I still wasn't used to the setting of my new school or the people in it. Every day felt like the first day of school. Every day the angry mob of white parents stood outside in the humid air, protesting the integration. Every day there was an aroma that lingered throughout the school, leaving me with a sense of precariousness because the scent escaped me. Every day the halls which I walked down still confused me, as I learned where my classes were. I felt swallowed up in the students that knew each other so well and knew this school so well.
It was when I was walking down the hall one afternoon that I realized that there was a group of people that probably felt more swallowed up than I. Elaine's daughter, Annie, met with her colored peers in the same spot every morning. It was as if they felt safe in the corner of the hall together. I passed them on my way to classes sometimes and watched their mannerism. Watched as they looked around at the white teens who watched them like a predator. Sometimes it was hard to read their expressions, but other times were easier. Annie typically wore a stern look on her face and held a tight grip around her books. It was clear that she held sometime of leadership and was ready to stand up to anyone that dared to express their opinion.
When the first bell chimed the group dispersed. Annie and another girl, Rose, both had literature with me. They always sat in the desks closest to the door, at least until Ms. Fallon told them they needed to move to the back of the classroom.
Cal usually found a seat next to me. It surprised me how quickly he had become fascinated with me. The more I hung around him the quicker I understood how people perceived him. All the other guys followed him blindly. Whatever he thought, they thought too. Whatever girl Cal thought looked good that day, the boys did too. If Cal was in his letterman jacket, which he usually was, the boys would be too. Cal was a large guy and always wore his letterman jacket, which only made him look bigger. I begin to believe that Cal felt a sense of power when he had that jacket on and without it felt people wouldn't give him the respect he wanted.
"Can you believe these negros are still here? I mean I thought that by now they would definitely be outta here," he half-whispered. Cal was very outspoken about how he felt and that was normal. You were supposed to hate the idea of colored students going to the same school as us. It was just the way it was, but my thoughts on it were always silent. I felt there was nothing I could do to help it or hurt it, so I kept my head down and tried to keep my thoughts out of it.
Ms. Fallon promptly entered the classroom with books and papers stacked in her hands. She always had a serious and determined look on her face, which was very intimidating. Without so much as a good morning, she began writing the lesson plan on the board. Small conversations started as we waited for her to begin. Romeo and Juliet was written in cursive in white chalk, largely. She brushed her hands together and turned to face the classroom. "For this course, we will be studying Romeo and Juliet," she began. Most of the girls looked at each other in awe, while the guys grunted. I looked over to Cal who met me with an eye-roll.
"You're responsible for reading the book and preparing for a discussion in class." She panned the room looking for some kind of evidence that we complied with what she was telling us. I had never read the book but knew it was affiliated with two teenagers in love or who thought that they were in love. I mean how did someone so young know what love was? Olivia used the word so often the hype that everyone gave it didn't seem at all what I had expected to be.
In the halls, Cal and I maneuvered through the crowd of teens. With everyone running down the halls trying to get to class or to their friends it was likely that someone would brush your shoulder or possibly run into you. With Cal's size, there was an even higher chance that he would bump into someone. But it was who bumped into Cal that determined his reaction. We were getting ready to turn the corner when Cal and a colored student bumped into one another. When they collided they took a step back to see how the other would react.
When no one said anything Cal spoke, "You gotta problem boy?" Cal's tone was vicious. The boy frowned and looked to me, to see if I was going to say anything. "No, do you? He retorted. There was another colored student with the boy who started to slightly pull on the boy's shoulder. "Thomas let's go." He whispered. The boy known as Thomas didn't move. "You better listen to him." Cal teased. I stepped closer to Cal. "Let's just go to class Cal," I said. Cal didn't move. Their stares where intense and clearly something was about to happen. "You don't belong here," Cal said through his teeth. Thomas took another step closer. "Well, I'm here." He retorted.
Cal let out a sarcastic snicker before grabbing the boy by the collar and slamming him up against a locker. The other colored boy ran down the hall, disappearing around the corner. Thomas was not as buff as Cal but was able to hold his own as he got enough strength to push Cal off of him. Students begin hovering and cheering Cal on. I stood there speechless at the quickly escalated scene.
Cal swung and Thomas ducked, before striking Cal once. Cal lost some of his balance taking a few steps back into my arms. I watched him tense up, only becoming angrier. More teens started to join the crowd, and after surveying the students I saw Annie and Rose and the boy from earlier. A look of panic crossed Rose's face and she started screaming to Thomas.
"Thomas Jay!" she yelled constantly, but the crowd's chanting was louder. Annie held onto Rose tightly, trying to prevent her from joining in on the fight. There were a lot of people in Cal's corner, while Thomas had three people. With all the yelling and chanting it was hard to hear the teachers that were pushing and yelling through the crowd. One teacher grabbed Cal and another one grabbed Thomas. "Break it up! Break it up!" they shouted. As quickly as the fight had started, it had ended just as quickly.
Female teachers maneuvered through the crowd instructing students to move along. One teacher took Cal one way and another one took Thomas down the other. Rose watched as Thomas passed her, his head held down as if he couldn't look at her. Annie kept her hand on Rose's arm caressing it in comfort. Without any warning, her eyes met mine but I couldn't read her expression. There was almost an inquisitive look on her face. She kept her eyes on me until a teacher shooed her and Rose off. I stood there alone processing the incident, before being instructed to go to my next class.
YOU ARE READING
Broken Society (EDITING) COMING 2023
Non-FictionEverything can change in an instant. For Johnny Mulberry it was the summer of 1956 in Sienna Hills. A car accident left him with no memory of who he was or the people in his life. 5 years later and he still has no recollection of the person he used...
