They'll Never Accept Me

Danny- he was a shy boy with glasses and braces, he wore ties and suits to class. People judged him for it. Being a new exchange student from Ethiopia didn't help his case. People would shove their food in his face talk about how much better they are then him, people would call him dirty because of the color of his skin. Nobody saw him for what he really was: An intelligent boy with a variety of stories to share.

Danny was a high school student who lived in the poor side of New York with his mother. Amazing stories were shared between the two, happy and loving memories were what they treasured. Until the day she got sick, everything started to go down hill. Danny could barely afford the rent, food and hydro. He needed to get multiple jobs but earned so little that he would be kicked out in less than one month.

He went from one job to another hoping to land a place, only to find a "rejected" letter in his rusty mailbox which was shared between the people there, or the slam of a binder and the words:

"Sorry, people of color are- how should I say this- untrustworthy!"

Hurt and annoyed Danny left the small neighborhood of poor people and set of to school. The clothes he wore were no longer a suit with a tie but instead were run down, plain white shirts with holes along with ripped jeans.

Not the type of ripped jeans that cost a fortune but the kind that were shaggy, dirty and the holes were from years of being worn.

The bell rang for last period: Social Studies: Nemesis to all students. Danny went to his seat, ignoring the mean comments about his appearance.

"Disgusting!" Said a tall girl in the back.

"Do you live in a dumpster!?" Said a short boy with freckles sitting behind Danny.

"Ugh, so ugly!" Said a platinum blonde girl in the front row.

As soon as students noticed the door peering open they quieted down to make sure their mean comments were not heard by teachers.

"Hello class!" Said Mr. Sullivan proudly and filled with exploding joy.

"Hello Mr. Sullivan." Was said in discontent as the class took out their books out of their overpriced backpacks.

"Today we will talk about racial issues in New York and Beyond!" He cried out enthusiastically.

About eight minutes in, Danny felt a piece of crumpled paper hit the back of his neck. The ridges of the paper poked Danny, hurting him enough for him to grind his teeth and clench his fists. The crumbled paper hit the floor and Danny rubbed the place where it hit, turning to face the boy with freckles.

Danny bent down and picked up the crumpled piece of paper- unfolded it and it read:

"You're a loser!"

Danny felt a burst of energy as he crumpled it back up, plopped it inside his desk at the far left corner. He got up as Mr. Sullivan pivoted and faced the board. Danny's left arm jolted back until the energy had to be released and hit freckle boy in the face.

"Ow! Oh, you're getting it now dumpster boy!" Freckle boy said before grabbing onto Danny's shirt collar.

A spot of light red liquid dripping slowly but continuously on the pages of freckle boy's textbook.

"Jacob McKinley, Danny Kebede! What on earth!" Mr. Sullivan yelled after seeing the comotion.

"Jacob let go of Danny's collar and wipe that nose!" He said sharply.

"Danny boy, what on earth happened! Mr. Sullivan yelled loud enough so the whole milky would could hear.

"He punched Jacob!" Said the tall girl in the back.

"Principal's office! Both of you!" He yelled.

"B-but I didn't do anything!" Jacob replied.

"BOTH OF YOU!"

The class was solemn, but small smirks were shared between students as Mr. Sullivan pointed at the door with a frown larger than an upside down rainbow. His eyebrows showing more anger than a cranky kid that got his ipad taken away. Even his hair was frizzy and excited, standing on end.

Walking down the hall was a nightmare, some unsupervised students had their faces pressed up against the window- each pushing and pulling to see the two students who were in enormous trouble.

It seemed that the pain and humiliation would last a lifetime, but a sudden elbow in the kidney and a slam of a heavy door meant they were in the principal's office. The sight of two redish brownish seats getting closer and closer were the bearer of bad news.

Danny started to hyperventilate and cold sweat left pit stains, Jacob on the other hand who suffered from ADHD was uneasy and could not focus on one thing. His eyes roamed from the ceiling to the desk, from the ice machine to Danny. Anything but the tall woman (Principal Fae) standing in front of them- her arms crossed (typical).

"Three day suspension for Danny! One Day Suspension for Jacob!" She said, changing her tone from a strict voice to a softer, relaxed tone.

"Jacob let's get some ice for that." she said sweetly.

He got up and was escorted by the low budget school nurse. She could barely tell the difference between an orange and an apple, let alone treating a nose bleed and a sore bump on the forehead.

"I can't believe you would hurt him!"

"B-but h-he b-bullies me!"

"Enough! I shouldn't have let you enroll in the first place!"

"You're lucky your mom has your back!"

"Had...had my back." Danny says sadly, tears start coming down his cheeks.

"Enough nonsense! Get out! She yells, pointing the door to Danny.

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From that day forward I never went to school. Yes, I could have returned after my three day suspension but I would have been bullied, hurt and mocked harder than before, I could not bear it! School and even people in general failed, I lost my faith in them!

Through my entire life people rejected me for the color of my skin, for my accent, for my culture! No more! I'd rather oppose them and fight along allies that went through this pain than forget about the pain of my past!

THE END