Separate But Not Equal

Chapter XXXVIII

"... But then again Harvard is one of the most prestigious schools out there. Do you know that their acceptance rate is slowly decreasing by the year. Not only would I have to maintain perfect grades and a perfect GPA. I'd also have to be an elite athlete like Jesse Owens or better, have ten years of work experience as maybe a nurse, and be deeply involved with charity. I'd have to be more well rounded than ninety percent of the students in America. Ivory. Ivory! Are you even listening to me?"

I jump, having been zoned out for the whole of Jessica's talk about her future plans. And so has Riana apparently who looks just as confused as me.

"Sorry, you were talking about Princeton right?"

"I was talking about Princeton, then I moved to Brown, then Dartmouth, and now I'm onto Harvard."

"Wait, are these all of the universities that you applied to?" Riana asks.

"Yes, and before you tell me how unrealistic they are, seeing as I don't really have the best grades possible, I just want to mention that I've applied for thirty different schools."

"Thirty?"

"Better safe than sorry." Jess snaps at her sister.

"No, just stupid and sorry," Riana retorts.

"I don't think it's unrealistic."

Riana gives me a strange look after the words leave my mouth.

Probably wondering why I'm encouraging Jessica to spend hundreds of dollars on university applications.

"Thank you, Ivory," Jess nods. "Hey, I haven't even asked you what do you plan to do? After high school, I mean, you never even talk about what your plan is."

"Err, Iduno," my words mix together as I wring my hands trying to brush off the question.

"Really. You're by far like the smartest person I've ever met. Even if you don't do much outside of school I think it would be easy for someone with your brain to get into one of those Ivy league schools."

"Oh, I don't know I might just work like my Pap..."

"Really? Just work? Ivory, you know you would hardly manage to get by in life with the amount of money you earned. I mean if you plan to get married and have children how would you raise them. You have more capability than any of us? Are you really going to risk ending up like, erm, like"

"Like Papa?" I grunt.

"I never said that."

"But that's what you meant right?"

"I meant that maybe you aren't in the best living positions now. But you have the ability to change them. Maybe you could change the things people say about you. You don't have to live out the stereotypes people say about your race. Are you really just going to waste your life and do something as disdainful as becoming like your father. I mean money has a lot of benefits to it."

"I know, that money may play a mandatory role and have control in your life but some people have other things to worry about."

"Ivory don't be naive, money plays a mandatory role in everyone's life.

"Well guess what, Rhiana? I don't have any. okay." I snap, angrily, attracting attention.

"Why don't you just earn some," Riana smiles. "It can't be too difficult."

This coming from the girl who, I imagine isn't denied from every job interview she goes too.

"You don't understand. Since my Uncle left they're thinking of firing me from Whitby's restaurant, with too many complaints about well, me, the business isn't really getting the kind of reviews that it wants. They hardly gave me any money anyways, but I use most of what I get to pay the bills and try to help in our house that is hardly even standing properly if you hadn't noticed. And now, now Papa's gone, and he's not here to pay and I can hardly pay."