Colorblind by Leah Harper Bowron

Author:Leah Harper Bowron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SparkPress
Published: 2017-11-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The Pageant

December ushered in the first winter weather of the year. The sixth-grade Christmas pageant was just two weeks away, but Lisa had her mind on other things—Mark’s third birthday. This year Mark was having his party at the Parker house. The theme for the party was cowboys and Indians. Lisa and Cathy would be in charge of arts and crafts—the youngsters would be making sheriffs’ badges and Indian headbands out of construction paper, pipe cleaners, and glitter.

Mrs. Parker got Mark’s birthday cake from Liger’s Bakery—it was a chocolate sheet cake with white icing and plastic cowboys and Indians on horseback. The birthday party began with a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Mark pinned his tail on the donkey’s nose. Lisa touched her nose and winced. Harold won the game by pinning his tail closest to the donkey’s rear end.

“I won, Brother, I won,” said Harold.

“Good, Bubba, I so gwad,” said Mark.

A game of Hi Ho! Cherry-o followed. Mark’s friend Anderson won by having the most plastic cherries in his bucket. Then it was on to arts and crafts.

“Can everyone decorate your sheriff’s badge with glitter?” asked Cathy. “First put some glue on your badge, sprinkle glitter on top, and then shake it.”

“Wike this,” said Mark as he shook the excess glitter from his badge.

“That’s great, Mark,” said Cathy, who was busy stapling pipe cleaners to the center of the paper feathers.

“Can everyone glue the paper feathers to your headbands?” asked Lisa. “First, get your brown strip of construction paper, then place dots of glue on the paper, then press your paper feathers to the glue.”

The children began gluing paper feathers to their strips of construction paper.

“When you are finished, I will measure your head and staple your headband in place,” said Lisa. “I will also give your feathers more support by stapling them to your headbands.”

When the gluing and stapling were over, four boys and three girls were wearing sheriffs’ badges and Indian headbands.

“I want to make a headband for Ozella,” said Harold.

“Why?” said Mrs. Parker.

“Because Ozella is an Indian,” said Harold.

“No, she’s not,” said Lisa.

“Well, Ozella has brown skin like Indians,” said Harold.

“No,” said Lisa, “Ozella is a Negro, not an Indian, and her skin is darker that an Indian’s skin.”

“No more of that talk,” said Mrs. Parker.

“What is Negro?” asked Harold.

“Now see what you’ve started?” said Mrs. Parker. “Harold, stop asking questions.”

“Negro is a group of people with dark skin who used to live in Africa with lions and tigers,” said Lisa. “Isn’t that right, Ozella?”

“I believe so, sweetie pie,” said Ozella.

“I want to be Negro and live with lions and tigers,” said Harold.

“Harold, if you don’t hush, I’m going to wash your mouth out with soap,” said Mrs. Parker.

“If you lived in Africa, Sissy would miss you,” said Lisa.

“I won’t really go to Africa,” said Harold.

“Don’t go, Bubba,” said Mark.

“Time to play Simon Says,” said Lisa.

“Come on, children,” said Cathy.

After games came cake and ice cream and the opening of presents. Then it was time for the guests to go home, with party favors in tow.

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