This Side of Home

In December, the students hope for a snow day, but the snow doesn’t arrive until their winter break starts.

Essence spends the first night of winter break at the twins’ house. When Maya shares that she feels like she and Devin have little in common, her sister and her best friend try to convince her that they’re perfect for each other because they’re both intelligent, driven, and Black. They tease Maya by asking if she has a crush on Tony before dismissing the idea as impossible because he’s white. Maya questions whether people have to have the same race and culture to form a strong, happy relationship, and Essence concedes that it comes down to personal preference. Inwardly, Maya wishes that her romantic feelings were simpler.

The next morning, Maya is awoken by Nikki’s alarm. When she goes across the hall to turn it off, she sees that her twin has brochures from colleges that are not HBCUs. She’s hurt that her sister might not go to Spelman and didn’t say anything to her. Nikki retorts, “[d]o I have to tell you everything?” (142).