Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, 1944 #20

Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, July 1944, #20
Well, last time I wrote y’all old man Slater was heading up to the balcony where I was sitting with my colored friends swinging his belt around his head yelling; “I’m gonna beat the blue perfect hell out of the that white kid that threw the ice ball!”
Joe Rel looked at me, “Richard, you is gonna get it now. Old man Slater is mad as a wet, settin’ hen, and he’s gonna tan your hide!”
Shoot, old man Slater was coming up the steps and they weren’t but one way out of the balcony. Just before he got up the stairs I got up on the 4th row and got right between Joe Rel and Billy Ray. I had just sat down when the picture show started and the lights dimmed. Well, old man Slater came running out and got right down in front of us. “All right boys, listen up. I want the white boy that threw that ice ball to stand up and come with me.
Shoot, it would take Jesus coming to make me stand up. Nobody moved.
“Okay, you’re gonna be sorry when I find you.” Then old man Slater stared going down each row shinning his flashlight in the face of every kid. Heck, when he got to row four where I was sitting, I was about to die. Then I thought of something. Billy Ray is almost as light as I am since I’ve got a real good tan. Old man Slater got to Joe Rel, who was sitting right beside me, and just before he shined the flashlight in my face, I pointed to Billy Ray and said, “Dat’s him!” Well, old man Slater shined the light in Billy Ray’s face, grabbed him by the arm, and started dragging him out. “I ain’t white! I’m colored! Billy Ray was yelling as old man Slater drug him down the stairs. Of course, when he got Billy Ray out in the light he saw he was colored and boy did he hollar. “I’m coming to get you kid, and when I do it’s gonna be a lot harder on you!”
Heck, I only knew one thing for sure, I wasn’t gonna be sitting on the fourth row when he got back to the balcony. I jumped up and crawled over kids until I got down to the first row where I squeezed in between two of the biggest kids on the row. Well, old man Slater started checking kids on the fourth row and went all the way to the 10th row. Then he walked back in front of us and said, “I’m gonna be waiting at the door when y’all leave the balcony, and you’ll never get by me.” Then he walked off cussing.
Gosh, that was a great picture show, but I was kinda worried how I was gonna get by old man Slater who would be checking kids at the door. But I had a plan. We started down the stairs and I grabbed holt of the belt of the big colored kid in front of me. When we got to the door old man Slater was looking at every kid that passed. I put my hands on the back of the big kid in front of me, and when we got to old man Slater, I shoved the big colored kid right into old man Slater’s arms and zipped around him heading for the door. I made it by a hair and took off down the street. How about that for an exciting picture show?