Chapter 3
SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME

The remainder of the summer vacation Stephanie was locked into a shell. She didn’t talk much, and she kept most of her thoughts to herself. Her sisters really kept a much closer watch over her every move. It was easy though, because she didn’t venture too far away from the house. Seeing any type of creepy crawly would send her into a frenzy. To her all reptilians big or small and any bug like critters were venomous. Her parents didn’t believe in counseling, because prayer and time was the most effective solution and would heal all wounds...mentally or physically. Not too far away Malachi was having a different kind of summer. Death means nothing to him, however punishment was something different. When he returned from that dreadful day he got his tail whipped by his oldest brother. When that was over, then his father gave him the ultimate beating. Somehow he never saw that he was the cause of all that chaos, but somehow it was everybody else’s fault. Mainly he still wanted to cause some harm to that unusual looking black girl that looked white. They all collaborated that Jesse’s death was an accidental death from a head injury and drowning. They knew the other black girl had passed away, and now only one witness remained. And if they ever get her alone somewhere she will die by their hands. For many days they’d watch her house waiting for her to walk to the store or to a friend’s house, but seldom she’d come outside. When she did she was always accompanied by family members.
When they returned back to school from the summer break Stephanie, Malachi, Kyle and Jimmy would enter the same middle school because of their district. Many new faces would also join them because there were only a couple of middle schools in the county. The boys would keep their eyes on her and watching her every move. So many times she’d be alone but not actually alone. Somehow it seemed like she anticipated their every move as well, and she’d vanish when they were about to make their move. Then one morning their opportunity had finally arrived. She got off the bus and was headed to the library to study. She had started to develop a pattern and the young lads knew it well and Kyle went ahead of her to cut off her path and isolate her from any witnesses. He did his job well and faced her with his pocket knife drawn. She immediately turned around and Malachi and Jimmy were there behind her with their knives drawn as well. She recognized Malachi immediately and knew that he was the one who had killed Jesse, and instantly she knew his attentions and didn’t hesitate to bolt. She ran across a courtyard and still no one else was in sight and somehow she couldn’t scream. The only thing she could do was to run and pray. “Lord, will You please hear my prayers and send someone to help me, don’t let these boys kill me…save me now!” She turned a corner and ran into a handsome short little fellow classmate that she had never seen before and wanted to collapse in his arms. After the brief collision he showed his disapproval with his look alone and he was already looking like he was having a bad morning. Then the boys turned the corner and were surprised to see her in his arms. Instantly the pissed off little fellow noticed the knives in their hands and he placed her behind himself to shield her as he pulled out his pocket knife and opened it as well. Then he picked up a piece of brick from only God knows where. Then he spoke first, “Whatchu motherfucking white boys doing to this girl? Do y’all want me to fuck y’all cracker asses up early this morning?” Then he spoke to Stephanie and told her to move on. “Girl, you go on now, ‘cause you don’t want to see what I’mma ‘bout to do with these piss poor crackers; ‘cause one of ‘em is going to die.” Kyle and Jimmy were about to back off but Malachi wasn’t having it. He looked at them and shouted, “What y’all scared of? He’s just another nigger; let’s cut his lil’ ass up too!” And when he looked up, WWWHACK! Malachi didn’t see the brick coming and it clocked him upside his forehead. The brick left its deep impression and he was stretched out on the ground dazed and bloodied. Then his friends picked him up and they dragged him off and they never bothered her again. Stephanie was shocked and amazed of the actions of her little hero. Without saying another word he just walked away as if it was just another day at the office of killing white boys. Now she was intrigued and followed him from a distance. She remembered her dream and asked herself, “Is this my mighty bull elephant? He’s not that big though, but he’s so fearless and strong. This got to be him and now I have to watch his back.” From that day forward she wasn’t concerned about her safety anymore, because she knew that Jesus had her back. Now it was her duty to watch out for that mighty heathen and get him saved somehow.