i- Rachel

It took him everything not to cry in the hallway, thirty minutes of crying in the toilet and boys suspecting he was a girl was enough. He knew he had to man up and stop acting like he was new in junior high school. His friends were probably having the best time of their lives, while he was here, trying to figure out where the school canteen was.

The crying wore him out, his dark hazel eyes were glassy as he pinched the bridge of his pointed nose to stop tears from flowing again, his previously gelled black hair was now messy probably because of the water he kept on splashing on his face to stop the tears. He was already tired, felt a bit dizzy, he needed water or a lil bit of food. The whole thing was pointless so he just sat in the front of his locker and continued breathing.

A week passed and the locker became his lunch break best friend, he also started bringing his lunch to school. He was getting used to life as a lonely folk but for some odd reason he enjoyed it, he hated it when people talked to him anyway. Legs stretched across the not so empty but empty enough hallway. He started unwrapping his paper bag.

~•~

Being an activist was something, loving cheerleading was another thing.

As an activist, Rachel tried to convince the cheerleading team that she can be a cheerleader and try saving the world at the same time but they didn't look convinced and she was not the one for giving up, her hair was packed in the usual bun because she hated when her hair got in the way of her daily activities. She tried to shave it once but not under her father's roof, the day she suggested it was filled with stares and unspoken words.

"Look, Bianca-"

"Rachel, my name is Rachel, not Bianca." She said gently trying her best to hide her frustrations, she has been trying to convince them for over 30 minutes and they still didn't know her name.

"Rachel," The head cheerleader started with a sigh, "You can't be against males -"

"I'm not against males, I'm an activist I'm trying to reduce global warming and stop humans before they send animals extinct. To be honest, I don't think feminists are against males, they're fighting for gender equality and trying to reduce the body-shaming people get these days. Oh, and they also support women and help stop bullying." Rachel ended with a pissed voice and shrug.

"Look, what we're trying to say is you guys are strong-headed and you oppose to almost everything people say to you." A meek voice came from the back of the group.

Rachel opened her mouth to say, 'no we don't.' but swallowed her words and bit her heart-shaped lips to avoid hurling at anyone.

"I love cheerleading and I'll do anything you want me to do to get on this team but you can't control my life after school or when we're not practising. I also promise that whatever I do won't affect the team." She said her voice almost pleading and breaking.

"We'll give you a chance, you have one week to prove yourself worthy of joining this team. A tiny mistake means you're out of the team. Got it?" The owner of the not so meek voice now said.

One of the cheerleaders tried to say a thing but a Stern look from the owner of the voice made her think otherwise.

"Thank you so much." Rachel said excitedly earning a small smile from the owner of the voice.

She turned her back to leave but she had to ask.

"I'm sorry, what's your name? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Alice." The owner of the meek voice replied with a blank face.

"Oh. Thank you once again." She said happily making her brown eyes look bright before walking backwards. She was too excited, she should have turned, she knew that. And when she did turn, she tripped on someone's leg. Thankfully, she landed on her knees and her stretched arms.

"Are you okay? God, I hope you're not bleeding. I'm so sorry." A male voice started speaking.

"Stop talking." She muttered looking at the floor, taking deep breaths.

"What? I didn't get that." He replied, his voice shaking a bit.

"Stop talking." She yelled at him.

"I'm sorry." His voice now obviously shaking.

"Hey, hey-" she started, standing up to comfort him.

"It's alright, I'm fine no biggie. " She said giving him a warm smile and a tiny jump to show him she's really alright. They shared a small laugh, and knew their day couldn't get any worse than that.

"I'm Rachel and you are?"

"Alexandre," he said whilst stretching his hand for a handshake. She took his hand and smiled.

"Well, I have to go. The break is almost over and I'm starving. Bye." She said and walked away without waiting for a reply from him. He smiled and waved her back Goodbye.

Three minutes later, she came back and stood where he was sitting with a weird, to him, smile.

"I'm sorry, don't take this as an offence but I forgot your name." She said with an uneasy and half-smile.

"It's ok. Alexandre. That's the name." He said with a smile.

"Ok thanks." She said walking away as she continued muttering 'Alexandre' 'Alexandre' 'Alexandre' till he couldn't hear her clearly.

A minute later, she came back with a smile. He might be nice and easily bullied but there are things he can't take. For a second, he wished he never stretched his legs but still he faced her with a small smile.

"I'm so sorry I can't really wrap your name in my head. Can I call you Alex?" She asked.

He didn't understand what was hard about Alexandre but sure if it gets her away.

"Of course you can." He said too excitedly.

With a confused look, she walked away slowly.

Of course he felt a bit bad but she was gone so no biggie. He sat there till the break was almost over then left for his class.

It was history, this was his first history class mostly because the teacher always missed the class. His teacher walked in with a frown, history was not his favourite subject so honestly, he could care less.

The teacher started talking about historic stuff he was not paying attention, don't blame him. It was a boring subject, no offence.

"Don't you think that's offensive sir?" A voice asked from the back

"What is so offensive about it, young lady? It's just history, no lies." The teacher replied with a raised brow.

"Just because black people were enslaved years or decades ago doesn't mean you can make jest of them. I mean America was once nothing don't you think?" Rachel said with a raised brow.

"There's no black person in this room, young lady. It's only offensive when you say it to their face. And regarding the fact that America was once nothing, all I can say is look at us now! The country has evolved so much that a lot of countries rely on them to survive." The teacher replied adjusting his glasses a little bit.

"Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon, Barack Obama, a president, Jemison mae, visited space. I can go on and on. Are you still saying black people haven't evolved? I know I'm not black but for people that went through lots and lots of torture, they evolved pretty great to me." Rachel said countering him.

The argument went on and on till he threatened to award her a detention slip.

After 3 years, things didn't really change. The history teacher was still a racist, Rachel was still an activist just not into it like before, Dre was no longer the guy that sat alone during the lunch break.