Genesis Begins Again

Genesis is thrilled because a group of girls from school have finally agreed to hang out at her house after school. Her excitement quickly disappears as she and the girls turn the corner to her house. All her family’s belongings are on their lawn and a lock has been bolted to their door. They’ve been kicked out of their home, again.

The girls begin to make fun of Genesis and call her names like “Eggplant” and “Char.” “Char” is supposed to be short for “Charcoal,” an insult used to mock her for her dark skin. After the girls leave, Genesis lays down on her bed on the lawn and pulls out “The List,” a list that two girls made when Genesis was in fifth grade called “100 Reasons Why We Hate Genesis.” They only wrote sixty reasons, so Genesis has been filling out the rest herself. She adds reason 85, her friends ditch her after they see all of her belongings on the lawn, and 86, she lets those “friends” call her names like Charcoal and Eggplant.

A cab pulls into the driveway, and Genesis’s mom jumps out wearing pink scrubs. Soon after, their landlord lets them back in the house to collect any remaining belongings.