Chapter 22
1006words
"I wish you were in there as well Jevan," I joked to myself.
Then I heard a vibration.
I went to the bags again and noticed a brand new cell phone at the bottom. A number flashed on the screen.
"Hello?" I answered.
"It feels so good hearing your voice again. I miss you so much."
"I was just thinking about you. I miss you too. I wish I could see you, Jevan."
"I know. But let's give your mom some time to cool down. I'll see you soon."
"Okay."
He hung up and I went back downstairs. Mrs. Hollen was leaving now. I waved her goodbye and turned my attention back to my mother.
"Mom, do you still forbid Jevan and I being together?" I asked her.
"Of course I do!"
My mother changed back to her tough exterior, peeled off the chair and left the living room.
She didn't want me and Jevan being together because she feared what happened to her will happen to me too but there was more to it. It was written all over her face and I wasn't going to give up until I knew more.
My mother was hiding something.
Blossom's POV
It has been two weeks later and my suspension was finally over. Although I found myself being enthusiastic about my return, I was hesitant on what else were in store for me at PHS.
I walked through the halls like I did on the first day. Two weeks away from this place, felt brand new all over again.
Nina and Sophia saw me almost immediately and break into a run towards me. On reaching, they crushed me into a tight hug.
"O.M.G. You have no idea how much we've missed you," Nina said, wiping at her eyes as if she was actually crying.
"It was like torture without you being here," Sophia added, "Don't ever leave us again."
"I'll really try not to this time around," I told them and we went towards our lockers.
Nina was healthy and was herself again, and she asked about the fight, and I described how it went down, she applauded me.
"Sophia is right. I think it's about time someone stands up to Brooke and give her a taste of her own wrath. And Blossom, you did just that. I'm so proud of you!" Nina broke into a squeal and hugged me again.
"What's your first period?" Sophia asked me when the morning bell rang.
"History."
"With who?"
I took a moment to check my schedule. "Mr. Snagg."
Nina and Sophia had different subjects with me. They followed me to Mr. Snagg's history class before going to their own.
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I sat down in the middle and flipped open the history book on the desk. Other students filed in quickly and so do the teacher.
"Good morning class. Today, we would be continuing our topic from last week," Mr. Snagg begun as he wrote the topic on the board.
'Slavery'.
"Who can tell me what started slavery?" Mr. Snagg asked.
A hand shot up. I looked in its direction and saw that it was Brooke's. And although her head was up, she was looking at me with a smirk on her glossy lips.
"Yes, Brooke," Mr. Snagg said to her.
I watched as she put her hand down and cleared her throat and twirled her hair around her fingers.
"Well, Mr. Snagg. The answer is simple. Black people started slavery," she answered.
There were some gasps from the other students.
"Oh come on Brooke, so you're saying that black people wanted to be treated with whipping, burning, hanging and all those other stuff?" a male student asked her.
"Yes!" Brooke lashes out. "In fact, the first slave owner was a black man. Let that sink in for a bit and ask yourselves why my ancestors never went to China or Russia which are also large countries. Why Africa? I'll tell you why, it's because black people were treating and selling their own black people as slaves. And hence forth, the Europeans joined in and took over.
You can't blame someone for doing something to you that you were doing to yourself!" She finished.
I shook my head at her.
"Actually, I agree with Brooke. As mean as it may sound, research and history have shown that the Europeans bought slaves. But who did the selling?
It was said Africans capturing other Africans from different Ethics groups and selling them," other girl chimed in.
"Blossom, you're from Africa and I'm sure you've heard stories. What's your theory?" Brooke asked me.
Every pair of eyes fell on me, even the teacher's.
"Go ahead Blossom," Mr. Snagg said.
"While I agree that the first slave owner was Anthony Johnson, a black man, and that my people indeed captured and sell slaves to the Europeans, I don't agree that that made it okay to treat other human beings in such manners as the slaves were treated. It was despicable on both sides."
"So you agree that it was your people's fault?" Brooke asked me again with a laughter after.
"Okay, okay. Let's not get tensions into the air. This is a friendly discussion and we're moving on.
Who can tell me who freed the slaves in America and what date it took place?"
"Abraham Lincoln. On January 1st 1863," I answered.
"Excellent. On pages ten to twenty, are all the information about the trades, the owners, the boats, the counties and all the ways slaves were treated. Study it. Pop Quiz next class," Mr. Snagg finished.
"Uughhh," the class groaned and we used the remainder of the session to catch up on the studies.
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At lunch, I sat in the cafeteria with my friends. I haven't seen Jevan all morning.
"Hey, you guys saw Jevan this morning?" I asked them.
"Nope," they answered.
We continue our meals, hoping that Jevan or Connor would appear but they didn't.
