Andi and Buffy were walking through the park together one afternoon as Andi said, "Mmm. That ice cream we had was so delicious." Buffy smiled as she said, "Yeah, I know. It was definitely... quick, hide!" A confused Andi then said, "Huh?" Buffy then quickly pulled Andi behind some bushes, pulling them both from view. Two men in police uniforms then walked by as Andi looked at Buffy and whispered, "What are we hiding from?" Then Buffy whispered, "Shh. Or they'll hear you." A minute later, the two men in police uniforms were gone. As Andi and Buffy stepped out of the bushes, a confused looking Andi then said, "Buffy, what's going on? Did you steal something?" Buffy sighed and said, "No. It's just... I get really afraid when I see police in the park." Andi then curious said, "Why? If you're not doing anything wrong, then what do you have to worry about?"

Buffy then sat on a bench looking a bit nervous as a concerned looking Andi sat next to her. Buffy then looked down as she said, "Andi... you know... sometimes I take a shortcut through the park by myself to get to your house sometimes and... there have been a handful of times where I would just be... stopped... by some cops here in the park." A confused looking Andi then said, "Why?" Then Buffy looking a bit confused too said, "I don't know. I mean for some reason cops really like to hang around parks, especially the parking lots near them when they're on breaks or when they want to meet up with fellow cops. And for whatever reason, occasionally I'll be approached by small groups of them (always groups of male cops, no females), and they'd come up to me saying they would investigating something mysterious going on." Andi looking confused and concerned said, "Like some recent crime or something?"

Then Buffy looking frustrated said, "I don't know. That's all the detail I would ever get. But the thing is... it became very apparent to me that these cops were approaching me to do three things. First, I think they were just trying to get me angry and riled up; so riled up that I would get violent and thus give them an excuse to arrest me or something. Second, I think they stopped me so... they could get a chance to feel my body." Andi's eyes widened as she said, "What?" Buffy looking sad nodded her head and said, "Yeah. I mean it was always under the guise of padding me down to see if I was carrying something dangerous, but they spent way too much time checking to see if I was carrying anything dangerous around my butt and breasts." Andi looking shocked said, "Buffy, I..." Then an angry looking Buffy made a fist as she said, "And the third reason I think they stopped me... I'm pretty sure was just so that these men could feel a little more powerful over a defenseless woman." Suddenly Buffy began to cry as Andi immediately held Buffy in her arms and hugged her.

Eventually Buffy sat up and moved away from Andi as she wiped away her tears, while Andi said, "Look Buffy. We have to share this with somebody. The media, or the principal, or we can go to the police station and..." Then an angry looking Buffy said, "It wouldn't do any good Andi. I mean I talked to my mom about this already, and she says stuff like this to happens to her too; even when she's in military uniform sometimes." Then Andi said, "Well it's still wrong Buffy. It sounds like racism or sexism or something like that." Buffy then took a deep breath and said, "Andi, I don't think it's exactly that. I don't think all cops are racist and sexist. However... I do think some cops try to take advantage of people and use the mind-set of racism and sexism to figure out who is easier to take advantage of. And when they see a young African American woman who obviously isn't rich or that accomplished yet, I think they just see an easy target who can't fight back, along with a situation where they will face no repercussions." Then Andi with a determined face looked right at Buffy as she said, "Well then we'll just have to change the way they see you then."

A few days later Buffy was walking through the park late one afternoon alone looking a bit nervous. However as Buffy approached the parking lot, she saw two young male cops step out of their police car and walk towards her. One of the cops then put his hand near his gun attached to his belt as he said, "Well what do we have here? What's a girl like you doing walking around the park all alone?" Then Buffy put on a brave face as she pointed behind the two cops and said, "Just meeting up with my ride." Then the two cops turned their heads and saw a packed school bus driving into the parking lot. The school bus stopped near Buffy, and then stepping out of the bus were Andi, Cyrus, Jonah, several teenagers in basketball uniforms, along with many other teenagers in normal clothing. Andi then with a smile said, "Oh hey Buffy. There you are. Ready to head to the away game?" One of the cops then said, "Hey, what's going on here?"

Then Cyrus said, "Oh well didn't you know? This fine young lady you're talking to here is Buffy Driscoll; one of the star players of our school's basketball team." Then Jonah said, "Yeah. Like over half the school always tags along with her to every game she plays, and she's got many more people that love to watch her exploits on social media." Then Andi looked at the two cops as she said, "Are you two fans of hers too? Would you like to be in a picture with her? I'm sure Buffy's thousands of social media followers would like to see you in a picture with her." The two cops backed away a bit as one of them said, "No thank you. We were just checking to make sure there was no trouble here. But make sure you kids get to your basketball game soon. The parks closes at dark." The two cops then got into their vehicle, and drove away. A happy looking Andi then looked at Buffy as she said, "Well, we did it." Then Buffy said, "Yeah, but... I can't ask all you guys to just show up to back me up every time I'm walking through the park or down the streets alone." Then Cyrus said, "You don't. But just remember, you never have to be alone." Then Jonah said, "And I think the more united we all remember to be, I think the less isolated and vulnerable any of us will appear to be to anyone." Tears appeared in Buffy's eyes as she immediately hugged her friends.

THE END