Huey sat on the top of the hill flipping through the copy of Essence he had obtained from his Aunt Cookie's house the last time he had visited. He inwardly cringed with every page he turned, especially when he reached the "Black Men, Sex, and Intimacy" section. What am I doing?!!? the ten year old revolutionary silently screamed in his head. Then the image of the naïve eyed mulatto beauty flashed in his mind. Jazmine continuously denies her black heritage and this is a problem. She needs to be educated, and in order for me to do this, I need to gain the insight of African-American women. Huey repeated this over in over again in an attempt to feel slightly manly.

Eventually he found himself on the fashion section. He quietly admired the ethnic hairstyles, the natural coifs of the beautiful deep chocolate and the fairer caramel women portrayed. Maybe she can connect to this, he thought as he eyed a lovely photo of Alicia Keys sporting a big afro puff slicked back into a ponytail with a cerulean butterfly clip. A random fact popped into his mind; Alicia Keys is mixed, with a Caucasian mother and an African-American father. Alicia was raised by just her mother, but she and Jazmine still had similarities. A new train of thought came into his mind.

I get annoyed at Jazmine for thinking that she's white, but I can't just call her black; she's equal parts of her mother and father. I can't tell her not to ignore one side of her, when I do that too. If you combine salt and pepper together, what do you call it? It's not salt still, and definitely not simply pepper. It's something new. People aren't that simple though, and I shouldn't try to simplify things like that. Bi-racial means two races, two cultures. You can't just claim one. That's denying half of yourself, and that way you will never be whole.

As Huey pondered this, Jazmine came up the hill. She waved to him and called out "Huey!", but he obviously was deep in thought; Jaz sat down beside him and proceeded to busy herself with a coloring book she had brought along. As she took out her colored pencils, Huey watched her with a look that wasn't annoyance or the other mysterious look that almost reminded her of anxiousness (a look that she was starting to see more and more), but something else more pleasant. It seemed like understanding.

Jaz decided to see what mood was connected with this new expression. She reached into her bag she always carried with her and pulled out her stuffed animal Anita Bunny. "Whatever are you thinking Mr. Freeman?" Jazmine mimicked with Anita. Huey raised an eyebrow but smiled. " I'm having an epiphany Anita, and if you continue I might have one about a new stew for wabbit ." Jazmine giggled and made Anita stomp off in an indignant manner.

"I say good day to you Mr. Freeman." "

"I was kid-"

"I SAID GOOD DAY!"

And with that, Anita daintily stepped back into Jazmine's bag. The two friends laughed. Huey is in a good mood today. I wonder how far it will go….

Jazmine gently pinched Huey's cheeks and asked what had he been so deep in thought about. Huey knew she was testing him with the pinching, so he sighed and started off saying "Well, you see-" then suddenly starting tickling Jazmine. She was caught completely off guard, and had no choice but to submit to the torture. "HUEY!" she half-shrieked half-giggled. After a minute or so, Huey caught bored and stopped; he helped her up and patted her head jokingly.

"Anyways, I was just thinking that you're not white-" Jazmine started to pout at this- "and your not black. You're a combination of both your mom and dad. Never deny half of you, because then you can't be whole." Jazmine thought for a minute. "If I'm not white or black, then what am i?"

"You define yourself Jazmine. Pick any title you want."

6 years later…

Jazmine and Huey were preparing for the SAT's. "Jaz, on your test, what bubble will you fill in?"

"The one that says other, and I'll specify as 'Halfrican-American."

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For those of you who read the comic "Maintaining", shout out to ya lolz