Prejudiced

Note: This story will not be very long like a novella. It will be a long story, but not a novella. I have a series of plots that will be applied here. Also, there might be long gaps for age, not very long but yes, gaps. Nevertheless, I will try to make this story as enjoyable and interesting as possible, do like and leave a review, it will help a lot.

~Author, Pericula.

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‘Karina, it’s 7:30 already! Do you plan on sleeping until school ends?! I say, wake up!’ came the sharp voice of a woman.

There was a small groan to be heard and a slight shuffling. Karina sat up, her hair looking like a bird’s nest, and looked up at her room, with its peach colour with flowers and designs she had painted a year ago as she felt that the walls looked very boring, with its light red curtains. On either side of them were one bookshelf each- one for her studies and one for her reading. On the top of the wall, facing her, was a dark blue round clock. She gazed at the top of one of the bookshelves, where the calendar was. 14th July 2054.

Seeing the time, Karina’s eyes widened and she sprang up from the bed and ran towards the mirror. She grimaced as she gazed at her hair, quickly untangling it and brushing it before tying it into a braid. She sprinted up the table, knowing that her mother did not like when someone was missing for breakfast.

Now, Karina wasn’t exactly living a normal life. How? You may ask. To be very honest, Karina Talwar was half Indian half Greek. Her mother was from Athens, her father was from Delhi. She had the genetics of both of them, her very fair skin from her mother, her sparkling chocolate eyes from her father, the dark brown hair belonging to herself, as she had gotten a mix of her father’s black and mother’s light brown. She had a sharp, small nose and lips that were neither thin nor full.‘Good morning mum and dad!’ Karina said in a rather sleepy voice. Mornings weren’t her best time.

‘Good morning, Rina’ her parents chimed together, her father behind his newspaper. They managed to chime a greeting together every time. It fascinated the 12-year-old. Her mother cleared her throat slightly, her green eyes sternly fixed on her father, the silent gesture enough for him to understand. He put away the newspaper and started eating. Karina didn’t have time for this, though. If she didn’t complete her breakfast soon, she would be late for school.

She stuffed it down her mouth like a glutton, it was rather delicious, and waved a quick goodbye to her parents, of course, not before hugging them tightly. She ran out of the house and stared right and left, looking for the floating school bus. A loud horn from her right signified the bus arrived. She smiled. She was waiting for a person.

She got into- or rather jumped into the bus. She instantly scanned the seats, looking for a person. She ran to the last seat of the bus and plopped down beside her best friend. ‘Why, hello Sia!’ she chirped.

‘Karina, what a pleasure’ grinned Sia. Karina smiled wider. One of the reasons she loved to go to school was Sia. Honestly, the girl was such a bundle of joy. She bought laughter and carried an aura of innocence and happiness around her, which spread to everyone. She could be the sweetest person on Earth, unlike Karina, who could be the most sarcastic person. They had been friends since they were little children since Sia had been her neighbour, but she lived further ahead now.

With negatives comes the positives, and the same was with her. She did love school, but the situation her world was in was not pleasing.

She had learned about 2021 when the world was completely under Corona Virus and its variants, but 2054 wasn’t exactly nice either, in her opinion. The world had always been complicated, but this was too much. The status of women in society was unbearable to analyze and discrimination was flying around everywhere.

The government had promised that all this would be resolved, it had been 5 years, nothing happened, unless you count that the situation got worse. Karina couldn’t understand why women were treated so poorly, women were, after all, the future, in a way.

The situation was so terrible that women were forced to travel abroad for their studies and jobs, but even then, some families managed to capture the women and pressure them to stay behind. Karina knew all this because her mother was a lawyer and a women’s rights activist. It was her dream too, to secure a better future.

‘Well, if it isn’t the half-breed’ came a sneering voice. Karina closed her eyes, hatred suddenly blazing through her. Another disadvantage was her arch-nemesis, Arjun.

'Thank you for the comment, but you have to be my level to judge me' she replied in a controlled voice, but Sia knew better. She placed her hand tenderly on Karina's, who opened her eyes and nodded. She knew she mustn't act rash, it would get her in trouble. Karina faced a lot of discrimination for being a half-Indian, but both she and her mother considered the sacred land as their motherland, those who were prejudiced stayed away, but people like Sia, who was open-minded, saw a warm personality to the girl. Arjun was the worst though; his name was the complete opposite of how he was.

'Hope your barbarian is not well' chuckled Arjun, a smirk on his face. Deep breaths, she thought to herself, desperately trying to keep her temper in check.

'I always said it would be better for all of us if she went away or something, aren't you ashamed to be a half-breed girl?' he continued.

Karina snapped.