Chapter 5: Impactful Beginnings

The gang holds the first ever rally for their growing movement, and get their first taste of celebrity status.

"Hello, good people of America! I'm Jasper Collins, and on this fine afternoon, I'm here with a major question to anyone out there's who's listening: do you think the way our country is currently run is the ideal way to run the country?" I announced from behind a podium.

My friends and I were up on a small stage in front of a massive crowd we'd managed to gather over the course of a month and a half. We were situated in Flagstaff, Arizona, not far from the book signing where we met up with Tequila. The four of us were all wearing dark jeans and baby-blue T-shirts with the American flag on the front, with "LOOKS DON'T MATTER! #FreedomIsBliss" written underneath. Most of the crowd was wearing the same shirt, and those who weren't were instead carrying homemade signs with the same message.

"One of the main things people refer to America as, is the 'land of the free'. But unfortunately, thanks to the new appearance-based bills stamped into law by President Enrique Gonzalez, I no longer feel comfortable referring to my home as such," I explained. "For those who have been living under a rock for the past ten or so years, these laws essentially limit the paths that each person can take in life. They determine one's salary and social class based on the color of their eyes, and the industry they work in is determined by the natural color of their hair. Now I know that someone out there may argue about all the good that Gonzalez has done for the country, and to that I must say: but at what cost?"

At that remark, the audience broke out into an incomprehensible blur of conversation, though judging by their tone, I could tell they were in agreement with what I said.

"I know I for one have not been living the ideal lifestyle due to these laws. Because I have dark brown hair, I'm stuck working in finances - an industry in which I have no talent whatsoever. And because my eyes are brown too, I only earn a middle-of-the-road salary regardless of how hard I work," I explained. "And my good friends here today have it just as bad as I do, if not worse."

With that, I stepped back, allowing Xavier to take his turn at the podium, all the while the audience applauded for a few seconds.

"Greetings, everyone. My name is Xavier P. Cedric. Some of you may know me as the man who singlehandedly invented a cure for Parkinson's disease, and America's first solar-powered automobile. But today, I'm here to revolutionize something else: our society," he began. "Recently, I've been asked to teach science at a university not far from my office, but before I made the final decision, I was given a tour of the campus. And do you all know what I noticed? School is one of very few places in modern society that doesn't segregate people based on hair color, and if one ignores all the recreational areas like theme parks and beaches, then it's the only place that doesn't do this. Can you all imagine an America where every place you entered functioned just like school?"

In response, everyone in the crowd started to cheer, waving their signs overhead. Some people were even whistling like they would at a teen-idol's concert.

"Don't get me wrong, folks. I love the life I have now, and if and when this movement succeeds, I'll still keep making scientific accomplishments 'till the day I die! But I know I can't speak for the entire population when I say this," Xavier continued. "So with that being said, for the sake of our once proud country, I declined the offer to teach college students, for I feel that fighting for change is much more worth my while, and I hope you all will fight alongside us regardless of outside obligations!"

More applause ensued as he stepped back and Tequila took his place at the podium. She cleared her throat into the microphone to quiet the crowd down a little.

"Good morning, everyone! The name's Tequila Rodriguez, who you may know as the five-time Newberry winner behind Darker Than Hell. Growing up, I always wanted two things in life: a career as an author, and more money than I knew what to do with. And thanks to my combination of red hair and - still having a hard time saying this - blue eyes, I ended up exactly where I wanted to be. Like Xavier, I absolutely adore the life I have now, but I can't speak for every single person out there," she explained. "In fact, there's someone very close to me who sadly had to give up on the life she loved simply because of our corrupt presidency. Yeah, you all know who I'm talking about. Carmen Rodriguez, who is the absolute best mother any girl could have."

As she spoke, a few photographs from her mother's old photo-shoots appeared on the projection screen behind us. As soon as the crowd got a good look at her, they erupted into a mixture of cheers, cries of protest, and grunts of confusion.

"Because people with black hair can't be models anymore, my mom had to give up her dream. She was planning to continue modeling well into her fifties, but look what happened," Tequila continued. "And I'm positive that's only one example of someone who had to give up their dream because of these unconstitutional laws. So once this presentation ends, I encourage as many of you as possible to step up and share your stories. Thank you!"

Following that speech, Second was the last one to step up to the podium. It was a strategy we'd come up with at some point prior; seeing how he had the most shocking facts associated with his story, we figured that having him speak last would leave a bigger impact on our viewers.

"Uh, greetings. I'm Jay Lewis II, and I have some rather disturbing facts to share with you all today. Much like my best friend Jasper, I ended up with a life that I didn't want. Growing up, I always wanted to be a surgeon just like my mom, so I could help save lives. But because most black people have black hair and brown eyes, I ended up in the food industry despite the fact that I barely know how to cook, and I don't even earn a high enough salary to warrant how hard I try to get better at my job," Second explained. "Oh, and did I mention black people in that opening statement? Well that brings me to that disturbing fact that I mentioned before. I work at Al's Italian Beef over in Chicago, and the entire staff of that establishment is of minority descent. Sure, there's this one white chick, but aside from her, everyone else is a foreigner. This is because most black people and minorities - key word, most - have black hair. So even though President Gonzalez didn't necessarily intend to segregate by race or skin color, he technically brought back the Jim Crow policies by forcing anyone with black hair, which is the most common hair color in the world, to work in the food industry."

As expected, the entire crowd let out a simultaneous gasp, followed by countless yells of anger.

"We cannot allow our country to function this way any longer!" Second announced as the rest of us stepped up next to him. "So I hope you all will have a heart and join us, as we..."

"Free the people!" all four of us shouted in unison.

And that was when the tape cut off.

---

The next thing I knew, I was eating breakfast at a diner with a mostly wooden interior. About a week had passed since the event, and it was already generating quite the buzz among the civilians. I was sitting at the counter, clutching my lightly-sweetened coffee as I stared up at the television, occasionally waving some steam out of my face whenever it rose too high. The taping of our protest was aired on CNN, which (despite all the backlash it received from Republicans in the past) was still going strong to this day.

"That, dear viewers, was a live taping of a recent anti-Gonzalez rally held in Flagstaff, Arizona," a redheaded, female newscaster said. "The 'Looks Don't Matter' movement is being led by a young man named Jasper Collins, who is actually the son of Beatrice Collins, who previously attempted to rebel against Gonzalez' presidency almost a decade ago. He's joined by his three best friends, including a couple of celebrities such as scientific pioneer Xavier P. Cedric, and five-time Newberry Award-winner Tequila Rodriguez."

"Just the fact that he's managed to recruit some highly recognizable people to his cause is impressive in of itself, but the real question is: what does our president have to say about this?" her male cohost asked. "President Gonzalez recently spoke to the folks over at CNBC to offer up his two cents."

After that explanation, a video recording of an interview popped up on screen, once again causing me to narrow my eyes and tighten the grip on my mug. Getting pissed off at the sight of the president's face was almost second nature to me at this point.

"This Jasper guy and his pathetic movement are nothing more than a waste of everyone's time, and an excuse to cause traffic in major cities. I mean, what the hell does he have to prove? His mom failed, so what makes him think he won't as well?" Gonzalez said. "Heh, thank God that b***h is dead! She knew what she signed up for!"

As soon as he said that, I wanted nothing more than to leap off my stool and punch the TV, or better yet, reach into the TV and strangle him until he stopped chuckling. However, I restrained myself with a few deep breaths.

"Your crabcake benedict, sir?" a very busty, college-aged waitress with shaggy black hair announced, placing my steaming plate in front of me. "And your buttermilk short-stack, a la carte?"

"Thanks," I said, trying my damnedest to sound pleasant despite what I'd just heard.

"You're welcome. I'll just leave the check here so you can... pay whenever you want," she continued.

I looked up at her as she spoke. Her face was courteous, but I could see a small amount of desperation for a tip in her hazel eyes. Dumb b***h probably blew all her tuition on those implants.

I smiled back and began to satisfy my stomach, which had been aching for sustenance for the last few hours. It was only after I was almost done eating that I got a call from Xavier.

"Hello?" I asked, bringing my smartphone up to my ear.

"Hey, Jasper? Sorry to interrupt whatever you're doing, but we just found something that might prove useful to our cause. If you could swing on by as soon as you can, that'd be great," Xavier explained.

"Right. I'm on my way now," I replied, wiping my mouth.

It was then that the waitress from earlier approached me again, immediately taking both of my emptied plates.

"How was everything, sir?" she asked.

"Pretty good," I replied earnestly.

"Great. Now if you'll just leave your card right here, I can run it through and you'll be all set." she tapped on the small, leather clipboard as she spoke.

I sighed quietly. For the past week, I'd been able to keep a low profile since speaking out in public for the first time, and if I were to reveal my name via credit card, I might be on the receiving end of some unwanted attention. It was times like these when I really wished I carried more cash on me. Reluctantly, I handed her my credit card, and as expected, she gave it a good hard look before taking the necessary amount of money off of it.

When it was handed back to me, I immediately readied myself to leave, but I was stopped. I tried my best not to look irritated.

"Hey, pardon me for asking, sir, but I noticed your card has the name Jasper Collins on it. Would you by any chance be... the Jasper Collins?" the waitress asked, somewhat hesitantly.

I hesitated with my reply a bit and looked around. A few of the other customers at the counter looked over at me, their facial expressions neutral.

"Er... yes?" I replied nervously, praying to God that she'd leave it at that.

"Well, uh, on behalf of the staff here, let me just say that... we've got your back," the waitress said.

"Ah, well that's good to hear," I replied, attempting to leave before I was halted by a large hand on my shoulder.

"You've also got our support, kid," a burly man in a biker-outfit said, his similarly-clothed friend nodding beside him.

"Ours too," an elderly couple added.

I simply smiled back and finally strutted towards the wooden front doors, receiving several claps of approval and declarations of support from the various customers in the restaurant. Maybe keeping a low profile wasn't such a bad thing after all, at least in this particular scenario.