Dear Martin

In addition to his confusing encounter with SJ, Justyce has a lot on his mind, since “he and the rest of the nation” have just learned that Tavarrius Jenkins, yet another unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer simply for trying to help an elderly white woman. Wanting somebody to talk to, Justyce visits Doc’s classroom, only to find that SJ is already there crying. Seeing him, she gets up and leaves, and when Doc asks Justyce what’s going on, Justyce says he was hoping Doc might be able to tell him.

Back in his dorm room, Justyce takes a nap until Manny enters. Manny has just come from basketball practice and reeks of body odor, but he successfully convinces Justyce to go out that night, despite the fact that Justyce is depressed and doesn’t feel like doing anything. “Being alone in your current state isn’t good for your mental health, man. Blake’s birthday party is tonight, and you’re coming with me,” Manny says. Shortly thereafter, Justyce drinks alcohol before the party while Manny gets ready. He “isn’t in the best headspace” to be drinking, but does so anyway, eventually starting to cry. When Manny sees him, he asks if Justyce is upset about SJ, revealing that he’s heard about what happened after the debate tournament. Justyce is incredulous, but Manny only shrugs, saying, “Small school. People talk.”

Justyce tells Manny that he’s not just crying about SJ, but about Tavarrius Jenkins, too. He can’t stop thinking about the fact that his own run-in with the police could have ended just as badly. Seeing the effect that alcohol is having on his friend, Manny tells him to slow down and to focus on the party, wanting him to stop thinking about Tavarrius Jenkins. This frustrates Justyce, who wonders why Manny cares more about “some stupid white-boy party” than “the unjust death of a guy who looks like him,” but he decides not to say anything.

Justyce continues to drink while Manny drives them to Blake’s party. It is perhaps because he’s so drunk, then, that he finds it especially hard to manage his anger upon seeing a collection of racist ornaments strewn across Blake’s yard, “wooden lawn jockeys with black skin and big red lips standing guard at the bottom of [the] porch steps.” He’s also disconcerted by the vintage minstrel posters he sees in the basement. As he and Manny venture into the party, Blake comes up to them and thanks them for coming, then says, “Yo, listen. There’s this fine­-ass black girl here from Decatur Prep, and I was thinking you guys could wingman it up for me and shit. Homegirl’s got the fattest ass I’ve ever seen, and I think if she meets my niggas, I’ll have a good chance of getting her upstairs. You feel me, dogs?”

As soon as Blake finishes speaking, Manny’s smile fades, as if he knows Justyce won’t be able to ignore what Blake has just said. “Is this fool serious right now?” Justyce asks. When Manny tells him to “chill,” he adds, “Hell nah, I’m not ’bouta chill. Ya boy’s got racist lawn gnomes and white people in blackface hanging on the walls, now he pulls this shit, and you want me to chill?” Blake immediately rolls his eyes, insisting that none of the decorations are his and saying that his great-great-uncle used to be a minstrel performer. “No big deal,” he says, but Justyce refutes this, saying, “You coming over here asking us to help you use a black girl IS a big deal, Blake. That’s not to mention you tossin’ the n-word around like you own it.” Hearing this, Blake says, “You don’t own it any more than I do, bro. Nobody owns words.”

Continuing his defense of himself, Blake says that Justyce should know that “nobody owns words.” “I’d think you’d know that as someone ‘smart enough’ to get into Yale.” Intervening, Manny urges his friends to take it down a notch, but Justyce says that it’s too late, calling Blake a racist. “What is it with you people and the goddamn race card, huh?” Blake asks. When Justyce reminds Blake that Manny is considered “one of us people,” too, Blake says, “Except Manny’s got some sense and doesn’t make everything about race. Why don’t you loosen the hell up?”

At this point, Jared and Tyler approach Manny, Justyce, and Blake. “Homies!” Jared says. When he sees how angry Justyce is, though, he disparagingly asks what “crawled up [his] ass.” “Fuck you, Jared,” Justyce says, to which Blake says, “Dude, don’t disrespect my bros at my party.” Manny says he and Justyce should leave, but Justyce points at Blake and tells him to watch out. “Wait, are you threatening me?” Blake asks. Laughing, Jared chimes in, saying, “Better watch out, B. You know Justyce grew up in the hood. He’s gonna call up his gangsta homies to ride through on your ass and bust some ca—” Before he can finish, Justyce charges him, though Justyce himself sees nothing but red. When he starts seeing clearly again, Jared is “scrambling up from the floor with a split lip and a swelling eye,” and Blake is bleeding out of his nose.

Manny is also bleeding out of his lip, but he’s too busy restraining Justyce. “What the hell is your problem, Justyce?” Manny says. Angry that Manny isn’t taking his side, Justyce tells him that he’s “just as bad as” Jared and Blake. Going on, he says, “These dudes disrespect you—disrespect us—all the time, and you never say anything about it. You just go along with whatever they say.” In response, Manny says that this is because Jared and the rest of him are his friends. “You’re way too sensitive, man,” he says to Justyce. “Lemme guess: that’s what they said when you took offense at some racist joke, right?” Justyce replies. He then tells Manny that he’s a “sellout” before pushing his way through the party and leaving, making his way to the main road and—he hopes—back to school.

Justyce walks through rich neighborhoods for a while before Manny catches up to him in his Range Rover. Opening the door, he tells Justyce to get in, telling him that it’s cold and that he’s going the wrong way. “Dawg, if you care anything about this friendship, you will get your punk ass in the car right now,” he says, but Justyce only turns around and walks the other way.