Chapter Sixteen – Pathetic.
(Kiera's POV)
I slammed my room door behind me. Gladys could still sit there as long as she liked.
Maybe, she wanted my mom to come home and see her sitting at the store like an abandoned pup. Aish... She acts too miserable for her own good.
I switched on my data and went back to Facebook. I was so full of hatred and anger I barely concentrated.
My news feed wasn’t helping by giving sad stories of kids bullied for their African heritage. Whoever the admin of the group was would surely be someone not funny.
A girl had commented on a post that even some Asians discriminated the Black race. She had met some oppression when she had visited South Korea.
This really confused me. Weren’t Blacks and Asians altogether victims of racism? Why would Asians participate in it?
I had a South Korean girl in my class and she wasn’t free with anyone. I had assumed it was for fear of bullying but when I tried getting closer to her, she wasn’t free still.
Maybe she wanted to be alone, I had thought. But if some Asians discriminate Blacks then was that why she didn’t want to make friends with me? Was she looking down on me too.
I remembered Jana, my old friend. She wasn’t a racist too, was she? The Korean girl's name was Kim Hae Soo, I think.
Bullies renamed her 'Issue'. It wasn’t fair if Asians discriminated Blacks. It wasn’t fair if whites discriminated Blacks either.
We were one color to God who made us all and he checked our hearts to judge is not our skins.
I looked off my phone and checked to hear if my mom was home but she wasn’t. It was getting darker, what could she be shopping for the 'little imp’?
And Gladys, I would make sure, won’t be sleeping in my room. My mom could share with her if she wanted. Or we make the store into a room for her.
I looked at my wristwatch, when was Charles coming? I heaved a sigh of frustration and continued surfing my news feed.
There was a recently updated post from the 'Black Lives Matter’s group. Another Black American was complaining on how he had been beaten up because of his race.
He added that he was intelligent and won a competition, this had aggravated his enemies' anger. He wrote a really long note so I didn’t bother read all.
They’d all be really sad tales and all. I sympathized with him when I saw a line “I feel insecure everyday. Like my life is on the verge of death”.
This is how every racial victim feels – insecure. In a world full of great technological advancements and higher knowledge? That was pathetic.
I sent a friend request to him since he had said he had very few friends. I was surprised how his post of six hours already had a thousand reactions. While surfing the comments, I saw something shocking.
Someone had commented “I loved when you said “I’m gay, I’m Black and I’m proud”. Live proud of you, bro”.
Gay? Was this Tobi a gay? I swiftly checked the profile picture of the boy who posted, his name Tobi and he didn’t look gay.
I mean, he didn’t have the makeup and jewels like most gays have.
I shook my head, I was a bit repellent to gays now, after hearing what Gladys mom did. Well, they would still be reasonable gays too, I hope.
If he was hated for being gay, then…then…maybe those folks are just as repellent as I am. I wasn’t supporting their actions of bullying him though, it was never fair.
I just left the post and went to a joke group. Honestly, I don’t really understand the LGBT+ concept, I would really like to understand. Just then Tobi sent a “hi, friend”.
I raised my head to check the time. When was mom coming back? The estate had rules about time. Someone came inside the house. I didn’t hear a knock before so it was probably mom. The came in with someone, maybe Charles since he was also heading here.
Gladys came downstairs and I heard her shout “Daddy!”.
Daddy? My ex-dad was here? I quickly switched off my phone and tiptoed downstairs. He was the one, he was sitting on an arm chair with Gladys on his laps.
That armchair had always been the chair he used to sit on. It reminded me of old memories, very old memories.
“I’ll call Kiera” my mom left for my room. I was hiding behind the stairs so she met me as soon as she cornered to the hallway.
I wanted to tell her I didn’t want to see him but she just pulled me to the living room. Gladys jumped down his laps on seeing me. I wondered why.
He’s her dad, she could even dance there if she wanted.
“Greet, dear” my mom said giving me a fake smile. I turned to my ex-dad, this was another time meeting him this close. Gladys still had her guilty look.
“Why’d you marry again?” I asked. Instead, he bent down his head “I don’t know” was his response.
My mom was confused, I was too. Gladys had no reaction. He didn’t know why he married again? What kind of joke was that.
“You accidentally took her to the alter and married her then?” I smirked. He nodded. My smirk disappeared. What was he saying?
“She wasn’t always that anyway” he said.
“Who wasn’t always what?” I asked immediately. What was he talking about?
He now looked up “Um.. Gladys’ mother?”. My face twisted. Gladys looked up to her father. How did her mother get into the conversation.
“I asked why you married another woman again not her mother. Why another woman generally?” I stressed on the 'another'.
He nodded slowly and smiled “I thought you asked why I married a gay. I heard 'a gay' not 'again'. I was trying to explain that I didn’t know Gladys’ mother would be a gay and break off our marriage. It was because she wasn’t that way and…” he met my gaze and trailed off.