Read Online The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine - Free Book Online

came to an open lot with a barbed wire fence. In the middle of the field was a gray horse. We crawled carefully under the wire and fed the horse the apples. I scratched her nose, and she looked at me with wide eyes as brown as Judy’s and Liz’s.
    I stuck my hand in my pocket again, and this time when I touched the feather, I felt my fingers tingle. A surge of bravery swept over me, but I didn’t trust it. I had to do something scary to test the feather, to see if it really was magic.
    â€œI’m going to ride the horse,” I said.
    Judy shook her head.
    â€œCome on,” I said. “Just give me a lift.”
    Judy held out her hands, and I stepped onto them. She lifted me onto the horse’s back. The mare was very tame and stood still as I tried to arrange myself. I’d ridden a horse once or twice before at Girl Scout camp, but of course I’d had a saddle then. I sat straight up and grabbed her mane just like they did in the movies. The horse turned her head back to look at me, then continued to chew the last apple core.
    I gave her a little kick, but I guess it was harder than I planned, because the horse took off so fast, I had to wrap my arms around her neck just to stay on. I could feel the horse’s muscles moving under her skin. It was scary at first, but thrilling too, and pretty soon I was imagining I was a cowgirl, riding off into the sunset. No, an Indian. I could take the feather from my pocket and put it into my hair and ride forever.
    The horse stopped when she came to the far end of the pasture. I slid off and rubbed her nose as I waited for Judy to make her way over to us.
    â€œIt was great,” I said. “You have to ride her too.”
    Before Judy could answer, a man yelled out, “What are you kids doing with my horse?”
    We looked up. In the next field, there was an old man in worn coveralls, clutching a shotgun. “Get out of there,” he yelled. “Now!”
    We turned and ran, scrambling under the fence. Judy and I headed into the old quarry. After a moment, I realized I had cut my thumb on the barbed wire and stopped, shocked. It hurt, a lot, and I started to cry.
    Judy stopped too and made me sit down on a large boulder. She took one look at my hand, then pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around and around, holding it tight. I kept sobbing.
    â€œHis name’s Robert Laurence,” Judy said quietly. “He’s really smart, and not that cute, but I like him anyway.”
    I stopped crying, and we sat there in silence. My sister pressed her handkerchief into my thumb. I would have a scar, but I didn’t care. One final drop of blood oozed out and sat on my fingertip like a jewel, a secret given to me by my sister.

13

    NOT THE STOMACH FLU
    The next day was Monday. The big day. The day of our presentation. I thought I’d be nervous, but I wasn’t. I was excited. No more waiting. I was actually going to do it. I was going to talk in class.
    JT was waiting for me by the picnic table when Daddy dropped me off. “Big day,” he said.
    â€œYep,” I agreed as I handed him his homework, which had four problems wrong, nicely scattered throughout the assignment.
    â€œLast week Liz told everyone you were going to talk,” JT said. “That true?”
    â€œYep.” My voice didn’t even wobble. I felt for the feather in my pocket. The magic was still there. I was ready. I could talk in front of a thousand people! Well, maybe not a thousand. But thirty in my history class definitely seemed doable.
    Liz wasn’t at school when the bell rang. The bus was sometimes late, so I didn’t worry, not until homeroom was almost over and Miss Taylor cleared her throat and said, “Marlee, would you step into the hall with me for a moment?”
    The class froze. I stood and slowly made my way toward the door, everyone watching me. A month ago, I would’ve fainted dead away. But now I felt