Serendipity

69

⚠️N-Word Usage Warning⚠️

Emma's POV

"HEY PINOE." I shout as I walk into the team breakfast room.

"What?" Megan asks.

"The fuck's wrong with your fiancée's friend Lauren?" I ask.

For some fucking reason Sue Bird's friend and teammate Lauren Simpson opened her mouth after I was racially abused last night and said I shouldn't have reacted the way I did.

Lauren said I should've continued playing and showed the Italian's what a black woman can do.

"What'd she do?" Megan asks.

"You haven't been on twitter?" Ash asks then Megan shakes her head no and pulls out her phone.

"That bitch needs to check herself." Ali says.

"She needs to keep my name out her mouth." I say as I'm handed a smoothie from Alex.

"Fuck's sake Lauren." Pinoe mumbles then she looks at me. "Sue and I'll talk to her."

"Good." I say.

"Alright Emma." Heif says. "I tried my best, but US Soccer says you have to do this."

"Heif I'm gonna cuss."

"Fuck it." Heif says. "I want you to cuss everybody and their mama's and don't give one fuck about it."

"Spicy Heif." Kelley says.

"When somebody hurts one of you I get pissed." Heif says.

"Well let's go get this bull shit over with then." I say then I grab Shadow's leash.

Shadow and I follow Heif out of the breakfast room and across the hall to the room where the press conference is set up then I stand behind the microphone.

"Down Shadow." I say then Shadow lays down. "Let's get this shit over with."

"Why are you doing a press conference?"

"The only reason I'm doing this is because of US Soccer." I say. "So fuck US Soccer."

"What do you say to the people who say you're making this up?" Some Italian journalist asks.

"One sec." I say then I pull up the mic'd up footage on the Mac that's connected to the tv's in the room.

After I have the footage pulled up I press play then stare at the dumbass Italian journalist as the racist chants, monkey noises, and everything the Italian national team girls told me is played over the speakers.

"Think I'm making shit up now?" I question. "I would never make something like this up you fucking dickhead"

"Have you seen what Lauren Simpson's saying?" A woman asks.

"I have and I honestly don't know why she opened her mouth." I say. "I've never met her so there's no reason my name should come out of her mouth."

"Why are you so upset about all of this?" Some white man asks. "It's just a word."

"Why am I upset that I was called a Nigger for 70 fucking minutes?" I question. "I'm upset because I was called a Nigger for 70 fucking minutes. I'm upset because I was judged on something I can't change. I'm upset because my children we're in the crowd last night and had to hear their Mom be called a Nigger for 70 fucking minutes. I'm upset because of we are living in space-age times but there are too many of us still thinking in stone age times."

I take a deep breath then I look straight at the man who asked me that stupid question.

"I'm upset because I'm tired of being judged on the color of my skin."