hand, so Darby tucked in behind Megan.
ââ¦almost six point zero on the Richter scale,â Elane was saying. âCentered on the Big Island, near Hilo, and why do I know that? Oh yeah, you remember how much my mom and dad laughed when I spent all my summer job money on a special cabinet with baby-safe locks for my computer? Turns out theyâre earthquake-proof, too, and my computerâs not facedown with a cracked screen like the television.â
Elane looked pleasantly smug, Darby thought. The girl, with her short brown hair and glasses, loved her computer. She was so skilled, teachers consulted her all the time for troubleshooting.
âHey dude, howzit!â
âHey! Bet you was scared?â
âNahâ¦â
Darby didnât look back, but she was pretty sure the denial came from the cockatoo-crested boy who was in line behind her. He and another guy must be doing some friendly scuffling, too, she thought, because one of them bumped her shoulder.
âNo shame, you can tell me.â
âNah, I went back to bed. Thatâs why Iâm so messed up!â
Darby sneaked a glance over her shoulder to see the cockatoo guy tousling his own hair, making it even worse, as he talked. She was returning his grin whenhis friend, a guy in a gray hooded sweatshirt, wheeled on her, sneering, then turned back to his friend.
âHaole girlâs givinâ you the stink eye!â he hooted.
âI am not!â Darby snapped, but just then Megan jiggled her shoulder.
âOrder,â Megan said.
âReally, I wasnât,â Darby said, still looking back at the boys. Despite her protest, the guy in gray was still doubled up, laughing at his friend and pointing at Darby.
âHaole crab!â
Darby couldnât tell which of the boys had said it, but Megan was not pleased.
âCome on!â Megan raised her voice to Darby, gestured toward the snack-cart lady, then turned on the two guys and barked a few words Darby couldnât understand.
Darby wasnât nearly as hungry as sheâd been a couple of minutes ago, especially when she realized that the guy in the hood was in one of her classes.
âWhat did you say to them?â Darby asked Megan.
âNever mind,â Megan said, hiding a smile behind her breakfast wrap of Spam and eggs. âThere are a few Hawaiian phrases youâll have to learn on your own. And that was one of them.â
Â
Miss Dayâs English class was a madhouse. Darby noticed that at the same time she saw her friend Annâs seat was empty.
Darby was looking around, searching for Ann amid all the students gathered in the back of the classroom or between the rows of desks, when Miss Day bustled in.
The teacher almost immediately decided to give in to a period of noisy conversation.
Calling it a lesson in oral expression, Miss Day went around the room, asking students to describe their earthquake morning.
A few students were more nervous about what would happen next than what had already happened. Some repeated their parentsâ stories about earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis of the past that had begun just like this, while others argued over conflicting radio or TV reports about the quakeâs magnitude.
Monica Waipunalei, a girl Darby knew from P.E., said an earthen dam had broken above her house and filled the subdivision she lived in with slimy chocolate-colored water.
Cheryl Hong, another girl from P.E., said her brother had gotten up early to work on his car and his arm had been broken when the car fell off the jack, pinning him there until two neighbors lifted it off him.
Darby kept glancing at the clock, hoping Ann was safe. And she kept thinking about the guy in the gray sweatshirt. Haole girlâs givinâ you the stink eye, heâd said. But she hadnât given him a dirty look. And didshe qualify as a haole if she was one-quarter Hawaiian?
Never mind, she told herself.
Then,
ââ¦almost six point zero on the Richter scale,â Elane was saying. âCentered on the Big Island, near Hilo, and why do I know that? Oh yeah, you remember how much my mom and dad laughed when I spent all my summer job money on a special cabinet with baby-safe locks for my computer? Turns out theyâre earthquake-proof, too, and my computerâs not facedown with a cracked screen like the television.â
Elane looked pleasantly smug, Darby thought. The girl, with her short brown hair and glasses, loved her computer. She was so skilled, teachers consulted her all the time for troubleshooting.
âHey dude, howzit!â
âHey! Bet you was scared?â
âNahâ¦â
Darby didnât look back, but she was pretty sure the denial came from the cockatoo-crested boy who was in line behind her. He and another guy must be doing some friendly scuffling, too, she thought, because one of them bumped her shoulder.
âNo shame, you can tell me.â
âNah, I went back to bed. Thatâs why Iâm so messed up!â
Darby sneaked a glance over her shoulder to see the cockatoo guy tousling his own hair, making it even worse, as he talked. She was returning his grin whenhis friend, a guy in a gray hooded sweatshirt, wheeled on her, sneering, then turned back to his friend.
âHaole girlâs givinâ you the stink eye!â he hooted.
âI am not!â Darby snapped, but just then Megan jiggled her shoulder.
âOrder,â Megan said.
âReally, I wasnât,â Darby said, still looking back at the boys. Despite her protest, the guy in gray was still doubled up, laughing at his friend and pointing at Darby.
âHaole crab!â
Darby couldnât tell which of the boys had said it, but Megan was not pleased.
âCome on!â Megan raised her voice to Darby, gestured toward the snack-cart lady, then turned on the two guys and barked a few words Darby couldnât understand.
Darby wasnât nearly as hungry as sheâd been a couple of minutes ago, especially when she realized that the guy in the hood was in one of her classes.
âWhat did you say to them?â Darby asked Megan.
âNever mind,â Megan said, hiding a smile behind her breakfast wrap of Spam and eggs. âThere are a few Hawaiian phrases youâll have to learn on your own. And that was one of them.â
Â
Miss Dayâs English class was a madhouse. Darby noticed that at the same time she saw her friend Annâs seat was empty.
Darby was looking around, searching for Ann amid all the students gathered in the back of the classroom or between the rows of desks, when Miss Day bustled in.
The teacher almost immediately decided to give in to a period of noisy conversation.
Calling it a lesson in oral expression, Miss Day went around the room, asking students to describe their earthquake morning.
A few students were more nervous about what would happen next than what had already happened. Some repeated their parentsâ stories about earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis of the past that had begun just like this, while others argued over conflicting radio or TV reports about the quakeâs magnitude.
Monica Waipunalei, a girl Darby knew from P.E., said an earthen dam had broken above her house and filled the subdivision she lived in with slimy chocolate-colored water.
Cheryl Hong, another girl from P.E., said her brother had gotten up early to work on his car and his arm had been broken when the car fell off the jack, pinning him there until two neighbors lifted it off him.
Darby kept glancing at the clock, hoping Ann was safe. And she kept thinking about the guy in the gray sweatshirt. Haole girlâs givinâ you the stink eye, heâd said. But she hadnât given him a dirty look. And didshe qualify as a haole if she was one-quarter Hawaiian?
Never mind, she told herself.
Then,
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