“You can’t come over here your black, and blacks aren’t allowed on this side of the street.”

Leium John Armstrong is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong. His dad is a doctor at the white people’s hospital, and according to the news he pretty god at his job. Him mom on the other hand is a full time wife, and the president on the SWS (Strong Women Society). Anyways I’m Travis King Lamburg, but everybody calls me Bubba. My two friends Dee and Pete, my oldest brother Chris, and I were all at the park playing kick ball. There was only one slide and two swings at what they call the black kid’s park, and all the little kids played on them. On the plus side there was a big field full of small stones covered in dirt that we older kids could play football, kickball, and soccer on. Pete was up to kick and we were down by 1; I was on 3rd base so if Pete could kick a home run we would win the game. Pete took a deep breath, dusted off his shoes, and stare at Chris while waiting on him to roll the ball. Once Chris rolled the ball Pete did a little run forward and booted the ball so far that it landed on the other side of the street; at the white kid’s park. We all stared at first, then Dee said, “Well Pete you kicked it, you get it.”

When we turned around to look at Pete, he was half way home. The three of us bust out laughing, and then Chris and Dee started playing rock paper scissors to determine who would go get the ball. While they were doing that I walked across the street. When I got to the other side, that’s when Leium made that smart comment to me as if he was a king and made all the rules. I waited quietly until he stopped talking and said; well can I have my ball back. Leium looked me up and down and said, “No, it’s my ball now.”

I looked at him and said as evil and cold hearted you are; I pray that god forgives you. Leium looked back at me and said, “Well me and god are both white, so I guess I’m already forgiven.”

As much as I wanted to punch him in the face, I didn’t; I just walked back across the street to the field. As I approached Dee and Chris they both stared at me with their mouths open. Dee started to frown as he said “Man where’s the ball at?”
Before I could answer Frank Longmire Jr. Came up to me with a nervous look on his face and said, “Here’s your ball back, Leium can be a real pain.”
Frank was tall and skinny with red orange hair; me and him where alike in many ways. Both of ours birthday was on March 20th, and we both felt that it was our duty to do what was right, no matter how hard it may be. Frank asked was it okay if he played with us because Leium banded him from the white kid’s park. Leium told frank, “If you want to be nice to those niggers, then you can go play with them too.”

I hated that N word and didn’t like the fact that; that’s what white people referred to us as. On the plus side, Frank and I became best friends. That was about 8 years ago though, and throughout those years I learned everything about Frank. His mother is blind so she doesn’t know I’m black, and his father is never around because he works every day from noon to 10 at night. Frank and I hang out almost every day once his dad leaves for work; we just have to be careful that no one sees me going into their house. It’s against the law for black kids and white kid to be friends, and that’s why his parents and my grandma can never find out. Frank knows that when I was two years old my mother; Mary Nichole Lamburg left. Chris was only 5 at the time, She never came back to visit or tried to contact us ever since she left. I always wondered how she looked because once she abandon us the city took our house and we lost everything. Chris and I went back once we got older hoping we’d find at least a picture, but we didn’t. He also knows that when my mom was pregnant with me, my dad got shot and killed for protesting against segregation.  Chris and I live with our grandma Billy Jean Lamburg; she’s a wise old woman, and knows how to make anyone laugh.

Frank and I only have three more days until our 18th birthday, we never get to celebrate or see each other on our birthdays because were too busy spending time with our family. This year frank suggested that after our birthday he should go looking for my mama. I told Chris about the idea, and he said, “Bubba is crazy, how we going to do that without grandma finding out?”

I told him that we would tell grandma that were we staying a night over Dee house. He looked at me like I was crazy, then he said “Alright, but if we get caught I’m acting like I don’t know nothing.”
I couldn’t wait, the next day after my birthday we asked grandma jean was it alright if we stayed a night over Dee house. She said it was okay because we didn’t have school in the morning; we just had to be in the house before the street light came on. We met up with Frank at the bus stop but acted like we didn’t know each other. Chris and I paid the man at the front of the bus, got off and entered from the back. The bus was so full that we had to stand. When Frank got on the bus a black old man toward the middle section of the bus got up and gave Frank his seat. At first Frank assisted that the man stayed, but the bus driver said, “Don’t be silly now son, this n***** can stand while you have a seat.” 

Frank sat down with a frown on his face; the black man smiled at him with a graceful look as he walked to the back of the bus. I could tell by the look on Franks face that he was upset about the situation. We were headed down town because a man at the barber shop told me on my birthday that he use to see our mother all the time, and that she lived in some apartments on Jefferson st. He also told me that she changed her name to Theresa Lopez. When we finally made it down town the street light where on, and it was getting dark. Frank was familiar with the area, so we followed behind him. We had to keep a distance between us so that no one would know that we were all together.  When we got to the apartment building Frank stood on the side by a big brown dumpster, and me and Chris walked us to the door. There was a listing on names and the room number, one of the names read Theresa Lopez #306. My heart drop in to my stomach and started pounding so hard that I could hear it. I looked at Chris and saw tears forming in his eyes, he couldn’t believe after all this time we would be able to see our mother again. He pushed her apartment number button two times before she answered. “Hell, who is it?”
Her voice was so soft and relaxed like she didn’t have a worry in the world. Chris responded “Hi I have a delivery for a Theresa.”

She buzzed us up and when we got to the door we took a deep breath, looked at each other smiling and knocked. A little girl opened the door and yelled, “Mama why is there two men at our door?”
When she came to the door she had a shocked looked on her face like she couldn't believe we found her. I look at her smiling and said it’s us your sons, you know; Chris and Bubba. She slammed the door shut in our face and said, “I don’t have any sons, you got the wrong person.”

I felt my heart break into a million pieces as I feel to her door step and started crying. It felt as if I got hit by a speeding car a thousand times, over and over. Chris yelled through the door, “Why weren't we good enough, what kind of women abandon her kids and never come back for them?”

He bent over, looked me in my eyes and said “at the end of the day if we don’t have anything, we have each other.”