Lila

Chapter 1

    "Jessie! Get your sleepin' keister down here right now boy!" Uncle Judd yelled, "We got ourselves a new shipment of slaves today! Ha!"

    I rolled over in my bed, pulled back my curtain, and looked out my window. The morning light caught me off guard. My vision focused and I was able to see out onto our acres upon acres of fields. I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of our horses neighing. I sat up and looked around my sun-lit room. Today seemed like it was going to be a beautiful day. You know, except for the new shipment of slaves, of course.

    I stood up and went right to my dresser. I rummaged through it to try and find a decent pair of trousers and a clean shirt. All I found was a sweater that my grandmother knitted me when I was 14 and I sure as hell was not going to wear that on a hot summer day. Or, really any day. I searched on my floor for some clothes until I came upon a pair of trousers and an off-white buttoned down shirt that didn't smell too terrible so I decided to put them on. Just as I was putting on my belt and shoes, Carolyn, my younger sister, walked right into my room.

    "Would knocking kill ya'?" I cried as I jumped back in surprise. "For all you know, I could have been butt-necked when you walked in. Then you really would have regretted not knockin'.   Am I right?" I said matter-of-factly.

    "Mornin' Grumpy-Pants. And thanks for puttin' that lovely image into my head and scarrin' me for life." Carolyn complained with a smirk, "And two things," She quickly said before she walked out of my room,"One: Breakfast is ready, and Two: Is Annabelle comin' over to visit today?" She asked eagerly.

    Annabelle and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. Not too long ago, our families had a talk and decided to make us a couple. 'Course Annabelle was jumpin' for joy but me? Not really. Now don't get me wrong, she is one beautiful girl with her long, blonde hair and amazing smile. She's really smart too. Her parents paid a whole awful lot for her education. Sent her all around the country just to make her a genius. Any guy would be lucky enough to be her partner. Lots of guys are actually jealous of me. But Annabelle and I have different views on certain topics. Such as slavery. She thinks slaves are necessary to the plantations of the South and that blacks are inferior to whites and on and on. I swear, she could go on for hours! Not only do her and I have different views on slavery but on other things too. Like how she just loves to show me off to her friends and gloat on how "romantic and thoughtful" I am. I have no idea where she got the idea that I was "romantic and thoughtful" so in order to prove to her friends that I am "romantic and thoughtful", I have to constantly serenade and spoil her. It is so exhausting! Also, if I forget our anniversaries, which I always do, she starts to yell at me and get all cranky! If I serenade her to much, I end up broke and getting a whippin' by my papa for spending his money and if I don't serenade her enough, she screams my ear off! I just can't win!

    "I don't know if she's visitin' us today. Do you want her to come over?" I asked Carolyn. "Yes!" She answered with delight. Carolyn has always loved Annabelle. And Annabelle has always loved Carolyn. Carolyn always loves it when Annabelle comes over. They braid each others hair and do other girly things that I don't want any part of. Annabelle had always been like an older sister to Carolyn. When my mama passed, Annabelle stayed over at our house for a week. Carolyn was really torn up about my mama passing. Annabelle became such a comfort to Carolyn. Before my mama died, our whole family was slavery-free. But after my mama's death, Carolyn, along with my papa, have hated blacks. Now, Carolyn and Annabelle are even closer friends because of the slavery thing. But I still hold true to my beliefs.

    "Can you walk down to Annabelle's house and have her come and visit?" Carolyn asked politely. I really didn't want to but it was better than having to "unload" the slaves.

    "Fine." I said, giving in. Carolyn squealed and left my room. I followed her down to the kitchen.

    "Papa, can I walk down to the Perry's plantation and invite Annabelle over instead of helpin' with the slaves?" I asked with the utmost respect. Papa looked up from his newspaper. According to everyone, I looked a lot like my papa. He had blonde hair, a tall figure, and green eyes. Recently, instead of looking like is happy self, he looked tired and sad all of the time. I could understand why.

    "Whatever, Jessie." He said quietly and returned his attention to his newspaper. Uncle Judd was standing to the side drinking his coffee which was probably spiked with whiskey. He looked at me with a smirk. I knew exactly what his smirk meant. You got lucky this time, boy.  I nodded at him and my father as a sign of goodbye and waved at Carolyn. After she waved back, she tossed me an apple. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! You'd better eat it!" She shouted at me as I walked out the door. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. The Perry residence was only a short way down the road so it wouldn't take me long to get there. But it did give me some thinking time. I walked out of our dirt driveway onto the dusty, dry road. Even though it was only about nine in the morning, the hot Mississippi sun was already blazing onto me.

    Alongside of the road was miles and upon miles of fields and grasslands. Bugs were flying around and birds were fluttering in the air. I wonder what it would be like to be a bird. Flying across the air without a worry in your mind. No troubles of slavery, a demented uncle, a depressed father, or a control-freak girlfriend. Being a bird would be livin' the life, wouldn't it?

    As I was deep in thought, I felt a bug land on my hand. I looked down to swat it off when I saw that I had forgotten all about my apple. So, I started to eat it and returned to my thoughts. "Dang it!" I yelled aloud and spit my apple out. I perceived that if I showed up to Annabelle's house without flowers or somethin', she would kill me! I searched around me in the grasslands to try and find some flowers. Far out to my right, I could see a cluster of orange daylilies. I threw my apple into the opposite grassland. Hope you enjoy the apple, birds!  I ran towards the daylilies at full speed. I really don't know why I was running. I think is was the thought of Annabelle killin' me that gave me the motivation.

As I grew closer to the flowers, my foot landed into a puddle just big enough for the water to reach my ankle. How the hell is a puddle of water in a non-shaded field in the middle of summer and a drought?!  I lifted my foot out and shook it off. I now walked over to the daylilies being mindful of where I stepped. I reached the cluster and picked up a dozen that didn't look too, well, dead. I walked back to the road and began to travel again. Not too far up the road, a wagon was moving toward me. As it neared, I realized that there was a giant crate on on the back of the wagon. The wagon slowed down as it came closer. The driver slowed the animals and stuck his head out at me.

    "Hey, boy! Do you know where the Wood plantation is?" The driver asked me. He was chewing on a piece of wheat. I contemplated on telling him if I was a Wood.

    "About a quarter a mile down the road. Can't miss it." I replied. The man nodded at me gratefully. As he slowly rode away, I could finally see what was in the crate.

    Slaves. A whole lot of slaves. Young and old. Men and women. Teenagers and toddlers.

How many did my father buy?  After the wagon was too far me to see the people, I kept on walking. After about five minutes, I finally reached the Perry's plantation. I turned into their driveway which was lined with gigantic trees. They were so beautiful.

    I approached the house and took a deep breath. I fixed my clothes and hair to try and save me a screaming from Annabelle. I braced myself for a forceful hug by either Mrs. Perry, one of Annabelle's sisters, or Annabelle herself. Here we go. Then, I knocked.