Read Online Under a Red Sky by Haya Leah Molnar - Free Book Online

know what to do. I’ve got to have an answer by tomorrow, Grandpa, or I’ll get in trouble for sure.” My words tumble out as Grandpa sits up, his eyes wide open now.
    â€œThat’s easy.” Grandpa chuckles. “Tell your teacher a Romanian is a person who’s born in this country. That covers just about all of us. You can’t go wrong with that answer. As far as the Soviet Union is concerned, tell her you’re looking forward to learning all
about it when you have the honor of becoming a Pioneer. She’s the teacher.” Grandpa winks at me. “You let her do the hard work and point the way, and that’s that.”
    I run back into our room and tell my parents what Grandpa Yosef just advised, and they both look at me with blank faces. “That’s a good answer,” Tata finally concedes, and Mama’s shoulders relax as she continues to knit.

THE BOY UPSTAIRS
    ON HIS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, Andrei doesn’t say much. I don’t blame him, since it’s already November and he’s missed the beginning of classes and doesn’t know anyone. Comrade Popescu assigns him a seat in the row next to mine, directly to my right. When he finally opens his mouth to answer one of her questions, everyone snickers because of his provincial accent. Andrei brushes his hair off his forehead with the rough knuckles of his hand, but he doesn’t respond. Comrade Popescu warns us that the next student who laughs at Andrei will be detained after school.
    â€œOur comrades from the provinces are more Romanian than any of you,” she says with great passion in her voice. “Peasants are the true proletariat, the backbone of this country. They put food on your table and you’d better be thankful. I dare you to make fun of Andrei’s accent again.” She surveys all of us with her razor eyes, caressing her ruler. Suddenly, there is complete silence in the class. Still, Andrei is speechless for the rest of the week.
    After school we walk home together, because Andrei’s family has moved upstairs from us on the attic floor right next to Sabina’s
room! I don’t know what his parents do for a living, but it’s clear that they are poor since they can only afford to live in servants’ quarters. They have two tiny bedrooms, one for his parents and the other for Andrei. They all share the bathroom in the hall with Sabina. Andrei is lucky because he has his own room, but I wouldn’t want to live up on the third floor, where the ceiling is so low his father has to slouch to avoid hitting his head. The heat is stifling up there.
    Â 
    WHILE WE WALK HOME from school, we don’t talk to each other, except to say goodbye. When we finally get home, Andrei bolts up the stairs two at a time, his heavy-laced ankle boots making thud noises. I am curious about what it’s like to live in the country with cows that moo and chickens that cluck and lay eggs just like mine did, but it’s difficult to ask Andrei about any of these things, since he clearly doesn’t want to open his mouth. Then one evening after supper our phone rings and Aunt Puica answers it.
    â€œIt’s Andrei’s mother,” she whispers. “She wants to know if it would be all right for him to do his homework with you.” She turns before I’ve had a chance to answer and speaks loudly into the receiver. “Yes, of course, Mrs. Ionescu, tell Andrei to come down. Eva will be happy to help him with math.”
    I can’t believe Aunt Puica just did that! I wish Mama were home because she would have asked me how I felt about it before saying yes. But it’s no use arguing with Aunt Puica.
    Andrei seems as nervous about us getting together as I am, and it is clear that this was not his idea either. He really is stuck in math since he’s missed two months of school. Instead of just giving him the answers to the assignment, I teach him how to do the