Unseen and Unbroken, based on "Teenagers"

Instructions

The streetlights cast long shadows as Jay and his friends walked through the empty schoolyard, the quiet hum of the city in their ears. They had their hoodies pulled up, hands shoved in their pockets, not because they were hiding—but because it was the only armor they had. The world was watching, but not in the way they wanted. Their town’s unspoken rule had been carved into them since childhood: Stay in your place. But tonight, that place was everywhere, and they were ready to claim it. Jay’s thoughts drifted to the stories his mom told him, how she marched in protests decades ago for the same rights that still felt out of reach. It was supposed to be different, he thought, bitterness settling in. They’d tried playing by the rules, blending in, keeping their heads down. And yet, here they were, treated like a threat just for existing, viewed with fear, suspicion, anger—for being too Black, too young, too loud. In his backpack, Jay carried a can of spray paint, but not for violence. No, tonight was about something louder. They headed to the neglected side of the school gym, its walls dull and peeling. He pulled out his spray can, his hands trembling with a mix of fear and defiance. The drugs never worked; the lies in the books never worked either, he thought. These words, this wall—this was his way of talking back to a world that preferred he stay silent. He started with a phrase his friend had scribbled on paper earlier that day: "Black Lives Exist—Unbroken and Alive." A simple truth, yet one that still needed to be shouted. His friends joined in, each adding their own words, their own stories, the paint a collective scream against the injustice that felt endless. Somewhere, Jay heard a siren wail in the distance, and he knew that this small act could be seen as dangerous, rebellious, wrong in the eyes of so many. And yet, he felt the weight lift, the cage crack. This wasn’t just rebellion; it was survival. When they finished, the wall was alive with their pain and power, words and symbols glowing under the flickering lights. As they walked away, Jay’s mind replayed the chant he knew by heart now, Teenagers scare the living hell out of them, because it was true. They scared them because they couldn’t be broken, couldn’t be silenced. Because no matter how much the world tried to shove them into shadows, they’d keep stepping back into the light.