Throwing Kisses At The Sky

Stepping out of the steaming hot shower, I got a glimpse of myself in the steamed mirror. I could see my dark skin in the clouded mirror and I felt like skinning myself and replacing myself with white skin. My parents didn't quite understand my hate for my dark skin color, but by making assumptions, they thought they knew exactly what I was going through. They said it was just a phase, that it would pass and I'd learn to embrace my darker color. I told them that I would rather die. After that, they blamed my hate on the students in my school, the racism that my fellow school mates were putting me through. They pushed me, shoved me, called me a slave, pulled my hair, kicked, punched.

The teachers dismissed their act of violence towards me because of my skin color. It was horrible, just horrible. When my parents went to school to talk to the teachers about the bullying that was going on, the teachers just told them that they couldn't do anything to stop the kids from hurting me.

My parents said it was bullshit, and they packed everything up and we went to live with grams and gramps in Huntington Beach, California.

I looked away from myself in the mirror and wrapped the white towel around my body and exited the bathroom, walking down the hallway to my new bedroom. It was the room I used to have every time me and my parents would go visit my grams and gramps. I threw the towel down and got my underwear and bra on. I put on a beige tie front button up and a pair of H&M short shorts. I put on my gold bracelets and didn't bother with makeup. I brushed my hair and rummaged through my luggage to find my aviators and my beanie to put on my head(x). I wasn't going to do my hair up all pretty for school, there was just no point. I pushed all my hair over one shoulder and then looked at myself in the mirror, fixing my fringe.

"Jenny, are you ready for school?" My mom asked from behind my bedroom door.

"Yes" I answered her in a monotone voice as I got up and walked to my bedroom door.

"Alright, I'll be downstairs in the car waiting!" My mom sounded a bit more cheerful. I heard her run down the stairs and I opened my door. I brushed my fingers through my hair and sauntered down the stairs, putting my glasses over my hazel colored eyes.

"Ah mon petite bijoux!" My grams smiled as I entered the kitchen. "You remind me of your mother when she was younger"

I smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek. I bounced towards my gramps and my pa who were talking about the news paper and I gave them both kisses on their foreheads. I said goodbye and grabbed my purse and slipped on my sandals and walked out the front door. I saw my mom checking herself out in the mirror of the car and I rolled my eyes under my sunglasses. I slid into the passenger seat of the car, pushing my glasses to the top of my head.

"Oh Jenny, you're so beautiful" my mom mused as she started the car.

I didn't say anything to her. I wanted to throw up, those words were lies. I looked out the side window and pressed my forehead to the cold glass. It was hot out, and the glass was cooling down my forehead. I watched as we drove by different houses until we reached Huntington Beach High school. I put my sunglasses back over my eyes and I pushed the door open. I leaned over and gave my mom a hug and a kiss before I made my way into the school, ignoring the stares I got from the other students.

I turned for a brief moment to watch my mom peel out of the school parking lot, and I sighed. I pushed the school doors open and pulled my sunglasses off my face, sucking in a breath of the cool air. I was happy the school had air conditioning, my dark skin made it hard to want to be outside. I got heat stroke a lot, and it sucked. I walked down the hallway with my head down, avoiding people like the plague.

I entered the office and looked around, spotting an elderly looking girl sitting at the desk. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Hi dear! I'm Cristy... Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked me.

"My names Jenny.. Uh, I'm new. I need my schedule" I tried to sound nice, but it all came out to sound bitter and cold.

"Alright," She typed in something on her computer and then she looked at me then back at the computer. "Jenny Lucas?"

"Yes"

"I'll print your schedule but I'll be useless helping you find the class room, I have a lot to work to do so you're going to be on your own."

I nodded my head and heard the ring of a loud annoying sounding bell. She laughed as I looked around for the source and she walked to a back room, leaving me in the front alone for a couple minutes before she returned with some papers in her hand. She handed me the papers and I left the office without another word to her. I looked at what my first class was and realized that I would be late for it. After ten minutes of wandering the hallway aimlessly, trying to find the class, I found it on the second floor. I knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to open door because I didn't want to interrupt the class.

The door flung open and there stood a man with shaggy black hair and dark brown eyes. He stared at me for a couple of seconds before he turned to face someone standing a little ways behind him.

"Mr. Carbs, it's the new student you were going on and on about." He said, backing up, leaving me only enough room to enter the class. I snuck past him and stood there awkwardly and waited for the teacher to say something as he stared at me, fascinated by something.

"Ms. Lucas, am I right?" He asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

I nodded.

"I went to high school with your mother, is she well?"

I nodded again.

He smiled, "That is good, Class. I want you to meet Jenny. You be nice to her, she's new around here." He said, scowling at the class.

I peered into the class room, finding that the guy from before had taken a seat with a couple guys at a round table. It was at that table there was the only vacant chair in the room. The teacher motioned for me to take it and I did. I sat down and kept to myself as I adjusted so I could see the teacher. He started to babble on about some history shit, I tuned him out, already knowing what he was explaining to the class.

"Psssst!" One of the guys beside me said.

I looked at him. My brown eyes curiously scanning him over. He wore a black misfits tee-shirt and some grey pants.

"My names Jimmy!" He smiled, his blue eyes bright.

"Jenny.' I smiled back at him.

"That's a nice name, it suits you." Brown eyes from before said, I turned to him.

Suddenly, for the first time in three years, I felt glad for having dark skin. He couldn't see the blush on my face.