Seeing in Black and White

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
     
Hi, My name is Alesha and some of my best friends' names are Clare, Georgia, and Gabby. I was born different, and I can't really change that. Sometimes that becomes a problem but it has never really gotten to me until this summer. This summer I watched a video that was going viral all over every platform possible. It was a video of a man being killed for pretty much nothing he was down on the floor and the officer who killed him had his knee on his neck while the man was yelling " I CANT BREATH" on the floor. It opened my eyes that people like me are not welcome everywhere and that we are treated differently. So I asked my friends if they wanted to come to a peaceful protest with me and Clare replied with
" Ofc not black lives don't matter, George floyd deserved to die."
Georgia replied with " You understand that there are more white people in this world being killed in this world because of people like George right? Blue lives matter Alesha."
And Gabby said "All lives matter!"
So I went alone and just tried to ignore what they were saying. And when I tell you that was the most beautiful thing ever boy do I mean it.  When I got home from the protest though I was covered in pepper spray and tear gas my eyes were hurting. I splashed them with milk although it didn't help much, so I just decided to go to bed. I woke up the next morning and my eyes were red as a tomato although they didn't hurt as bad. School was going to start up again and I wanted to hangout with my girlfriends one more time. We meet up at the coffee shop down the street from my house and have coffee together, although I didn't want there to be a weird tension between us and I wanted to ask them why they thought what they did. So I asked to bring up more names of people who have died due to police brutality, such as Breonna Taylor who was shot and killed in her own bed! So I asked why it is that you guys all shut me down when I asked if i'll wanted to go to the protest with me. It meant a lot and It really affected me. Clare said " Don't even get me started with this,  George Floyd had a fake twenty dollar bill!" Clare, his whole entire life was taken from him he was 46. Plus, the money was real and he was yelling that he couldn't breath if that is not enough information as to why he should not be dead then I don't know what is. Gabby then decided to reply with " Well all lives matter you know"
"Ya" Clare said
Ok, your right, all lives do matter. But not right now here let me give you an example. If my house was on fire and I called the fire department to help me put out the fire and my neighbor runs out and asks well what about my house? Then you would be confused and say well my house is on fire and yours is not is it, correct?
They all pause and think.
Clare then replies with " You know what I have done my research ok and it's just that people like him are all bad and don't deserve to live."
"So people like?"