A shadow fell across Jen's locker, and she looked up to see the Black girl from the bus hesitantly approaching.
"Hi," the girl said, a smile lighting up her face. "My name's Aaliyah. You must be new here. I haven't seen you around before."
Jen, surprised by the friendly greeting, mumbled a small response, "Hey, Aaliyah. I'm Jen."
"Jen? That's such a pretty name," Aaliyah said, her eyes widening. "It sounds so exotic and European."
Jen, taken aback by the compliment, stammered, "Oh, uh, thanks."
"I never met anyone named Jen before. Is it short for something?"
"Nope, that's it. Just Jen."
Aaliyah tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. "That's cool. I wish I had a name that wasn’t so common, I know like a million Oluwafunmilayo’s and Esenamhi’s. So, where are you from originally?"
"I, uh, I've always lived here," Jen stammered, unsure of how to explain her situation.
Suddenly, Aaliyah's smile widened even further. "Really? That's awesome! You must be from one of those old historic neighborhoods on the east side, right?"
Jen, relieved that Aaliyah hadn't probed further about her race, simply said, "Yeah, something like that."
"That's so neat," Aaliyah continued. "My grandma used to tell me stories about those parts of town. Have you always listened to country music?"
Jen, confused by the question, replied, "Country music? Why do you ask?"
Aaliyah's smile faltered slightly. "Oh, I, uh,, you know your whole style is so European American I just assumed."
Heat flooded Jen's cheeks. In her world, country music was stereotypically associated with white culture. Here, it seemed to be the opposite.
"Oh," Jen fumbled for an answer, "Yeah, I, uh, like it a lot."
Aaliyah's smile returned, but it seemed a touch unsure. "Cool. It's not really my thing, my parents won’t let me listen to urban stuff like that, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right?"
Jen, relieved to have found some common ground, forced a smile. "Yeah, definitely."
“Hey I know white girls hate it when people touch their hair but can I? Most white girls never have their natural hair, it’s so straight and pretty.” Jen just blushed.
The bell rang, signaling the start of classes. "Well," Aaliyah said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, "it was nice meeting you, Jen. See you around?"
"Yeah, see you," Jen replied still reeling from the conversation.