Nothing Else Matters by Leslie Dubois

Author:Leslie Dubois [Dubois, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780615593012
Google: u_KSBAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0615593011
Publisher: Little Prince Publishing
Published: 2012-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Reyna knew nearly every Charleston Prep high school student by name. With only about one hundred kids per grade, it wasn't that difficult of a task. She was even pretty close to some of the white students, hanging out with them at parties or going to the movies with them on weekends when it didn't interfere with her studying. She considered a lot of Charleston Prep students her friends. But now she wasn't so sure. Walking down the hall, she couldn’t tell who was really her friend and who thought she was a monkey. The feelings of uncertainty and insecurity scared her.

"OMG, Reyna, that was such a great speech," Maggie O’Shaughnessy said through tears. She hugged Reyna then added, "I just want you to know that I don't think you're a monkey. I'm going to do everything in my power to find the people who did this and get them expelled."

"Thanks, Mags," Reyna said. Maggie wasn't the first white student to tell her this, but she still wasn't comfortable. How was she to know what was really in people's hearts or what they said behind closed doors?

Reyna tried not to get emotional. She didn't want people to see her break down. Instead, she focused on righting the situation. During lunch, she sat at her computer and started writing a letter to the editor for the local newspaper. She needed to get the word out about this in order to put pressure on the school to do something. She could imagine the school trying to sweep this under the rug, hoping it would go away.

As she typed, A.J. came barging into the office. "Reyna, you gotta get outside. Reporters are here. They want to talk to you."

"What?" Reyna leapt from her seat and followed him to the front of the building. A Channel 2 news truck was parked and local reporter Stella Newman was interviewing Julie Randazzo. Apparently, Julie had taken a photo of the banner with her cell phone before it was taken down and sent it to the news station.

As soon as Reyna stepped outside, all eyes turned to her. Stella Newman approached her and asked, "Are you Reyna Lewis?" Reyna nodded. "Well, as president of the MSA, what is your position on the situation?"

***

I watched as Reyna spoke to the reporter, the epitome of grace and intelligence. I wouldn't be surprised if her interview made national headlines. It was that moving.

"Can you believe what a big deal they're making of this?" Carson Manning asked. He was a white player on the football team, but he spent more time on the bench than anything else.

"Who's they?"

"The black kids. I can't believe they're letting down their team and their school over a joke."

"A joke?"

"Yeah, it's just a joke. I mean, whoever did it, and I don't know who did, but whoever did it was obviously just calling Obama a monkey because of his ears. Not because he was black."

I shook my head. "It's so much bigger than that, man. You have no idea.

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