lot of lives here over the years.”
“Together, we’ve saved lives,” Red interjected quickly, turning to me. “Don’t let your grandmother fool you. I don’t do it alone. Tilly has been volunteering here for more years than I have been around.”
“Okay, it hasn’t been that long, since I’m only twenty-seven,” Tilly said with her insulted face. We all laughed at that. She could probably pass for forty-seven, though.
“We’re about to get started. Are you both going to stay around for a while today?” Red asked, grabbing a notebook from her desk. We nodded and followed her back out into the circus.
CHAPTER SIX
RED STOOD ON a stool, raised her notebook high in the air, and waved it like a magic wand. What looked like fairy dust came floating down, but Red actually hit a dusty ceiling fan while waving the book above her head. The girls laughed as she dodged the dirt falling on her.
“Girls, I need you in your groups now, please,” Red announced. The girls dispersed to several round tables in the room and filled the seats.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Tilly. She mouthed “group time” and motioned for me to stick close to Red. I don’t know what I expected, but I knew she couldn’t hold my hand all day.
Tilly winked at me and then joined a group across the room, leaving me alone in the center like a ringmaster. The girls watched and waited to see what tricks, if any, I had up my sleeve.
“Girls, I want to introduce you to Tilly’s granddaughter, NaTasha,” Red said, coming to my rescue.
I heard the giggles. I wanted to hide or disappear or die or something just so I wasn’t on display. I felt the girlswatching me. No one said hello or moved to introduce themselves. I just stood there and tried not to make eye contact too much. My skin felt all tingly, like a mosquito kept landing on me and wouldn’t quit. Red pulled me toward a group of girls near the front of the room and sat me down in the circle of chairs.
“Where she think she was going dressed like that?” a dark-skinned girl asked the group as soon as I was seated. She had the darkest skin I had ever seen. She pushed her millions of tiny braids behind her back and propped both hands on her hips like she was posing for a picture. I was the idiot who wore a nice new skirt to a miniprison. Baggy jeans and a white T-shirt was the outfit of choice for most of them. I hadn’t even gotten close. Why didn’t Tilly tell me? I wanted to melt right into the floor.
“She thought we was ballroom dancing today, huh, Quiana?” said a Hispanic girl with thick, curly hair pulled up in a ponytail on the top of her head. She stood up and started to salsa right there in front of me. The whole circle started laughing.
“Yeah, except we don’t ballroom,” Quiana answered her. She bent over and shook her backside into the girl with the ponytail. Red and I were the only ones who didn’t find their joke funny. Tilly was too far away to defend me.
Red held up her notebook and I hoped she would throw it at them or ship them off to another group. No luck. They sat back down in the two chairs directly across from me and smiled slyly.
“Hey,” the girl on my left whispered. She was looking behind her chair like she dropped something. I turned to help her search for whatever it was.
“Hey, yourself,” I whispered back.
“Shh…don’t let Red hear you,” she said and rolled her large blue eyes around and around like pool balls rolling on a table. “She hates when we talk out of turn during group time.”
“Oh, okay,” I said quietly, glancing at Red but leaning closer to the girl with the eyes.
“I just wanted to say hi, that’s all,” she said. She shifted her eyes toward the floor and smiled sweetly. She was a plump girl with pale skin and thin black hair to her shoulders. I relaxed a little and smiled at her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her stomach like her breakfast would come back up at any moment. I
“Together, we’ve saved lives,” Red interjected quickly, turning to me. “Don’t let your grandmother fool you. I don’t do it alone. Tilly has been volunteering here for more years than I have been around.”
“Okay, it hasn’t been that long, since I’m only twenty-seven,” Tilly said with her insulted face. We all laughed at that. She could probably pass for forty-seven, though.
“We’re about to get started. Are you both going to stay around for a while today?” Red asked, grabbing a notebook from her desk. We nodded and followed her back out into the circus.
CHAPTER SIX
RED STOOD ON a stool, raised her notebook high in the air, and waved it like a magic wand. What looked like fairy dust came floating down, but Red actually hit a dusty ceiling fan while waving the book above her head. The girls laughed as she dodged the dirt falling on her.
“Girls, I need you in your groups now, please,” Red announced. The girls dispersed to several round tables in the room and filled the seats.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Tilly. She mouthed “group time” and motioned for me to stick close to Red. I don’t know what I expected, but I knew she couldn’t hold my hand all day.
Tilly winked at me and then joined a group across the room, leaving me alone in the center like a ringmaster. The girls watched and waited to see what tricks, if any, I had up my sleeve.
“Girls, I want to introduce you to Tilly’s granddaughter, NaTasha,” Red said, coming to my rescue.
I heard the giggles. I wanted to hide or disappear or die or something just so I wasn’t on display. I felt the girlswatching me. No one said hello or moved to introduce themselves. I just stood there and tried not to make eye contact too much. My skin felt all tingly, like a mosquito kept landing on me and wouldn’t quit. Red pulled me toward a group of girls near the front of the room and sat me down in the circle of chairs.
“Where she think she was going dressed like that?” a dark-skinned girl asked the group as soon as I was seated. She had the darkest skin I had ever seen. She pushed her millions of tiny braids behind her back and propped both hands on her hips like she was posing for a picture. I was the idiot who wore a nice new skirt to a miniprison. Baggy jeans and a white T-shirt was the outfit of choice for most of them. I hadn’t even gotten close. Why didn’t Tilly tell me? I wanted to melt right into the floor.
“She thought we was ballroom dancing today, huh, Quiana?” said a Hispanic girl with thick, curly hair pulled up in a ponytail on the top of her head. She stood up and started to salsa right there in front of me. The whole circle started laughing.
“Yeah, except we don’t ballroom,” Quiana answered her. She bent over and shook her backside into the girl with the ponytail. Red and I were the only ones who didn’t find their joke funny. Tilly was too far away to defend me.
Red held up her notebook and I hoped she would throw it at them or ship them off to another group. No luck. They sat back down in the two chairs directly across from me and smiled slyly.
“Hey,” the girl on my left whispered. She was looking behind her chair like she dropped something. I turned to help her search for whatever it was.
“Hey, yourself,” I whispered back.
“Shh…don’t let Red hear you,” she said and rolled her large blue eyes around and around like pool balls rolling on a table. “She hates when we talk out of turn during group time.”
“Oh, okay,” I said quietly, glancing at Red but leaning closer to the girl with the eyes.
“I just wanted to say hi, that’s all,” she said. She shifted her eyes toward the floor and smiled sweetly. She was a plump girl with pale skin and thin black hair to her shoulders. I relaxed a little and smiled at her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her stomach like her breakfast would come back up at any moment. I
Similar Books
