Right Kind of Black: A Short Story by Demetria Patton

Author:Demetria Patton [Patton, Demetria]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Short Stories & Anthologies, Short Stories, United States, African American, Christian, 90 Minutes (44-64 Pages), Single Authors
Amazon: B015NM9UPK
Published: 2015-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

Day 3

The meeting started on time. Tyler, Robert, Keith, O, and Brian arrived in the basement, carrying Bibles, a few minutes after I did.

“No one told me I needed one of those,” I said to Tyler, pointing to the Bible in his hand.

“That’s because you don’t. Have a seat.”

“Right.” I sucked my teeth, turned away from him, and walked back toward the couch. “Of course. It’s not like I’m a real member of the group anyway.”

“Eric,” Tyler said, before I sat down.

“Eric,” we all repeated. “Michael. Tamir. Rumain. Akai. John. Amadou. Jordan. Andy. Johnathan. Kimani. Reyanldo. Tamon. Kendrec. Freddie. Wendell. Sgt. Manuel. Ramarley. Kenneth. Raheim. Danroy. Aiyana. Steven. Aaron. Kiwane. Victor. Shem. Oscar. DeAunta. Terell. Sean. Henry. Timothy. Ousmane. Prince. Christian. Samuel. Lest we forget.”

There was a brief pause, as there usually was, when we concluded the recitation of their names. I looked around the room at their faces—quickly realizing that not much had changed since yesterday. If anything—things seemed worse. They weren’t loud or boisterous as they usually were at the beginning of the meeting. Instead, they were quiet and restrained. The mood was melancholic, which was understandable. No one looked forward to getting arrested—no matter how militant they were.

“We have a packed meeting so I’m going to turn it over to Brian,” Tyler said, trying to muster a smile. “All of you know him as Deacon Talbot. He’s going to get us in the Word and spiritually prepare us for tomorrow.”

With a nod, Tyler and Brian traded places. I sat up straight in my seat. This was going to be good. Brian’s dream was to own a mega church with a congregation that would rival the most renowned pastors. He had given sermons before. We were always his guinea pigs. He would preach to anyone who would listen.

“With a show of hands, how many of you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Given the conversation we had yesterday, I can guess who has and who hasn’t but…” Brian’s voice trailed off and everyone glanced at O.

“Really,” O said, as our heads turned toward him. “Thou shall not judge. Isn’t that a commandment?”

The guys laughed, some of them even smiled, at O’s obvious error. It lightened the mood, which was desperately needed.

“Not quite.” Brian corrected him.

“Well it’s definitely in the Bible.”

“It is,” Brian said, nodding his head.

“Exactly, so I’m gonna need all of you newly Bible thumping Christians to adhere to the good Book.” He raised the Bible into the air and shook it.

“No judgement zone here. Just a quick show of hands.”

I raised my hand into the air and looked around the room to see Tyler raise his hand, which wasn’t a surprise since Sunday service was mandatory in our house. Robert’s hand shot up next, followed by Keith, and then surprisingly by O.

“Really O,” Robert said smiling.

“What?”

“You know lying is an abomination to the Lord, right?”

“Damn, I can’t catch a break.”

“No, but that’s okay.” Brian patted the air in a downward motion in an attempt to get everyone to stop laughing at O’s expense.

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