“Tenie, you can’t go in there while white kids are in there,” Tall said. “Why?” “You can’t,” Small said. “You gotta wait till they come out.” But they were taking so long. “They can’t stop you from going in a store,” I said, reaching for the door to push it open. “I don’t want to wait—” I was one step inside. The lady working at the counter hissed, “You need to go back outside.” I froze, more scared of the venom in the voice than understanding what she was telling me to do.
