Dirty Laundry | Teen Ink

Dirty Laundry MAG

April 2, 2009
By Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
83 articles 0 photos 435 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life's no fun if you're not insane, otherwise you grow up to be an accountant." -Moi


He is your world. He is the one you would live and die for. You love the color of his skin – different from yours – the perfect balance between light and dark, day and night. You love the way he tells you he loves you. He says he'll marry you someday.

But your mom does not approve. You wonder every day how anyone can be so bigoted. Has she not felt the way you do at some point in her life? She doesn't understand, just rants and raves about your “taste in men” in that nasally voice you hate – the one she only uses when she's angry.

Later you sit on your bed, and turn up the volume on your iPod. “All the Same” by the Sick Puppies blasts through the ear buds.

Wrong or right … black or white … if I close my eyes … it's all the same.

Your mom has forbidden you from seeing him again, and Dad's taken to keeping a shotgun in the living room.

In my life … the compromise … I'll close my eyes … it's all the same.

You remember telling him you were afraid but that you wouldn't stop seeing him. He asked you to run away with him, just drop everything and run, figure it out as you went. But you said you wanted to wait and see if it would blow over. The look in his eyes was sad, as if he knew your parents would never accept him.

You hop off your bed and start shoving clothes into an duffel bag, making a trip to the bathroom for your toothbrush. You head to your desk and stare blankly at a piece of paper, pencil in hand. You write a quote that has been in your heart from the minute your parents told you that you were making a big mistake. It's short, but it's all you need to say.

You head down the hall to the laundry room. Your mom has piles of clothes on the floor, organized by color. You grab bits from every pile and toss them to the middle, creating a mound no longer separated into lights and darks.

Green, yellow, red, blue, black, white – all heaped into one huge pile. You lay your message on the top. It doesn't say who you're with or where you're going, but it wouldn't be hard to figure out.

“Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color.”



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This article has 455 comments.


on Apr. 9 2011 at 12:59 am
JelloAngel92 PLATINUM, Dundalk, Other
27 articles 18 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
You've got to have ink in the pen!

this was really good, and sooo true. I have a story about racism too. It's called "The Garden Of Love". You should check it out. let me know what you think. :)

on Apr. 1 2011 at 10:32 am
HelloKarissa BRONZE, Miles, Iowa
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Luck is for suckers." - Looking For Alaska by John Green <3

truley stellar<3

on Mar. 21 2011 at 12:10 am
noodles188 BRONZE, Houston, Texas
4 articles 0 photos 2 comments
This was completely amazing. I love how this ended and the meaning behind it!!

AmbRawr BRONZE said...
on Mar. 18 2011 at 11:59 pm
AmbRawr BRONZE, Allentown, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
We choose the love we think we deserve ~The Perks

I litterally got chills up my spine.

Amazing.


on Mar. 18 2011 at 8:26 pm
Meavescrete SILVER, Potomac, Maryland
5 articles 1 photo 90 comments
This was absolutely amazing.

on Mar. 18 2011 at 8:00 pm
Lissabelle116, ASHVILLE, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Heart touching

on Mar. 18 2011 at 7:56 pm
Shminkanator5000 SILVER, Rochester, New York
9 articles 0 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

The message was intensely true--and I loved every bit of the writing. Amazing! Check out some of my work? Thanks!

on Mar. 18 2011 at 7:44 pm
CarrieAnne11 GOLD, Potsdam, New York
11 articles 0 photos 22 comments
I absolutely adore this. I love your writing style and I love the message of the story. This is one of those stories that will stay with me forever!! Keep writing!!

on Mar. 18 2011 at 5:44 pm
Starkid42 SILVER, Ridgewood, New Jersey
6 articles 0 photos 17 comments
I agree completely - this is amazing work. It flows so well, it's as if I was thinking it myself and my thoughts just happened to appear on the page. Wonderful!

on Mar. 18 2011 at 2:14 pm
outsidethebox SILVER, Nassau, Other
5 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be yourself and above asll let who you are, what you are, what you believe through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.

This was absolutely amazing ...I loved it!

 


on Mar. 18 2011 at 1:34 pm
to.hold.the.sun SILVER, Maryville, Tennessee
9 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." -John Green

This is really great. And very powerful, too.

on Feb. 24 2011 at 9:37 pm
Elizabeth_Day SILVER, Battle Ground, Washington
9 articles 0 photos 34 comments
I love how you wrote in second person singular.  Most people use "I" of "she" and it was refreshing to read something writen as "you."  It melded together so nicely that I think most people didn't even notice the difference... which is a compliment, but sort of a shame because it was brilliant!

on Feb. 24 2011 at 8:12 pm
singinginthegardn GOLD, Cowell, Massachusetts
16 articles 2 photos 158 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say." ~Anaïs Nin

Oh my god! I was blown away...that was SPECTACULAR! Soooooo good! Keep writing forever! Make it your career! The ending was absolutely perfect and the whole piece seemed effortless! Wonderful :) check out my work maybe as well???? Thanks <3

marei2331 said...
on Feb. 24 2011 at 7:37 pm
marei2331, Lubbock, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 71 comments

Favorite Quote:
For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others, for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness, and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

This is amazing! Thank you for sharing it! Please don't ever stop writting!

on Feb. 24 2011 at 9:46 am
Alexa97522 GOLD, Portland, Oregon
19 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
With God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

That was incredible. I love how she stood up for herself! Great job!

on Feb. 21 2011 at 2:46 pm
JustAnotherOwl SILVER, Unknown, New York
6 articles 0 photos 378 comments

Favorite Quote:
"See, we don't really care who you are;
Everyone is capable of looking up and wishing on a star.
So catch it, so contagious, this day-dreamer's disease,
And hope can be your sword, slaying darkness with belief."

"Sanctuary"- Paradise Fears

WOW! That was very good! (: Great message!!! Well written, too!

on Feb. 19 2011 at 9:16 pm
xBaByGiRrL22x PLATINUM, Pearl River, New York
22 articles 0 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The goal isn't to live forever, but create something that will."
"If you wanna go, baby let's go; if you wanna rock, I'm ready to roll.''
"No one ever said it'd be easy. They just said it'd be worth it." <3

Incredible. The last line was perfect. u have honest talent(; veryyyyyyy good story

on Feb. 13 2011 at 5:37 pm
LookingforPaperKatherines BRONZE, Bay Shore, New York
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable
-John Green

I will be honest, only two pieces of work on this website have left me speechless. One being "It Just Happened" and the other you may ask?
Your amazing work of art you have posted here. It is oh so amazing. I wish I could write like that, or even come close to this.

on Feb. 4 2011 at 8:56 pm
KaylynVictoria SILVER, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
5 articles 0 photos 77 comments

Favorite Quote:
Always keep your head up so you never have an excuse to look down at yourself(:

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! thois is awesome!!!!

on Feb. 2 2011 at 9:45 pm
VandalSpirit DIAMOND, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
51 articles 9 photos 185 comments

Favorite Quote:
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of Gods great love, we are not consumed. His compassion never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

when my white aunt's black boyfriend started dating her, her dad was not ok with it, it took some time, but now the two men are pretty close, this story just reminded me of it