A week passed and she was doing really well in her class, she had really good grades and the rest of her teachers finally saw the potential in her because they thought she was some uneducated woman but they always did especially in a town like this. Her two favorites were Mr. Papillon and Mrs. Gardenia because she always doubted Jodie and people who doubted her made her do so much more just to prove to herself that she could but also to make angry.
Jodie stood in front of everyone in her History class, she hated this class because all they did learn about was white men and Jodie wasn't all that fond with white men in the political world. "We were told to do a book report on one our favorite political activist and mine is.. Kathleen Cleaver, she was born in Dallas, Texas. She joined the black panther party and became one of the top leaders next to Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, and Elaine Brown. Katheleen was a-"
"I can't understand what she's saying." A random man says and Jodie looked up at the man, she rolled her eyes. "What part you don't understand when I just started reading?" Jodie questioned him, she was already pissed off. "We can't hear with your accent. If you Mexicans are gonna come to America, at least talk like us." The man retorted and gasps came from all ways of the classroom. "So like an illiterate and clearly a hillbilly who's probably married to their cousin? And I'm not Mexican." Jodie hissed and the class started to chuckle, some were offended but Jodie didn't care. That's when her teacher Mr. English gets up. "Mrs. Telamonte, please sit down." The older man tells her and Jodie recalled that if she didn't read out her report then she would get an automatic zero. "Sir, I was told that I could get a zero if I don't read my report out loud to the class, so, I'm going to read my report."
"Well, I told you to sit down so that means, it's zero for you." Mr. English replied and Jodie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Oh, so Sloppy Joe over there is not gonna get a zero for interrupting and insulting me during my presentation?"
"My name is Allen-"
"Do it look like I care?" Jodie sassed.
"Mr. Telamonte sit down or I will kick you out then that means you won't graduate at all." Mr. English said sternly, Jodie wanted to grab his false teeth out of his mouth and throw it across the room but she sighed as she sits down, she had an exact 70 and this summative was gonna make her fail miserably. Jodie stared Allen, he smirked at her and she glared so more. Jodie looked away and she couldn't help but think, was her accent was that bad?
Jodie never really paid attention to how she talked, she knew that her accent was a lot different than everyone else's but was it that bad? Her class ends and she was the first one out, she looked down as she walked down the hallway. She was glad it was the weekend and that means she gets to spend more times with her kids and Evie. "Jodie, Jodie!" Mr. Papillon calls her and she turned around, he stood outside his classroom door. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked her and Jodie shook her head because her nerves were bad, he saw the distress in her face. "What's wrong?"
Jodie rubbed her face and she sighs. "Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Mr. Papillon nodded and he titled his head questionably. "Why wouldn't I?"
Jodie walked closer to him. "I got a complete zero on a summative because someone in my class said they couldn't understand what I was saying then told me if I was gonna live here then I needed to talk like him then called me a Mexican, I may have said a few things but I wasn't gonna let him belittle and insult me because I let people do that my entire life." Jodie explained and Mr. Papillon nodded. "Yes, I understand, I will tell you why I understand, if you could come in." He tells her and she does, Jodie sat on one of the desks and he sat at his desk. "I read your paper about your life and what got you here, in this class and I thought it was inspiring. You went through so much and you came out of it all in one piece." He tells her and Jodie nodded with a shrug. "I like to think that but I didn't. I lost one of the things that made me feel like I mattered because I mattered to her." Jodie explained and Mr. Papillon nodded. "Trust me, I know how it feels to lose a child. I know how it feels to be from another country as well especially coming here with nothing."
