Jeannie Mertens was a new college student at a new school in a new city. The summer after graduating high school, she was elated at finally receiving her acceptance letter to State. She was from a very small town and was excited to be able to mix with the thousands that were enrolled there. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy.
Jeannie was shy, quiet, and had reserved morals and values that just didn't intermingle with college life so she found herself like this more than once, sitting alone studying in this little Bistro drinking her hot tea and eating muffins.
It was a hot summer day, and Jeannie was studying for her Trigonometry mid-term. She hated math. She always loved it in high school and kept high marks, mostly A's. But in college, she was fighting for a low D. She was tapping her pen against her text book and reading her lessons and notes for the thousandth time when the pen flew from her hand and landed on the floor.
A black man that looked to be in his early thirties maybe picked it up and laid it on the table beside her book. She met his eyes for a half a second with a meek, but thankful smile. He says in a gentle voice, almost like a teacher, "You must be more careful, you could accidentally trip someone and then what would you do?" She smiles again nervously without looking at him and takes a sip of her tea ... |