you and her need to go back to Africa"

"Not even makeup can fix how ugly you are,"

I don't know what triggered me the most: the fact that they ridiculed my skin, or the fact that they insulted my culture, their culture, no. OUR culture.

I left the table and headed for the bathroom before the tears could fall. Behind me I could hear A giving them a mouthful of her mind. She was always ready to say what was on her mind, something else I envied about her.

I started washing my hands, even scrubbing them until they felt raw. Why wasn't I beautiful like Tay? Could I only get the same attention if I was lighter? These thoughts clouded my mind as I sobbed, running the water until I saw blood.

A walked in the restroom and bit back a scream. She turned off the sink and took me in her arms, wiping my tears. I held my head down, not wanting to look up.

"Sai Baby, you are beautiful. Fuck what they say. Just some stupid ass hoes if you ask me." Her words made me feel better, but now I had a new goal in mind.

"No one should ever have to struggle like this." I chuckled at the situation, tired of crying. "Imma change this as soon as I can, Imma make my own makeup."

When we went to Sephora the next day, there was no shade darker than beige, the color of the walls in my house.

...

"You are dismissed." The lecturer finished up the class as everyone rushed out. I went outside and called A so we could go out for lunch. "Girl," I could hear grunts in the background. "I'm in... the middle of- oh fuck," I already knew what she was doing, freak ass.

You give a girl a little freedom.

"Use a fuckin' condom," I hung up the phone and sighed. I really need to make some new friends. A not always gon' be there to entertain me.