Megan: So look, shall I buy this top or not?

Dani: In what colour?

Megan: Oh I dunno. I can't decide...

Anand: Well, I vote for blue. It goes well with your skin colour.

Tzu Lee: Coloured? Who - what?

Anand: No, I didn't say

Tzu Lee: I mean, what is 'coloured' anyway? It's sort of ducking the issue isn't it? I mean, we're not green or red are we...

Dani: Well I say be black and be happy. Like, in the past people were kind of ashamed of themselves. My gran told me she used to buy cream that was meant to make her skin go lighter. They used to have their hair straightened too, or wear wigs, so they didn't look so Afro....

Anand: But now, black is beautiful, right?

Dani: Right.

Megan: Okay, but how come you don't call yourself black, Anand? You could get racist hassle as easily as me.

Anand: It's just not something Asian people go for all that much. I mean, loads of Asian kids do call themselves black 'cos we all get some racism. But black is more of an African thing, an American thing, and y'know, our history is different.

Tzu Lee: Not to mention our history. I could get racist hassles too, but it wouldn't make much sense to most people if I called myself 'black'. I just call myself Chinese.

Megan: I dunno. It doesn't make sense. I'm a coloured girl. I'm a black girl. I'm a black girl. I suppose I could get used to it.

Shop assistant (black young woman): You'd better mate, you're not going to get any whiter! Americans have a way out of all this - 'people of colour'.

Megan: But why is that any different from saying 'coloured'?

Shop assistant: Because we chose it. 'Coloured' was a word white people used for us because they felt more comfortable with it, since they thought 'black' meant bad and evil. Are you buying that top, or what?