\The heat radiated up from the asphalt as the sun?beat?down on my?back, making it seem like the plastic?of my shoes was melting into the street. The sun was supposed to set, but with?summer soon approaching the temperatures only rose.?
I was heading home after practice playing for my rec basketball team, making my way through the familiar streets of my neighborhood. My?junior?year of high school was winding to a close, bringing with it a sense of finality, a short stretch to the finish line. With all of the tension for the school year about to end, I could almost taste the freedom that came with summer, but I was most?excited?for summer ball.?It was a time to hone in on my game, to make me stronger. Basketball was one of the only things that kept me sane, that and my little?sister, Nan. When I hand a ball in my hand, I felt invincible; there was only me and the basket, and nothing could stop me from getting to it.?
The?sun was just about to fall behind the line of trees?on the horizon as I cut across the railroad tracks. The tracks were a?line of old railway?tracks that were built sometime near the town’s beginning that were supposed to cut across the whole country, all the way to?California?they say, but stopped a little past the town limits due to funding cuts. There has always been the saying, "coming from the wrong side of the tracks,” and that statement could be true for our town. Those who say racism is dead have never been to our small town of?Shiverwood. The tracks showed a clear divide between the blacks and the whites, and I guess I got stuck on the wrong side.?On one?side, there were the big, fancy houses with their?shiny,?new cars sitting in the driveway and on the other side were cracked pavements and broken fences.??
Twilight had fallen by the?time I reached my street, a?time of day where everything seems to be at peace for those few minutes. I walked up the steps that reached for the door. The grass had grown so tall that it brushed my ankles; I would have to cut it soon. Before I could even reach the last step, the screen door came flying open and Nan came crashing into me, giving me a hug.?
"You're home! You're home!" she chanted as she grabbed my hand and yanked me into the house. She pulled me into the kitchen where I was surprised to find my mother?hovering?over the stove stirring something in a pan. My mother worked as the phone operator for our county's police department during the night shift, so it was unusual to see her at this time of day. Her graying hair was pulled back from her face, and she looked up and softly smiled at me.?
"Oh, you're home. How was practice?" she asked me.?
"It was fine, but what are you doing home so early? Aren't you supposed to be down at the station?"?
"They gave me the day off since things have been so busy lately and I put in so many extra hours this past month." 
As she said this, I noticed the uneasiness in her eyes and I grew weary.?
I nodded in confirmation and didn't push the subject. We continued to talk about unimportant things as Nan bounced around the room. As dinner finished up, I retreated to my room?and sat at my beat-up desk to begin on my homework. As I was finishing a set of math problems,?I heard a knock on my door. The door opened and Nan's head peeked around from the other side.?
"Can you please go and get some ice cream for me please?" she asked, though it was less of a question and more of a demand.?
"No, Nan. It's getting late and I have to finish this homework, and I bet you have some to?finish?too," I said, giving her a knowing look.?
She pouted and?wrapped her arms around my neck, giving me a pleading stare.?
"No! Not the puppy dog eyes, you know I can't resist them," I said with a chuckle.?
"Does that mean that you'll get me some?"?
"I guess so," I said,?sighing?in?defeat.?
She let go of me and threw her hands up in excitement with a?mischievous?smile plastered on her face. She?darted out of the room, and I?raised?myself from my seat, grabbing my wallet and a hoodie and headed for the door.?
The sun had now fallen and the moon had taken its place in the sky, a glowing?beacon?of light on?the darkened?streets. Although summer was on its way, the heat left with the?sun, causing the air to have cooled considerably.?I?flicked the hood of my jacket up to keep the cold breeze?off of my neck while?I made my way towards town towards the?mini-mart located on the nicer side of the tracks. I was approaching the store as two young women exited, laughing to themselves. We were the only people on the street, and one of the women noticed me, nudged?her friend, and glanced at me. The second woman grabbed her friend and pulled her to the other side of the street, keeping their eyes on me. After they passed me, their laughter seemed to have returned and the tight grips on their purses loosened. I shrugged off the feeling of unease and headed into the store.?
The yellowed?lights of the store strained my eyes as I made my way towards the frozen section. I was searching through the selection of flavors when a large man dressed in a suit as if he had just clocked out of?work bumped into me.?
He gave me a look of disgust and said under his breath, "Why can't he and his type of people just stay on their side of town?"?
"What did you just say?" I asked, turning around.?
"I said why can't you and your people stay on your side of town?"?
"My people?"?
"Yeah. People of your color," he said before turning away from me and heading out of the aisle.?
I turned away and looked at my reflection in the glass freezer door, finding a pale face, blonde hair, and blue, shocked eyes staring back at me.?
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