Sarah/Sierra

Sarah is a student at Johns Hopkins University who works two jobs at a strip club and restaurant to pay for her education. Although her features suggest she is completely white, her mother is actually black. This is a reality she must cope with throughout the story because it is easier to be a white girl with a black girl’s body than a black girl who looks white. Sarah is used to sexual harassment from the men at the strip club and develops a natural empathy for the wives of the married men. Despite her hardened outlook on life, she maintains a soft spot for Alvarez, a man she works with at the restaurant. She is attracted to his innocent intentions and their relationship grows within the short story.