I drop my backpack in the hallway and follow her. The scent of greens, mac and cheese, and baked chicken fills the air. My mom doesn’t cook often, but when she does, she throws down, for real. My stomach rumbles.

She smiles at me. I know she loves me. I can feel it from across the table. I’m starting to be more at ease. Maybe this won’t be so bad. We’ll have a nice meal and then hang out a little. And later, I will tell her everything. And maybe, just maybe, it will be okay. I set the table, remove my jacket, and sit down to eat.

“I know things are heating up with the march so close. Everything all right in school?” she asks.

“Yeah, I think so. Everyone I know is coming to the march. Including the teachers.”

“That’s good. We need as many people as we can get. We need all of Harlem to ask that same question in one unified voice,” she says as she takes a bite of her greens.

“Mom, I don’t want to do this anymore,” I mumble into my plate.

“What?” she says.

I look up. “Huh?”

“You said something just now, but I missed it. What’d you say, Getti?”

“Oh, I asked how work was.”

Coward.

“It went really well. This march is unlike anything See Us has ever put together. We will be out in full force. But that will make some people nervous.”

“You mean the cops?” I ask.

“Not just them. We are upsetting a lot of people by asking that our lives be valued just as much as white folks’ lives are.

“Do you think only Black people will show up?”

“No, not at all. We have support from some white-owned businesses in Harlem, and support from the Latino community. But still, there’s a lot of tension. And we’re getting more threats than we ever have before.”

“What kind of threats?” I reply.

“The usual,” she says, then takes a sip of her water.

“Mom, what are you not saying?”

“It’s nothing, Ayo.”

“Then say it. What kind of threats?”

“Well, lately there have been some death threats—but that’s no reason to worry,” she says, putting her hand over mine.

“Actually, that sounds like a pretty good reason to me,” I point out. “Maybe we should cancel this thing. Maybe the Monopoly money is enough to get a conversation going.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t falter from your beliefs because someone is threatening you. We stand our ground in this house. You know that.”

“Mom, what if something happens to you? This is dangerous.”

“Don’t worry. We have more than enough security scheduled for the march.”