Bluford Series 2: A Matter of Trust by Anne Schraff

Author:Anne Schraff [Schraff, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780439865470
Amazon: 0944210031
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2007-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

“Praise the Lord!” Mrs. Bailey cried. “He’s gonna be all right! They’re keepin’ him here a few days, but they say the bullet just grazed his head and it did not hit his brain. Praise the Lord, my boy’s gonna be all right!”

Darcy gave Mrs. Bailey a hug, and the woman said, “Thank you both for bein’ here when I needed you so much. My sister is comin’ over in a few minutes to get us all home. Bless you for all you did tonight. Roylin is mighty lucky to have friends like you at Bluford High. I never knew he had such good friends.”

Darcy and Hakeem glanced at each other awkwardly. “Yeah, well, we’re just glad Roylin will be okay,” Hakeem said.

Gently, Darcy put her arm around Hakeem’s shoulders and led him out the hospital exit and into the parking lot, where they walked to the silver motorbike. “Whew!” Hakeem said. “What a day! It would’ve haunted me for the rest of my life if Bailey hadn’t made it. Man, I don’t ever want something like that to happen again. My Dad always said only a fool settles stuff with violence, and I was too stupid to understand that until today.”

They drove silently down the dark streets towards Darcy’s. As they neared her home, Hakeem said, “You were great tonight. Thanks.”

“Sure. ’Night,” Darcy said. Then she kissed Hakeem on the cheek and ran up the walk to the door. Mom was doing the eleven-to-seven shift tonight, so she was home when Darcy went in.

“How was the birthday party, sweetie?” Mom asked.

Darcy sat on the couch near Mom’s recliner. “Mom, everybody is okay, but something awful happened. There was a drive-by shooting, and the picnic got sprayed with bullets,” Darcy said.

Mom clasped her hands to her cheeks and gasped, “Lord have mercy! Oh, sweetie, are you sure you’re all right? Let me see you, baby! You okay?”

“I’m fine. Roylin Bailey got shot, but he’s going to be okay. They got the guys who did it,” Darcy said.

“Oh, baby,” Mom sighed, tightly embracing Darcy. “If something happened to you or Jamee, I think I’d die. You hear me, sweetie? You be careful, hear?”

“Sure, Mom,” Darcy said. She went to Grandma’s room then. Grandma was sitting in a chair watching a quiz show on television.

Grandma laughed when somebody won something and bounced up and down in glee. She did not really understand what was going on, and she did not see much beyond people hopping around and screaming, but she seemed to enjoy the spectacle. When the show was over, Grandma talked about her childhood and how she dated Grandpa when they were both teenagers in the hills of Alabama. Darcy loved the stories. She knew every detail of them, but she still enjoyed hearing Grandma talk. About how young Annie, Grandma, was only fourteen in braids tied with pink ribbons when she held hands during Sunday services with her boyfriend, who was sixteen and six feet tall. About how Reverend Timsdale scolded them when he caught them and then winked and said he and Mrs.

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