Yesterday I went to dinner with one of my friends, Joanette (Pronounced “Jo-net-ah”) and she invited me to dinner with her and her other friend, Lauren. Now, this isn’t really important to me, but it’s important to know just for the fact that it just is…they are both African American.
Okay, got that out of the way.
Well, Lauren met up with another one of her friends, Diamond (also African American) and she didn’t seem to like me. So anyways, we get our food, and for some reason Joanette kept throwing her dirty looks.
Anyways, here is how the conversation went after we sat down:
“So Joan (Short for Joanette, I guess…) how’s your food?” Diamond asked.
“Oh, good.” Joan (Short for Joanette, I’m officially going to use this instead to cut down on the amount I have to type) said stiffly.
“Why is SHE sitting with us?” Diamond said suddenly as I sat down.
“Uhm, because I INVITED her to sit with us…” Joan said, looking darts at Diamond.
“What’s your problem anyways?” Lauren chimed in (She’s actually a very quiet person)
“So, how do you know these two?” Diamond asks, ignoring Lauren and instead turning to me.
“Oh, erm…through our information technology class…”
“Oh really, which one?” Diamond asks in a much more aggressive voice than should have been used.
“ITK 160…”
“Oh okay.”
“Well, Jillian and I were planning on taking ITK 168 together…” Joan said to Diamond.
“Oh…WERE you now?” Diamond said, eyeing me again. “Why?”
“What do you MEAN ‘why’?” Joan said. Then, she added in a carrying whisper to me; “You know, that girl is getting on my NERVES! Seriously!”
“Er…I’m sorry Joanette.” I said, but Diamond just turned our way again.
“You know, maybe I should go and join another table…” Diamond said, eyeing me obviously.
“Oh, and why is that? Can’t handle Jillian being here?” Joanette said in a loud voice. We were now attracting the public’s attention.
“Joanette, could you please not bring me into…” I said hurriedly, glancing around Watterson Towers dining area (where we were eating).
“I don’t know why you would associate with such people!” Diamond said, her face flushing suddenly. Joanette looked scandalized.
“You…well if you are going to be that way then you need to get away from this table!” Joanette now looked about ready to burst.
“Why do you like HER anyways?” Diamond said, regaining her composure quickly and pointing at me in an accusing way.
“Because she likes me for who I am!” Joanette said, throwing me an accidental aggressive look. I sat in stunned silence, Joanette’s words sinking in slowly. My fork paused halfway to my mouth. Now the entire section of Watterson Towers that we were sitting in was staring at us.
“We ain’t slaves no more!” Lauren said, looking at Diamond as if she is something disgusting on the bottom of her shoe. “So say whatever you have to say and get away from the table!”
“Erm…I wasn’t…I didn’t mean…” Diamond sputtered. “But…WHY?”
“Because Jillian doesn’t care if I am purple, green, black OR white!” Joanette said; I flushed.
“That’s the reason you are sitting with her?”
“That’s the reason why I LOVE hanging out with her!” Joanette said, her voice rising.
“Joanette…if you could please…keep your voice down…” I said soothingly.
“There aren’t many people who are like Jillian!” Joanette interrupted, and I saw Lauren smiling toothily at me. “So you better accept what you see!”
Joanette finally finished, breathing heavily and dramatically, her finger shaking for it was still pointing at me. I just sat there, my hands glued to the sides of my chair, wide-eyed as if I had just been yelled at. I looked slowly to Diamond, and she appeared to be at a total loss for words.
I became aware that most of the section was also in a stony silence, looking from Joanette to Diamond to me; and back again.
Finally Diamond said, and I shall never forget her words:
“I’m sorry Joanette, I know that she is your friend…I just never…thought…of it that way before.” She turned to me now “I’m sorry, Jillian…I…I guess I didn’t realize…”
“You didn’t realize that there could be people like her in the world. Serves you right…judging people before getting to know them; you could miss someone as great as this girl sitting in front of me with that type of attitude you know…” Joanette said simply, her voice down to normal level. The noise level around us was slowly rising; meaning people were going back to their normal conversations.
Diamond blushed, looked down at her food and didn’t speak for the rest of the meal.
All I have to say is: Wow.
