Read Online Taneesha Never Disparaging by M. LaVora Perry - Free Book Online Page B

event we have this week is our class election.”
    Oh, no!
    â€œElections take place on Thursday. Tomorrow we’ll hear campaign speeches from our candidates for president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Candidates, if you want to bring the campaign materials we discussed last week—buttons, posters, flyers, et cetera , you can do so tomorrow.”
    My butt is fried !
    I hadn’t made one thing for my campaign. I had no idea what to bring tomorrow. Maybe wiry Ronnie Lawson felt the same way. Maybe that was why, right then, his hand flapped like a flag on a windy day over his twelve-inch ’fro. Maybe he was going to confess that, like me, he wasn’t ready to give a speech tomorrow.
    â€œYes, Ronnie?”

    â€œCan we bring food, Mr. Alvarez?”
    â€œFood?”
    Food?
    â€œYeah, you know, to hand out to everybody. I mean, like a snack or something.”
    Oh brother.
    Don’ t worry. I told you, you’ ll lose anyway.
    â€œWell. Okay. I suppose a snack will be alright.” Mr. Alvarez folded his arms. He made his lips into tight little lines, thinking. Then he said, “We’ll just have the speeches and, er, refreshments, after lunch. Sorry your campaigns have to be so rushed, candidates. Between the state tests and our regular work we just ran out of time to get everything in.”
    Get everything in ? I didn’t want to get anything in. I wanted out .
    Why does Ronnie always have to overdo stuff?
    Â 
    By the time school ended, life was normal again. To my relief, none of the kids teased me about how Mr. Alvarez dogged me for being late that morning. Even Rayshaun Parker and the rest of the ones who went “Ooooooooh” didn’t mention it.

    Outside, Carli and I walked up Bernard with clouds that hid the sun hanging over us.
    Earlier, over lunch, she’d grilled me about my campaign:
    â€œWhen we get back to 509, can I see your speech?”
    â€œI left it home.”
    â€œDid you make buttons?”
    â€œA poster.”
    â€œWhy so glum?”
    â€œGot a headache.”
    â€œHow’s your head?” Carli asked while we slogged up Bernard.
    â€œHunh? What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
    â€œYour headache. I’m guessing it’s gone, hunh?”
    â€œOh. Yeah. Yeah, that. I feel a lot better. Thanks for asking.”
    â€œSo, how long is your speech?”
    â€œLong enough.”
    â€œI thought you were going to call me so I could hear it.” She sounded kind of down.
    â€œI didn’t want to bug you.”
    I hated lying to Carli, but what was my choice? I didn’t have a speech. I didn’t even
want to be tangled up in any election. But lately, that was all Carli seemed to live and breathe, even though the whole thing was making me sick, including her—the person who’d plopped me knee-deep in this doo-doo in the first place.
    â€œYou wouldn’t have been bugging me, Taneesha. Don’t you know I’m your biggest fan?”
    I felt like such a turd.
    But the smile on her face was almost enough to make me feel better. Almost.
    â€œFIGHT!”
    I jerked my neck to the right. On the other side of Bernard, two girls were at it. One had a face the color of brown sugar. She was maybe taller than my father. And a lot wider than him. She had a bloody cut above one eye. The other girl’s lip was bleeding and puffy. She was a little darker than the first girl and about her same size.
    The two girls’ scratching, pulling, punching, and biting kept up non-stop. Kids barked, “Get her! Get her!” up and down the street. Cars came to a crawl to pass the crowd. Then they picked up speed and zoomed away.
    Four blocks from Hunter, the two girls—seventh-graders maybe—were on their own to
scratch, pull, punch, and bite until only one was left standing.
    â€œHey, you! White girl! What’s up with your leg? Is it broke?”
    The shout had come from