November 12th, 1958. The day everything was going to change. I wasn’t sure if it’d be for the better or for the worse, but I knew it was inevitable. That was the first day that the black city kids were being integrated into my previously all white high school, Kinzington East. 

I did my hair all nice that day. I carefully took my bangs out of the curler and pulled the rest of my blonde hair up into a high ponytail. For an extra touch, I even tied it with the most darling pastel pink ribbon that I own. I slid into my matching pink skirt paired with a white top and raced into the kitchen. Mama was already up frying eggs for my little brother, Dean, Daddy, and me.

Dean sat in his high chair playing with his favorite rattle. I’m not sure how mama put up with the sound of him shaking that thing all day. I met her at the stove. “Morning, Mama,” I said as I planted a kiss on her right cheek while she flipped an egg. “Morning, Linda. You better hurry up now,”she pointed her spatula at the table where Daddy was sitting in his tailored suit sipping his coffee, “your father is about ready to leave.”

 “Morning, Daddy,” I said as I sat down next to him. I practically inhaled my egg and then Daddy and I were out the door. 

We got into his black 1948 Buick Roadmaster, his prized possession, and started down the road. Our new neighborhood had always freaked me out a bit. Every house looked exactly the same. They were all the same shape, all the same size with the same shutters and even the same landscaping. The sound of construction could always be heard coming from somewhere in the neighborhood where they were busy building another identical house. It was a relief when we turned toward the main bit of town where buildings were all a little boxy, but at least they were different.  

“Do your best to stay away from trouble today,” Daddy warned me as we rounded the corner to see reporters and policemen surrounding the main doors to my school. “I don’t know how those city kids are gonna react and I can only pray that all you kids from round here stay civil.”

“Don’t worry Daddy, I’ll keep safe,” I assured him before giving him a kiss on the cheek to match the one I gave Mama and scooting out the door. I walked toward the school quickly with my eyes wide open. As I walked through the entrance of the school, passing all the bustle outside, a boy caught my eye. 

He was a tall dark city fella, no older than a junior. He had his hands tucked into the pockets of his khaki trousers. He wore a white button down shirt with thick brown overalls. Resting on his head was a mocha brown paperboy cap. He leaned against the wall by the front office ever so calmly. I wondered how he looked so confident in a school of all white folks. 

That was all the looking I could do before his eyes met mine and I quickly looked away; pretending like he wasn’t the most handsome boy I ever did see at my school. I rushed down the hall to find Nancy, my best friend as of about a year ago when we moved out here to the suburbs. 

“Nancy!” I called out so she’d get her head out of her locker. 

“Hey, Linda! You see the city kids already here?”

“Yeah, I walked by a few on my way in,” I said as I did my absolute best not to picture that fine boy that I locked eyes with earlier.

“Now this might just be talk, but I heard some of the boys were planning on starting a fight today at lunch. But the policemen should be here till noon. I’m hoping maybe that’ll keep them at bay for a bit longer.”

“Let’s hope,” I sighed as I looked back to catch a glimpse of that boy again. He was gone. Must’ve left to find his first class already. 

“Well I gotta split,” she said while closing her locker door, “Don’t want to lose my seat next to Bobby Crown in Literature,” she added through a suspicious grin. 

“Alright, catch you later,” I said through a weary smile. I’ll never know what she sees in that boy. He’s known for being fast with the girls and he’s never even sent a look Nancy’s way, let alone a love letter. But I do admire her for her dedication. 

I walked slowly down to my Latin class, hoping to find that boy. No dice. I walked in the room and headed toward my usual spot. Today, there was a black girl with short poofy hair sitting at the desk next to mine. She had on the cutest peepers that fit her just right and a blue and green plaid skirt. I met her with a smile paired with a polite nod and sat down. After a minute or two of silence, I decided I’d talk to her.

“Hi, my name is Linda,” I said with my hand reaching in her direction.

“Theadora,” she replied, shaking my hand.

“You excited?”

“You bet! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this,” she said, shaking her head.

I could hear the relief in her voice; see the triumph in her eyes. She finally made it. I looked up to the front of the room where Mrs. Crewney was studying all of us students. This was as new to the teachers as it was to all of us and they didn’t want any trouble either. 

Then class started. The day went surprisingly peacefully. Even lunch, where rumor had it the rebels were going to start a fight, was particularly uneventful. I never did see that boy again, well that is until the end of the school day.

Nancy and I were walking out after the final bell with our books clutched to our chests. She was telling me about how she thought Bobby Crown had finally become available and how it was going to be her turn to be his girlfriend. Then we heard the yelling. 

It was coming from right outside the school. We scrambled out the doors to see what all the commotion was about. There was a group of kids formed around the people making all the noise. We quickly squeezed around the other kids to see what was going on. This was the fight I was worried about. This was exactly what Daddy told me to steer clear of. 

A group of rebel boys were screaming awful things at a couple black kids. That’s when I saw him. The boy I’d been looking for all day was getting punched by none other than Bobby Crown himself. The boy fell to the ground. He looked up into the crowd and we met eyes for the second time.

I could see that he was already getting a pretty bad shiner. The pain in his eyes and the shock from seeing him there on the ground hit me hard. I felt tears of sheer panic start to form in my eyes as I heard kids in the crowd encourage the rebels. I wasn’t sure what to do. All the policemen had gone. And, if they came now, it would be too late by the time they got here from their station. The boy would already have been beaten to death right in front of me. 

I pushed back through the crowd to find anyone, any adult that could stop this horrific scene. I ran inside and screamed for help. I led a couple teachers outside to the brawl. The teachers had to hold the rebels back from the black kids that laid on the ground, their clothes ruined by their own blood. But the rebels stood untouched. Why didn’t the black kids do anything? The boy alone seemed strong enough to take on any of those nasty rebels, but they never threw a punch. 

The teachers finally broke it up and I got one last look at the boy. His paperboy hat was gone. One of his suspenders had snapped. His khakis were now covered in holes. His good-looking face now distorted with bumps, bruises and blood. He met my eyes one final time.

I stood in awe as he looked at me with a little smile as he got to his feet. Just as he stood up, I felt a large hand grab my arm. It was Daddy. “Linda, it’s time to go! Right now!” he demanded loudly over all the noise. 

I didn’t look away from the boy as Daddy dragged me toward the car. The boy kept his eyes on me too and seemed to mouth thank you just before the crowd blocked my view of him.

That was the last time I ever saw that boy. Because of the almost deadly fight, they resegregated us, but now in the same building. The black kids stayed on their side of the school and we stayed on ours. They even made the black kids come into the school a different way as to keep them out of the rebels’ eyes. 

I still think of that boy often. I wonder if he’s still at my school. I wonder if he’s just a few doors down from me as I take my geography notes. I wonder if he thinks of me too.