Mixed results

During the first half of the school day Taylor felt quite nervous about telling her friends. Luckily it had gone over well with her family. But she doesn’t know how her friends will react. Not only that, but she’s also pregnant at school. It’s too early for anyone to see. Nobody will notice. Not now at least. But in a few months it won’t be possible for her to pretend. She’ll have a huge belly that everyone will be able to see and everyone will know her as ‘That pregnant girl’. Needless to say, she found it a lot more difficult to pay attention in class then usual.

Eventually noon arrives and she meets her friends, Jayda and Alexis, for lunch. While they are eating Taylor suddenly says, “So … I got a boyfriend.”
“Really?” Alexis asks. “Who is it? Is it that guy from your class? What’s his name again … Michael? He’s been crushing on you for a while now.”
“No, it’s not Michael.” Taylor says. “He’s not going to school anymore. He’s got a job already.”
“Oooh, an older boyfriend.” Jayda says excitedly. “Does he also have a car so he can take you everywhere?”
Taylor smiles and says, “He does. He even took me to a play some time ago. It was so beautiful. I think it’s still being performed. You girls should go as well.”
“So that’s why you’ve been so busy lately.” Alexis remarks. “You’ve been going on dates.”
“Yeah and … well, he’s white.” Taylor finally admits.
“What …?” Jayda asks with a clear hint of disapproval in her voice.
She then hides her face in her hands and says, “Taylor, what are you doing?”
This is what Taylor has been worried about. Thank god nobody in her family was like this.
“What? Just because I’m black doesn’t mean I can’t date white guys.” Taylor defends herself.
“Ok.” Jayda sighs. “Little history recap. Who was it that brought black people to America?”
“Oh god, not this again.” Alexis groans.
“You can’t say it weren’t white people.” Jayda says. “Because they did.”
“But it were the kings of African countries that captured their own black people and sold them as slaves to the white **** traders.” Alexis rebuttals. “But we’re not disavowing our African roots because of a few black people.”
“Our ancestors have suffered more under white slavers.” Jayda says.
“And then it were white people who fought in the civil war for our freedom.” Alexis fights back.
“Only half.” Jayda counters. “The other half fought to keep us enslaved.”

As Jayda and Alexis start bickering, Taylor sinks away into her thoughts. People like Jayda are the very reason she wanted to have some white friends to begin with. Someone to give her the perspective of the other side. To teach someone like Jayda people are not to be separated by race and move further away from each other. Show her that life can be so much better if we just don’t divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’.

“I think both of you are missing the bigger picture here.” Taylor tells her friends. “Both of you are talking about people from the past. I’m not dating someone from back then, I’m dating someone from today. Thomas has never brought people across the Atlantic, he has also never owned slaves. He is just a normal dude and I feel he should be judged for what he has done, not what his ancestors did.”
Taylor then looks at Jayda and says. “I mean, I don’t blame you for the things your father did.”
Jayda quickly looks away. When he was younger, her dad was in a bad place. Bad enough to join a gang. He wasn’t in there for long, but he did have a run in with the cops and went to jail for a few months. It’s a dark moment of his past that he is ashamed of. It was kind of a low blow for Taylor to bring it up, but she felt she wouldn’t be able to make an impact on Jayda otherwise.
“All I’m asking is that you give Thomas a chance.” Taylor asks Jayda with a calm and kind voice. “As far as you know he is completely different from how you think he is.”
Jayda rolls her eyes and sighs. “Fine, but I’ll be strict on him.”
“So, when can we meet him.” Alexis asks.
“I don’t know yet. Let me ask him.” Taylor says.
She then takes her phone and sends Thomas a message.
“My friends from school want to meet you. When do you have time?”
Now she just has to wait for his reply.