Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” blasted from the jukebox out to the crowd of energetic teenagers hanging out on that Friday afternoon at the local drive-in. Almost every single one of the kids at my school went there on Friday with their pittance for the week, just to spend it on burgers and milkshakes. Decked out in their convertibles, listening to music and having a gas with their friends, EVERYONE came. I sat buckled up in the passenger seat of David Mancini’s Cadillac wearing a tight white blouse and my new skirt from Pinky’s. Of course it was one inch above my knees and I was feeling confident, beatific and ready. I was having a surprisingly good hair day with my big, blonde curls bouncing joyfully whenever I moved my head. David Mancini, quarterback of the football team, was the boy every girl in the senior class drooled over. I had helped him study for his math exam this semester and now he was taking me to the drive-in to pay homage. He was perfect, and the fact that I looked far out really helped my chances of him taking me out again.
I hopped out of David’s car and walked through the doors into the crowd. I said hi to people as I walked by the cooped stairs and whispers followed me when I walked past. I could hear people mumbling “Is Lisa really here with David Mancini? How did she get so lucky?”
We took a seat and some of David’s conies from the football team pulled up chairs to our table (So much for some alone time)... They were so obnoxious, and considering the fact it was a Friday night, it was pretty obvious that they were all blitzed; having a blast yelling and goofing around. I needed to get a grip; I needed to think of something to divert David’s attention back on to me.
A waitress on roller-skates headed our way carrying my chocolate milkshake. If there was anything that could make me feel better at that point it was a milkshake. She skated over and then the unthinkable happened. She tripped and the milkshakes poured all over my new skirt. The pale powdery pink was covered in mud stains! The whole entire place was staring at me, laughing.
“Babe, it’s all right. Just chill. We can bail and go to a drive-in movie if you know what I mean,” David cooed as he put his arm around me?
“You pig! Back off ! I’m outta here!” I screeched at him as I got up from the table and ran to the back to the bathroom. The wooden door, labeled “whites only”, was pretty odd considering the fact no black kids came around here, and there wasn’t a “blacks only” bathroom anywhere. I pushed her way through the crowd of girls piled in the bathroom to the sink. The bathroom was filled with girls smoking, spraying hairspray and reapplying lipstick. In the mirror I analyzed the giant stain. There was no way that was coming out and I had no idea what to do. There was no way I would be facing David again so I was stuck with no ride home. My only option was to walk back to my house which was pretty far. I didn’t have any other option though so I snuck out the back door into the sunset and headed in to what I thought was the right direction.
****
Okay, so it was far from the right direction because i found myself in the hood. I lived on the wealthier side of town where it was an all white neighborhood, where the black people never came and really weren’t allowed to enter. I really didn’t understand what was so wrong about black people, but I was raised believing that white people were superior to blacks. You could either love it or leave it, thats the way our society functioned. I had gone too far or took a wrong turn somewhere on my walk because I had never been somewhere like this. There were Black people everywhere staring at me confused. A few people honked and whistled at me as they were cruising down the dark roads in their beat up cars. I had no clue where to go and realized my only option was to ask for help. There was a beat up auto body shop ahead that I would try. The sign lit up the area saying Curly’s Auto Body and it was one of the only places open.
I approached the garage and inside was a boy who seemed around my age working on a bright red Volkswagon surrounded by trinkets. His skin was a dark brown and I could see the sweat dripping down his neck and he had on a tight white t-shirt that was stained with car grease. His distressed jeans were stained and slightly ripped. The place reeked of gasoline, burnt rubber, and cigarette smoke. The boy was distracted and it took him some time to realize I was there. He looked back at me with a questioning look on his face.
“Can I help you? What’s a white chick doing around here?” The boy questioned.
“Hi well, I’m Lisa Brown. I’m sort of lost. I was at the drive in in town, and was walking back home, got lost and ended up here.” I stated while I was scoping out the area.
“Well, I’m Malcolm Smalls. Nice to meet ya,” he greeted as he shook my hand, smiling.
I don’t know why, but something was just so intriguing about him. He was different from anyone I had ever spoken to before. His voice was welcoming, considering the fact that there was a pristine white girl in his shop and technically he wasn’t supposed to be talking to me. He really didn’t seem to care about the rules of segregation. If anyone had seen him talking to me in my side of town, he would be beat up and possibly jailed. There was no one stopping him here thou, this was his scene and he was just being himself which was quite attractive to me.
“I’m not sure what to do. Its getting late and I’m pretty positive I’ll get jumped if I walk home at this hour considering the fact I have no idea where I am.” I admitted trying not to seem to desperate.
“Well, if you want you can sack out here or I can take you home.” He said welcomely.
“My father will kill me if I don’t come home but I don’t know if you should take me and you know I’m not sure-”
“C’mon girl you can ride shotgun in my chevy pick up. I used pretty much all my life savings to get it and I’ve been dying to give it a spin.” He interrupted.
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine” I muttered. Secretly, I really wanted to go with him more then I ever wanted any thing. I knew how wrong it was for me to be going around with a black guy. It was criminal to my peers, especially my dynastic parents. The social norms were getting a little unheard of now, everyone I talked to seemed as if they were a racist dissident of the social norms. I could not agitate my opinions around others but, I wanted Malcolm– really bad.
“Well, okay then. You snooze, you lose.” he said jokingly. I could tell he wanted me too, just the way he looked at me, it was so different than how any other person had ever looked at me.
“Never mind, I’m in.” I pleaded reluctantly, I just couldn’t resist it any longer.
“Rad! C’mon hop on in.”
That car ride changed my life. I thought I would just get a ride home and then go back to normal the next day. Instead, I fell in love in that Chevy pickup truck. We chatted the whole ride and I soon felt like I had known him forever. He told me his whole life story as a martyr. He told me about how he dropped out of school last year to get work instead of finishing his senior year of high school, how his family did not make much money, and how he was still pretty rattled from when his mom passed away leaving him and his younger sister to fend for themselves (his father had been jailed for bagging and selling drugs). Malcolm was lament and caustic about how his father never gave him the time of day,(feeling as if I was somewhat a stranger to him). He was planning on joining the army in the near future because there were really slim pickings when it came to jobs for negros. In that short ride, he was able to invigorate passion for life in everyone around him and I really felt like I could let my guard down when I was with him. I told him my life plans on how I was girding for college at Cornell university next fall and wanted to become a teacher. Compared to him, my life was a drag without much depth.
The car ride went by so fast and I wished it could have been much longer. He pulled up to my street but wisely did not continue going down the road, knowing the consequences of what would happen if we were seen together. It was time for me to beat it but the last thing I wanted to do was leave. I opened the door, hopped out on to the pavement and started to walk.
“Lisa, I had a ball tonight with you. I’d like to take you out sometime. Your old man may not approve, but I felt a real connection with you and I’m not going to let our difference in skin color change that. I’m sure I’ll show you a good time” Malcolm called after me hanging out the window of his red pick up.
“I’d like that.” I replied not being able to hold back my smile.
I ran to the grand front door which was unlocked as it usually was. I opened the large door carefully trying not to wake anyone so I wouldn’t be caught entering the house after my curfew of 11 o’clock. I was lucky-- my parents were out to dinner late that night. If they were home I would have been in deep trouble. My parent were strict, believing in the basic morals of a white American citizen in the South. I did not care what they thought though-- if they didn’t know what happened that night, they wouldn’t be affected by it.

Our love was forbidden. I couldn't even think of the amount of trouble I would be in if anyone were to find out what was going on between us. The more I wasn't allowed to have Malcolm, the more I wanted him. We started to see each other after that night. I would walk the eerie streets of the neighborhoods my father told me to stay far away from. The stares I got from the people passing by we're not welcoming, more like looks of confusion. I knew the exact thoughts going through their heads. They were all most likely flabbergasted that someone like me was roaming the streets of their territory. I ignored the stares and went into Malcolm's protection.

We met at the alley next to the auto body shop that Malcolm worked at. We couldn't meet up anywhere near me because he wasn’t allowed in the area I lived in. The walls of the alley were covered in dark bricks with different colored graffiti covering the bricks. The whole setting scared me considering someone could come and harm me here because of what I look like.  I was taking a big risk being there-- I had to be brave.

We met at the same spot (the alley) every day. I told my parents I was at cheerleading practice or the library and luckily they bought it. Meanwhile, i would traipse along unfamiliar roads and dawdle until i was able to spend time with Malcolm. After a while, they just didn't even ask because I was out so often.

The meetings between Malcolm and I became more frequent. We secretly saw each other almost everyday or whenever we got the chance. I'd hop in his red Chevy and we would drive off to somewhere where we could be alone together. We would blast Madonna or Jimmy Hendrix, roll the windows down and forget about the world for a while. My life seemed like a fairy tale, where  I was a princess and had found my  Prince  Charming.  

Everything was going so smoothly, we took off together and no one knew what was the real reason behind our smiles. I loved everything about Malcolm, he made me so happy and we always had a gas together and I was savoring every minute of it. He was so charming and he treated me the way a true gentleman should treat a lady.

One night we were cruising down the highway with the radio blaring out the speakers. We didn't really know where we were headed but we didn't care.
However, my heart nearly stopped when I saw police lights turn on with a siren come up behind us. It was the five-o and we were in a beef. We must have been speeding or something but we had to pull over. A white overweight officer got out of the car which made the situation worse. Malcolm said a few curse words then rolled down the window.  

"Hello officer, may I help you?" Malcolm muttered with fear.

"What is a n***** like you doing with this white lady in your car. What do you think this is? And you young lady--please step out of the vehicle." The macho officer scolded.

I opened the door and got out of the car. My bouffant hair was distressed from the wind in the car but how I looked was the last thing I was worried about right now. I stood to the side as the officer yelled at Malcolm in his car. After around twenty-five minutes of standing on the side of the road in the cold the officer let Malcolm go without any punishment. But for me, I knew exactly what was coming my way and it was what I had feared most--my parents.

"Young lady, I'm gonna have to take you home to your folks."the officer announced casting harshly at me.

"Alright" I agreed then got into the back of his car.


When we got to my house he pulled into the driveway and brought me to the front door. My father came to the door confused on what I was doing coming home with the fuzz. The officer explained to him what had happened. He was driving and saw me riding shotgun in a car with a black teenager. My old man was astonished and I could tell he was angry. I just looked down the whole time wishing to erase everything that just happened. The officer then left, leaving me there with my parents. We were a traditional family and they wanted what they thought was best for me. Staying away from the black community was part of their idea of what was best.

I can't even repeat all the horrible things my father screamed at me once we got inside our house. They were mostly motifs from what I have been told in the past. My mother just sat there bawling. They had no idea about how I felt and I refused to tell them anything. If I tried to convey what I was feeling, they would never understand. They came to the decision that me seeing Malcolm was forbidden and if I was ever caught with him they would banish me.  

I couldn't explain the emotional roller-coaster I went through after that day. Being without Malcolm drove me insane. He kept me grounded and I felt so different being without him. I had to get back on track it was almost the summer of 1962 and I was attending Cornell University in the fall. It was quite far from the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina, but the distance was exactly what I needed. Going up north, I would be able to get my life together and focus on my studies.


I wasn't ready for what came next. It was August twenty-third of 1962 and I was leaving in a week. I got a letter addressed "Lisa Brown" and I was scared to see what it contained. I broke the seal and took out the letter. It was from Malcolm whom I hadn't spoke to since the night we were caught together. A lot had gone on since I saw him last and was curious on what he had to say. I started to read.

Lisa,
I know we have been separated for so long and haven't gotten the chance to talk. I haven't forgot about all the great times we have had together and never will. I want you to know that I have decided to join the army and fight for our country in Vietnam. My entry to the army is imminent. I know there will be much more distance between us but I will always love you no matter where in the world I am. Life will take us both many places, but all I ask is that you hold my heart with you on your journey. I hope that one day we will meet again and our love will not berate us on the color of our skin.
Yours always,
Malcolm

The letter was annotated to include his new address in Vietnam so she would be able to write him while he was overseas.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I smiled looking down at the letter.

"I love you too." I whispered