Double Dutch

by Sharon M. Draper

  Miss Benson put her hand on Delia’s shoulder as she spoke to the class. “It’s pretty bad out there, friends,” she said solemnly. “It looks like we got hit by a tornado.”

  Delia felt dazed. It had all happened so fast. One minute they were sitting there, being scared by the Tollivers’ presentation; the next minute, everyone was on the floor, huddling in terror as all the horses of heaven stomped through the room. Delia jumped as someone touched her back. She looked around and saw it was Randy.

  “I’ve been right here the whole time,” he told her. “I told you I got your back. It’s gonna be okay.” Delia started to cry. She was so scared and shaky, she didn’t know what else to do. “What about Yo Yo?” Delia wailed after a moment. “We gotta find her!” She headed for the door once more.

  “Sit down, Delia!” Miss Benson commanded, blocking Delia’s way to the door. “We don’t know what kind of damage the building has sustained, and as long as I know that you are safe here, I’m going to do my best to keep you that way. This is a school, and all kinds of rescue people will be here in a matter of minutes to get you out safely. Yolanda is probably safer in the hall, anyway—that was where we were supposed to go in a tornado, remember? There just wasn’t enough time. Now, we’re staying put until help arrives. Got that?”

  Delia sat down grudgingly. She tried not to think about what might have happened to Yolanda.

  They could hear the sirens in the distance then-hundreds of them, it seemed. Help was on the way. Hurry! Delia prayed silently. Please hurry!

  “Miss Benson, what will happen now?” Leeza asked shakily.

  “I’m not sure, Leeza. If the rest of the building is as bad as our classroom, we’re looking at some time off, it seems,” she answered. “But I don’t want to hear any cheering. People may have been seriously injured. Let’s take one step at a time. I’m just glad that most of you are safe and accounted for.”

  “Miss Benson?” Delia said quietly.

  “Are you okay, Delia?” Miss Benson asked kindly.

  “I’m terrified about Yo Yo, but I’m fine. But Miss Benson, not everybody is accounted for. We forgot about Tabu and Titan. They ran out of the room when the storm first hit. They’re not here.”

  fifteen

  “OH, MY STARS! HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT them?” Miss Benson glanced around the room with a look of disbelief and dismay—the twins were missing, and she had not noticed.

  “I saw them run out, Miss Benson,” Delia told her. “They heard the crashing and the roaring and they just jetted!”

  “I pray that they are safe,” Miss Benson said seriously. “I feel so responsible!” She sighed, sat on the floor with her students, and let her head drop into her arms. “We’re just going to sit here quietly and wait,” she told the class finally. “Help will be here soon.”

  “My grandfather lost his house when the tornado hit Cincinnati in the spring of ninety-nine,” Leeza said to no one in particular.

  “My uncle’s store got demolished that year,” added Veronica. “But the store right next to his only had a broken window.”

  “Tornadoes can be very capricious,” Miss Benson explained. “I remember lots of tornadoes coming through here over the years—even when I was a kid. Some houses would be destroyed, while others were untouched.”

  “I hope my house is okay,” whimpered Kristen. Everyone grew quiet. Delia figured everybody was thinking the same thing.

  Gradually the dark sky beyond the broken windows started to brighten. Outside, Delia could hear the sounds of sirens, helicopters, and muffled megaphone voices shouting. At least a half hour passed, Delia figured—maybe longer. Students sat closely together whispering softly, afraid to move too much, afraid of broken glass or loose ceiling tiles.

  Delia kept watching the door, hoping to see it open and Yolanda come bounding through with a smile and a tall tale.

  Finally she heard voices and footsteps, and the sound of large objects scraping together in the hall outside the door.

  “Anybody in there?” a muffled voice called out.

  “Yeah! There’s a bunch of us in here,” Delia yelled, swinging open the door to face a fireman dressed in rescue gear, the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

  “Anybody hurt?” the fireman asked. “Your teacher here?”

  “Yes, everybody here is fine—no injuries, thank goodness. But three students are not accounted for,” Miss Benson reported. “Yolanda Pepper went to the bathroom just before the storm hit, and Tabu and Titan Tolliver—twinsran out of the room, for what reason I do not know. How bad is the rest of the building?”

  “The damage is pretty serious. It’s going to take awhile to make sure everybody is out safely and we have an accurate assessment,” the fireman replied.

  “What about the rest of the city?” Delia asked. “Everybody here is scared.”

  “Most of the damage is in the few blocks right around the school, although there are trees down all over the city. It looks like the school took a direct hit. The first weather reports are saying that twin twisters hit the school today. That’s why there’s so much damage,” the fireman said.

  “Twin tornadoes?” Delia whispered in quiet amazement. “Freaky.”

  “Let’s see if we can get all of you out of here,” the fireman said cheerfully. “I want you to form a human chain,” he told the class. “Each one hold the wrist of the next one, and we’ll march out of the building together. We’ve cleared a path for you through the rubble.”

  Randy grabbed Delia’s wrist, and they headed out with the others. The scene in the hall was almost impossible to believe. They stepped carefully through what just hours before had been scuffed hallways but now looked like a bomb scene. The light fixtures in the ceiling were now shattered glass on the floor. What had been plaster walls, painted with what Delia called “that ugly schoolhouse green,” now lay in huge chunks on the floor, decorated with wires, pipes, and dirt. The lockers—in this hall, at least-Delia noticed with a grim smile, stood like tall sentinels, undamaged and unmoved.

  Several other chains of students were making their way through the hall, led by firemen who carefully escorted them out of the building. Delia searched every line for Yolanda, but didn’t seen her among the crying, shaken kids. She did not see Titan or Tabu, either.

  Delia could see, a few feet ahead of them, the front entrance of the school, where the metal detectors had stood this morning. It was now a gaping hole. The students walked in their chain, led by the fireman, through the hole and into what had become a bright and sunny day. The sky showed very little sign of the anger that had exploded from it so recently. The fireman led them to a spot on the grass across the street from the school.

  “Wait here until the paramedic team can come check everyone out,” he said to Miss Benson. “Keep them all together so we can account for each child and connect these kids with their parents. You got it under control?”

  “I got it,” Miss Benson said, but her voice showed strain.

  Delia blinked and looked around her. She could scarcely believe her eyes. There was a huge piece missing from the roof of the school. Most of the windows were broken or gone. The front door had vanished. Ambulances, fire engines, police cars, and now, she noticed, news-camera trucks filled the small street where the school stood. A few kids had cell phones and were calling their parents. Hundreds of people ran about—students looking for siblings, teachers and administrators, and police officers trying to establish some sort of order.

  Delia and Randy watched Mr. Lazarro, his hair covered with plaster dust, megaphone in his hand, run all over the area, comforting sobbing students, directing volunteers to aid stations, and reassuring parents who had started to arrive, fearful and frantic. It was chaos. And nowhere in that confusion could they see Yolanda.

  “Do you think she’s okay, Randy?” Delia asked. Even though they were sitting very close together, Delia felt cold and clammy. “I’m too scared to move, but I feel like I oughta be over there
looking for her.”

  “She’s gonna be fine,” Randy assured her. “She’s probably sitting up in one of those fire trucks, using the rearview mirror to comb her hair!”

  Delia giggled a little, but she found she was trembling. “Do you think anybody got—you know—killed?” she asked Randy.

  “Well, it looks pretty bad, but I don’t see any smoke or flames. I guess that’s a good sign. Looks like the roof took the biggest hit, from what we can see here, and I don’t think there’re any classrooms directly under that part—just the library. So there’s a good chance that everybody got out safe. Even Yolanda,” he added to soothe her.

  At that moment a policewoman with a computer printout stopped by the area where the class huddled together around Miss Benson. “Any injuries?” the policewoman asked in an official tone.

  “Fortunately, none,” Miss Benson reported quietly.

  “Any missing students?” the policewoman continued without looking up from her clipboard.

  “Three. Yolanda Pepper. Tabu Tolliver. Titan Tolliver,” Miss Benson reported as she continued to scan the crowd for her missing students.

  “Is this your class list?” the officer asked Miss Benson as she pulled a sheet from her clipboard.

  “Yes, this ... uh ... this was ... third-bell English,” Miss Benson said, stumbling over her words as she glanced at the sheet.

  “The names of the students that are highlighted in green have parents waiting for them at the designated pickup area. Please release them to my assistant here, Officer Rodriguez. I will return for more students as we are able to identify parents who are waiting. It’s a long process-please be patient.”

  Miss Benson called the names of about half the students, who gleefully went with the officer to be reunited with their parents. When Leeza’s name was announced, she shouted, “Hallelujah!” Randy’s and Delia’s names were not called.

  Jesse gave them both a high five as he left to find his mom. “Tell Yo Yo that this is what happens when you try to flush those school toilets!” Randy and Delia and even Miss Benson laughed as he left, picking his way through the confusion of fire hoses and wires and throngs of frantic people.

  Mr. Lazarro stopped by their group to check on them for a moment. He looked worn and frazzled. “Cincinnati’s had a lot of tornadoes over the years, but this is the first twister that’s ever hit a school during school hours,” he commented to Miss Benson as he gave the students candy bars that had been donated by the drugstore down the street.

  “I guess we’ve been lucky,” she said quietly.

  “We need luck as well as blessings today,” he replied emphatically. “I’m really worried about your three missing children.” A firefighter called to him, and he hurried away.

  Over the next hour, more students were located and reunited with parents, the crowds diminished, and the frenzy lessened a bit. At the next sweep by the policewoman, all but six of Miss Benson’s students were taken to join their families. Yolanda seemed to have disappeared with the wind.

  “Where’re your folks, Delia?” Randy asked.

  “My mom had a meeting in Columbus this morning. It’s about a two-hour drive, so I figure she’s breaking all the speed records about now, trying to get home to me,” Delia said, chuckling. “But when I called her on Leeza’s cell phone I let her know I’m okay. Dad and Jillian are in San Francisco for the week, so it will be a while before they figure everything out. I’ll call him when I get home. I know my mom will find me eventually—I’m not worried. Actually, I’m kinda glad. I want to be here when Yolanda shows up.”

  “I bet she has a REALLY big tale to tell!” Randy said with a smile that tried to hide his concern.

  “What about your dad, Randy?” Delia asked. “Is he still in California? Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.” She dug into her pocket of her jeans. “Here’s the money I promised you could borrow.” She stuffed a balled-up wad of money into his hand.

  “I changed my mind. I don’t need it—I’ll be fine.” He tried to give it back to her.

  Delia insisted. “Now, shut up and take this! I know where you live. I’m not worried about getting it back.”

  Just as Randy was about to try to refuse once more, a huge, towering figure of a man loomed directly in front of them. “Hey!” his voice bellowed. “Are you two all right? I’ve been worried sick ever since I heard about the storm on the news. I had to check on my Queen Bees, and I guess that makes you the king or prince, or something, Randy.” It was Bomani, who gave them both a big, comforting hug.

  “Man, we sure are glad to see you!” Randy said with sincerity. “This has been one scary day! Miss Benson, this is Bomani, our Double Dutch coach and a real good friend.” Miss Benson shook his hand and smiled.

  “Where’s Yolanda?” Bomani asked Delia. “Did she already find her mom and go home?”

  Delia looked at Randy. “We don’t know, Bomani,” she said, trying not to cry. “Yo Yo went to the bathroom just before the storm hit, and she never came back. She hasn’t come out of the building yet. As far as we know, she’s still in there, but they’re still bringing out kids a few at a time.”

  Bomani turned and looked at the severely damaged school and inhaled deeply. “Oh, my!” he whispered. “Oh, my.”

  Miss Benson said, “Several students are still unaccounted for. I have two other students who are missing as well. I’m sure the searchers will find them all. They simply must!” There was desperation in her voice.

  “Has anyone that you know of been seriously injured, Miss Benson?” Bomani asked.

  “No, thank God. So far, only cuts and scrapes. The last time the police officer stopped to give us an update, she said that they were amazed at how few serious injuries there were. It’s as if the tornado whirled in carefully, destroying the building but missing the students.”

  “I sure hope Miss Yo Yo had her guardian angel with her in the bathroom,” Bomani mused. He turned to Randy. “Your dad in town this week?” he asked abruptly.

  Randy hesitated a moment. “Uh, he’s gone for a few days, but I’ll be fine. I’ll go home after Delia’s mom gets here.”

  “You’ll do no such thing!” Bomani roared. “When Delia’s mother gets here, you’re coming home with me until we can get in touch with your father.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Randy said. “You’ve got enough to handle with ten kids in the house.”

  “Can you wash dishes and small faces?” Bomani asked him. Delia smiled at the thought.

  “Sure,” Randy replied.

  “Then you won’t be a bother—you’ll be a help.”

  “Well, okay, thanks, Bomani,” Randy said gratefully. “Hey, what about my cat?”

  “We can stop by your place and she can come with us,” Bomani offered.

  “No, man, my cat would have a heart attack with all those kids! If we could just stop by so I could feed her, that’d be cool.”

  “No problem,” Bomani said, turning his attention to the policewoman who was walking toward the little group.

  “Miss Benson?” the policewoman said in her usual formal tone.

  “Yes, have you found them?”

  “No, ma’am. We have called for search dogs to assist us. We have done a sweep through most of the building, and, as far as we can tell, only those three students are unaccounted for. But there’s extensive damage inside. A couple of stairways have crumbled into piles of rock and rubble and are blocking our way. In addition, there are huge sections of walls that have collapsed, and we can’t get past them yet. We’ve called for heavy equipment to help us clear these areas.”

  “Is the whole building destroyed inside?” Miss Benson asked.

  “Amazingly,” the fireman replied, “in some areas the windows are unbroken and the floors show nothing more than the scuffed footprints of the students who went to class this morning. In another area, the only problems were a water fountain that would not shut off and a clock that showed the incorrect time.”

  “Oh
, that has nothing to do with the tornado,” Randy quipped. “That’s the fountain on the second floor—it’s always broken!”

  “And no two clocks in our building ever indicate the same time!” Delia added.

  The fireman smiled and turned to Miss Benson. “The parents of the missing students are here. Would you like to speak to them?”

  “Oh, yes! I feel like it’s my fault!”

  “It wasn’t your fault, ma’am. The storm is the criminal here.”

  Mrs. Tolliver and Mrs. Pepper rounded the corner then, holding hands. Both women had been crying. Delia ran to Yolanda’s mother and hugged her, letting the tears fall finally. “I’m so worried about Yo Yo!” Delia sobbed. “Where is she?” Mrs. Pepper could not answer, and let her tears join Delia’s.

  Mrs. Tolliver stood to one side, silently watching. Miss Benson approached her. “Mrs. Tolliver? I’m Miss Benson, your sons’ English teacher. Your boys were giving an oral report in class—a very powerful presentation, I might add-when the storm hit and they simply ran out of the room in the midst of all the confusion of thunder and screaming and flickering lights.”

  “I wonder why they ran out of the room like they did,” Delia muttered loud enough for Mrs. Tolliver to hear.

  Mrs. Tolliver looked directly at Delia. “My boys are afraid of storms,” she said clearly.

  Randy, who was standing next to Miss Benson and Mrs. Tolliver, asked then, “Excuse me, but did you say that Tabu and Titan are scared of storms?”

  Mrs. Tolliver replied, “Yes, but don’t you ever tell them I said so. Their father got killed in a terrible thunderstorm when they were very young—a tree in our backyard fell just as he was running into the house. When I got home from work, I found the twins huddled together in the dark, their father lying dead in the mud in the backyard. They’ve been terrified during storms every since.”

  “So that explains a lot,” Miss Benson mused. “I know you must be frantic with worry, Mrs. Tolliver,” she added. “There’s no telling what kinds of memories a storm like this can stir up. I’m glad you’re here so you can reassure them that everything will be okay. Let’s pray they’ll be found soon.”