BSC in NYC!

Dear Mama and Daddy,

New York is great! Today I met up with Quint and we saw a ballet at Lincoln Center. It was marvelous. Quint had some news for me though, but I better tell you when I come home. I don't want to write it here because the postman might be reading this.

Love,

Jessi

When I woke up Wednesday morning I changed into my nicest pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that said "Kiss me….I'm African American" in bold black letters on the front. I tied a pink ribbon around my hair. The reason I wanted to look nice was because I was planning on meeting my sort-of boyfriend Quint. I had met Quint the last time I was in New York with my friends. He was THE most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. Not only was he black (like me!), but he was also a ballet dancer (like me!). It was a perfect match! I mean, what are the chances of two black ballet dancers (who also happen to be the same age) getting together? Pretty slim to none, I tell you.

"How do I look?" I asked Mallory who was sitting on her bed in our room writing in her journal.

Mal just snorted something and continued writing. Hmmm. Ever since yesterday, Mal had been in a real stale mood. I would have to see what was wrong since that's what best friends do, but for now I had to meet Quint at Lincoln Center in fifteen minutes!

Quint and I had kept in touch with phone cards and letters. Lately though, we haven't kept in touch as often as I'd like to. When I wrote him and told him I was coming to the city for two weeks, he suggested we meet and see a production at Lincoln Center. After deciding on a performance (Swan Lake) and a date and time (today), we agreed to meet.

Since my parents didn't want me traveling all alone in Manhattan, I asked Mrs. Brewer if she would accompany on the taxi ride over to Lincoln Center. She told me to call her when I was ready to come back.

I saw Quint sitting on the steps in front of Lincoln Center and grinned as I ran to him.

He grinned back and stood up. "Hey, Jessi!"

"Quint!" I squealed as I threw my arms around him.

For some reason he seemed stiff when I hugged him, but it was probably just because he was so nervous to see me since it had been awhile and besides, I was looking very dibble today. He was probably a little embarrassed to be seen hugging a highly attractive girl. Quint is modest that way.

"I have the tickets for the show," Quint said taking out two tickets from his pocket.

"You look great by the way," I said as we started to head for the building.

Quint was wearing stone wash baggy jeans and a tight black tank top that showed off his nice, toned muscles. His cocoa brown skin glistened in the sun. In one ear was a gold stud. That must had been new, I hadn't noticed that before.

The theater was packed, but Quint and I managed to find decent seats towards the front of the stage. I have probably seen Swan Lake 842105812351209 times, (I am not exaggerating), but I still fall in love with it every time I watch it. And it doesn't hurt that I've played the lead a couple of times, so I am very familiar with the dances. You could call me a Swan Lake expert.

At one point, a well-built male dancer came out and did a beautiful dance. I turned to Quint to see how he was enjoying the play. I always like looking at people when I'm watching a ballet with them to see their expression. Quint was intently watching the male dancer, slowly licking his lips. Wow, he was really getting into the ballet! How great!

After the show (which got a standing ovation), Quint and I each bought a lemonade and sat in front of the magnificent fountain in front of Lincoln Center.

"I never get sick of that ballet!" I said happily as I took a sip of my drink. "I could watch it over and over and over!"

"Me too," agreed Quint. He paused and said, "Jessi? There's something I need to tell you."

"Yes?" My heart began to beat fast. Was he going to purpose to me? I knew he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with (after all, he was black and a ballet dancer), but we were only eleven years old, I wasn't sure if I was ready for marriage yet-

"Jessi, are you listening to me?" Quint asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry." I gave my best smile to Quint.

"Jessi, this isn't the easiest thing to say to you, but you must know the truth-"

I braced myself as he got ready to state his true feelings for me.

"I'm gay."

I blinked at him. "Well, that's great, Quint. I'm gay too, especially now. I'm gay a lot of the times."

He looked confused, then said, "No. No, Jessi. That's not what I mean. I don't mean gay as in happy, I mean gay as in a homosexual?"

"A what a sexual?" I asked in a confused voice.

He sighed heavily. "I like other boys….in the romantic sense."

"You mean….you date other boys? You kiss other boys?" I asked slowly.

He nodded. "Exactly."

Suddenly my whole world came crashing down. How could Quint do this to me? We were suppose to be together forever! We were the eleven year old black ballet dancers who were supposed to get married and have three daughters (Halle, after Halle Berry, the first African-American woman to win an Oscar; Condoleeza, after Condoleeza Rice, one of the few African-American women to work for the President of the United States; and I hadn't yet come up with the third daughter's name, but now I was thinking of Addy, the only African-American American Girl Doll). Our daughters would become world famous ballerinas, taught by their world famous parents. That's how it was supposed to be!

"Ewwww!" I wrinkled my nose. "That's gross!"

He sighed. "I didn't think you would exactly understand, Jessi, coming from a small town. I'm sure there are no gay people in Stoneybrook."

"The only gay people in Stoneybrook are happy people," I replied.

"This is who I am, Jessi, and I hope you can accept it. You were so great to me when those kids made fun of me for being a ballet dancer. Well, now I have to deal with being a ballet dancer and gay."

"Who else knows that you're gay?" I said, whispering the word.

"You, my parents, and my close friends. Oh, and of course the people I dance with."

"So I guess this means you're not my sort of boyfriend anymore," I said unhappily.

He shook his head. "I hope we can still be friends though. I don't have many black friends who like ballet like I do."

I sighed heavily. "Well, I suppose we can still be friends. I don't know any black people who like ballet. Actually, you're one of the few black friend I have."

"Aren't there any black kids at your school?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "Nope. We're the only black family in Stoneybrook."

"The only?"

I nodded. "Well, Stoneybrook is a small town. We're expected to set a high standard for any other black family that might ever decide to live there."

Quint looked at his watch. "Oh, I have to go now. I'm meeting Danillo in half an hour. We're getting our nails buffed." He kissed me on the cheek as he stood up. "Keep it real, Jessi."