Read Online Quite an Undertaking - Devon's Story by Barbara Clanton - Free Book Online

this was why Jessie hated me because I was white. That didn’t make any sense, though. She had white friends. I mean, her teammates on the basketball team were white. I decided to stay mute and not go for the bait.
    When Rebecca smiled at me in apology, I felt better. She did this, of course, when Jessie wasn’t looking. I smiled back and shrugged as if to say, “I’m not sure what I did to provoke that.”
    After lunch, we walked the mall. Early November seemed too soon for Christmas stuff, but every store was decorated for the December holiday. We passed an electronics store with some of those mechanical puppies out front that barked and did flips. They were cute, but we didn’t stop to look, even though I kind of wanted to.
    I think I gained a few points at the food court, but that didn’t seem to matter since Natalie and I were relegated to second-class status behind Jessie and Rebecca. We’d tried to walk four across, but a lot of Canadians had come across the Seaway International Bridge to shop in the United States forcing us to walk two and two. I didn’t really mind walking with Natalie because she loved to talk about basketball, and I was learning a lot about the sport. She was a sophomore, a little overweight, not to the point of obesity, she was just a big girl. She wore her hair down, like Rebecca, but Natalie’s hair was shorter, falling just below her collar.
    “So what exactly does a power forward do?” I asked her.
    “Oh, uh, I’m kind of a cross between a center and a regular forward.”
    I laughed. “Okay, that’s as clear as mud.”
    Jessie must have been listening because she said over her shoulder, “Her job is to rebound the ball and then find me, so I can dribble up the court, do a behind the back move around the defense, and lay it up as soft as a baby’s behind.”
    I only understood about half of it, but I said, “Oh,” as if impressed with her skills.
    Rebecca decided she wanted to look at earrings at one of those free-standing carts in the middle of the mall walkway. I think she was trying to change the subject. “Hey, Devon,” she beckoned me over and held up a small pair of hoop earrings, “I think you’d look great in these.”
    She held the earrings up to my ears, and as I looked in the mirror, I tried hard to focus, but Rebecca’s smile reflected in the mirror overtook me. Her rose-scented perfume wrapped itself around me making it hard to think straight. I even imagined that I felt her body heat as she stood behind me. I took a quick breath and looked away.
    I dug out the ten-dollar bill I had in my jeans pocket to pay for the $6.99 pair of earrings. I never spent money on jewelry because Mom, Missy, or Grandma took care of that for me at Christmas or on my birthday. In fact, my grandmother had given me the pair of gold ball earrings I usually wore. My stomach clenched when I thought of her. I forced it away. There was no way I was going to cry in front of Jessie. No way.
    Rebecca seemed pleased when I took them to the cashier at the far end of the cart and stood with me while I paid. Jessie and Natalie stood together in the walkway where we’d left them. They didn’t even pretend to be interested in the jewelry. Instead, they made fun of people in the mall, including this really fat lady who walked by them. Jessie, without saying a word, waddled after her. That cracked up Natalie who in turn waddled in a circle. I pretended to be oblivious to them, but out of the corner of my eye I saw an almost sad look take over Rebecca’s face.
    Change and bag in hand, I turned toward Rebecca. “Ready?” My heart leaped when I saw the troubled look in her eyes. Her cheeks flushed, and I could tell that Jessie had embarrassed her. Thank God the fat lady didn’t notice them making fun of her.
    “C’mon.” Rebecca put a hand on my back and nudged me toward her friends.
    We resumed our original pecking order and walked the full length of the mall. When we hit the Sears at the