"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear."
— Mark Twain
(Jouez la musique pendant que vous lisez / Play the music as you read)
Kiekie's POV
I was pushed to the ground. I landed hard on my knees, leaving cuts on them. Cleo rushed to my side and lifted me up.
It was after school. We were at the gate waiting for our tricycle rider to come for us. I was standing on the side waiting for Cleopatra because she went to buy chocolates. She went to buy our favorite chocolate, "Sofi Chocolate." Sofi's chocolates are the best in Liberia. I love her chocolate.
I have heard that she is a woman who is shorter than average humans. I heard she was 3'4" at first. But she later got sick after her twenty-fifth birthday and grew a bit taller to the height of 4'5".
It was funny at first, but I later realized she suffered from a rare genetic growth disorder. I also heard that she is married to Antonio Haywood. He is a tall man, standing at 6'3".
I was cut off from my thoughts when I was forcefully pushed to the cement floor. Cleopatra rushed to me, putting the chocolate in her bag to help me up.
"Are… are you okay?" she asked.
She stutters whenever she is very angry. When she is angry, she is like a bull. She was angry because Chuck and his minions came to harm me.
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Narrator: Oh, really? Do I look like a bull or behave like a bull when I am angry?
Keke: Yes! That's the truth. Pumpkin, you know I only speak the truth.
Narrator: (rolling my eyes) Ah… huh. I love this new side of you!
Keke: Back to my story!
Narrator: You are—
Keke: Not… another word!!!
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You could literally see smoke through her eyes, ears, and nose if you used your third eye when she was angry.
Before I could reply, Amanda spilled a bottle of red juice over Cleo and me, messing up our white shirts.
Will this be removed from our uniform shirts? I wondered.
That always happened! It had been happening for eleven freaking years!
My parents didn't give a damn.
Cleo was the only one who stood up for me. Those demons always tried to make my life miserable!
"HOW DARE YOU?" Cleo said, each word filled with venom. She looked angrier than ever before.
Chuck smirked, chuckling at Cleo's question.
"Did you hear someone speaking?" he asked his followers, rolling his eyes dramatically like we were shooting a Lollywood film.
"Oh! Now you are deaf, right? After hurting my friend?" she said, burning with rage. She hated seeing me hurt. She had gone through hell itself and came back!
I couldn't speak. I was afraid of them. Afraid that they would hurt me more.
Sometimes they pinch me until my fair skin turns red. Other times they pull my hair. I remembered when Annette locked me up in the girls' bathroom before. I missed all my classes that day.
That's why I was afraid to defend myself against them.
I couldn't do anything to them because Chuck was the head of their gang. Chuck's dad and mine are business partners. My father wouldn't want me creating a conflict between him and his best business partner.
I hated seeing my better half hurt because of me.
Those three made me really angry, but I couldn't do anything. I was afraid.
My parents didn't care about me, except my oldest brother, who sometimes tried to show me concern whenever my parents and older sister were not around. He was afraid to let them know that he treated me like a human being.
His fear was that if Dad found out he cared about me, he would be stripped of his inheritance.
My family despised me.
I was like a demon born into their family.
"She deserved it! More is coming for her because she stole Chuck's mark. She has taken away everything! He doesn't deserve that low mark in chemistry. We all know that she is a dummy! We all know that she isn't worth anything. Her family despises her!" Anna exclaimed.
"Look who is talking, an abandoned bitch!" Amanda said to Cleo.
I saw hurt flash in Cleopatra's golden-brown eyes. With a blink, she covered it up with the deadliest smile ever.
Their commotion caused others to gather around us.
That statement broke the chain that was stopping the angry bull.
Cleo rushed to Amanda and slapped her in the face.
I gathered some courage and started to pull Anna's hair.
I decided to think about my family later. It wouldn't change their behavior toward me. It gets worse every day.
I am too numb to care.
Chuck was trying to stop Cleopatra, who was turning Amanda's dark skin pink by scratching her face.
Annette was also trying to stop me from pulling Anna's hair out.
A student from our class, whom I didn't clearly remember, rushed back inside the fence to get the principal or the dean.
We were still fighting when Miss Cary arrived with the dean, Mr. McKendry. They pulled us apart.
Miss Cary was angry with us. She knew we had good character. She was very mad because we decided to participate in a fight for the first time.
She sent us home and called our parents.
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Edited January 21, 2023
10:47 AM – Greenwich Meridian