In Virginia, high school football is a way of life. It's bigger than Christmas day.
Up until 1971, in Alexandria, there was no race-mixing. Then the school board forced us to integrate. They combined the white school and the black school into one ca...
As we pulled into the driveway, I noticed Gerry and Julius were already home waiting for us. Julius opened the door and helped me out. When we got inside, Julius went to help me up the stairs, but I stopped him.
"I got it," I say softly. Julius looked at me curiously.
"You sure?" He asked.
"Only one way to find out," I say as I make my way up. I got onto the fifth step when I began to feel light-headed. I started to lose my balance but Julius caught me just in time.
"Don't worry, I got you. I'm right here." He said softly into my ear. I nodded my head and he continued helping me the rest of the way up the stairs.
~ Julius' POV ~
Once we made it up the stairs, we walked down the hall to the last door on the left, Grace slowly opened the door revealing her bedroom. It was exactly what I thought Grace's room would look like; clean and simple.
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The walls were white, with posters of different artists, as well as photos of Grace and her friends from over the years. Her bed was against the wall by the window, covered in white and black bed sheets with yellow accent pillows. Her nightstand was next to it, and it had her radio and a photo of her and Gerry on it. Across the small room was her desk that was covered in homework, books, and college applications. I looked around, taking it all in.
"You okay?" Grace asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I turn to look at her leaning on the door frame watching me carefully.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." I say. Grace nods before slowly making her way to her bed. I look around again. "You sure have a lot of posters," I say without realizing it. Grace looks at the wall and hums.
"Yeah. I love music. It's like -"
"An escape." I cut her off, looking at her. Grace snaps her head to me. Her blue eyes lock onto mine.
"Yeah..." She trails off softly like she didn't expect me to finish her thought. I sit next to her on the bed.
"Name them all," I say gesturing to the artists on the posters. Grace looks back at the wall and begins naming all the artists while I sit back and listen to her.
"The Beatles, Cher, The Supremes, The Temptations, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Karen Carpenter." She says turning back to face me when she was finished. I let out a small breath.
"Wow, that's a lot of music," I say. Grace laughs.
"Music is the best way to relax after a long day." She says. I look at the wall of posters and smile.
"So what's your favorite song?" I ask.
"Let It Be by the Beatles," Grace responds without hesitation. I snap my head to look at her.
"Really? Why?" I ask. Grace smiles.
"'And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be,'" She said trailing off. I raised my eyebrows at her. "I'm quoting the song." She said. I rolled my eyes.
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"Yeah, I got that." I sassed. Grace tilts her head.
"Then why did you look at me like that?" She asked.
"Cause I was waiting for you to continue and tell me why you're quoting the song," I said holding back a smile.
"Because it makes me smile. And that line reminds me of Gerry." She said. I nod my head as a sign that I wanted her to continue, "Whenever I'm upset, Gerry is always been there to cheer me up. He always knows what to say. 'Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.'" She said, staring off in her own world. I hummed.
"'And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be,'" I said quoting another part of the song. Grace looked at me curiously. "That's my favorite line," I explain.
"Why's that?" Grace asked in a whisper. I lay back on her bed, raising my arms to the back of my head.
"Cause down in the Berg, we're like one huge family. When one of us lose someone to the system or the riots, We all lose someone. We look out for each other. Our neighbors, they're our brothers and sisters. We stand up for each other, and we support each other." I say.
There was a moment of silence in the room before Grace laid down next to me, resting her head on my chest.
"That sounds beautiful." She whispers.
"Yeah. It is." I whisper back.
The room falls into a comfortable silence as we both enjoy each other's presence.
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