I Am Not My Skin [ UNDER EDITING ]

Chapter 15:

The protest for the freedom of Jamal ended well. We got to attract a lot of news outlets and we were interviewed as well, it filled my heart knowing that Maya stood up and did so proudly for the ones she cares for. My parents phoned me right after the protest aired on television and I thought I'd be getting an earful. But instead, they told me how proud they were to see us standing up for Jamal the way we did.

I was mostly proud of Maya, she is a real freedom fighter and her speech was unbelievable. She spoke beautifully and said all she had to, she took out all her anger and hate and she turned it into beautiful poetry. Now I can see why she wanted to spend so much time visiting Jamal in prison, those beautiful words he always shared and wrote down. That is why I admire him and all he did. He was so humble and had a heart of gold, whatever a person may need he would give them. He'd even share his only meal if you were hungry and give you the blanket on his back if ever you would go cold.

When we got home, I just felt like sleeping but I couldn't no matter how tired I was. I had to leave yet again and meet Carter to discuss the rest of Jamal's case, the piece of evidence Maya provided is of great help, and if only I can find out who this girl Cassidy was and how she knew Jamal. But so goes it, they always say that "We all look the same" .

Ain't it sad? That we are all convicted and treated such as criminals and that we are all being seen as the same, as scum of the earth and thought of less than humans, why are we so different? Hair and appearances should not matter, the colour of my skin should not matter, what is inside should matter, always. In school we were always taught to never judge a book by it's cover, and yet we sing different praises because a person is not a person unless they have a pale complexion and long thin blonde hair because that is what they see as their "Normal" .

What has become of this world that the only thing we can ever really see is the shade of a person's colour? I am fully aware of every inch on my body. I do have a mirror at my house, and everyday I look at it I see a beautiful human being. I see a kind soul with a beautiful smile, a happy person who tries to make everyone around her feed off the same energy as hers. I want for a person to be able to come to me and just talk. We don't even have to talk, we can just sit in the silence and let the quietness sink in or better yet, we can even listen to some soft music or 90's hip-hop, anything is fine with me.

I stared at the reflection in the mirror and all I could see was Maya. Little Maya was now much bigger and getting older by the day, I look at my younger siblings and want for their futures to be unlike the ones they are being faced with today. I want them to be able to walk freely, no regret and no feeling of being rejected by society. For them not to have the guilt of being themselves, without having any means of freedom to express their thoughts openly, without having any fear of being shot at. Just for them to live their lives and just to be happy, to be genuinely happy in a world where everyone is being seen as equal and we can all live in harmony.

I grabbed my handbag along with my phone. I promised Carter that after I've returned with Maya I'd go and meet up with him, and fair enough he did come by my house to meet up. But I asked him to meet me somewhere far from home because I knew there was still bad blood between him, and my parents due to past experiences. The worse is that they don't even know he is the lawyer who offered to help Jamal with his case voluntarily.

"You look pretty." He smiled, but that was the least on my mind, even though life has been treating him so well. He was much more handsome now than he's ever been, but going back to him is the last thing on my mind and a big no. He was married to his work and besides, Johnny is the only thing I could think of, and sadly I haven't seen him since Mrs. Brown's funeral. I kinda miss him even if I have to say so myself.

"Uhm, thank you, so remember that thing I told you about? Well, Maya told me about this girl named Cassidy who was in her class, and well, she is the one who they forced and said that Jamal was the one who raped her. And I feel that I should go and pay her a visit."

He paused, looked at me and nod his head, it was almost as if he was ready to disapprove of my decision. His eyes were locked on the road as we strolled. He kicked pebbles one after the other, and then he looked back up at me again. "No, you can't do that. I will try to get in contact with the girl's parents, and maybe try to convince them to drop the case against Jamal because there is no evidence that proved he raped the girl. There is no record of her being raped either. Hey, Drew do you think that Jamal and the girl was maybe close or that she was an ex that wanted revenge on him for some kind of reason?" He asked, and I thought no, Jamal would have told me about the girl, it just couldn't be that. No, there has to be another explanation and only two people can give it, Jamal and the girl who has accused him.

"No, I don't think so, I think that there is more to the story than being let on. We should dig a little deeper Carter, that is the only way we will get the answers we are looking for."

It should have struck me right there that his behavior was a little unexpected. I mean we basically had all the evidence now presented to us, and all he seemed like doing was showing no signs of caring whatsoever. Which made me think of earlier when he threatened Connor, he definitely had something on him, and it was clear that he was blackmailing him with the information every chance he got.