Chapter 1, A Fine New Car Summary

Three young, black people wait for another to return from Jackson, Mississippi at the corner of Soldiers Bridge Crossroads in October 1941. The three are Cassie Logan, the 17-year-old narrator of the story, Christopher-John, Cassie's 15-year-old brother, and Little Man (Clayton Chester), 14 years old. They are waiting for Cassie's older brother, Stacey, whom they expect to arrive by bus; and they have come by a mule-drawn wagon. Across from their waiting spot is the Wallace store. As they wait for Stacey, four young white men drive to the Wallace store in a pickup truck, Jeremy Simms and three Aames brothers, Statler, Troy and Leon. Along comes Harris Mitchum, a very large, overweight young, black man, 17 years old.

Through conversation among the people at the wagon, the narrator brings out that Stacey is to arrive with two...