Piecing Me Together(40)

Ms. Weber stands in front of me. “You have a problem, young lady?”

“My name is Jade,” I tell her.

“I didn’t ask you what your name was. I asked you if you had a problem.”

I roll my eyes. “You so worried about the line moving and now you’re holding us up,” I say. I try to pass her, but she won’t move.

“You need to adjust your attitude,” Ms. Weber says.

I walk around Ms. Weber. I put a scoop of rice and beans in my bowl.

Hannah is behind me. She laughs. “What is your problem today, Weber? PMS? Didn’t get laid last night? I mean, God, what is it?”

I laugh, and as I put my grilled chicken in the bowl, Ms. Weber says, “Okay, that’s it. Go see Mrs. Parker.”

I don’t think she’s talking to me, so I keep moving down the line. Sam is finished making her lunch and has gone to find us a seat.

“Did you hear me, young lady? Go see Mrs. Parker. Now.”

“My name is Jade, and why do I have to go see Mrs. Parker?”

“Because she’s the only one in this school who can handle you. Come with me,” she says.

She snatches my lunch out of my hands, throws it into the trash can, and escorts me out of the cafeteria. When we get to Mrs. Parker’s office, Ms. Weber says, “Shirley, I need to speak with you.” Then she turns to me and says, “You can stay here.”

I stand against the wall. Mrs. Parker doesn’t close her door, so I’m not sure what the point is of having me stand out here. I hear everything Ms. Weber is saying, every lie and exaggeration. “This girl needs to lose her attitude. I am not going to tolerate all that sass. She was so disrespectful, Shirley.”

I get up and walk toward them. “Did you tell her what you said? Did you tell her that Hannah was being disrespectful too?”

Mrs. Parker turns to me. “Jade, please wait for me. I’ll come out and hear your side too.”

“I’m not going to let her lie on me, Mrs. Parker. I didn’t do anything—”

“See what I mean?” Ms. Weber says. “Young lady, your defiant behavior can get you kicked out of this school.”

“Let’s all calm down,” Mrs. Parker says.

Now there’s a scene. Other counselors and students who are in the counseling center are staring. I refuse to put on a show for them. I stop talking. Stand back against the wall and wait. By the time Mrs. Parker is ready for me, lunch is over. She calls me into her office and sits across from me, behind her desk. “Are you okay to stay at school today or do you need to go home?”

“Mrs. Parker, I didn’t do anything—”

“Jade, lower your voice. I’m only asking you a question. I’m trying to help you. If you need to take a moment and clear your head for the day, you can go home. But if you choose to stay, you’ll have to let go of the attitude and—”

“I want to go home,” I tell her. And I never want to come back to this school again.

“I think that’s a good choice,” Mrs. Parker says. “We’ll start fresh tomorrow.”

“I thought you wanted to hear my side,” I say. “I didn’t do anything, Mrs. Parker.”

“Look, Jade, you’re not in trouble.”

“So you know Ms. Weber is lying?”

“I know both of you probably let this go too far and that it’s a good idea to simply move on from this misunderstanding.”

I bite my lip, hold back the tears that are boiling in my eyes. I think about Lee Lee and Maxine and how they’re always telling me to speak up for myself. But right now I can’t talk. Nothing but curse words would come out, anyway. So I stay silent.

I walk out of her office and go to my locker. Before I leave, I stop by Mr. Flores’s class. He has a prep period after lunch, so I know he won’t have students in his class. His door is open. He’s reading something on his lap top and eating a sandwich. “Mr. Flores?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going home early today, and I just wanted to know if you can tell me what the homework is going to be.”

“Well, sure, but is everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” I tell him. If I talk about it, these tears will spill over.

Mr. Flores talks me through today’s lesson and gives me the homework. “If you have questions, you can stop by at lunch tomorrow.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I look down at Mr. Flores’s computer. The screen has a photo of Natasha Ramsey on it, next to an article. “Bye, Mr. Flores.”

“Bye, Jade. Hope you feel better.”





49


el teléfono

the telephone

“Are you okay?” Sam asks. She sounds like maybe she’s washing dishes. “I can’t believe they sent you home.”

“I know. I didn’t even do anything,” I say.

“Well, you were mouthing off, Jade. I mean, I could never talk to a teacher like that.”

“Yes, you could. Hannah did.”

The water shuts off. I hear dishes clank, then a drawer open and close. “Well, you know why Hannah didn’t get in trouble,” Sam says.

“Because she’s white.”

I can’t see Sam, but I’m pretty sure she just rolled her eyes. “Uh, no. Because she’s rich. Her parents donate a bunch of money to the school every year. She can say and do whatever she wants,” Sam says. “That had nothing to do with her being white and your being black.”