It Doesn’t Matter
T
he fall of 1945 was a very significant
time of change for the small, remote
town of Pamplemousse. It is an era full
of historical importance and heroism which is still celebrated in Pamplemousse today. The town’s first black
family, the Elises had just moved in over the summer
and their three younger children, Ava, Benjamin, and
Christopher started going to school at Pample Elementary and Mousse High School. The father, Gregor Elise
was a lawyer who, against all odds, worked diligently to
ensure his clients—who were all black—a fair chance in
every case. However, Gregor got tired of the constant
overwhelming prejudice in their home town and wanted to somehow escape without having to move north
like the rest of his family.
One day, Ava was sitting on the wooden swing
of the schools playground as she usually did at recess.
She slowly pushed herself backward and forward as she
drearily watched the other kids play tag, jump rope, and
hopscotch. She sighed. Her vision was blurred by tear
filled eyes until a single drop led the stream that ran
down her cheeks and onto her green knee length dress.
She quickly wiped her eyes and looked up at the school
clock above the words “Pample Elementary”—it was
12:30. “Only thirty more minutes,” she thought as she
glanced at her shiny black buckle shoes.
“Are you ok?” asked a young voice from behind
her, “Were you crying?”
Ava sniffled and turned on the swing. She saw a
young white girl about her age. She was tall and thin
with a puffy sleeved white dress shirt beneath her dark
blue, knee length dress. She had lovely curly blond hair
that was pulled to the back in a bow that was the same
color as her dress. Ava hesitated as she was amazed
and frightened that a white person was talking to her.
“Well,” the girl continued, “can you talk?”
“Yes,” Ava answered almost whispering.
The girl smiled reassuringly, “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Ava replied a little more confident, “You…your, um…”
“I saw you were over here by yourself,” the girl
interrupted, “You looked lonely so I just came over…I
just moved here, from New York.” Ava looked down
and then began to look around as though she would get
in trouble for talking to the girl. “Uuh…my name’s Hai-
BY DYANNI
PRICE
ley Wilson, what’s your name?” She asked.
“Ava Elise, I just moved here too, from Mississippi,” Ava said. Satisfied that she had gotten Ava to
talk, Hailey sat down on the wooden swing next to her.
“How many brothers and sister do you have?
I’ve got an older sister and two brothers and a turtle
named Squirtle, he’s my best friend,” she continued the
conversation.
“I have four older brothers, but my favorite
brother is my dog Morphie,” Ava answered very interested. “Squirtle’s a funny name,” Ava laughed. They
both giggled; they were beginning to feel much more
comfortable together. The school bell rung, echoing
over the playground and the students began to line up
in front of the entrance of the school building. “Aww,”
Ava and Hailey si