It was around 9:55 a.m. I was waiting for the library to open.
I saw a cute Ethiopian girl coming toward me. She had dark brown skin, short hair, and a pretty baby face.
“What time is it?” She asked me. Her English accent was very good.
“Five to ten,” I said.
“Oh, five minutes more,” she said, and she stood beside me.
“You know, you have a familiar face. By the way, what is your name?” I asked.
“My name is Queen,” she replied.
“My name is King,” I said with a smile.
“You are kidding! What is your real name?” she asked.
“My name is Michael, and my friends call me Micky. So where are you from, anyway?” I asked.
“Here,” she said.
“No, I mean not where you live, but where did you come from?” I asked.
“Does it really matter where I am from?”
“Sorry. Do you speak Amharic?” I asked her.
“What are you talking about?” she said in scorn.
Then I realized my thinking was wrong, She was African American.
“Oh, my mistake,” I said with broken sound.
“Excuse me, I want to go,” she said, and she went inside the library.
I followed her in slowly.
Michael Teffera is originally from Ethiopia and moved to Saint Paul on August 31, 2006. He graduated from Metro State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is currently working at U.S. Bank as an accounting specialist. His hobbies include bike riding, writing short stories and poems, and watching movies.