The Lions Of Little Rock

Marlee says that she classifies people according to the type of drink they are. Some people are coffee and make her nervous while others are more calming. Her mother is hot black tea, and her father is a glass of milk. Her brother is sweet iced tea, but her sister is an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

As the family watches TV together in the evening, they learn that the Supreme Court has ordered integration in Arkansas high schools. However, the governor has shut them all down to prevent this from happening. Marlee’s father is in favor of integration while her mother and sister are not. Marlee doesn’t know any colored people except for the family’s new maid, Betty Jean, so she hasn’t formed an opinion on the topic yet.

Although older sister Judy won’t be attending school because of the shutdown, Marlee is in grade school, and sessions have started for the fall. Because of Marlee’s shyness, Sally is her only school chum. She’s surprised when a new student named Elizabeth wants to sit at Marlee’s lunch table. When Sally is put out by Liz taking her lunch seat, Liz smooths over the controversy by saying, “‘You’re Sally, right?’ said Liz. Sally looked pleased that Liz had already learned her name. ‘Well, my family just moved here…’ And with that, Queen Elizabeth started her reign” (16).

That night at dinner, Marlee announces to her family that she managed to speak five whole words at school that day. Everyone is delighted that she’s trying to conquer her shyness. Marlee tells them that she spoke to a new student named Liz.

As she falls asleep that night, Marlee can hear the lions at the nearby zoo calling out to one another. She finds herself wanting to communicate better and thinks, “But sometimes, at night, when I hear the lions roaring […] I wish I could be like them, that I could just yell out whatever I was thinking or feeling and not care one whit who heard” (20).

The next day, Marlee is singled out by class heartthrob, James-Thomas. He compliments Marlee on how good she is at math and asks if she will tutor him. Marlee is delighted by the attention, but Sally warns that JT only wants Marlee to do his math homework for him. The following morning, when Marlee arrives at school early to tutor him, JT arrives late and takes her completed homework instead. She thinks, “I wanted to believe the best of him. Maybe he’d had another flat tire. Maybe his alarm clock hadn’t gone off. Even though the truth was staring me in the face, I couldn’t help thinking that maybe tomorrow he’d be on time” (25).

The next day in class, Liz asks if Marlee will become her partner for a history class project. Marlee is about to say no when she notices that Liz is carrying a notebook containing math puzzles known at magic squares. Enthralled by this math connection, Marlee agrees to become Liz’s project partner even though it means she will have to help present the project in front of the whole class. They agree to do a study of adoption customs among the local Quapaw Indian tribe.

By Saturday, Judy is fretting that her high school is still shut down while the integration issue gets settled in the courts. She tells Marlee that she’s moving into their brother David’s room now that he’s away at college. Marlee is crushed and says, “Judy moved into David’s old room. We’d shared a room my entire life, and it only took her half an hour to disappear” (32).

As a peace gesture, Judy moves the family parakeet, Pretty Boy, into Marlee’s room so that she won’t feel abandoned. Later that day, Marlee shares a glass of tea with the maid, Betty Jean. She manages to speak a few words, and the two establish a quiet rapport.

At school, Liz announces that she has a plan to help Marlee overcome her fear of public speaking. They will rehearse their project script at the zoo, and Marlee can present it in front of the animals. They have fun making the rounds of the cages and talking to different species. Marlee says, “And for the first time, I understood what Judy was saying about finding someone who shared interests with you. Someone you can sit quietly with. For the first time, I thought I might understand what it was like to have a real friend” (41).

By mid-September, the high schools are still closed, but football is being played. Marlee’s dad takes Liz and his daughter to see a local game. He confides to Marlee that he likes Liz. While sitting in the bleachers, Liz urges Marlee to go and talk to JT. She trips and falls, although JT soothes her embarrassment. After he charms Marlee, he asks her to fake a few more mistakes on his math homework so that his teacher won’t get suspicious.

On Sunday, Marlee’s parents are arguing about segregation again when older brother David stops by for a visit. During the afternoon, he confides that he’s having trouble understanding the math required for his engineering classes, but he believes that Marlee would have no difficulty with the material. She says:

The idea that my big brother sometimes felt not good enough was strange, and a bit scary. But the idea that he thought I’d be able to do those math classes, maybe work on a spaceship someday, well, that made me feel awful good (51).

During the last weekend in September, Liz and Marlee go to the zoo for a final rehearsal before presenting their project to the class the following week. Marlee wants to rehearse some more, but Liz says she needs to have enough confidence to realize that she already knows the material.

Liz produces two tiny pet shop turtles, and the girls spend the afternoon turtle racing before releasing the creatures into a nearby pond. Since Marlee is still nervous, Liz decides she needs a talisman to give her confidence. The latter picks up a crow’s feather and says, “Well, this is a magic feather. Put it in your pocket, and if you get nervous during the presentation, just touch it, and you’ll be fine” (54). Dubious of the feather’s value, Marlee accepts it anyway.

On Sunday, Marlee paces around the house tensely as she worries about her upcoming presentation until Judy proposes they spend the afternoon at the rock crusher. This is an abandoned quarry where the girls occasionally picnic. Judy says there’s a horse in a pasture there that they can visit. The girls bring apples to feed the animals.

On impulse, Marlee decides to do something daring and mounts the horse. They gallop off to the far end of the pasture before the animal’s owner chases them away. While scaling a barbed wire fence, Marlee cuts her hand. She says, “I would have a scar, but I didn’t care. One final drop of blood oozed out and sat on my fingertip like a jewel, a secret given to me by my sister” (60).