I end by applauding Tariq, and Keisha quickly joins in. So does the rest of the class. Funny thing is, I get the feeling some of that clapping is for me, too.
“Well, Bakari, thank you for that inspiring speech,” Mrs. Crump tells me as she steps up and gestures me back to my seat. “That was very well put, and it’s refreshing to hear someone admit when they’re not the best person for something. That takes honesty and a lot of self-knowledge.” She smiles at me. It’s the warmest, kindest smile I’ve ever seen from her.
“Tariq,” she adds, turning to him, “since Bakari has withdrawn, the job of hall monitor is still yours. If you want to keep it, of course.”
Tariq stands up. “Yes, ma’am,” he tells her. “And I just want to say thank you to Bakari. I think he’d have been a better hall monitor than he says.” He nods to me, and I nod back. Maybe we’re not worst enemies after all. Not today at least.
“Too bad, Bakari,” someone says, and I look around to see Niecy nodding to me. “Maybe next time.” She doesn’t sound like she’s making fun of me, either.
“Yeah, but cool speech,” Raymond adds.
“Definitely,” his best buddy Antwone agrees. “If we ever had two hall monitors, you’d totally get my vote!”
A few other kids say similar things. It’s so weird. Before today, I wasn’t sure any of them even knew my name! I am sure most of them have never talked to me before. Now here they are, acting like we’re pals or something.
Part of me wonders if maybe they noticed more about today’s events than I thought. Did they see me save them from those first two ice zombies during lunch? Do they know that me and Wardell and Keisha and Tariq saved all of them — and the rest of the world, too — from a total ice zombie invasion?
Or is it all about my little speech just now? This was the first time I spoke up, so I guess it makes sense that it’s the first time any of them really listened to me. For a brief moment, I feel connected to the school, this class, and everyone in it. All this time I’ve always felt like I was all alone — well, except for Wardell. Now I actually feel like I belong. And I like it.
“That was awesome!” Wardell whispers to me as Mrs. Crump instructs everyone to take out their science books.
“Awesome?” I whisper back. “I withdrew from the race before it even got to a vote!”
“Yeah, but you stood up and did it,” he replies. “You really stepped up, Bakari.” He holds up his fist, and I bump it.
Yeah, I did, didn’t I?
I glance up — and catch Keisha watching us. She obviously saw us whispering. Now’s when she usually calls over Mrs. Crump to tell her we’re not paying attention. But this time, she just half smiles at me. And gives me the tiniest of nods, a nod and a half smile she would totally deny if I ever mentioned it.
But I know it was there.
I smile back at her, and turn to the day’s science lesson. But while I’m reading I slip a hand into my pocket and find Granddad’s marble. “Light, courage, power,” I tell it quietly. “You were right, Granddad. That’s all you need.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, then open them again. Shut, then open. Shut, then open.
You know, for a day that started off so terrible, it hasn’t turned out too badly, after all.
Bakari and his friends would not be possible without my editor Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Marie Dutton Brown, my agent and my mentor. Then, too, the original clump, my dear cousins Wilton, Joseph, Willie, and Timothy. Shout-outs to the busy moms who lent an open ear and heart during this long journey: Monique, Mika, Robin, Ylonda, Annie D., Adaora, Andrea, Dr. Elena Jones, and Michelle E. Deep gratitude to my Essence family, past and present. Special thanks: Frank Acosta, Lynn Whitfield, Rhonda Joy McLean for the great recommendation, and to Dr. Thelma Baxter and Mr. Billy Baxter for the much-needed retreat. Shaun Robinson, you always make me smile. The late, great Daren Kerr, your spirit guides me still. And to all the courageous and patient dreamers everywhere (you know who you are).
Patrik Henry Bass, editorial projects director at Essence magazine, is an award-winning journalist and frequent presence on radio and television. He has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times; O, The Oprah Magazine; the Washington Post; Entertainment Weekly; Time Out New York; and Publishers Weekly. A sought-after speaker and expert on popular culture and the arts, Bass has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, National Public Radio, Access Hollywood, Arise TV, BBC News, and is a contributor for The Takeaway on Public Radio International and WNBC-TV in New York City. A former professor at New York University’s Department of Journalism, Bass is a proud Brooklynite.
Jerry Craft is the creator of Mama’s Boyz, an award-winning comic strip that has been distributed by King Features Syndicate to almost nine hundred publications since 1995, making him one of the few syndicated African American cartoonists working today. He has illustrated and/or written several children’s books, including Hillary’s Big Business Adventure, Looking to the Clouds for Daddy, and What’s Below Your Tummy-Tum. Most recently he has produced two chapter books: Khalil’s Way, written by David Miller, and Who Would Have Thunk It!, written by George C. Fraser and Emma Fraser-Pendleton. He lives in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
Copyright © 2014 by Patrik Henry Bass. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First paperback printing, September 2014
Cover art by Jerry Craft
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
e-ISBN 978-0-545-67549-9
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
The Zero Degree Zombie Zone Page 7
