It didn’t take long for everyone to settle into a rhythm that summer. By the second week of June, Derrick, Tony, Marcus, Reggie, Leon, Cathy, Yolanda, Terri—and now Tasha—were inseparable. Every day brought something new: Phelps, swimming at Nokomis, riding bikes down Minnehaha Parkway, or just hanging on porches talking about nothing and everything. But their biggest adventure so far happened on a hot Friday afternoon when Tony an idea.
“Let’s go downtown,” he said.
No warning. No explanation. No argument. Downtown Minneapolis in 1971 was the place, especially on Hennepin Avenue-movie theaters, Shinders newsstand, restaurants, arcades, crowds, buses rolling in from all directions. To kids from the Southside, it felt like a whole different world.
“Today?” Marcus asked.
“Right now,” Tony said. “Come on, we ain’t got school. We free.”
They all looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded. Adventure time.
They caught the number five bus on Chicago Avenue—hot seats, open windows, the smell of exhaust drifting in as they rattled past 38th Street, 26th Street, Franklin Avenue. Tony and Marcus arguing about basketball, Reggie reading a dog-eared comic, Leon watching out the window, Cathy and Terri talking nonstop, Yolanda braiding and unbraiding a piece of her hair, Tasha sitting quietly beside her, and Derrick pretending to stare out the window while noticing everything Tasha did
Every time she brushed a braid behind her ear, Derrick felt his heart jump.
“What you smiling for?” Leon whispered.
“Nothing,” Derrick said too quickly.
Leon smirked.
“Yeah, okay.”
Downtown felt alive—cars honking, the smell of popcorn, the glittering signs of stores and theaters. The boys practically ran to the movie marquee: WILLARD The movie about the boy and his rats.
“That one!” Tony yelled. “We gotta see it!”
The girls groaned.
“Why we gotta see a weird rat movie?” Terri asked.
“Because it’s Willard!” Marcus insisted. “He got an army of rats!”
“That’s exactly why we don’t wanna see it,” Yolanda said, but they went anyway.
They bought tickets. They bought popcorn. They bought sodas. Then they sat through Willard in all its rat-filled glory. A couple of the girls screamed at the same moment the boys shouted “YEAH!” Reggie covered his eyes once. Tasha laughed the one time Derrick jumped during a scary scene.
When the movie ended, Tony said the words that sealed their fate:
“Let’s see it again.”
“NO!” the girls shouted, but the guys begged. Cathy rolled her eyes. Terri sighed. Yolanda held her face in her hands. Tasha looked at Derrick.
“You wanna see it again?”
Derrick shrugged, smiling.
“Why not?”
Tasha giggled softly. And just like that—they sat through Willard twice.
After escaping from the rats, they went to Big Boy’s. Burgers, fries, shakes, onion rings… They ordered like their pockets were bottomless. They laughed so hard the waitress kept smiling at them even though they were probably the noisiest group in the place. They reenacted scenes from the movie. Tony made rat noises. Marcus almost choked on a fry. Tasha had the cutest laugh Derrick had ever heard.
When the check came? Silence. Leon counted coins. Reggie dumped out pockets. Cathy closed her eyes like she was praying. Tasha actually giggled. They scraped it all together—barely.
“Dang,” Marcus said. “We broke already.”
“Speak for yourself,” Terri said, jingling a dime in her pocket. “My emergency money.”
“Oh yeah?” Tony asked. “What you gonna do with a dime?”
Terri shrugged. “Not starve.”
Let’s go to Shinder’s.” Leon suggested.
They never should have gone to Shinder’s—the legendary magazine and comic store on 7th and Hennepin, and 6th and Hennepin. There was one on each corner. Tony bought a stack of cheap comics. Reggie bought two Marvel books and a newspaper. Marcus bought a baseball magazine. Leon bought gum. The girls bought candy. And Derrick bought a comic he’d wanted since last month. Tasha bought nothing—just walked through the aisles taking everything in.
“You not getting anything?” Derrick asked her quietly.
She smiled. “Nah. I like watching y’all pick stuff out. You get excited.”
“Not excited,” Derrick said, trying to act cool.
She raised an eyebrow. “You almost knocked over a whole rack.”
“Okay, maybe a little excited.” They both laughed. But when they stepped outside and counted their money… They realized the truth.
They had exactly no money to ride the bus… Zero. Nothing. Not even one dime. They looked at each other. Marcus said the words:
“Oh man… we broke broke.”
Tony shrugged. “Guess we walking.” II. The walk from downtown to their Southside neighborhood was no joke. But they made it an adventure. They walked past Nicollet Mall, which turned into Nicollet Avenue, past Franklin Avenue, heading toward Lake Street, past bakeries and corner stores, laughing, teasing, reenacting every movie scene, debating what the best part of Willard was.
Every few blocks, one of them complained dramatically:
“My feet hurt!”
“I’m starving again!”
“It’s hot!”
“Never letting Tony plan anything ever again!”
Somehow though, being broke made it funnier. And the whole time— Tasha kept drifting back until she and Derrick walked side by side. Away from the noise. Away from the teasing. Just the two of them, step for step.
“You having fun?” Derrick asked.
Tasha nodded.
“This is the most fun I’ve had since I moved.”
“That’s good,” he said softly.
She looked ahead down Lake Street, thinking for a moment. “You know… I used to live in St. Paul. In Rondo.”
Derrick nodded. “I heard of it.”
“My neighborhood…” she said quietly, “it’s not the same anymore. I-94 cut it in half. Houses are gone. Churches gone. Stores… gone.”
Derrick’s heart tightened. He remembered the stories about what happened over North when the freeway came through.
“That’s messed up,” he whispered. Tasha nodded, eyes soft.
“We used to go to Oxford Park all the time. It was like your Phelps. Big. Busy. Kids everywhere. But after the freeway… it never felt quite the same.”
Derrick listened carefully.
“Do you miss it?” he asked.
“Every day,” she admitted. “But… I think I’m gonna like it here too.”
She smiled— quiet, hopeful, warm. And Derrick felt something settle inside him.
“You will,” he said softly. “I promise.”
She held his gaze for a moment longer. Then she brushed her braid behind her ear and whispered,
“I’m glad I met you.”
His heart jumped. “…I’m glad I met you too.”
As they rejoined the group, the sun was dipping golden over the Southside. Their feet hurt, but none of them complained anymore. They passed the familiar blocks—houses, porches, kids playing, that unmistakable comforting smell of someone grilling chicken somewhere close.
By the time they made it back to Tony’s block, they were exhausted. But in that good way. The kind of tired that comes from laughing, walking, being young, being alive. Cathy stretched.
“We walked all the way home. I can’t believe we did that.”
Terri nodded. “That was the dumbest and funnest thing we’ve ever done.”
Tony held up his comics. “Worth it.”
Yolanda shook her head.
“Boys.”
The girls headed home first. Tasha waved at Derrick.
“See you tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Yeah… definitely.”
Her smile lingered even after she walked away. And the guys? They looked at Derrick with raised eyebrows and big grins.
“You in trouble now,” Marcus teased.
“Uh-huh,” Reggie added. Leon nudged him.
“She likes you.” Tony punched him lightly on the shoulder.
“Our boy got a crush.” Derrick just shook his head, because yeah… Summer 1971 was going to be different. And he wasn’t mad about it. Not one bit.