Clintwood

"You wanna do something fun?" I shook my head and replied with "Nah, there's never anything fun to do here anyway." My best friend, Klara, snatched my phone out of my hands and turned it off. "Come on! We don't get out anymore, and I read that there was a new amusement park in town." I gave her a questionable look. "What amusement park? In this rural ass town? Is it an amusement park about corn?" We both burst into laughter as we lay sprawled on my bed. Klara sat up and pulled out her phone to pull out the email that was sent to her. "It's called Clintwood, and it has a bunch of those old-timey shops and attractions." Klara showed me her phone and scrolled through all the pictures.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, sure, I guess we can go. It's better than sitting here all day." Klara smiled big and called her boyfriend, Sam. Sam and Klara were one of many interracial couples at our high school. They were the cutest thing ever, and they complimented each other well. Whoever said that opposites attract was really on to something. Klara had brown, chocolate skin that would shine in the sunlight, and Sam had this gray sort of Cullen family vibe to him. My boyfriend and I looked almost the same. Some people would mistake us for twins if we didn't tell them that we were a couple. Our peers would call us the "Carmel Frappe Couple" because that's what our skin resembled, and both of our hair came down to our hips. James was my boyfriend's name, and my name was Angel. James would wear his hair in a man bun with a fade on the sides of it, but you couldn't tell it was shaven until he put his hair up. My hair was braided and had little butterfly clips in it. Our whole group looked like something out of a My Scene movie.

We were fashionable and always having the time of our lives. If we weren't hanging out as a group, we girls would usually be together, and the boys would stay to themselves as well. When we came up with the plan to go to Clintwood, Klara and I had just gotten off school. We finished up our homework and headed over to Sam's house. Both boys were there because we could see their cars parked in the driveway as we pulled up. When we rang the doorbell, James opened it, and his eyes lit up. He grabbed me by my waist. "You are just so beautiful! I don't know how I got so lucky with you." James knew what to say to make me melt in his arms. "Get a room, you two!" Klara said as she pushed by us to walk to Sam's room." We followed her up the stairs to where Sam was sitting on his bed and playing his PlayStation. "Are you boys ready to go, or is it gonna be another hour on you on the game?" Sam waved his hand for Klara to move from in front of the tv. He loved her but interrupting his game was no Bueno. James laughed and sat on his lap with his arms around my stomach. He turned to Klara and asked to see pictures of the new park and where it was located. When we told him that it was in Clintwood, James immediately got up and started shouting. "Oh no! We are not going there! I heard that was a Sundown Town, and if we get caught there after dark, it's not going to be good for any of us. Not even Sam because he associates with us." I grabbed his hand to calm him down and said, "Don't worry, we're just going to go, have fun, and well be back before the sun sets." Klara and I looked at each other and started laughing because we didn't believe a word of it. "Yall think I'm playing. But I'm not. This is serious!" Klara got up and pointed at me. I was making my famous puppy dog face. "Do it for Angel, James. Look, it's going to be fun, and we promise nothing is going to happen." James rolled his eyes and sighed. He walked over and snatched the headphones off of Sam's head and said, "Bro, let's go and get this over with. And don't let my dad find out about this, or he's going to kill me himself." We all got into Sam's car and drove for about two hours. When we arrived at Clintwood, it looked like a small town with many businesses and restaurants. There were a few rides here and there but mainly activities for families to get into. There was a booth that had "Strange Fruit" written on a banner, and it had a bunch of peaches stacked on top of each other. There was also a rollercoaster called the "Runaway." Some people that passed by said that it wasn't as fast as it looked and no one should waste their time on it. I decided to try the "Strange Fruit" booth first because I was interested in what made it strange. A little old white lady was standing behind the fruit and frowned as I walked up. "How much for a peach?" I asked as I reached into my purse. "For you....the peaches are not for sale." I was taken back by her response, and out of anger, I took one anyway. I snatched a peach from the top and bit into it hard. When I pulled the fruit from my mouth and saw what was inside, I started to gag. Klara screamed as she watched the peach drop to the ground. There was blood coming from the middle of the peach and blood spilling out of my mouth. "What kind of sick prank is that?" James yelled as he helped me back to my feet. The old lady came around the booth and said, "See, you people never listen!" Klara walked towards the woman and yelled, "Now, what's that supposed to mean? You're the one that was being a bitch about not selling the fruit!" Sam put his arm in front of Klara and made her back up. "I'm sure this is some misunderstanding...clearly, it's close to Halloween, so this is all just a joke." As a group, we all walked over to a bench to catch our breath. "I told you guys that this wasn't a good idea. We need to go home now!" At this point, James's face had turned red, and he was ready to get out of dodge. Klara and I were on the same page. Sam, on the other hand, thought that we should stay. He felt like one weird situation shouldn't ruin our day. Klara pulled Sam aside as they argued over leaving or not. I was still in shock over the peach and tried to call my mom, but there wasn't any service. "Look, I'm about to go find a bathroom, and when I get back, we're leaving!" James walked off while looking at the signs for the closest outhouse. Klara and Sam must have wandered off somewhere to make up for their argument because I couldn't find them anywhere. I tried looking in the nearest gift shop. Klara loved little trinkets and gifts, so I figured that's where they went to cheer her up. As I walked into the store, my eyes got big. I had never seen stuff like this in all of my 18 years of living. It was a bunch of Jim Crow-type items. Dolls with dark skin and giant red lips. Books and stories that made fun of black people. Everything in the store was racist. and when I say everything, I mean everything. Even the wallpaper had trees with nooses painted on them. Before I could turn around and walk out, a voice said, "You ain't going nowhere..." When I turned around, it was Sam. Sam had Klara tied up and held her by her hair. He dragged her as he walked closer to me. "We came here to have fun....and that's what we're gonna do!" Sam held up a bottle from behind his back and broke it over my head. 

It seemed like I had been asleep for days, but when I woke up, it was nighttime. I knew it was the same day because my watch had the same date as before. My hands and feet were tied in front of me, and a loose noose hung around my neck. When I looked over, Klara and James were sitting next to me. They were tied up too but were still unconscious. When I looked up, Sam was standing in front of me with a rope in his hand. The old lady from the booth was standing next to him with a rope connected to Klara's noose. And the young-looking boy stood with a rope tied to James. Before I could ask what was going on, Sam said, " My parents were right; I need more white friends." All three of them tugged on their ropes, and all that was left in the darkness were our screams.