twenty-six

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      "Is it sad that I still believe in chivalry?" Milo tossed Khari the warm basketball before jogging up the court

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"Is it sad that I still believe in chivalry?" Milo tossed Khari the warm basketball before jogging up the court.

Khari licked the perspiration off of his upper lip, dribbling the ball with the skill that Milo had taught him prior to that day.

Her entire week turned into a seven-day Nirvana after her parents granted her their blessing to attend her dream school. Milo's days no longer felt heavy or sad: her heart lifted at the slightest of things that surrounded her.

She continued, "I believe in true love, but the books that I read and the movies that I watched made it seem like that stuff was only for white people."

The boy tossed the ball into the air while aiming at the empty basketball rim. The blacktop around them shifted into a sheet of white now that snow made its way into the city.
The weeds around them were weighed down with frosted water and slush; the sun coyly hid behind a gray cloud as the echoing slam of a basketball broke them out of their reverie.

"I can somewhat relate but considering the fact that love doesn't exist...I want to disagree with you," Khari stated blatantly.

Milo ignored him, saying, "In the books that I read about black romance, the man would always cheat on the woman as though we were some sort of aggressive beast. Those books made me shy away from black men in general because it kinda demonized them."

    She caught the bouncing ball before she started to skillfully pass it between her toned legs. Khari rested his hands on his hips to catch his breath after hours of the game. He began to take Jelani's advice seriously and started to get active—to a certain extent. Instead of trudging down the steps, Khari would jog until he decided that he looked weird.

    She continued, "Hollywood makes it seem like love is some unattainable Holy Grail that we can only receive if it's with someone that isn't urban or dark skinned. They simply show us as athletes, thugs, and baby-mamas. I wanna see magicians and princesses."

      "Write your own books then, Milo. Don't complain about it when you have the means to do it. Be the change that you want to see," He articulated, passing her the ball with numb arms.

      "No one would read them. People actually like reading about the stereotypes because the books that are different, feature the truth," she explained, "I would love for people to hype up books and movies with new characters, but it's a new idea and that's scary."

    Khari ignored Warren and Avery's current joaning session and wrapped his arm around Milo's shoulders and nuzzled his face in her warm hair.

    He murmured, "Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm starting to open up to this soulmates idea. It still seems foreign to me but I've been thinking about it."

      "About time you've realized I'm right. I mean, look at Avery and Warren. They're from two different states and they're young, yet somehow they've managed to meet! You can't tell me that that isn't magic," Milo laughed excitedly, "Not only that, but their backgrounds are entirely different. I love them so much."

    Instead of responding to the raving girl, Khari continued to say that he agreed with her previous statement: "True love isn't something for certain people. You deserve to fall in love."

      "So, Sushi and Bentley, right?" Avery twisted Warren's dreads while they watched one of Khari's movies

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      "So, Sushi and Bentley, right?" Avery twisted Warren's dreads while they watched one of Khari's movies.

Miracle threw a pillow at Mekhi while Khari let Milo paint his nails. Mekhi sighed silently while continuing to research facts about food disorders. He knew that what she had was more than just not eating and that Miracle needed help, but how do you help someone without offending them?

Warren sighed, "I'm not raising two fish. You have me messed up if you think I'll be a father of two. I only want one child."

"Well, considering the fact that I'm the one who's gonna actually buy them then...you'd be a little more open-minded, ugly," Avery trailed off.

Laila twisted her hair up into Bantu knots while watching a video on Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam.

She murmured, "Laila X. X comma Laila. Hm. Warren, should I drop the white man's last name and just put an X?"

"Sure, but do research first. Or just come up with your own last name."

    Khari stared blankly at Milo as she continued to glide purple nail polish across his freshly filed nails. Small sparkles glistened underneath the dim lighting that managed to break through his glass window.

    Warren gazed up at Avery's face while asking, "So does your mom know that you're slumming it in Hawthorne Heights?"

    Avery laughed, "She's fine with it. I already told her about you, like, before we drove out here."

      "I don't need to go to a rehabilitation center, Mekhi!" Miracle exclaimed. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

    Mekhi walked his girlfriend out of the bedroom while trying to whisper soothing words into her ear.
    Everyone in the room knew that Miracle needed professional help, yet they didn't want to be the ones to tell her.

    Khari muttered, "You know her dad isn't gonna go for that, right? He's probably just gonna tell her to eat more." 

    After his discouraging words, Milo exited the bedroom so that she could console her best-friend. The broken radiator hummed and whirred until it broke down with a clanking sound.

    Avery, Warren, and Khari stared at the laptop screen as a disquieting mood settled onto them.

    If Miracle did end up leaving, who would be next?

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