Page 41 of I Can’t Even Think Straight

Something Epic

MATT: Where have you been?

KAI: In the library. Do you miss me?

MATT: You wish! But you just missed something epic!

KAI: What happened?

MATT: Nathan kicked off at Kojo in the lunch hall because Kojo said something homophobic.

KAI: Was it about me?

MATT: Not even. Kojo said something really bad about lesbians. Nathan jumped up and started shouting, “You know my sister’s a lesbian! What’s wrong with you? You’re mad if you think you can say shit like that around me!”

KAI: What did Kojo say to that? And what did you say?

MATT: No one said anything for a few seconds. The entire lunch hall was silent and Kojo just sat there looking at his plate. Nathan stood over him shouting at the back of his head: “I dare you to say that again and I’ll box you in your mouth and knock out your teeth!”

KAI: And then what happened?

MATT: Kwesi stood up and I thought he was going to calm Nathan down, but instead, he said, “Kojo, you need to find another table.”

KAI: And what did you say?

MATT: I didn’t know what to say. Kojo stood up slowly and he looked at Kwesi, who was calm, then he looked at Nathan, who was breathing heavily, and I thought to myself, “They can all throw a decent punch, and this will be a madness if it kicks off.”

KAI: So, what happened?

MATT: Kojo looked at the rest of us at the table. Abdi and Sam were either side of me. I folded my arms. They shook their heads. Kojo knew we weren’t gonna back him.

KAI: And then?

MATT: And then Kojo looked down at the ground and just walked out, with Nathan shouting behind him, “That’s right! That’s what I thought! Keep walking!”