She heard the instructions the first time. She is simply reviewing them for loopholes. Ebony Stardust has questions, standards, and the unmistakable suspicion that the adults may be improvising more than they admit.

Every Black girl deserves the freedom to be more than one easily understood thing. She can be thoughtful and playful, cautious and brave, grounded and full of impossible dreams. There is an entire universe forming behind that quiet—and it should never be asked to make itself smaller.