Boy Meets Girl (Shawn Hunter from BMW Love Story)

chapter one

   Worchester was where the black girls with the fancy hair and the nicest shoes strolled down the sidewalk without a care in the world. It was the place where young black boys excelled in more than just sports, where black people felt free to just live and be, where blackness was the way of life.

I used to live like that.

But that was before I moved to Philly.

     Philadelphia was different from Maryland. Every time my mom and I would go out in public we were welcomed with uncomfortable stares that scrutinized our every move like we were specimens being examined under a microscope. It felt humiliating. "Alright Mary Jane, it's your first day of school. Are you excited?" My mom cheered. Immediately, I snapped back to reality. Her words always had a way of doing that. Our car slowly stopped in front of my new high school--John Adams High.

     "You want me to be honest?" I said.

My mom smiled. "Nope. Have a nice day, sweetie. I'll pick you up at 3pm."

     A massive sigh escaped from my lips before stepping down from the car. Before I knew it, my mom's car had disappeared into the sunny morning leaving me all alone. There I stood, standing before the formidable John Adams High. My hands clutched the straps of my backpack, my thumbs gently caressing the straps. Based on what I had read in the newspaper, the school was great, their football team-- not so much. However, none of that mattered to me. What really mattered, the idea that kept me up the night before, was how on earth I was going to fit in and make friends at a predominantly white high school.

     In Worchester, I went to black schools; I had black friends. That was all I knew; it was all I was comfortable with. I had a feeling that going to John Adams would be a drastic change, a change I was certainly not ready for. Suddenly, I could hear my mom's soft voice echoing in my ears.

The only constant thing in life is change, Mary Jane. Get used to it.

Blah, blah, blah.

     After a few moments, I managed to put my nerves aside, open the school doors, and venture into the unknown. In an instant, two boys whizzed past me sending a cold gust of wind to strike me in the face. All around me, laughter, chatter, and screams consumed the hallway. My eyes scanned the room. Small groups of students surrounded the hallway. There were kids sitting against the wall finishing homework, while others were aimlessly chatting in front of lockers. The hallways looked clean, it had that first day of school polish. For the most part, everyone seemed normal.

Everyone except for me.

     I noticed that the only black people in the hallway were me and the two black kids on the "celebrate diversity" poster on the school's bulletin board.

How ironic.

     All of a sudden, I could feel everyone's eyes glued to me. I wasn't sure if it was because I was new or if it was because I was black. Either way, it made my heart race. Fortunately, the morning bell rang signaling for students to go to their first class of the day. I swung my backpack around to the front of me and pulled out a pink folder. I took out my class schedule and traced my finger to the first class on the list.

AP World History with Mr. Feeny, room 110.

     I looked up and watched as groups of students trickled into room 104. I decided to keep walking down the hallway until I found room 110. To my surprise, the room was a much further walk than I anticipated. I saw in the distance an older man holding the door open for students. He wore a light brown plaid suit with a dark brown sweater vest. Once his eyes met mine, his lips curled into a smile, his thick mustache curling in shape.