They are big. Known for their unapologetic articles and fearless takes. All detailing the lives of people like us, wronged by the systems.
I’ll show Chiamaka the message. Show her who it’s from, see what she thinks.
But for now, I close out of Twitter.
I’m back in my room now, in my house.
I close my eyes, pretending it’s already the future, and I’m somewhere else, living a completely different life.
Dreaming is dangerous. But I allow myself to this time.
I think we deserve a happy ending.
EPILOGUE
The Fire Next Time
Sixteen years later
A letter from the Underground Society
Dear Mrs. Johnson,
It has come to our attention that you are planning on enrolling your son, Rhys Johnson, at Pollards Private Academy. We are writing to warn and advise you against sending Rhys to this school, as Pollards Private Academy systematically targets its Black students, practicing a form of social eugenics. Attached to this letter is evidence dating back to 1965, when the first case of social eugenics took place at the now-closed institution Niveus Private Academy, tragically costing the first Black victim there her life, as detailed in the documents. Since 1965, the school caused undue trauma to all enrolled Black students, including, but not limited to, emotional and physical harassment andsevere mental trauma as well as attempts to sabotage academic records, college applications, and employment possibilities.
To guarantee your son’s protection from having a similar experience at Pollards, we would love to invite him to join the Ruby Bridges Academy. This is a school set up by the Underground Society—a society founded to tackle the systemic inequality in schools across the country.
Niveus was not the only institution practicing social eugenics, and we are still working to find those connected to Niveus while also providing an alternative solution for students we identify as targets of any of these institutions. Our aim is to reform all the systems, starting with education.
We hope you consider our offer.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Chiamaka Adebayo and Professor Devon Richards
Co-Founders of the Underground Society
DEVON
I watch him sleep soundlessly, chest rising and falling, rising again. Beard overgrown, scruffy, head clean-shaven—always. The room is dark, despite it being early in the afternoon, and I have somewhere to be, but I get sucked into his beauty and find myself trapped.
I let my eyes fall to his bare back, where my favorite tattoo of his is, the one with numbers. I run my fingers over the date written on his back, then I lean in and kiss it.
“If you’re gonna touch me, at least touch me somewhere it counts,” his sleepy voice mutters.
“You’d love that so much, wouldn’t you, T?”
His dimples pop out and he laughs.
“Why are you up so early?” he moans.
“Firstly, it’s twelve thirty, and secondly, I have a doctor’s appointment at one.”
“You just want an excuse to see her,” he says, turning to face me now, squinting. “God, I’ll never get tired of looking at your face,” he muses out loud.
My heart is beating fast but steadily.
“I’ll never get tired of looking at me too,” I reply, leaning in, giving him a quick kiss.
