Catfish Alley by Lynne Bryant Page A

the woods, Zero stops to check his pocket once again.
    "Come on, Zero. We're going to
be late for school. You better not let Mama know you brought that money with
you to school. If she finds out, she's going to tan your hide. What if you lose
it?"
    "I ain't going to lose
it."
    "Don't say 'ain't.' Grandma
says it makes coloreds look ignorant."
    "Then I know a lot of ignorant
white folks, too."
    "Grandma says that doesn't
matter. What matters is that we take pride in ourselves."
    Zero sighs. "I've got big plans
for this money."
    "What are you going to do with
it?"
    "I'm going to start a savings
account."
    "A savings account? What's
that?" I switch my dinner bucket to the other arm and pull my sweater
closer around me. The air has a little nip of fall in it.
    "Over at the Penny Savings
Bank, you can open up an account in your own name and put money in it. And when
you keep it there for
a long time, they start paying you for it. Teacher said it's called
interest."
    "What are you going to do with
all of that money?"
    "I'm going to college. I turned
ten years old today. I figure it's time I started thinking about my future. I'm
going to be a doctor, like Dr. Jackson."
    "Adelle's daddy?"
    "Yep. Look what a nice house
and nice things they have. Adelle always wears shoes. She even had a new winter
coat last year. I want to have a house of my own someday. And I want to be a
professional man, with an education."
    "How come you picked doctoring?
You can't even stand to skin squirrels. Mama always does it for you."
    "That's different. Besides,
I'll get used to it when I leave and go take my training."
    I don't like the thought of Zero
going away. I can't imagine life without my brother.
    "Are you going to come back to
Clarksville and do your doctoring?"
    "I don't know. Sometimes I
think I'll leave town. Maybe go someplace where people treat coloreds better.
I've heard of such places. They're mostly up north. Teacher even told me of a
place where whites and coloreds go to the same school." "I don't
believe you. You're just making that up."
    "No, I'm not. That's what
teacher said."
    Miss Bessie Wilson is never wrong.
    "I'm going to be a teacher when
I grow up." I try to sound as sure of myself as Zero.
    "Teaching is a fine job for a
girl. At least until you get married."
    "What makes you think I'm going
to get married?"
    "I don't know. I just thought
you probably would. Most girls want to."
    "Miss Wilson's not
married."
    "Yeah, that's true. Wonder why
she never got married. She's pretty enough."
    I ponder this as we walk the last
mile through the woods and work our way across the tracks and down the street
to the school. We can see from a block away that everyone is gathered outside.
As we get closer, we smell burned wood. All the schoolkids are gathered in
small clumps, whispering and talking quietly. Miss Wilson is speaking to a
short round white man with a big gold star on the coat of his crumpled black
suit. I've never seen him before, but I think he's the sheriff. You don't see
whites around this area of town much, not even the sheriff.
    I scoot in beside a group of girls
my age and find Adelle Jackson. Adelle and I are getting to be friends since
Adelle started coming to the Union School this year. We both love to read, and
Adelle even offered to share some of her books with me. I've never known anyone
who actually owned books before.
    "What happened?" I
whisper.
    "Somebody tried to burn down
the school last night. We got that rainstorm and I guess it must have put out
the fire before it could burn the whole school. When Miss Wilson saw what
happened, she sent Elroy Davis over to get the sheriff. He's been here talking
to her for about twenty minutes. He and that other man have been walking around
and around the school like they are looking for something."
    The other man is near where the fire
started to burn around the front door. The sheriff watches him while he takes
his handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes his face. It's cool