Skylark and Wallcreeper by Anne O'Brien Carelli

Author:Anne O'Brien Carelli
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: little bee books
Published: 2018-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

A Bridge to Cross

Brooklyn to Manhattan

November 2012—Day 8

By looking at a map on the wall of the Armory, I’ve been able to figure out how to avoid busy roads to get to the Brooklyn Bridge. I bicycle along side streets and cut through neighborhood parks, where giant uprooted trees often block the path. They’re splintered and splayed out, sometimes piled on top of other trees that had been torn apart by the hurricane. Branches are scattered everywhere, even strewn across paved playgrounds, as if Sandy ripped them off the trees and carried them far away before letting go. Thousands of autumn leaves, still fresh, are spread across green picnic areas and piled against chain-link fences.

Police officers wave me on. “Go home, kid!” But I keep going, sometimes lifting my bike over tree trunks that have crashed to the pavement. I finally spot the bridge ahead of me.

A line already winds around several blocks, as people in Brooklyn wait for the extra buses to Manhattan. After a rain-soaked weekend, they seem determined to go to work, even though the subways are closed and the tip of Manhattan still doesn’t have any power.

I guess everyone had the same idea to get in line right after the sun came up. They’re all bundled up, sipping coffee and checking their phones. There’s a low hum from the line as conversations start up and they slowly move forward to board the special buses. But mostly the crowd is subdued and cold.

I figure the restaurant wants their bicycle back, but I’m going to keep it one more day and get over the Brooklyn Bridge to the city. I have to get to the Pen Emporium to find a replacement pen so I never have to tell Granny that I lost the original.

I’ve been texting Johnny about my plans to go to Manhattan, but it’s too hard to explain the whole story in a text. I’m dying to tell him everything that’s been going on over the last few days, but as long as school is out, he’s spending all of his time at his family’s restaurant. The story will have to wait.

My mom called before she left for work, as usual. My school is still closed, but teachers have emailed assignments. I promised to do my homework and described a busy day at the Armory, including plans for Johnny and me to take Granny for a walk. She reminded me that Granny tires easily but was pleased that Johnny will be with me. My mom wasn’t too sure about Johnny when she first met him, especially because he was only eleven and had a pierced eyebrow. But once she saw him working in his family’s restaurant, she started to like him more. He’s been around for over a year now, and she’s used to him. It helps that he brings us leftovers from the restaurant’s kitchen.

At the end of the call, she seemed reassured that all is well in Brooklyn.

I bike easily past the long line and work my way over side streets to the beginning of the bridge.

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