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there for me. I sat in disbelief until the bell rang, sending us all back inside the school. My stomach hurt so bad, it felt like someone had pulled my insides out. The pain was strong and real. I knew I didn’t have a tummy ache, I knew it was sadness, a deep sadness I had never felt before.
Chapter 16
When I got home that day after school, I prayed that a miracle would happen and that Ally’s Dad would just move into her apartment. That would solve all my problems, I thought. That would be so perfect. Maybe Ally could convince her Dad to move here instead of Ally and her Momma moving away. It was worth a shot, I thought. I would talk to Ally in the morning.
With my new found hope in tomorrow, I put it out of my mind and went to look for the book I signed out from our school library. It was a little difficult to understand but I made my way through it. What I didn’t know I just skipped and hoped that I would understand most of it. The stories I read about Dred and Harriet Scott, a African-American couple who sued the Missouri State Court in 1846 for their freedom, was so fascinating to me. I wondered how two people with so much hatred towards them could stand up to so many people and fight for their freedom. I wanted to learn more about them and people just like them. So I quickly had my night time bath and got into my jammies with my bedtime snack and started to find out more about them. Dred and Harriet where given temporary freedom but in 1850 that ruling was taken away and they were once again slaves. Dred and Harriet faced a lot of hatred, but they still managed to fight for what they thought was right, and in 1856 they went all the way to the United Stated Supreme Court to fight for freedom. I stopped reading then and thought of the courage they would have to have had to face all that and keep fighting. Even after the Chief Justice Roger B. Taney who was a southerner ruled that a black person could not be a citizen of the United States and that congress could not ban slavery from every state. This uprising of Dred and Harriet I learned was the beginning of what sparked the Civil War. Wow, this is amazing stuff I thought. I was glued to this book for hours, my Momma came up stairs and told me, “its 10:30 Karma, what are you still doing up?” “Oh Momma” I was so excited to tell her all about the book I was reading. But she wouldn’t have any of it. “It’s time for bed young lady”, she continued. “Now put that book down and go brush your teeth and get into bed”. “You have school tomorrow”. “Ok Momma, but I want to tell you about this story”, I tried to explain. “I know you do sweetheart and you will”. “But it will have to be tomorrow”, she said as she scooted me into the bathroom. “Alright,” I said as I yond.
The morning was a rainy dull kind of day. Even though it was raining, I wasn’t glum about it. I knew I was going to tell Ally about my idea of getting her Dad to move here, so Ally could stay with me at West Park Elementary. I ate my breakfast in a hurry and headed off to school. When I got to the yard I looked everywhere for Ally, but I didn’t see her. Most of the kids where waiting for the bell to ring, inside the school doors. I figured I would talk to her soon, it was just packed full of bodies and I couldn’t see her right now. I raced up the stairs to my class once the bell rang, hoping to run into her. But I didn’t see her, I took my seat and looked out the soaked covered windows at the dark gloomy sky. The sky looked like a good storm was about to jump out of the blackened gray clouds. I love a good storm, it makes me feel alive. When the thunder rumbles it sends power through me, like something special is happening in the world. It’s so powerful, and when lightening is added to the mix it’s like watching a real life action movie, but the stars of the movie are the clouds. The kids in my class all filed in one by one chatting away, shaking off the gobs of rain water from their jackets and umbrella’s. Mr. Doucette walked into the class and began to talk once we all took our seats. “Good morning everyone”, he began. “How is everyone this find beautiful sunny morning?” I quickly looked outside again to make sure it was raining before I told him he was wrong about the weather. “Ah, Mr. Doucette”, Danny asked. “It’s ah, raining, not sunny outside”, he stated. “Yes I know Mr. Ferguson,” he started. “Then why did you say it was a beautiful sunny morning?” He had to ask. “Well Mr. Ferguson if you and all the others will look up to the chalkboard you will see why I think every morning is a beautiful sunny morning.” He turned to point to the board which read, Bad weather always looks worse through a window. Can anyone tell me what the author of this quote meant by this saying? he began. “Is that another one of Nelsen Mandela’s sayings, Mr. Doucette”? Someone called out from the back. “Actually no it isn’t”, he explained. “It is a quote I learned from my grandmother, when I was a child”. “Would anyone like to guess at what the meaning would be?” I raised my hand along with 3 other kids. “Yes, Mr. Ferguson”, he said. Danny began talking and said, “ would it be that, things always look worse than they really are?” “Well, Mr. Ferguson, that is a great answer, and in some ways that could very well be the meaning”. “Anyone else”, he called out. I raised my hand to give it a shot. “Ms Lea, what do you think”? “Ok so if the bad weather is on the outside of this window does that mean that it could be any kind of weather on the inside?” “Absolutely”, he started. “Actually both answers are correct”. “With any quote, read by anyone it can be understood many different ways”. “But that is exactly what my grandmother meant when she use to say it to me.” “So, I never let a rainy day get me down, because it is how my day is going, on the inside of the window that matters”. “Do you understand that meaning”, he asked Emma? “Oh I think so sir”, she said. “Great, so the meaning of this quote today is to look on the bright side, the positive side of life”. “Try not to focus on the dark gloomy storms that may be brewing on the outside.” “When things in my country got worse for the people who lived there, my family and I always tried to live by that rule”. “So again I say this morning is a beautiful and sunny morning and let’s begin our day today working on our math from yesterday”. “Everyone pull out your math booklets”, he finished.
As Mr. Doucette started to talk about number facts and fractions I looked around the classroom for Ally. Where, could she be, I thought. She told me she still had a few days before her and her Momma, are suppose to move. Why wasn’t she here in class, I quickly thought? She must be sick, she couldn’t have left already. Oh God, what if she has, I wondered. What would I do now, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to her. As my heart sank like a dead weight at the thought of Ally not coming back, I couldn’t help but think about that quote of the day.
It’s true it rained on the other side of the window this morning, but for me it was raining inside too.
Chapter 17
It was finally springtime and along with spring usually comes the flu, and that is just what Ally had. Her Momma had kept her home for a week. For most of the week I thought Ally had left me without saying goodbye. I couldn’t call Ally’s house in case someone on the other end confirmed my worst fears. So I asked Jennifer to phone over to her house and asked if she was still there. Jennifer talked to Mrs. James and found out that Ally was still there, she was just home sick in bed with the flu, I was relieved. I didn’t want to lose her just yet.
Monday came and Mr. Doucette was not in class. As we all sat there waiting for our substitute teacher to arrive, I prayed it would not be Mrs. Chapman. She seemed to show up every time my teachers were away, except for the time Mrs. Avery was away and we got Mr. Doucette that was the best surprise. I hadn’t seen Mrs. Chapman in almost a year and I wanted to keep it that way. Ally was still away, but her Momma had promised Jennifer that I would get to see her again, at least to say goodbye. I didn’t want to think about that day, for now I still hoped a miracle would happen and that it would stop Ally from moving.
I looked ahead at the blank chalkboard wishing that Mr. Doucette was here to give us a quote for the day and to continue his stories from his homeland.
The sound of laughter drifted faintly down the hall and into our classroom, I knew who owned that laugh. The dead weight returned in my tummy because it was Mrs. Chapman. As soon as I realized that, she rammed through the door like a sumo wrestler looking for a target. And she found one, me. She fixed her eyes directly on me. “Good morning everyone,” she bellowed. “I’m back, did you miss me?” “Awh” came a disappointing sound from the class. I hadn’t realized until then that most of my class didn’t like her either. And here I thought they all loved her, because she was never as mean to them as she was to Ally and I. “Well class, are you not going to say good morning”? She questioned. “Good morning, Mrs. Chapman” chanted the class, but with a dreading tone of voice. “Well class”, she repeated. “I can see that not much changes here at West Park”. “They are still letting you in here,” she said as she pointed to me. I didn’t make eye contact with her. It made my stomach turn to think of even looking at her. But I knew that if I didn’t look at her she would say I was being disrespectful towards her. And I know that punishment would soon follow. As my stomach did yet another flip,
Chapter 16
When I got home that day after school, I prayed that a miracle would happen and that Ally’s Dad would just move into her apartment. That would solve all my problems, I thought. That would be so perfect. Maybe Ally could convince her Dad to move here instead of Ally and her Momma moving away. It was worth a shot, I thought. I would talk to Ally in the morning.
With my new found hope in tomorrow, I put it out of my mind and went to look for the book I signed out from our school library. It was a little difficult to understand but I made my way through it. What I didn’t know I just skipped and hoped that I would understand most of it. The stories I read about Dred and Harriet Scott, a African-American couple who sued the Missouri State Court in 1846 for their freedom, was so fascinating to me. I wondered how two people with so much hatred towards them could stand up to so many people and fight for their freedom. I wanted to learn more about them and people just like them. So I quickly had my night time bath and got into my jammies with my bedtime snack and started to find out more about them. Dred and Harriet where given temporary freedom but in 1850 that ruling was taken away and they were once again slaves. Dred and Harriet faced a lot of hatred, but they still managed to fight for what they thought was right, and in 1856 they went all the way to the United Stated Supreme Court to fight for freedom. I stopped reading then and thought of the courage they would have to have had to face all that and keep fighting. Even after the Chief Justice Roger B. Taney who was a southerner ruled that a black person could not be a citizen of the United States and that congress could not ban slavery from every state. This uprising of Dred and Harriet I learned was the beginning of what sparked the Civil War. Wow, this is amazing stuff I thought. I was glued to this book for hours, my Momma came up stairs and told me, “its 10:30 Karma, what are you still doing up?” “Oh Momma” I was so excited to tell her all about the book I was reading. But she wouldn’t have any of it. “It’s time for bed young lady”, she continued. “Now put that book down and go brush your teeth and get into bed”. “You have school tomorrow”. “Ok Momma, but I want to tell you about this story”, I tried to explain. “I know you do sweetheart and you will”. “But it will have to be tomorrow”, she said as she scooted me into the bathroom. “Alright,” I said as I yond.
The morning was a rainy dull kind of day. Even though it was raining, I wasn’t glum about it. I knew I was going to tell Ally about my idea of getting her Dad to move here, so Ally could stay with me at West Park Elementary. I ate my breakfast in a hurry and headed off to school. When I got to the yard I looked everywhere for Ally, but I didn’t see her. Most of the kids where waiting for the bell to ring, inside the school doors. I figured I would talk to her soon, it was just packed full of bodies and I couldn’t see her right now. I raced up the stairs to my class once the bell rang, hoping to run into her. But I didn’t see her, I took my seat and looked out the soaked covered windows at the dark gloomy sky. The sky looked like a good storm was about to jump out of the blackened gray clouds. I love a good storm, it makes me feel alive. When the thunder rumbles it sends power through me, like something special is happening in the world. It’s so powerful, and when lightening is added to the mix it’s like watching a real life action movie, but the stars of the movie are the clouds. The kids in my class all filed in one by one chatting away, shaking off the gobs of rain water from their jackets and umbrella’s. Mr. Doucette walked into the class and began to talk once we all took our seats. “Good morning everyone”, he began. “How is everyone this find beautiful sunny morning?” I quickly looked outside again to make sure it was raining before I told him he was wrong about the weather. “Ah, Mr. Doucette”, Danny asked. “It’s ah, raining, not sunny outside”, he stated. “Yes I know Mr. Ferguson,” he started. “Then why did you say it was a beautiful sunny morning?” He had to ask. “Well Mr. Ferguson if you and all the others will look up to the chalkboard you will see why I think every morning is a beautiful sunny morning.” He turned to point to the board which read, Bad weather always looks worse through a window. Can anyone tell me what the author of this quote meant by this saying? he began. “Is that another one of Nelsen Mandela’s sayings, Mr. Doucette”? Someone called out from the back. “Actually no it isn’t”, he explained. “It is a quote I learned from my grandmother, when I was a child”. “Would anyone like to guess at what the meaning would be?” I raised my hand along with 3 other kids. “Yes, Mr. Ferguson”, he said. Danny began talking and said, “ would it be that, things always look worse than they really are?” “Well, Mr. Ferguson, that is a great answer, and in some ways that could very well be the meaning”. “Anyone else”, he called out. I raised my hand to give it a shot. “Ms Lea, what do you think”? “Ok so if the bad weather is on the outside of this window does that mean that it could be any kind of weather on the inside?” “Absolutely”, he started. “Actually both answers are correct”. “With any quote, read by anyone it can be understood many different ways”. “But that is exactly what my grandmother meant when she use to say it to me.” “So, I never let a rainy day get me down, because it is how my day is going, on the inside of the window that matters”. “Do you understand that meaning”, he asked Emma? “Oh I think so sir”, she said. “Great, so the meaning of this quote today is to look on the bright side, the positive side of life”. “Try not to focus on the dark gloomy storms that may be brewing on the outside.” “When things in my country got worse for the people who lived there, my family and I always tried to live by that rule”. “So again I say this morning is a beautiful and sunny morning and let’s begin our day today working on our math from yesterday”. “Everyone pull out your math booklets”, he finished.
As Mr. Doucette started to talk about number facts and fractions I looked around the classroom for Ally. Where, could she be, I thought. She told me she still had a few days before her and her Momma, are suppose to move. Why wasn’t she here in class, I quickly thought? She must be sick, she couldn’t have left already. Oh God, what if she has, I wondered. What would I do now, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to her. As my heart sank like a dead weight at the thought of Ally not coming back, I couldn’t help but think about that quote of the day.
It’s true it rained on the other side of the window this morning, but for me it was raining inside too.
Chapter 17
It was finally springtime and along with spring usually comes the flu, and that is just what Ally had. Her Momma had kept her home for a week. For most of the week I thought Ally had left me without saying goodbye. I couldn’t call Ally’s house in case someone on the other end confirmed my worst fears. So I asked Jennifer to phone over to her house and asked if she was still there. Jennifer talked to Mrs. James and found out that Ally was still there, she was just home sick in bed with the flu, I was relieved. I didn’t want to lose her just yet.
Monday came and Mr. Doucette was not in class. As we all sat there waiting for our substitute teacher to arrive, I prayed it would not be Mrs. Chapman. She seemed to show up every time my teachers were away, except for the time Mrs. Avery was away and we got Mr. Doucette that was the best surprise. I hadn’t seen Mrs. Chapman in almost a year and I wanted to keep it that way. Ally was still away, but her Momma had promised Jennifer that I would get to see her again, at least to say goodbye. I didn’t want to think about that day, for now I still hoped a miracle would happen and that it would stop Ally from moving.
I looked ahead at the blank chalkboard wishing that Mr. Doucette was here to give us a quote for the day and to continue his stories from his homeland.
The sound of laughter drifted faintly down the hall and into our classroom, I knew who owned that laugh. The dead weight returned in my tummy because it was Mrs. Chapman. As soon as I realized that, she rammed through the door like a sumo wrestler looking for a target. And she found one, me. She fixed her eyes directly on me. “Good morning everyone,” she bellowed. “I’m back, did you miss me?” “Awh” came a disappointing sound from the class. I hadn’t realized until then that most of my class didn’t like her either. And here I thought they all loved her, because she was never as mean to them as she was to Ally and I. “Well class, are you not going to say good morning”? She questioned. “Good morning, Mrs. Chapman” chanted the class, but with a dreading tone of voice. “Well class”, she repeated. “I can see that not much changes here at West Park”. “They are still letting you in here,” she said as she pointed to me. I didn’t make eye contact with her. It made my stomach turn to think of even looking at her. But I knew that if I didn’t look at her she would say I was being disrespectful towards her. And I know that punishment would soon follow. As my stomach did yet another flip,
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