was makin g sense.
“And,” she continued, “I’ll tell Brandon to make sure everybody’s real careful with the necklace because I’ll need to put it back in my safe deposit box as soon as the play is over.”
“You’ve told many a lie in your day, ain’t you, Bettie?”
She grinned . “Maybe one or two.”
DIVIDER HERE
We had spaghetti and French bread in the cafeteria, so I was so busy come lunchtime I could hardly look up . Some lunchrooms don’t make good spaghetti . Faye always took her lunch on spaghetti days . But the spaghetti is pretty good at this school .
Anyhow, I was spoonin g out spaghetti sauce as fast as I could go when Sunny’s class came through the line . I knew it was Sunny’s class because her friend Claire spoke to me.
“Hi, Ms. Crumb.”
“Hi, honey . How’re you?”
“Fine . How’s Sunny?”
I looked up at her . “You mean over what happened yesterday?” I glanced around to see where Alicia was . She was several people away, and I doubted she could hear me . “She’s upset over it, of course, but—”
“No, that’s not what I mean . Why ain’t she at school?”
I scanned the crowd again, this time lookin g for Sunny . “What do you mean?”
“Sunny didn’t come to school today . My math teacher told me her mom called and said she was sick.”
“Why didn’t Faye call me? I would’ve stayed with her.”
Of course, Claire couldn’t answer that, and I didn’t expect her to . It was one of them questions you ask out loud when you just don’t know what’s goin g on.
Chapter Nine
I went straight to Faye’s and Sunny’s when I got done in the cafeteria.
“You gonna tell Mom?” Sunny asked as soon as she opened the door.
So Faye didn’t know . I figured as much . If the young ‘un had really been sick, Faye’d have either stayed home her own self or called and had me come stay . She wouldn’t have left Sunny home by herself if she was sick . She apparently didn’t know she’d left Sunny home by herself period.
I sighed as I brushed past Sunny and took a seat in the living room . “I won’t tell her if you promise to do it yourself.”
“But Mimi, she’ll—”
“She’ll find out when report cards come out . It’ll be harder to explain then than it will be now.”
Biting a fingernail, Sunny sat down on the edge of the couch . “I didn’t think of that.”
“Why didn’t you go to school today?”
She started on another nail . “I didn’t feel good.”
“Where does it hurt?”
“My feelings, okay? My feelings were hurt! Can’t they hurt worse than a bellyache?”
I got up, moved over to the couch and hugged her . “Yeah . Feelings can hurt a whole lot worse than a bellyache . If it’s any consolation, several of your friends asked about you.”
“Which ones?”
“Claire first . She’s how I knew you weren’t in school.”
Sunny drew back from me . “What’d she say?”
“Just asked how you were . Said her math teacher told her your mom called and said you were sick today.”
She nodded . “How mad do you think Mom’s gonna be?”
“I
“And,” she continued, “I’ll tell Brandon to make sure everybody’s real careful with the necklace because I’ll need to put it back in my safe deposit box as soon as the play is over.”
“You’ve told many a lie in your day, ain’t you, Bettie?”
She grinned . “Maybe one or two.”
DIVIDER HERE
We had spaghetti and French bread in the cafeteria, so I was so busy come lunchtime I could hardly look up . Some lunchrooms don’t make good spaghetti . Faye always took her lunch on spaghetti days . But the spaghetti is pretty good at this school .
Anyhow, I was spoonin g out spaghetti sauce as fast as I could go when Sunny’s class came through the line . I knew it was Sunny’s class because her friend Claire spoke to me.
“Hi, Ms. Crumb.”
“Hi, honey . How’re you?”
“Fine . How’s Sunny?”
I looked up at her . “You mean over what happened yesterday?” I glanced around to see where Alicia was . She was several people away, and I doubted she could hear me . “She’s upset over it, of course, but—”
“No, that’s not what I mean . Why ain’t she at school?”
I scanned the crowd again, this time lookin g for Sunny . “What do you mean?”
“Sunny didn’t come to school today . My math teacher told me her mom called and said she was sick.”
“Why didn’t Faye call me? I would’ve stayed with her.”
Of course, Claire couldn’t answer that, and I didn’t expect her to . It was one of them questions you ask out loud when you just don’t know what’s goin g on.
Chapter Nine
I went straight to Faye’s and Sunny’s when I got done in the cafeteria.
“You gonna tell Mom?” Sunny asked as soon as she opened the door.
So Faye didn’t know . I figured as much . If the young ‘un had really been sick, Faye’d have either stayed home her own self or called and had me come stay . She wouldn’t have left Sunny home by herself if she was sick . She apparently didn’t know she’d left Sunny home by herself period.
I sighed as I brushed past Sunny and took a seat in the living room . “I won’t tell her if you promise to do it yourself.”
“But Mimi, she’ll—”
“She’ll find out when report cards come out . It’ll be harder to explain then than it will be now.”
Biting a fingernail, Sunny sat down on the edge of the couch . “I didn’t think of that.”
“Why didn’t you go to school today?”
She started on another nail . “I didn’t feel good.”
“Where does it hurt?”
“My feelings, okay? My feelings were hurt! Can’t they hurt worse than a bellyache?”
I got up, moved over to the couch and hugged her . “Yeah . Feelings can hurt a whole lot worse than a bellyache . If it’s any consolation, several of your friends asked about you.”
“Which ones?”
“Claire first . She’s how I knew you weren’t in school.”
Sunny drew back from me . “What’d she say?”
“Just asked how you were . Said her math teacher told her your mom called and said you were sick today.”
She nodded . “How mad do you think Mom’s gonna be?”
“I
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