“This is all I could make from fortune-telling today, maybe if you'd pull your weight around and put all that good charm of yours to use, we could earn more”. Bonita quarried her daughter, who was lost in her study.
“Hello? Am I talking to someone?”
“Hmm…hmm…. Ohhh! Sorry Mom, was lost in my Essay.” Alora responded while still using her eyes to follow up with the lines of words on her paper.
“Ayah yahh!!!! We are still on with this scholarship nonsense? How many times do I have to tell you, us Gypsies* do not concern ourselves with this". Bonita barked angrily as she yanked the paper off Alora's reading table and waved it carelessly midair.
She continued, “it's only a trap to keep you enslaved. You can never truly be free with education. You'll go to work and make money for the corporation and never enough for yourself. Furthermore, you are a fine girl, come with me to the market, there are many attractive men there with big big money”.
“One little tiny objection, mom…. What if I get to own that big money like the men?" Alora quickly chirped in.
She continued, "more so mom, we are Romani people the word Gypsy is a racial slur."
“This is what education does, now you challenge me, and you want to play man. I can't with you Alora, I'm off for food.”
As Bonita left, Alora couldn't help but ponder and thus questioned herself, “am I doing too much?” But before she could let her mother's words get to her, she quickly shrugged it off, “nah I'm not, a girl should not just dream, she should act on it”.
The following day, Bonita was preparing for the marketplace, she was shocked to see Alora fully dressed, hanging her study bag across her shoulder, as she never goes anywhere without it.
To Bonita, her words finally got to her daughter and she's ready to join her at their fortune shop, but Alora had other plans.
Soon after they got to the market, a Caucasian boy around 18, same age as Alora, came by to look for her.
Bonita's heart leapt for Joy as she thought if her daughter cannot land the big fish, she can at least land the fingerling who is a direct descendant of the big fish.
“Hey mom, this is my friend Marcus, he's my study partner, and we would be running off now for our Essay tutorials”. Alora, while waiting to be defensive as she's sure her mother will complain and maybe disapprove, got the shock of her life when the mother told her to be back in time for dinner.
She looked at the time and saw it was still morning….
“Mom the time is 10:30am, what do you mean be back in time for dinner? Dinner is 7:30pm, I won't be out that long”. Alora informed her mother.
“Just take your time dear, no pressure”, Bonita responded as she winked at Alora and then winked at Marcus who got confused and lost.
“Your mom is weird,” Marcus said to Alora as they both walked out of the fortune shop.
“I know, and I do not want to talk about her”. She brushed him off.
Alora and Marcus arrived at his house where the other teammates were also preparing for the States scholarship exam.
“Marcus? Is this the friend you went to pick up?” Britney questioned with a raised brow and a smirk.
“Yes why?” Marcus responded in a defensive tone.
“Where did you pick this one from? The trash?” Ebony inquired as they all burst out laughing.
By now, Alora was fidgeting and almost turning red from embarrassment.
“Pay no attention to them, here have a seat," Marcus offered Alora a chair to sit down.
“Let her seat far away from us, we don't want to catch germs” Lucas teased.
In an enraged voice, Marcus cautioned his friends, “I will remind you all that this is my house, and you all are my guests and will be treated equally. If you don't like it, you can as well leave”.
But none of them dared to leave as they know what's at stake.
The state's scholarship is opened to 3 winners in the country, it is a scholarship exam and an Essay competition, where the winners get to be sponsored fully to the best Universities in the world, and after study, get automatic employment to work directly with the presidential team and control the country's affairs.
Marcus is an elite, which makes his friends of the same elites class. His father is the Mayor of the county, and he's been preparing Marcus to feel up his shoes and even go further to becoming the president.
He had hired him several private tutors to groom him for the competition and Marcus has secretly invited his friends from school to join, of which Alora was fortunate to be part of, despite not being from Marcus school or class.
It was Alora's love for learning that led her to Marcus at the public Library where they became friends.
For the rest of the study session, everyone behaved and Alora kept scoring points for acing all the tasks and questions asked. At a point one of the tutor asked her what high school she attended, and she said she's self taught and never been to school.
While everyone was wowed, Ebony quickly rained on her parade, “of course, why would she have a formal education, she's a Gypsy, and we know they are Nomads right?”
Alora smiled as she responded, “I am Romani, not a Gypsy and no, my family are not Nomads, they just don't have the required exposure for learning”.
Seeing that Ebony was not backing down as she still has some missiles to fire at Alora, Marcus cuts in, “You are black right? Certainly you should know how it feels to be stereotyped”.
Marcus response angered Ebony, but she dared not talk back.
After their lessons, Marcus dropped Alora off. Alora thanked him for coming to her defense, and Marcus praised her for not being ashamed of her background or heritage.
As Alora stepped into their apartment, she was shocked to see her mother cooking.
“Why are you not at the market?” Alora questioned.
“Oh not many people wanted anything from the fortune shop, so I felt I should make dinner early since you said you won't be out late with your friend. Where's he, by the way? Thought he might want to join us…. Nice ride he got too, I'm guessing he's rich?”
“Mom, it's not happening. Marcus and I are just friends”.
“Friends get married, that is how I started with your father”. Bonita smiled.
She continued, “God bless his sweet soul”. She said as she raised her head and smiled
Bonita paused on her cooking, then walked up to Alora standing by the kitchen door. “You know I want the best for you right?”
“I know mom”, Alora responded as they both hugged with Bonita kissing her hair.
For the remaining days to the competition, Marcus and Alora kept meeting often to the disapproval of Ebony. She and Marcus had an undefined connection, and she felt Alora is an obstacle, so she plotted with Britney to go warn Alora to back off.
While Britney was concerned as to how they could find her, Ebony was sure she'll be at the market as she could swear she has seen her at a Gypsy shop there before.
They got to Bonita's shop and the first thing that greeted them was a picture of Alora.
“Hello ladies, what can I do for you?” Bonita inquired as both Ebony and Britney walked into her fortune shop.
Both girls looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“She's asking what she can do for us?” they both chorused as they laughed hysterically.
Bonita felt embarrassed but kept her cool.
“I'm sorry, I think you mean what we can do for you,” Ebony said as she looked around the shop in disgust. She continued, "because, clearly you are the one needing of the help. Otherwise, you won't be passing off your daughter to the Mayor's son".
Bonita was taken aback by Ebony's revelation. She was also a bit confused and at the same time, she's quite sure they were talking about Marcus because he's the only boy Alora has been with.
Without altering a word to any of the girls, she walked to her inner chamber but positioned in such a way she could still see the girls. Seeing that Bonita wasn't going to entertain their insolence, they left.
Later that evening, Bonita was unusually quiet and this bothered Alora, “mom is everything ok?” She inquired.
“Yes dear, everything is fine” Bonita lied flashing a fake smile. Deep down she wasn't happy with the confrontation she had earlier, she kept beating herself up because the girls were right.
All what she's been trying to do was marry Alora off to someone wealthy, with the hope it could be their ticket out of poverty. Bonita hated herself for every time she rebuked Alora from study and urged her to be with a rich man instead.
Going forward, the confrontation she had with Ebony and Britney changed her mentality as she became more supportive to Alora's scholarship pursuit.
The scholarship exam came and passed, Unfortunately for Alora, Marcus won.
Alora was disappointed, and Ebony didn't miss out on the opportunity to stop by at the market and ridicule her.
“Poor and unfortunate people remain in their lane, stay away from Marcus Gypsy. I wouldn't want our home to be cursed because of your bad luck”. Ebony floored Alora as she flipped her braids to Alora's face.
Bonita could not do more than to console her daughter.
Marcus on his part stayed away as whenever he stopped by to say hello, Bonita would dismiss him as Alora instructed.
One afternoon, while at the market, Marcus rushed in with excitement and asked Alora if she has seen the news.
“No, why?” Alora questioned.
“Because you are all mainstream media is talking about, that's why”.
Marcus quickly brought out his phone and went on the internet, searching for Alora's name.
Both Alora, Marcus, and Bonita listened with rapt attention as the President addressed the nation.
“It's been a month since the nation provided an opportunity to our children to be part of us in government, but not without getting the required education first. We were supposed to have just three winners, but there was one we couldn't sweep under the carpet. Meaning we had four winners.
I, personally, read that essay, an Essay of self discovery, and felt it's the most well-written piece I have ever read. The writer wrote about her struggles and that of her community. She had wishes and she had dreams.
We did a background check on the writer and discovered she has never been to school. She has no formal education.
I wondered why she wasn't picked, and the reasons were not making sense to me.
So I am using my office, to make this public announcement that Alora Bartholoways, due to her efforts in being educated and her well-written piece for the Nationwide Scholarship Exam, will not only be sponsored to the best University in the world, but also will be made an Ambassador and a role model of the Romani people in this country......”
They didn't even listen to the end of the news before Alora's mother ran out of their shop in excitement.
She went from shop to shop, informing the traders and anyone who cares to listen that the President is sending her daughter to college and has also given her daughter a political appointment.
Alora was dumbfounded as she just wept, she hugged Marcus for support and cried so hard, saying, “I have fulfilled my father's dream for me”.