by Laura Dragon
Algie nodded, and they got up. Hollis noticed that the bus was empty. Everyone else must have gotten off while they slept. Shading his eyes from the overhead sun, he estimated it to be about lunch time. Following the others off the bus, he hurried to catch up to the lady before they entered the shelter.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“About noon,” she said.
“Lunch time! Good! I’m starving,” Leta said.
“What time does the bus go back?” Hollis asked.
The woman appeared confused. “Back where?”
“Back to New Orleans. We have to go back.”
“Well, it’s dangerous there. The bus isn’t going back. This was our last run. The shelter is full.”
Hollis stared. “No,” he said. “We have to go back! A man kidnapped Algie and made us get on the bus with him. That was the only way they’d let him on. We have to go to Baton Rouge. Our grandmother is there.”
“My goodness! Do you know where this man is now?”
“I guess he’s in there.” Hollis pointed at the shelter. “Once the bus left New Orleans, he let us go.”
“Well, don’t worry about him anymore. We all knew you had to be here without a parent when everyone else got off the bus and no one woke you up. But we can’t send you back to New Orleans. How about we get in touch with your grandmother and send you to where she is. Would that be okay?”
Hollis hesitated before nodding. Maybe I haven’t screwed up as bad as I thought.
They entered a long white hallway with fluorescent lighting. A few steps brought them to a pair of gray doors, one marked “Men” and the other “Women.”
“There you go,” she said. “I’m Miss Violet. What are your names?”
Unexpected tears gathered in the corners of Hollis’s eyes. “Your name is pretty,” he said. “It was our mama’s name. She died of cancer four years ago.”
Miss Violet patted his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, dear. We’ll try to get you back to your grandmother as quickly as we can.”
Leta held out her hand. “I’m Leta,” she said. “That’s Hollis and Algie.”
“Well, Leta, I’ll go in this one with you, and Hollis, you and Algie go in the other.”
The bathroom was huge, and both boys hurried to make use of the facilities. Some men stood at the sinks, washing themselves and shaving, but there were fewer than Hollis had expected. He scanned the room for Oscar, but he wasn’t there. Once Hollis was finished, he made Algie wash his hands in the same sink he had used. They rejoined Miss Violet and Leta in the hallway.
“Now,” said Miss Violet, “let’s get some lunch.”
Algie glared. “You got any red beans? Or cabbage?”
Miss Violet smiled. “No, but I’m sure we can do better for you than beans and cabbage.”
“No, you can’t, ’cause—’cause—I’m n-not hungry.” Scowling, Algie folded his arms and tucked his chin to his chest.
“You must be after that long ride. We’re having Margie’s tuna noodle casserole. You’ll love it.”
Algie’s mouth dropped open. “I d-don’t like tuna noodle . . . a-anythin’. I’m not eatin’ unless Gee cooks.”
Leta frowned. “You’ve never had tuna noodle casserole, Algie. None of us has.”
“Yeah, well, I d-don’t want to,” he said, his brows drawn together and his mouth set.
“You ate an MRE,” Hollis reminded him. “Gee didn’t cook that.”
“That was soldier food. I wish I was b-back on the roof. I n-never got to eat my soldier candy!”
“Hush, Algie. You’re being rude,” Leta said. “He’s sorry, Miss Violet.”
“No, I’m not.”
Miss Violet laughed. “I’m sure we’ll find something he’ll want to eat.”
Hollis lifted his fork to the level of his nose and gave it a sniff. Secretly, he felt the same way as Algie about trying Margie’s tuna noodle casserole. Taking a tiny bit onto the end of his tongue, he rolled it around in his mouth. Across the table, Algie watched, his forehead and nose wrinkled and his mouth turned down.
“Something wrong with your peanut butter?” Hollis asked.
Algie threw down his untasted sandwich. “I’m not gonna eat it.”
Hollis shrugged and took another tentative bite.
“So what d-does it taste like?” Algie asked, his expression suggesting that Hollis was eating roaches.
“It’s good,” Hollis said. Setting his shoulders, he put the entire fork-full into his mouth and swallowed right away. It really ain’t bad. He dug his fork in again. “It’s very creamy and only a little fishy. I like fish anyway.”
“Well I don’t,” Algie stated. “And I don’t like peanut butter either.”
Miss Violet’s forehead wrinkled. “I think we have some SPAM someone donated.” Her chair scraped the floor as she rose to find out.
“No!” Algie screamed.
“No, thank you,” Hollis told her. “That’s okay.”
Miss Violet sat down again.
“Oh, Algie,” Leta whispered to him. “You like peanut butter. And fish. And SPAM, too. You’re just being stubborn.”
“Leave him alone,” Hollis whispered as well. “He’ll get hungry at some point and eat.”
Algie shook his head.
Leta looked doubtful, but she dropped the subject.
Hollis took a sip from his chocolate milk carton and eyed the other people in the room. Spotting Oscar, he leaned over to Miss Violet.
“That’s Oscar. He’s the man who stole Algie,” he said, pointing with his fork.
Miss Violet glanced over at the man. “I hate to turn anyone away. You’ve all been through so much—him included. He didn’t actually hurt Algie, did he?”
Hollis glared at Oscar, who was shoveling Margie’s tuna noodle casserole into his face like it was trying to swim away. “He scared him and he tore his pajamas. He scared all of us.”
Leta, who had been listening, leaned forward. “He also took Algie from us. If we hadn’t followed, who knows what would have happened?”
Miss Violet looked over at Algie, who was shredding his smashed sandwich. “Okay. Wait right here.” She got up and walked across the room to where Oscar was sitting.
“What’s she doing?” Leta gasped.
“I don’t know.” Hollis said.
“She’s talkin’ to him,” Leta said, her voice squeaking. She clutched Hollis’s arm. “She’s bringin’ him over.” Miss Violet had moved to return to their table, and Oscar rose to join her.
“No she’s not. She’s not that stupid.” Miss Violet escorted Oscar back to his seat. He looked over at Leta and Hollis and grinned. Then he mouthed, “Sorry.”
“He’s sorry?” Leta said. “Does he think that’s gonna change anything?”
“When she gets back, we need to tell her to call the police,” Hollis said.
Leta nodded.
Miss Violet slid back into her seat across from the children. “He says he’s very sorry for frightening you. He says that none of the buses would let him on and he was desperate. He says that he knew you would follow and that he wanted you to follow.”
“He’s lyin’! He ran into the crowd to lose us. Then when we caught him, he threatened us! Can’t you call the police or something’?”
Miss Violet bit her lip. “But he didn’t keep Algie. And, he got you here, where we can help you. I could call the police, but I just think he’s been through a terrible time too. He certainly looks like he has.”
Miss Violet turned to Algie. “What do you think, Algie?”
“’Bout what?”
“About calling the police about the man who grabbed you.” She took the pieces of sandwich out of his hand and removed the plate, then wiped his fingers with her napkin.
Algie watched her cleaning his hands, and a tear started down his cheek. “I-I just wanna g-go home.”
Miss Violet wiped the tear away, too. “How about this. We’ll keep an eye on him,” she said,
“I’ve told him to stay away from you and not to even speak to you again. If he does, then come straight to me and let me know. Then we’ll call the police, I promise. Meanwhile, I’ll try to find your family, Hollis, and another place for Oscar to go.”
Hollis and Leta brightened a bit at the last part of what she said.
“I guess so,” Leta said, looking at Hollis.
“Can you find him something quick?” Hollis asked.
“I’ll try,” said Miss Violet. “Now, how did you three get separated from your grandmother?”
“The Coast Guard man said we couldn’t fit in the boat, but they took Gee because of her diabetes,” Leta said. “Mr. Marvin said he was gonna get his wife, Miz Jackson, and Gee to a hospital in Baton Rouge, and the Coast Guard man, Gus, said he’d put us on a Baton Rouge bus. If Oscar hadn’t grabbed Algie, we’d be there like we’re supposed to be. And Gee was unconscious when they took her. I—I hope she’s woken up by now.”
“Well, I’m going to take care of Oscar,” Miss Violet said. “So let’s focus on how we can get you to your grandmother. I’m going to call every hospital in Baton Rouge. Unless you know one that they’d go to?”
Leta shook her head.
“Oh, well. There can’t be that many. We’ll have you there in no time.”
“Thanks, Miss Violet.” Hollis said, smiling at her.
Chapter 16
The Others
After lunch, Miss Violet brought them into a huge meeting room filled with cots and people. She told them that about a hundred people were being housed there. Overwhelmed, Hollis trailed after her and stared around at the crowd in the room. This must be a really big church.
They came to an area separated from the main section. Several children sat playing with toys by a small knot of cots, which were clustered together by a table, a couch, and a TV with a Nintendo and a DVD player.
“These children are here without their parents, too,” Miss Violet said. “We ask that the children without parents stay separate from the other people and families in the shelter, so this area is all yours.” She turned and called, “Eden! We’ve got some new kids for you.”
A tall girl rose and eyed the three of them. She was very pretty, with cinnamon-colored skin, light green eyes, and hair piled up in a curly mass on top of her head. Jonas will be sorry he missed meeting this girl. One by one, the rest of the kids stopped playing and straggled over to see the latest additions.
“This is Algie, Leta, and Hollis. They came in this morning,” said Miss Violet. She turned to them. “Okay, I’m going to leave you here now to get to know each other while I go call some hospitals, right Hollis? What’s your grandmother’s name?”
“Gee Gaudet,” Hollis said. “G-a-u-d-e-t.”
“Thank you. As soon as I hear something, I’ll let you know.” She strolled away, nodding to some women waving at her.
Hollis turned and viewed the other kids.
“Y’all got funny names,” the tallest boy said, curling his lip. “Algie—ha, ha! Where’d they get you? Outta a fish bowl?”
The other children laughed or hid smiles. Eden rolled her eyes.
“Our names ain’t funny,” Hollis said, bristling. “What’s yours, anyway?”
The boy’s chest swelled. “Maleeki.”
Hollis flopped forward at the waist, shaking with exaggerated laughter. “You leaky? That’s where all that water came from?” he howled.
The others burst out laughing, even Eden. Maleeki balled up his hands and took a step forward. Hollis stopped laughing and brought up his own fists. Algie ran between the two boys toward the strangers. He had spotted a tiny girl hiding behind an older girl’s leg. The would-be combatants glared at each other but dropped their fists.
“W-who are you?” Algie, entranced, asked the little girl.
The child edged away, pressing against the older girl, who leaned over and said, “Go on. Tell him.”
The little girl buried her face against the older girl’s leg.
“All right,” the older girl said. “This is Loquisha and I’m her sister, Tameka. But you can call us Lolo and Kiki like everyone else. I’m fourteen and Lolo is four. Maleeki is our cousin. He’s eleven.”
Hollis smiled. Good. I’m older than Maleeki.
“This,” Kiki went on, “is Eden. She’s sixteen and the oldest—”
Eden interrupted her. “I may be the oldest, but Kiki is the bossiest.”
Kiki glared at her but went on. “The two over there are Drayden and Calaya. They’re both ten. They aren’t related to anybody.”
“You can call me Dray,” Drayden piped up.
“Well,” Leta said, “I’m nine and Hollis is twelve and Algie is five. I think he likes you, Lolo.”
Lolo hid her face again.
Hollis realized he was the oldest boy. Good. No Jonas to get in the way. He immediately felt guilty for thinking that when he didn’t know what had happened to his brother. Smiling at the others, he asked, “Where do y’all live?”
“You mean where did we live, don’t you?” Eden asked, staring down her nose at Hollis. “It’s underwater now. We lived in the East. On Stillwater.”
Calaya spoke up. “I lived out there, too. On Cerise.” She sat down on the floor, and the other children followed, forming a loose circle.
All of the others were from the New Orleans East area, as Hollis had suspected. He knew a lot of kids in the Ninth Ward, but he’d never seen any of these children before.
“So where you go to school?” Dray asked.
“Martin Luther,” Hollis said. Leta nodded.
“You play football?”
“Yeah,” Hollis said, looking him over.
“Calaya, Maleeki, and I go to Williams Middle. Eden and Kiki go to Abramson High.”
The other children chimed in, comparing favorite restaurants, movie theaters, and shopping centers.
After a pause, Dray said, “I can’t believe it’s all gone.”
Everyone got quiet and sad until Leta spoke up again. “We don’t know where our family is. Our big brother Jonas swam off to save people, and we never saw him again.”
“Think he’s dead?” Maleeki asked, his eyes wide.
Hollis shook his head, even though he’d wondered the same thing. “He’s a good swimmer.”
“Don’t matter, though,” Dray said. “Might get bit by a snake or a gator in that water.”
“You saw gators?” Maleeki asked Dray, his eyes growing wider.
Dray shook his head. “I’m just sayin’. There might be some.”
“He had an axe,” Hollis said. “He wouldn’t be worried about no gator.”
“What’s he doin’ with an axe?” Kiki asked.
“Getting people out of their houses,” Hollis told her. “Chopping through the roof. It’s what he did to ours.”
Maleeki snorted. “Yeah, right. Lootin’s more like it. Breakin’ into people’s houses.”
Hollis rose to his knees. “Take that back. Jonas wouldn’t steal. Take it back, or I’ll pound you.”
Maleeki laughed and rolled backwards onto the floor. “I’m just jokin’ with you.”
“Besides,” Kiki said. “Maleeki can’t talk. He steals.”
“I do not!” Maleeki yelled, sitting up.
“He does,” she insisted. “He sure does. You watch your things around him.”
“What things?” Algie asked.
Everyone laughed at first, because of how true it was, but Eden quickly sobered.
“It’s really not funny,” she said. “Losin’ everything.”
The rest of the group lost their smiles as well, and Hollis thought about his Game Boy. It had taken all of his Christmas money and most of what he’d made that summer mowing lawns to buy it. Now it was gone. He could tell that the rest of the group was thinking of things they’d lost. Everyone but Maleeki. He still sat with his arms folded and an angry expression on his face.
“They took our grandmother away in a boat because of
her diabetes,” Leta said. “I hope she’s all right.”
“My momma has sugar, too,” Dray said. “I hope they helped her at that parking lot we was in.”
Eden glanced at Calaya, who appeared to be about to cry. “Calaya lives with her grandmama, but she spent the night with her auntie. Now she doesn’t know what happened to her grandmama, do you, Calaya?”
Calaya shook her head and began to sob with loud snorts and gasps. Leta hopped up and started across the room toward the shelter office. She got about three steps away before Kiki caught up to her.
“Don’t go anywhere by yourself, Leta,” Hollis heard Kiki say. “We all go around in twos and threes. There might be bad people here. Don’t even go to the bathroom alone at night. Wake up one of us. We’ll go with you.”
Leta’s eyes grew wide and she nodded. “I didn’t think about that,” she said. “I wanted to get some tissue for Calaya.”
“Dray’s got it.”
Leta watched as Dray handed a roll of toilet paper to Calaya.
“All them people are strangers,” Kiki said, glaring at the other part of the shelter. “One thing bad people do is try to get you to trust them. Then they hurt you.”
Leta nodded. “We already know one bad man.”
“Really?” Kiki asked, eyes wide. “You have to tell us about him. But first we need to go see Miss Violet to get y’all some cots put over here.”
Some men with T-shirts that read “First Methodist Church, We Care!” set up cots for Hollis, Leta, and Algie. Miss Violet gave them each a towel, a washcloth, a roll of toilet paper, and something she called a “goody box.” Hollis opened his small cardboard box and found candy, cards, a pencil, a pen, a puzzle book, and an apple.
While the men finished setting up the cots, Miss Violet took the three kids to a sheet-covered table along the back wall that held all kinds of clothing, sorted by sizes. Other tables, piled high with items donated for the evacuees, lay along the walls around the rest of the room.
“We have to get you out of those pajamas,” Miss Violet said to Algie, who surveyed his torn top. “Aren’t you sick of them?”
