Spoiler! :
“My mom won’t let me go,” there’s silence on the other line. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, but Gloria, you have to go!”
“I know,” I respond sadly, “but if she doesn’t support me, then who will?”
“I do.”
“Oh, Terrence, that means a lot to me, but you’re not my mother.”
“I know that Gloria,” Terrence says, “look, just talk to her.”
“I tried! She won’t listen.”
“Just—try again. For me, okay? I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.” I whisper as I hang up the phone. Staring out the window I sigh. I have been planning this for months now. My mother isn’t going to get in the way of this. I get up and walk down the stairs. I’m going to talk to my mother, and I won’t take no for an answer.
All I want is to be normal. Normal; what does it even mean? From what I’ve seen in my life, normal means wearing nice clothes, living in a nice house, being able to go where you want, and do whatever you want to do. Oh yeah, and you also get to go to a nice school. Most normal people are white too, but I never wish that I was born white.
White; to me it’s just a color, but to others it’s a culture. I’m proud to be black, it makes me unique. The only thing I want is to have the same rights as white people. And that’s going to start with me going to a better school. It’s going to happen soon, and my friends will be right there beside me. Or at least, I hope they will be.
But for now my mom is my biggest obstacle; and believe me, I’ll get around her. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, I see her sitting on the couch reading a book. She looks so peaceful. I hate to disturb her, but this is my last chance. I take a deep breath and walk toward her. Here goes nothing.
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I invited everyone over to my house so we can talk about my plan. Eight of my closest friends are now crowded around my kitchen table, waiting to hear what I’m going to say. Some look scared, but others look determined. Thelma, for one, looks as if she’s ready to go to this school tomorrow.
I had finally gotten my mom to agree to my plan. She was a little tentative at first, but she finally agreed. Now that she’s on my side all I have to do is convince my friends to come as well.
I see my mom standing in the doorway to the kitchen. I smile and give her a thumbs up. She smiles back at me, but I can tell that she’s still not too keen about letting me go through with this. She gives me one last look and disappears into the living room. Terrence walks up to me just after my mom leaves.
“So you’re mom’s okay with you going now?” Terrence asks. I nod. I was finally able to talk some sense into her. She knows now that this is what I want to do and she respects it.
“Let’s tell them.” I say, trying very hard to keep my voice steady. Terrence nods and we both walk back to the table.
I get everyone’s attention, and then I’m off. I ramble on about my plan. I tell them I plan to go to Little Rock Central High School whether they will or not.
“It would be really great if you all come with me,” they all look at me like I’m crazy. I knew they would. “So, what d’ya say?” Everyone is silent. Why aren’t they saying anything?
“What if they don’t let us in? Then what will we do?” Thelma asks me.
“They gotta let us in, Thelma. There’s no rule banning us from going to this school.” I counter.
“The mayor made it a law,” Melba interjects. I knew she would. She’s the brainiac of the group. “He’s makin’ it darn near impossible for us to go to this school.”
My friends are being impossible. They’re not getting the point.
“Listen, this isn’t about following the rules,” I retort, “it’s about breaking them, for our sakes.”
Everyone exchanges nervous glances. I know I’m asking a lot, but someone has to step up. I can’t go another day living the way I do. I’m tired of getting dirty looks when I walk through town. I’m tired of using a different bathroom, a different water fountain, eating in a different room, not being able to go to a good school. I want to be like all the white kids. And believe me, that day is coming soon.
I’m going to do it. I’m going to Little Rock Central High whether my friends are or not. It will just be a heck of a lot easier if they are there with me. I look at Terrence, silently pleading with him. He understands.
“Listen, everybody,” he says standing up. “Gloria has wanted to do this for a long time. Are we gonna support her or not?”
“You don’t get it Terrence. You don’t know what it’s like out there!” Ernest says, standing up.
“Of course I do Ernest. How can you—"
“No,” Ernest argues. This is not going the way I want it to. Ernest lives downtown with the ‘poor folk’. According to him, we all have the good life living up here with the ‘rich folk’. I’ve told him many times that is not how it is. He never listens to me. Whatever he is going to say, it can’t be anything supporting me.
“You don’t know what it’s like living in the city,” he continues, “I can’t even walk outside without getting beat up or jeered at. You don’t understand.”
Everyone is silent. I guess no one knows what to say; I definitely don’t. For sure, this is the end. No one’s gonna argue with Ernest, we all know he’s right.
“And that’s what I want to change,” he looks at me and smiles. “I’m in. Who else?”
I smile back at him. Out of all of my friends, I did not think that Ernest would be the first one to agree with me. Very tentatively everyone else tells me they’re in. This is great! Most of my friends have to get home from dinner soon, but I won’t let them leave until I tell them something.
“Listen guys, I wanna say something before you all leave,” they all look at me, frozen in place. I take a deep breath. I have to choose my words carefully. I want them to feel motivated and excited to go through with this. I think back to one of my grandmother’s favorite sayings.
“I know what we’re about to do is dangerous and risky, but I know we can do it together. My grandmother used to tell me, ‘you can do a lot by your lonesome, Gloria, but with others backing you up, you’re darn near invincible.’”
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Everyone met at my house this morning, the morning we are leaving for Little Rock Central High. My mother made a wonderful breakfast for us (a nutritious breakfast mind you). Now I’m standing on the front steps watching my friends pile into the van that is going to take us to school.
Thelma and Terrence come out of my house, thanking my mom several times for the breakfast. They stand on either side of me, watching our friends. Then the feeling sinks in. This is the day, the day we make a statement. And we’re all here; together.
Thelma sighs, “This is it, it’s really gonna happen.”
I nod. “Yup, this is our day. No one’s gonna stop us. We’re gonna march into that school, arm in arm,” I link our arms together, “and face the world head on.”
We walk to the van and climb in the back. I wave to my mom as the van pulls away and I feel a tear run down my cheek. I realize now that I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for my friends, my family. I am doing this for all those people who think they can’t do it.
Terrence looks at me and smiles. “Come on Gloria, we’re going, it’s really happening. We’re gonna change the world starting from the center of a school.”
I nod. My grandmother was right. I can do anything by myself. But I now realize that with friends, I’m not near invincible, I am invincible. There’s no doubt about it.
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