Danielle & Courtney

It was Fall 2010 - Danielle’s freshman year at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. She and her new roommates thought it would be fun to sign up for the same PE course - fencing. About five minutes into introductions from the student-instructors of the fencing club, the gym's large wooden doors swung open. Two students popped their heads in, grinning, and jogged over to join the line of instructors. Danielle’s eyes followed the one with bright eyes and an even brighter smile. Later in class, when they paired up for skills training, she would learn his name was Courtney. She would also learn through the short grapevine of their 2,000-student college that he was taken.

 

Courtney and Danielle would become passerby friends. Saying hi to each other as Danielle (walked) and Courtney (jogged/bounced) past each other on the quad. Maybe the occasional impromptu group lunch or chat at a party. A few months later Courtney became single, but then Danielle was dating someone. By January 2011, they were both available. Danielle wasn’t sure if she wanted a boyfriend, but she knew she was drawn to this sweet, smart and handsome human wrapped in green flags.

 

In the shortest month of the year, the stars would finally align. It was the night of the Lasers and Blazers party. As Danielle and her friends party-hopped from one frat house to the next, they ran into Courtney who had conveniently gotten separated from his friends. He joined them and soon he and Danielle were dancing. They danced for hours on that sticky dance floor, lasers diffusing through the fog machine’s clouds as the sounds of Waka Flocka Flame, Pitbull, and Ke$ha reverberated through their bodies. At some point they looked around and there was a 12-inch invisible barrier between them and the packed crowd. Were they seeking safety from Danielle’s flailing arms or were they enamored by the radiance of young Black love? We’ll never know. When the party closed down they weren’t quite ready to leave each other. They ran hand-in-hand to Glassell Castle where Courtney proceeded to climb the rails to the second floor as Danielle watched with astonished concern, laughing in her fear, as they went in search of an after-party, which would eventually, turn into forever.