Ethically Speaking

0.3

•- Quincie Jackson -•

School came naturally to us Jackson bunch. I was a natural when it came to my academics. In preschool I was top of my class having learned to read so young I was the one who attended to my peers needs. I helped them sound out their words and spell all sorts of things.

I carried that ranking status through high school, eventually becoming the valedictorian of my class. I was a show in for Ivy League colleges and had acceptance letters from many.

And yet I accepted my spot here. A university just outside of the town I was born and raised. I knew almost every professor I passed through the courtyard whether that be through recent years or through my childhood. Many of the older employees had watched me grow and prized themselves on being around the prepubescent Quincie Jackson as if it gave them more credibility.

The ride home was roughly twenty minutes just to reach town, another five to reach the secluded corner where my childhood home rested on a large piece of property.

My academic success brought me an unbelievable amount of opportunities. I had my choice in courses and electives and I could not be denied a single class. Any professor would be lucky to have Quincie Jackson as their most prized student.

I was well behaved, I never spoke out of turn, my assignments were always turned in on time, and I never disappointed their expectations.

I was the poster child for teacher's pet.

And yet, all these academic awards, these connections I've made, and the overall experience of engrossing myself in knowledge, I was still just as stressed and exhausted as the next college student.

The apartment would soon be quiet. The boys were away on a recreational football trip as Fletcher was here on a track scholarship but enjoyed all sports. It was a great way to be involved without the possibility of real injury to wreck his scholarship. Anthony tagged along because he felt it would help him get into shape "for the ladies." But really he was afraid of missing time with his best friend.

Grace would be leaving any minute now for her shift at the library where she worked every night until closing.

I had always offered to pay her half of the rent, but she refused my help and worked for what she earned.

I understood her thinking. I knew Grace from my childhood but I still wished she would not worry so much about what she could and could not afford. I know that I did not earn the money I have and have only inherited my funds by being born to the "Jackson" name. That aside, there was nothing else I could do about this issue whether I wanted to or not.

While the rest of my roommates were off getting ready or off engaging in their athletics, I was locked in my room with a textbook across my lap as I try to memorize the material for an upcoming test.

I let out an exhausted groan as I stand from my bed and stretch my body. There was something relaxing about that first stretch after being slumped in an uncomfortable position for far to long.

With the boys out of my town my attire was fit for my pure comfort. Grace and I had been around the boys in our underwear on countless occasions. Fletcher would turn the other way, Anthony would usually gawk before being smacked by Fletcher who would still keep his attention elsewhere.