Chapter One
New York, 1966
The girls were smiling.
At the sorority house, April applied red lipstick on her mouth. She waited for the news about her brother, John, who was in Vietnam; he had enlisted two months' ago when he turned seventeen. She listened to the vinyl record of The Beach Boys. She had long, black hair, brown eyes, and petite. At sixteen, she became voted in at the Delta Delta Delta sorority house; she wanted to be there since 1964. The first time was bleak because of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
'I'm sorry, but the sorority house is closed', Rebecca Jenkins, the sorority house President, said.
'That's all right. I'll try next year. I'm April'.
'See you soon, April', Rebecca said.
She sighed, and started to go to the protests in Times Square.
***
The energy of the crowd caused April to shake her head.
She looked around.
'Are you alright, April?', Jim Bellow asked her.
'Yes. I was thinking that you', April answered.
'Yeah, and I was thinking about you too', Jim said.
'Do you want to leave the protest? All of the radicals are violent towards President Johnson', April said.
'Yeah, I'm a Republican, like my old man'.
'Same as I am', April said.
He kissed her, as they walked towards her house.
***
'Well, I don't see how you can listen to that rock music. How about Dave Brubeck. Jazz is the best', April's Dad said.
'This is the Age of Peace', April's Mom said.
'I heard about what Ed Murrow did back in 1957'.
'That was a decade ago', April's Mom said.
'And the point is?'.
'This is 1966, honey', April's Mom said.
'I know that', April said.
'Who is your boyfriend?', April's Dad asked her.
'Jim Bellow. He is from Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity house', April answered. She smiled, and headed to the the Ladies' Restroom.
***
April washed her hands.
She dried them with the red towel on the silvery rack. She was born in 1950. It was the decade of Communism; it was a bad time for America. By 1957, when she turned seven, Edward Murrow took down Republican Senator from Wisconsin, Joe McCarthy, who named names, and behaved reprehensibly. The 1950's was over. Now it was the 1960's, and everything changed.
***
April watched the fraternity house.
'It is full of color, isn't it', Evelyn Price said.
'The decorations'.
'Yes'.
'The sorority house in on 131st Street, and 7th Avenue, New York'.
'That's where I live', Evelyn said.
'Our names should be on the wall', April stated.
'Let's go see', Evelyn said.
'Fine by me', April smiled.
***
The girls were near the hall.
'What are you doing here, Evelyn?', Fran Anderson asked her.
'I am the Head Girl of Delta Delta Delta house', Fran answered.
'That's a great honor'.
'It is. Just like my Mom before her. Anna Beth Anderson. She was the Head Cheerleader form 1953 to 1959', Fran said.
'There's her black and white photograph', April said.
'She is beautiful', Fran said.
'Yes, she was', April stated.
Then the doorbell rang, and it was time for class.
***
April headed to the Ladies' Restroom.
She washed her hands, and dried herself.
Then she opened the door.
And attended to the Bid Day ceremony.
***
April waited.
Her name was on the list.
She smiled, and was looking forward to tomorrow.
***
By seven o'clock, it was morning.
April was now selected to Delta Delta Delta.
For a long time she was happier than before she was chosen.
That was all that mattered to her.
***
The next morning, April felt better than she felt for a long time. She looked at the sorority house, and smiled.
It was going to be a great year.
***
The next morning April walked to the garden.
There was a lot of pretty flowers.
'They're nice', Evelyn said.
The bell rang, and it was time for class.
***
The color television was on.
'In the news today, the Vietnam War dragged on. President Johnson said in the White House that American troops will be in the deep, Asian jungles for a long time. In other news, Scooter Thompson won the Masters golf...'.
April kept the television on, and waited for the next class to start.
***
April saw an African-American girl. There was a sign that read: FOR COLORED PEOPLE ONLY. She smiled at her. 'The Freedom Riders are coming to Washington, DC; they're protesting against the Government. I'm Kayla Reese'. She looked at us; she was determined to make progress for her people.
'I'm April'.
'That's a great month of the year', Kayla said.
She smiled, and knew that she had a lot of rights that had been denied to her parents two decades before, in nineteen forty-six.
***
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