#er thoughts

She clearly has a chip on her shoulder about being half-white. It’s very specific that her issue is not with with being half-Black. She objects to the racism she experiences as a result, but it’s very blatant that she has no shame or insecurity about being Black— she has issues with her proximity to whiteness, and implies she’s generally uncomfortable around non-Black people specifically.

She only ever mentions her mother and shows discomfort about the lack of Black people in the hospital. She makes a few comments suggesting she has strong opinions on parents she sees as unprepared for raising children with atypical problems, or who don’t pay enough attention to how their child is actually feeling.

Her speciality in paediatrics in itself, and the way she instantly switches from her usual stoic expression to a sweet smile whenever she talks to a child also feels… I mean, it feels related, if nothing else.

It’s probably not a stretch to assume her mother wasn’t great at considering that Cleo was still, well… Black. It’s easy to imagine Cleo feeling frustrated that her mother didn’t understand and didn’t take her issues or concerns seriously enough.

Maybe even making Cleo feel irrational or paranoid whenever she did try to vent, or complain, or look for reassurance or comfort…

I don’t know. The image I have of Cleo’s mother is of a white woman who looked at her obviously mixed daughter and said things like “not everyone is racist, honey, they’re just kids saying stuff to get under your skin, you’re being too sensitive,” even if Cleo had just come home from school crying because kids had been sticking things in her hair and calling her slurs.