The sweet smells from the kitchen fill my nose and the sweet sound of nothin’ fills my ears. I close my eyes for just a second, but it turns out to be more than a second cause then Nia is standing in front of me and shaking my shoulder.
“KB,” she whispers, “breakfast is ready.” I blink a couple times to wake up, then nod. I figure a nod ain’t quite talking. Nia heads back into the kitchen. I can hear the scrape of her chair on the floor as she pulls it out, then sits down at the table. I yawn, stretch, then stand and follow.
The table is full of food that looks too good to eat. A plate of bacon and sausage with a paper towel beneath, soaked through with oil. Fluffy eggs peeking out from one bowl and chunks of fruit in another. Then golden, buttery pancakes right in the middle. I can’t help but grin when I see it all. If I ain’t know better, I might think Momma been here making breakfast and humming.
“Thanks for breakfast,” I whisper as we start loading our plates. If I don’t say it, I’m gon’ be rude. So I say it, but nothin’ else. I pile two pancakes on my plate, two strips of bacon, one sausage link, and a heaping spoonful each of eggs and fruit. I take a quick bite of my bacon and decide to add one more strip to my plate.
“You’re welcome,” Nia says, and that’s the last we talk. We chop our pancakes into little squares, pour syrup on top, then chew and swallow. Nobody makes pancakes better than Momma, but Nia is close.
After we both clear our plates, I wipe down the table and Nia washes the dishes. Then Nia grabs the broom and starts sweeping, so I finish up at the sink. I like washing dishes so I can look out the little window. The sky is filled with clouds today, white and fluffy like colorless cotton candy. I watch a bee fly from one flower to the next, as I think of what I’m gon’ do today. Maybe, since Granddaddy’s gone, I can see if Bobby and Charlotte wanna play.
Nia’s sweeping the last pile of crumbs into the dustpan just as I finish with the dishes. I leave the kitchen happy cause now I can get back to not talking. I pull shorts, a T-shirt, and clean undies from the dresser and take a fast shower, making sure to hit the “hot spots” like Momma taught me. I hurry cause I wanna see my friends and wanna get away from Nia before she thinks we’re friends again.
But when I finish in the bathroom, Nia ain’t nowhere to be found. I look in the room, but she ain’t there. I can tell she got dressed, though, cause she left hair in her brush and a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor. Usually, this is when I would start looking for Nia everywhere. But today I don’t care that she’s gone. I grab my book and my rock collection and head outside.
First thing I do is look for Charlotte and Bobby, using my hand on my forehead to block the sun, but they ain’t outside yet. It’s still early, so I guess I gotta play by myself for a while. I march toward the field in the back, hopping over sticks that I count one by one and stopping to look for rocks I sometimes find pressed into the dirt. I’ve only found one pebble-sized rock when I hear a car pull into the driveway. And it’s not actually the car I hear; it’s the loud music that feels like it’s beating in my chest. I run up front to see who’s making the noise, but I think I got an idea before I even get there.
Sure enough, I make it to the front just in time to see Nia climbing into the passenger seat of a raggedy ol’ car with rust on its sides and a missing bumper in front. Nia sees me and waves, big and friendly, like she’s in a parade. The loud music turns down, but only a little.
“KB!” Nia says in a high-pitched voice. “I’ll be back later. Stay inside while I’m gone. Don’t answer the door. Or the phone.” The car starts to back out the driveway, but not before she yells, “Oh, and I made you a plate of leftovers! It’s in the fridge!”
The last thing I hear is her fake laugh, then the loud music gettin’ louder as the rusty car pulls out the driveway. I can’t see the driver cause the sun is in my eyes, so I climb my tree just in time to see Pimple Boy drive Nia away from Granddaddy’s house. The same pimple-faced boy Nia met at Pizza Land, when I made my big mistake with Rondell. I knew Pimple Boy looked older than Nia, but I ain’t figure he was old enough to drive. That ain’t what matters now, though, cause Granddaddy’s gone and Nia’s gone and I don’t know when she’s coming back.
I sit in the tree awhile, cause now I ain’t much in the mood for collecting rocks. I ain’t much in the mood for anything I can think of, cept maybe screaming so loud that all the people that keep leaving can hear. Granddaddy and Momma and Nia. Maybe even Daddy will hear me from wherever he’s at. The church folk say he’s in heaven, but I don’t know if I believe in that; and it don’t seem like Momma do, either, since our pastor say that believing in heaven means being happy when someone dies, cause it means they with Jesus. So maybe Daddy ain’t in heaven. Maybe he’s somewhere that he can hear me, if I get to yelling right now and never stop. Maybe it’s better if Daddy ain’t in heaven, anyway. People always saying stuff like Daddy up there looking down on me, which I hope ain’t true. Cause if it’s true, that means he saw me try to get back at Nia by showing Rondell my panties. And he saw that it ain’t even work.
Just then, a voice comes from cross the street. Bobby and Charlotte are outside, riding bikes down the narrow sidewalk. I look over my shoulder at the empty house behind me. Then get a crazy idea. Ain’t nobody here to care, so I’m gon’ ask Bobby and Charlotte to play over on my side of the street today.
“Bobby,” I yell from up in my tree, waving and waving. He looks around but can’t find me. “Charlotte,” I try, but she can’t see me, neither. I start climbing down the tree, quick.
“Charlotte! Bobby!” I yell, as I land on the grass with a thud. Now they see me and start to wave. I look both ways, then cross over to their side of the street.
“Can y’all play?” I say once I get there. Charlotte nods; Bobby turns and looks at his sister with a sneer, which I pretend not to notice.
“I want y’all to see something, over there!” I point cross the street and both Bobby and Charlotte stare at my pointing finger like it’s a weapon. “I promise, it’s gon’ be fun!”
“What is it?” Bobby finally asks, curious. Charlotte don’t say nothin’， but she’s watching me with wide eyes.
“Gotta come see,” I say with a smile, pointing again at Granddaddy’s house. From over here, it looks small and kinda old, especially when I look back at Bobby and Charlotte’s big ol’ tall house with new paint and the bright red door.
Bobby looks back at that door now and crosses his arms. I bet he’s looking for they momma. “We can’t leave our sidewalk.”
“Just for a minute?” I ask, then look at Charlotte with begging eyes, cause she’s gon’ be easier to convince than Bobby. “We can go inside real quick. I have a new book for you.” I ain’t sure which book I mean, cause I ain’t ready to share my new Anne books that I ain’t even finished yet. But at least I got Charlotte smiling and thinking.
“Come on, Bobby. Just for a minute?” Charlotte pleads, but Bobby don’t budge. “Please? We have time; she’s in the shower.” She whispers that last part, like I won’t hear her or know exactly who she’s talking bout. Bobby thinks long and hard, looking back and forth between both our houses. Then, finally, he unfolds his arms.