"You're going to the diner with Josephine?" Her father reiterated her question, looking at her straight in the eyes.

Grace tried to relax and even believe in her own lie so that her performance could be more believable. "Yes sir," she nodded. "We have much to catch up on since I've moved," she continued.

Her dad looked over at her mother and her mother simply shrugged as if saying, "it's your choice, but I️ believe her." Her Dad then looked up at her. "Well okay," he agreed, making her squeal on the inside. "But be careful, and come back before the street lights come on missy," he said sternly.

"Of course! Thank you big daddy," she hugged and kissed his cheek before going into her room to get ready for her date with Danny. She tried to look as cute yet as inconspicuous as possible. For this though, she decided to let her hair down for once.

Ever since she was young, Grace was blessed with "good hair". Her hair was naturally long with a deep curl pattern that loosen every time she took a hot comb to the head. And although she could care less about it, her hair was her mother's pride and joy. Grace desperately wants to cut it, or even model it more after Dorothy Dandridge, but her mother has literally threatened her with murder for even thinking about hacking it off. Grace usually kept her hair in a long ponytail, and she was usually the hair envy of other girls at school.

She didn't put her hair down unless it was a special occasion like church, Christmas or Easter. And she knew her parents would question it as soon as they saw her. So she quickly straightened it out, before tossing it in it's usually pony. She changed into a long skirt maroon skirt with a white blouse and looked at herself in the mirror. She huffed and started taking everything off. The situation called for a dress. She ruffled through her closet till she found the perfect dress.

Once she changed, she grabbed her purse and into the kitchen. "I'm splitting," she tells them, and they both waved her off bye.

"I'm just hanging out with Eddie and Gerald like always," Danny rolled his eyes as his parents asked questions like crazy. "We're just heading over to the diner to grab a bite," he shrugged. "So can I️ borrow the chariot?" He asked.

His dad almost rolled his eyes at him. "Fine...but not a scratch on her!" He warned as he handed over the keys. "And no racing. Got it?" He asked sternly.

"Loud and clear daddy-o!" He yelled as ran to his room. He quickly searched his closet for a clean blanket until he found one, and then headed out the door. Next stop before picking Grace up was the diner. He parked and walked in, only to walk right in the middle of loud yelling and a plastic cup being thrown, narrowly missing his head as ice splattered everywhere.

"Can't you goddamn monkeys read the sign? This is a white's only diner!" The cook stated, with the cashier and a couple of waiter's hanging behind him as if to back him up.

"But this is the only diner in town," the black guy said, a quivering black girl standing behind her, frightened. He was standing protectively in front of her, shielding her from any other attacks they might launch against them. "We'd have to drive over 50 miles-"

"Get out of here!" One customer yelled.

"Ugh, let's go. They're ruining our fun," one white girl told the boy sitting across from her, presumably her date. They both got up and walked out, another couple following suit.

"Great, we're loosing business cause of you niggers!" The cashier now yelled. "Get out of here before I️ call the police," he threatened.

Suddenly, a milkshake was thrown and Daniel narrowly avoided it, the pink liquid ruining both of their outfits. That seemed to be the last straw of the black couple, because they quickly turned and scrambled out of the restaurant, making everyone cheer. "Yeah! Get out of here ya filthy niggers!"

Daniel suddenly felt wildly uncomfortable being there. Ever since Mr. Matthews verbally assault on Grace, it's as if he's been suddenly hyper aware of the racism that's been going on in his town.

Daniel's never actively participated in humiliating or bothering a black person, or call them names. Actually, he used to just ignore them entirely. They never bothered him, and he never bother them, and that's how it was.

He knew his mother and father though, hated black people. They believed they shouldn't even be allowed to be in their presence and that they were beneath them. So when black people started moving into their neighborhood, naturally his mother started freaking out.

"If any more of those monkeys move in, we're gonna have to eventually move out," she would always tell her father at the dinner table. And his dad would passively agree as he read the newspaper.

Just as Daniel turned around to leave, someone called out for him to stop. "Wait! How can we help you?" A waitress asked, walking up to him. "I'm sorry for all the mess. Those colored folks are always causing trouble," she mumbled.

"Um..."

"Daniel Wilson? Is that you?" He heard the all too familiar annoying squeal from behind him. He turned around to see Celia Cook walked in, looking fashionable and rich as always. And alongside her was her best friend, Valerie Taylor. "Well what's your tale nightingale?" she gushed. "Did you skip the first day of school?" She asked.

He, in fact, did. And she was the reason why.

Although they've hung out a handful of times, Cece seemed to have developed quite an attachment to him. And as soon as he realized that, he subtly cut her off. Cece was pretty, but she wasn't his type. She was too stuck-up, entitled, spoiled and clingy.

"No...." he lied. "You just must've not seen me..." he trailed off. "Anyways, I️ uh, I️ got to split," he told her, trying to hurry out the door.

But she reached out and grabbed him by the arm. "Wait!" She said. "We should get together again. I️ miss hanging out with you," she fluttered her eyelashes.

Danny mindlessly nodded his head and said, "Neat-o, I'll see you at school," he dismisses, as he hurried out the door. It's as if he couldn't get out of there fast enough. He decided to look for another diner to grab food for them, one that felt a little bit less hostile.

But who was he kidding? They all were.

But for now, he focuses on finding food for them both, before picking her up at the spot he told her to meet up with him. After purchasing a couple of hot dogs, sandwiches and even a pie for them to share, he drove to the street corner where they last saw each other, and lo and behold, there she was.

She looked beautiful, and he even noticed that she wore her hair down. He pulled up beside her and she smiled at the sight of him, happily getting into the car with him. "Well I'll be. You look-"

"Let me guess. Like a dolly?" She finished for him.

"No," he shook his head, making her frown a bit. "I️ was gonna say you look beautiful Gracie," he tells her, making her blush. He then started the car and continued down the road.

"So, where are we going?" She asked, curious to what he had in mind for them. There wasn't a lot of things their town offered to the colored folks. The diners, sock hops and bowling alleys were segregated, and the drive in movies kicked all colored people to the back, far away from the screen. So she wasn't sure what he came up with, but she really hoped it was good.

Danny simply smirked and looked over at her before keeping his eyes on the road. Grace playful gasped and smacked his arm. "So you're just gonna keep me in the dark?" She asked him, still getting silence from him. "Daniel!"

He instead leaned forward and turned the radio on, tuning into some rock and roll song. Gracie generally stayed away from rock and roll, since her parents forbade it, saying it wasn't good. But listening to the song on the radio and watching Danny bop his head and sing along, she was finally curious. "Who's this on the radio?" She wondered.

Danny looked at her with a surprised look from the corner of his eyes. "You got to be pulling my leg," he said, confusing her. "You don't know about Elvis?" He asked in disbelief. Instead of explaining it to her, he just turned the radio up louder, just letting the music speak for itself. She laughed as he lip synced the lyrics while driving, shaking her head at him.

She noticed that he had slowed down once they were in a wooded clearing a couple of miles from their neighborhood. She noticed he had taken out the blankets and a bag filled with food from a diner. "A picnic?" She asked him.

"I️ thought it would be a nice "get to know you" without all the distractions," he said, holding his hand out for her while the other held on the food and the blanket draped over his shoulder. She gingerly takes it as he pulled her forward to a field of growing wild flowers. He laid and spread the blanket down in the ground, sitting down and getting their food out, as well as two Coca-Colas and a pie. Grace seemed absolutely thrilled at the sight of food and he could already tell that must be one of her favorite things.

"Someone's hungry," he laughed as she rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him.

"Don't shame me. I️ haven't eaten since breakfast," she told him. She then sighed. "My parents think I'm at a diner with my best friend," she tells him.

Danny ran a hair through his long hair that was slicked back hair gel. "Mines think I'm out fooling around with my friends," he tells her his excuse.

Grace smiles softly. "Looks like we're both liars," she laughed, making him chuckle with her. "So how old are you anyways?" She asked him.

"Couple of months away from being eighteen," he responded. "You?"

"I'll be seventeen by July," she told him. "Looks like you're older," she grins. "You going to college?"

Danny scoffs. "College is...for smart people. Like yourself," he tells her, making her blush. "I'm just going to work at Gerry's auto garage, learn how to fix cars. I️ do like them, the cars I️ mean," he started rambling on and on about how school wasn't for him, and that he was planning on going and different direction while she told him that she, of course, planned on going to college, now that desegregation was happening.

The longer they sat there together, the more they got to know each other. They both started on their apple pie and she playfully fed it to him, making them both laugh as she did. At some point they laid down next to each other, staring up at the blue afternoon sky and started talking about almost anything and everything.

"You ever had a boyfriend?" Danny curiously asked her. He thought that a girl as pretty as her probably had a few suitors chasing her down. He wasn't sure why she said yes to him, she had no good reason to. But he sure was glad she did.

She shook her head "no". "My father wants me to focus on school first," she giggled. "Plus, no one has ever caught my eye," she told him, before looking at him. "This is my first date."

"Then why'd you say yes to me?" He pressed. "I️ have the feeling you could've snuck out and met with any guy. So why me?"

Grace sharply inhaled at the sound of that question. And it's because she simply didn't have a logical answer to the question. "I️ honestly have no clue. But I️ had a feeling if I️ said no, I'd deeply regret it," she looked over at him in the eyes. "And what about you?" She now flipped the script. "How many girls' hearts have you broken?" She chuckled. "I️ bet if I️ look behind you, there's a trail."

Danny rolled his eyes at her. "I've never seriously had a relationship with a girl," he tells her. "Just dated a few but none of them have caught my eyes like you," he reveals, making her eyes widen at his words. She looks away, overwhelmed by his confession.

A comfortable silence between them filled the atmosphere for a couple of minutes as they both laid back down, happy and satisfied by each of their answers. He then brought up music again, and how he promised that he was going to get her into Elvis, which she doubted. "I️ bet you $5 that by the time we go steady, you'll be a huge Elvis fan," he challenged.

That caught her attention. She sat up and looked at him in surprise and awe. "Y-you want to go steady?" She asked him, making him also sit up alongside her.

Danny was almost at a loss for words. The words had accidentally slipped out but his feelings were true. "I️ mean...um, if you want to? I️ don't know why I️ said that, it was stupid. You probably don't-"

"Danny, it's fine," She stopped him in his tracks, grinning widely. "So far, so good. Okay?" He reaches out to take her hand in his, and she squeezes back. "What's on your mind?"

"I️ just feel like I'm on cloud 9 with you."