Before : A New Friend
1930
Karolina Amada hummed to herself as she walked back home from a long day at school. At least for her, it felt long. School always seemed to drag on forever for her. At least she has her friends there and got to hang out with them after school. But today was different. They weren’t going to hang out, since all of them -except for her- were grounded.
She soon noticed a small boy walking on the other side of the sidewalk and tilted her head. She ran up to the boy and said “Hey! You!” He looked up from the sidewalk and faced her. He had black hair, tan skin and round dark eyes.
Compared to him, Karol was brown haired and had round dark brown eyes. But his skin was dark, what many people in her state, in the south, use to discriminate against the African Americans.
She smiled nonetheless, not minding that the boy was one of the minorities in her state. “Why are you walking home by yourself?”
He stayed silent for a bit then replied. “I don’t got no friends in school.” Her smile faltered a little, but her smile soon came back.
“Well, we can be friends instead.” She held out her hand. “I’m Karol, short for Karolina. Karol Amada.” He blinked then smiled, shaking her hand.
“Eric Miller.” They soon pulled away. “Most Whites just stay away from Negros. But you like to be around us, huh?” They started walking to their home.
“In a way, yeah. But I’m French Hispanic. I’m anything but White.”
He blinked at her. “But you look like one.”
“It’s thanks to my mami. She’s pale.”
They kept talking as they walked home. Everyone kept staring at them like they were weird. The U.S was segregated. They weren’t allowed to be friends.
But she didn’t care. She liked Eric, even if he’s Black. After all, she hated discrimination. She used to be discriminated against herself, both because of her heritage and because of her being a woman.
She soon noticed that Eric wasn’t paying attention or talking anymore and tilted her head. “Something wrong?” She soon looked in front of them and saw two adult Blacks. She smiled a bit and waved at them, heading to her place. “Bye, Eric. Nice meeting you!”
Karol’s father, Alexandre, noticed how happy she was when she came home. “Mon ange (my angel), what has you so happy?”
“I made a new friend!!”
