Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park

Author:Linda Sue Park [Park, Linda Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Kenny was out front again when we got home. I was feeling so good about our afternoon that I gave him my brownie.

He squashed it into his mouth in two bites. It was disgusting. And then he brushed past me and got chocolate all over the arm of my sweater.

"Kenny! You snotbrain!" I yelled.

My mom must have heard me because just then she came to the front door. "Julia Lee Song, you get into the house this minute," she said.

Uh-oh. I was really in trouble. I knew that immediately, because she used my whole name and because she wasn't yelling. She was using her special quiet extra-extra-angry voice.

"I'd better go now," Patrick mumbled. "I'll call you later." He handed me the little bundle of leaves and headed off toward his house.

My mom pushed the door open, then stepped back with her arms crossed. "You told me you were going to get leaves," she said. "That was almost two hours ago. Where have you been all this time?"

"Mom, I'm sorry. We did get the leaves—see?" I held them up. "We were at Mr. Dixon's house the whole time. We helped him do some weeding, and he gave us something to eat, and I lost track of time. I should have called—"

"Yes, you should have! No, I take that back. You shouldn't have stayed so long in the first place! Didn't you know I'd be worried? And besides, I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you two bothering him."

"Mom! We weren't bothering him! I told you—we were helping him. In his yard. And then he gave us brownies—"

"Julia, there's no excuse. You do not disappear for two hours without me having any idea where you are. From now on, you are to go to his house to get the leaves and be back within twenty minutes. Is that clear?"

She was being so unfair. First of all, she had known where we were. We were right where we'd said we'd be—at Mr. Dixon's house. Second, she wasn't listening. Twice now she'd stopped me when I was trying to explain. And third—

"I said, Is that clear, young lady?"

"Yes," I muttered.

She spun around and walked into the kitchen. I stood there for a second longer, then went upstairs to my room. I closed the door and sat down on my bed.

Third was something I couldn't stop myself from thinking.

Third was, Would she he this mad at me if Mr. Dixon was white?

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