"Wherever your soul was before, mine was there too." - Hira
He's Jackson. But he's also:
Daniel.
Theodore.
Nathan.
Nicholas.
Zachary.
She's Aaliyah. But she's also:
Grace.
Kathryn.
Jessica.
Amaya.
Eve.
It's the same story every time. They meet, they...
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Theo Raines has always known he was different from his brothers. And his father made sure to remind him of that.
Every. Single. Day.
"Why can't you be more like Mason?"
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"Why don't you play a sport like Alex?"
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"Reading is for sissies. Why don't you go out with your brothers?"
"Why aren't you more popular?"
It was times like this, Theo missed his mother deeply. She would've defended him, told his father and his brothers to back off, that he's his own man making his own mark in the world.
But she was gone, and ever since then, Theo was made the black sheep of the family. All because he preferred books over sports, took an interest in the civil rights movement, and did excellent in school, which was the only thing his dad couldn't complain about.
Theo woke up and got ready for school, slipping on his glasses and making his way to the bathroom to shower. Thirty minutes later and he was up and ready to go. But he realized that his brothers were both still dead asleep. His father had already gone to work, he smirked to himself as he walked out the door, making his way to school.
The bell rang just as he got there, signaling that school was already starting. He rushed into his first class, and sat down in the front, just beating the second bell that would've ratted him out and told the teacher that he was late. All the black and brown kids sat in the back while all the white kids, sat in the front. Despite all schools being racially desegregation on the outside, nothing could stop the racial divide on the inside.
