Second Time Sweeter by Beverly Jenkins

Author:Beverly Jenkins [Jenkins, Beverly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Amari decided he liked having school at Mr. James’s place. One, he only had to walk across the street to get there, and two, the atmosphere was laid-back. The students were sprawled out on couches and chairs, and seated on the floor, with their laptops, while Mr. James guided them through a lesson on the Constitution. Mr. Abbott and the younger kids like Zoey, Devon, and their crew were in the basement. Mr. James said he initially thought about having school in the rec, but it, too, was a crime scene, and the FBI weren’t done doing whatever they were doing. Amari was still blown away by what happened Friday night. A hit woman? In Henry Adams? There’d never been anything that crazy since they all moved there. He’d asked his mom how Mr. Miller was doing, but she said the FBI wouldn’t be releasing any information, and that people in town would probably never know. He understood the reasonings behind this decision, but he still wanted to know if he pulled through.

At lunch, everybody gathered outside. The big kids got the porch. The young ones took the steps. Amari noted the dark circles beneath Zoey’s eyes and recalled that she’d been real quiet all day. As she opened her lunch bag, he asked, “Zo, you okay?”

She didn’t respond at first and took her sandwich out of her green bag. She finally looked at him. “Had a stupid nightmare last night.”

Concern filled her friends’ faces.

Brain asked gently, “You want to talk about it?”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “No. I’m good.”

Leah said, “Maybe talk to the rev. You look really tired.”

“I am. I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

Lucas asked, “Did you dream about Ms. Stockton?”

She met his eyes and, after a long pause, nodded yes. Amari thought they’d keep Lucas around.

“You should talk to Reverend Paula,” Leah said quietly.

A tear slid down Zoey’s cheek and she angrily wiped it away. “I’m such a damn baby! Jeez.”

A chorus of denials went up.

Amari asked, “Have you talked to your mom or dad?”

“No. Mom’s recording her new CD and Dad is trying to get all the stuff moved into his office. It was just a stupid dream. I’ll be okay. Can we move on, please?”

Amari shared a look with Brain.

Devon said, “Okay, but if the dream comes back tonight, tell your mom.”

She nodded.

Amari was proud of Devon for offering a good piece of advice. Maybe there was hope for him after all. As Zoey suggested, they moved on, but for the rest of the lunch period, the atmosphere was quiet and subdued.

After school, Amari was in the kitchen with his mom. It was her turn to cook and he was watching her make jambalaya, one of his faves.

“How’d school go?” she asked.

“It was kind of fun until lunch.”

She paused while stirring the roux. “What happened at lunch?”

He told her about Zoey.

She blew out a breath. “That poor baby. Did she say what the dream was about?”

“Just that Ms. Stockton, or whatever her real name is, was in it.

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