New York City ---- 9th December 1941

Tyrone found himself staring at the concrete ceiling of his cell for the second night in a row. For some reason, he found himself detached from the notion of sleep, especially during the night.

This had always been the case but recently he felt like sleeping was becoming more of a choice than a necessity. Almost as if he had to recharge during the nighttime.

It had been two days since he punched a white man in the face, was beaten by police, and then tossed into a prison cell as a result.

This entire ordeal was not exactly a new experience for Tyrone but the old style of the prison and the officers poked at his remaining sanity.

Of course, it could have just been the head concussion he got from being beaten by the prisoners inside the cell.

Tyrone was pretty sure he would have died had it not been for the other two black men inside the cell.

Due to the fight, The Officers quickly separated the white men and black men into different cells. Tyrone was relieved but his mind was still adjusting to the new environment.

He was having a hard time believing the absurd thought that he may have somehow traveled through time.

Everything told Tyrone that time traveling was the case but he knew such a thing was not possible… so there he lay staring up at the ceiling attempting to find a more suitable conclusion.

Tyrone raised his hands in front of his face to examine the slightly darker veins inside his body. He felt as if darkness was flowing inside his veins but it was very weak and powerless.

Ever since he arrived at this time, Tyrone could feel that a large part of him had disappeared. Such a feeling bought as much relief as it did dread…

After all, anything that disappeared would have the opportunity to make a re-emergence with a vengeance.

If he had to guess, Tyrone was pretty sure that his mutant ability, whatever it was, had disappeared or at least weakened to the point of near non-existence.

“Staring at the ceiling that long isn’t gonna melt the concrete with your laser eyes, kid…” A fellow prisoner joked.

“You know about Superman?” Tyrone asked expectantly, hoping that someone could tell him that Superman was a comic here as well.

“Leave the kid alone Happy!” The other man shouted angrily.

The other man seemed a bit gruff, salty, and angry. All of which showed Tyrone that it was best to stay far away from that cellmate.

Still, looking at the face of the man, Tyrone couldn’t help but notice a familiar sorrow inside his eyes – the sorrow of heartbreak.

Happy frowned lazily “Shut up Gabe! You know we’re not getting out of this cell no matter what! If it wasn’t because of the upcoming war… we would have already been hanged…”

“Hanged! Hanged! I am gonna get out and find my woman!” Gabe replied angrily but Tyrone could see the tears leaking from the corner of his eyes “She betrayed me, man… I want to know why…”

Happy sighed in sadness since he was also there when it happened.

As a matter of fact, Happy was only in prison because he tried to help Gabe in the first place “It’s the way the world works… she’s a loose lamb in a jungle of predators…” Happy said and turned to Tyrone “Why are you here kid?”

Tyrone snapped out of his daze and truly looked at Happy and Gabe for the first time. Both proud black men with happy smiles despite their hopeless situation.

He noted that both men carried themselves like warriors but walked in a non-threatening manner to avoid conflict with the Officer who kept an eye on them from outside the cell.

Tyrone also noted that Gabe’s and Happy’s hands were filled with callouses and their bodies smelt of smoky residue that screamed of their factory worker’s origin.

‘These men grew up harder than me…’ Tyrone thought and then mocked himself ‘If we’re in the past then which black person wouldn’t grow up hard?’

“Not going to answer kid?” Gabe asked standing to his feet threateningly.

Tyrone alternated his gaze between Gabe and Happy “Factory workers?”

Gabe frowned at Tyrone’s judgemental eyes “You look at us like how those white dudes look at us…”

Tyrone paused surprised and evaluated his mindset to realize that he was indeed thinking less of them due to their dirty appearances.

“I’m sorry man… it’s just… well ya’ll dirty…” Tyrone corrected his judgemental eyes instantly.

“Gabe Jones… University Graduate in French and German Linguistics. I’m from Macon, Georgia and I came down to get into the army…” Gabe stated proudly, knowing his attire could lead to misunderstandings.

Happy shook his head and introduced “Samuel Sawyer aka Happy Sam Sawyer… Ruffles, California, and I came to join the army as well… couldn’t make it past high school…”

Tyrone sunk into deep thought after hearing the unique way the men talked “What year is it?”

Happy shrugged at the strange question “9th December 1941…”

“Black people aren’t allowed into the army during this time…” Tyrone murmured using all his Historical knowledge to his advantage “How do you expect to get into an army during this time? The death toll isn’t high enough yet…”

Tyrone was, of course, referring to the Historical fact that African Americans were not allowed any jobs outside of mining for males and maids for women in the early 1940s.

It was only later after the war began and the White casualty increased were African Americans allowed into the army to bolster the numbers. Even then, it was a very reluctant compromise between those in power.

“I heard they started allowing us to enter a week ago…” Happy commented eagerly.

Gabe nodded proudly and rose his head high “My sister recently got a job as a bus driver. She is the first black woman to work outside the kitchen… every day since she heard about the war, she walked to the employment office and sat there until they gave her a job… I figured I have to do something greater to make my family proud…”

Happy laughed joyously and patted Tyrone’s back “Jealous? I can’t believe it either man… a black bus driver… soon, we might even get a small pay raise… if we do well in the war, we can even start to work in those fancy offices… I hear they make 25 cents every hour!”

Tyrone frowned as a disturbing thought crossed his mind, something that his History Teacher would often repeat during classes…

‘As much as I hate to admit it, Hitler, as bad as he was, was one of the primary reasons that African Americans are treated fairly in this country today… After all, the country couldn’t ignore us when they needed soldiers on the battlefield…’

Tyrone ceased his overthinking and also made his introduction “Tyrone Johnson… South Boston… don’t have a job and I am guessing sixteen is too young to join the army?”

Both Happy and Gabe frowned a bit in sadness, directing sympathetic eyes towards Tyrone. Without even knowing why Tyrone felt as if he was automatically at a disadvantage.

“What?” Tyrone asked.

Gabe sighed and decided to explain “A black man that enters these cells, won’t ever see freedom again. Now is a special time due to the war, so they give you the choice to serve or go to jail. Happy and I were going to the army anyway so this won’t affect us both you’re young…”

“You can’t join the army kid so you’re going to a foster home or something… maybe even prison…” Happy stated a bit sorrowfully “I had an uncle who came in here a decade ago and still in prison today because he parked his car in some white guy's spot.”

Tyrone frowned at the contradicting statements “So I am not old enough to join the army but I am old enough to go to prison?”

Gabe shrugged noncommittedly “The world ain’t fair kid… especially for people like us…”

“Story of my life…” Tyrone whispered, falling back onto the concrete floor to stare at the ceiling “And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods?”

Happy clapped his hands in surprise “You’re a learned man… guess I am the only one without qualifications in this cell.”

“You seem to be taking this very well for a kid that was told that his life is over…” Gabe noted, looking a Tyrone a bit enviously ‘kids these days have big balls!’ he thought.

Tyrone frowned “It’s not that I don’t care… it’s just that I am tired of everything… My heart has been broken at least fifty times already… one break for every child I couldn’t protect…”

Happy laughed and patted Gabe on the back “His heart was broken a couple of days ago… we didn’t even attack anybody and we got thrown in prison…”

Tyrone maneuvered to a seated position “I am interested in hearing a story… you tell your story and I will tell mine.”

“Her name is Lisa…” Gabe paused taking a deep breath as if the name burned his lungs “We have known each other since we were sixteen years old. High school lovers, all the way to university and we stuck through it all.

Lisa is white and that meant she always got shit from dating a black dirty kid who had no future prospects. Still, I showed her parents and everyone who doubted me that I could make it as well. I even got into a University with a scholarship.

Things were looking up for our relationship man… I was gonna marry that girl… two weeks ago, I went and bought a ring and everything so we could be together. Of course, I needed mental support so I brought Gabe along to propose last week.

However, just before I was gonna propose to her… I guess she felt that I was going to propose to her and for the first time since we met, she directed a look of disgust towards me. She quickly hid it and I was sure that she didn’t mean it but I knew that look on her face…

I have seen that look my entire life from these white folks. Lisa is a good woman though and I knew that maybe marriage to someone black was just asking too much from her. She dealt with the teasing and disdain for being with me almost all her life so not wanting to marry me was fine.

Everything was fine as long as we were together and to be honest, I was moving up in the world. Especially with this upcoming war, people with my talents would be needed and I promised to get her the big white house and everything.

However, she was missing a day… then one day turned to two… she would pop into the house and pop out without a word… Thinking about it now, I was sure that she was running off with Charles Brighton around that time… He had been chasing her since high school, and truth be told, he was a nice guy.

He’s white, he comes from money, and he never looked down on our relationship… I thought of him as a friend even if we never really spoke… a couple of days ago, we got on a train with Lisa, Charles was there and all the other white kids.

I should have known something was wrong at that instant blacks were supposed to ride in a different section of the train but Charles insisted we ride with them. A couple of minutes before the next station, a random girl brushed against my shoulder and called it ‘harassment’.

I tried to explain it was an accident and when she started screaming shit… I got up to leave the compartment and take Lisa with me but the moment I touched Lisa’s hands, she yelled ‘sexual harassment’ too… Suddenly, every white person on that damn train was calling me a molester and sexually depraved human.

I was just shocked looking at the disgust on Lisa’s face as she and Charles accused me of doing something they knew I would never do… Happy tried to pull me into another compartment but the train stopped and we were cuffed by police before we had any idea what was happening…

Now that I think about it, everything was probably a set-up from the start… I want to have a few days off before I am taken for training in the army because I want to ask Lisa… why after six years of being happy together… why would she wake up one day and feel disgusted with me?”

Happy clenched his fist in anger and Tyrone found himself doing the same thing. It was one thing learning about such cases in History class but it was another thing hearing the story from the horse’s mouth.

Tyrone couldn’t help but draw parallels between Gabe’s story and his previous situation with Tandy. Even if the stories were not similar, his relationship with Tandy also had the major theme of their different racial origins.

“It’s okay brother…” Happy said strongly, grabbing Gabe’s shoulder supportively “We’re going into the army… we’ll kill Nazis and become big men in the world with a lot of money… then we’ll come back around and show Lisa what she chose to give up!”

“WE WILL!” Gabe replied nodding fervently.

Tyrone felt a bit sad since his history lessons taught him about the casualties in the war and chances are Happy and Gabe would not make it to the end.

“So tell me something, my friend…” Happy said, looking at Tyrone from head to toe “Where do I find such stylish shoes?”

Tyrone froze and looked at his feet where his Jordan’s were visible in all its colorful glory ‘How the heck did the cops not take this from me?’

“They’re called J’s… I would say that I can get you a pair but I don’t think they’re being made in this century…” Tyrone joked but the joke went completely over Happy’s and Gabe’s heads.

---------------

Tyrone, Happy, and Gabe made small talk for the rest of the night and the conversation continued the following day and the day after that.

The trio became fast friends and due to their similar situations, it wouldn’t have been long for the trio to become as close as brothers.

Soon, a week had passed since the men were imprisoned and it was about time for Happy and Gabe to sign their Military Service contracts.

They had tried to delay as long as possible so they stay with Tyrone a bit longer but Military Service could not be delayed, lest they lose the opportunity altogether.

“You guys should go…” Tyrone urged “The war should reach the peak next year and you will have a lot of promotion opportunities at that time…”

Gabe patted Tyrone’s back sympathetically “When I get the Major General Position, I will free you from prison…”

Tyrone shrugged “I may not look it but I have spent some time in prison before…”

“I know you have…” Happy commented half-heartedly “And I think that’s the sad thing… you’re a nice kid but even you are familiar with prison. This will change with the war!”

“No, it won’t…” Tyrone stated with absolute certainty “A seventy years from now things are not better, just hidden more deeply… but either way I don’t mind chilling in prison until I’m eighteen… I probably won’t make it on the streets during the war period anyway…”

Before Happy and Gabe could comfort Tyrone some more, an Officer banged on the cell bars and shouted “Tyrone Johnson… someone has bailed you out! Pack your things and get ready to leave…”

Gabe and Happy froze and eyed Tyrone suspiciously “Are you some kind of lowkey rich son or dating a rich dame? People like us aren’t offered bail otherwise….” They asked accusingly.

Tyrone was just as confused as Gabe and Happy since he didn’t know anyone in this time period “Maybe it was one of my ancestors?” he mused aloud causing Gabe and Happy to question the sanity of their friend for the first time in a week.

“Drugs?” Happy asked Gabe.

“Drugs!” Gabe nodded in certainty as if the answers to all of Tyrone’s weirdness had been answered.

-------------------

Tyrone exited his cell and was escorted down the hall by the officer without the slightest hint of disrespect he expected.

Actually, he was expecting to be dragged somewhere behind the police station for a proper beating, but he was genuinely surprised when he was escorted to the front desk where someone vaguely familiar waited.

“The name is Betty kid…” The woman stated matter-of-factly as Tyrone examined her from head to toe.

She was smoking a cigar that was quickly stomped beneath her feet.

She had short blonde hair with the top higher than the sides to create a semi-complete fade, her lipsticks were bright red but didn’t appear unnatural, and her dress appeared fashionably old but Tyrone had seen women wear weirder things in his time so it wasn’t a deal-breaker.

“Done staring?” Betty asked with a tinge of disappointment in her tone.

“Nope…”

“I think I made a mistake by coming here…”

Tyrone shrugged “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” He said, quoting an old movie he watched since he wasn’t sure exactly how to converse with people from this era.

Just as she was about to turn around and walk away, Betty paused and turned her eyes to Tyrone once more “Rhett Butler from Gone with The Wind…”

Tyrone nodded “I am not sure what to say and I heard it in an old movie so…”

“Old movie?” Betty scoffed and pushed her hand outwards for a handshake “That movie came out two weeks ago and colored people are not even allowed to sell tickets, much less get inside… that tells me that you’re a well-connected person and an educated man…”

“Colored and man?”

“You’re sixteen aren’t you? Then you’re a man…”

“Colored?” Tyrone enquired “Don’t you mean black?”

Betty frowned deeply “I would prefer that you choose your words carefully and not be so disrespectful… colored is the preferred term if you want to work with me…”

Tyrone cast a doubtful gaze at Betty “You want me to work for you after your husband almost ran me over and I knocked his lights out?”

“I want you to work for me because you knocked his ass down…” Betty explained, “My husband is someone very high on the military food chain and he is campaigning to pay only colored people who return alive from the upcoming war… and I want you to work for me so he could see that the man who punched him in the face can also quote movie lines like a true intellectual…”

Tyrone shrugged “I agree…”

Though, if he was being honest, it was because he didn’t have anywhere else to go at the current time.

Tyrone reached his hands forward and shook Betty’s outstretched hand with a flawless smile on his face that didn’t show his reluctance.

“Tyrone Johnson…”

“Betty Armstrong…”