A Little Bit Super by Gary D. Schmidt

Author:Gary D. Schmidt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2024-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

Roll On

By Linda Sue Park

It was mid-April, and they were hanging on by a thread.

That was what Dad and Mom said, almost every day.

“We’re hanging on by a thread.”

“We can’t last much longer—we’re hanging on by a thread.”

The coronavirus lockdown was destroying the restaurant business. Everywhere Jamie looked, restaurants were closing for good. The shop fronts had big sheets of blank paper taped over the windows, the corners coming unstuck and drooping. Each dead restaurant she saw seemed to pound another stroke of fear into her heart.

When would it be their turn? What would they do if they had to close—how would they live?

The family’s Man Se restaurant had already been converted to take-out only. Korean food—Man Se meant “Long Live (Korea).” Mom and Dad cooked, did the dishes, cleaned; they’d had to let go of their three employees shortly after lockdown. Jamie’s brother, Alex, took care of the website and the online orders. Jamie helped with everything, including bagging the food and stapling on the correct receipt. She and Alex sometimes worked even during school hours; their teachers allowed them to turn off video, so no one could see them juggling their studies with restaurant duties.

Lunch and dinner, seven days a week, last orders at nine p.m. The days were long, especially the hours when no orders came in. Every evening, Dad and Mom discussed whether they would have to shut down. Each time, they would decide to go on for one more day.

On a Friday evening in early May, Jamie double-checked the last order of the night. Alex took the two bags out to the delivery driver, who had just pulled up in front of the restaurant. Jamie was headed toward the kitchen when she heard Alex shout.

“Hey!”

She ran to the door and yanked it open. The street at night was full of both deep shadows and blinding glare; it took her a moment to figure out what she was seeing.

Alex, charging down the sidewalk to her left. Someone running in and out of the shadows ahead of him.

He’s chasing someone. Why?

Then she realized that she was inhaling a harsh chemical smell, and she swung around in search of the source.

Spray paint.

Red.

On the big glass window that fronted the restaurant.

GO HOME VIRUS KILLERS

The letters were still wet, dripping as if painted in blood.

That doesn’t make sense. If we were killing the virus, it would be helpful.

Even as this thought flashed through her mind, she was yelling to her brother, “Alex, stop! Come back!”

The vandalism was bad enough. What if Alex got hurt?

Her screams brought her parents running.

“Alex!” Dad bellowed. “Get back here!”

A few moments later, Alex was with them again, winded and panting, as they huddled in front of the window. Anger and fear and frustration roiled Jamie’s stomach as she remembered what had happened in school the week before lockdown.

It had been first thing in the morning. She was heading for her locker when she saw Flora and Taylor coming toward her, waving and smiling. Then she became aware of a small cluster of boys looking at her.

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