Color Blind

Chapter 1

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When I was younger, I didn't have a whole lot of white friends growing up. I guess that was because of my mother and how she always taught me not to trust white people. A kid can spend her whole life trying not to fall into the path that her parents set for her, but sooner or later, it's inevitable. You find yourself saying and doing things just like them. You even find yourself thinking like them, too.

I guess this is where my prejudice came from. Well, maybe prejudice is the wrong word. Distaste or distrust would be a better way to describe how I felt by the time I got to middle school and met Scott Masterson. I know! Masterson! What a name for a white boy! Right away, he already had two strikes against him in my eyes.

Missouri City, or Mo' City as we like to call it, is a small city right on the coast of Florida. It's extremely versatile, but of course you still have your typical prejudiced people that you can find anywhere in the United States.

Like in every town, there was a "rich" side and a "poor" side, but everybody was basically middle class, and all of the houses looked about the same. The only difference between the neighborhoods in Mo' City was that the houses on one side of town were newer than the houses on the other side of town. That's really the only major thing that separated the residents of Missouri City back then.

I wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school growing up, but I did have a lot of "in school" friends and went to all the major functions and parties. Shoot, I was even a cheerleader. But there was still a void in my life that none of those people could fill. That's the main reason why I kept to myself a lot when I wasn't involved in any extracurricular activities. My cousin Tia and I spent a lot of time together, but outside of her I never really went out of my way to see anybody off the clock.

Tia is the complete opposite of me. She was a cheerleader, too, but she was also in the drama club and starred in every major theatrical production. She was in the Spanish club because she was bilingual, and in both the Latin Student's Association and African American Students Association because she was biracial. She killed me always playing both of those cards to her advantage. Tia knew everybody and everything about them. She was multitalented and everyone loved and admired her for it. She was also the friendliest girl in school. True, she did have a temper like a pit bull, but it took a lot to bring that out of her.

It amazed me that even though her father had passed away when she was in the sixth grade, Tia still always seemed to be on a twenty-four hour high. I on the other hand, was always quiet and standoffish, like my mother. I wouldn't be all out mean to people or anything, though, like my mom. I just wasn't trying to be nice to everybody all the time. Friendliness didn't come naturally to me like it did Tia, and my uncontrollable temper only made matters worse.

Honestly, the only reason that I was a cheerleader was because Tia talked me into it. Of course, the idea seemed dumb as hell to me at first, but I eventually got used to it. Cheerleading had its moments, but there was still no guarantee that I would smile at every game. Luckily, our school colors were green and gold, and both of those looked good on me, so I was usually happy while in uniform.

It was actually through Tia that I met most of my friends, and ultimately how I got to know Scott. I was in the eighth grade and she was in the ninth the first time that Tia introduced me to him. It didn't surprise me that she was hanging out with a white boy. My cousin would date anybody that was cute and nice, she didn't care. What did surprise me, though, was that this was the guy she had wanted so desperately for me to meet. After the introductions, I didn't have a whole lot to say to Scott, so I went home.

Tia stopped me at the door. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Why? You just got here. Come on," she tried to pull me back into the living room. "Scott really likes you." She grinned at me.

"What?"

"I can tell. He's been asking about you since the seventh grade."

"No he hasn't." I didn't believe a word she was saying.

"Come on Rica! You're just in the eighth grade, and this ninth grader still wants to talk to you? Please! You wouldn't have had to tell me twice if that happened to me last year."

Tia was a year older than me and she was always finding new and innovative ways to bring that to my attention.

"No. I told you about that. He's white!"

"So? All that is, is a color on the outside." I rolled my eyes at her Heal the World speech. "Rica, please? He is so sweet! You'll love Scott once you get to know him. I just want my two favorite people to be together. Pleease...?"

She gave me the puppy dog eyes that usually worked on everyone, including me, but not this time.

"Nope."

"He's about to try out for the football team..." She gave me another toothy grin.

"No."

Tia sighed deeply and changed the subject. "Ok, but look. Will you try out for the cheerleading squad with me next year? I think we can both make junior varsity at least. I'm a pretty good dancer and you're really flexible." She giggled. "You know, Scott likes flexibility in a woman."

Now I was just getting aggravated. "No," I repeated with finality and turned to leave.

"Fine. But let me know about the cheerleading thing. I'm serious."

I didn't give her a response, but continued walking home. As I passed by one of her neighbors' houses, I thought back to the third grade when three white boys had surrounded me in the front yard and attempted to beat the living crap out of me. Then my mother's words rang back into my mind.

He'll probably end up walking all over Tia, I thought to myself. She'll never understand that you just can't be nice to everybody all the time.