A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg Read Free Book Online Page A

bunch of plastic strawberries stuck right on the brim.
    Before I know it, my eyes get ahead of my brain and hang a second too long on the far-out sight.
    “Just who do you think you are?” the lady snaps, and soon as she does, I see she’s got enough freckles to fill a pepper mill. Her face is the spitting image of Honey’s. I reckon she’s Honey’s mama, Mrs. Worth. “A stare like that can get a girl like you in big trouble!” she says.
    When Mrs. Worth talks, the strawberries on her hat jiggle, and something about the moving strawberries makes the laughter bubble up inside me like cola shook up in a bottle. Thank goodness she disappears inside the store, because even though I cup one hand over my mouth, a giggle gets out anyway. And then a snort. I stare at the hole in my sneaker and try to stop, but the more scared I am, the more giggles I get, till an ugly voice splits the sky.
    “Ain’t you got manners, dirtbag?”
    I look up, only to see Buck Fowler skulking toward me, Jimmy Worth steps behind him.
    There’s no mistaking what kind of trouble these two bring. And I’ll tell you one thing: if I knew they were here at the store, I would’ve waited for my brother round the bend.
    But now it’s too late. Buck hovers above me. “Nobody laughs at Jimmy’s mama,” he says. “Nobody.”
    My bottom lip quivers worse than ever.
    I pick up Flapjack, glance across the parking lot to the shop steps, and wonder what’s taking Elias so long. No doubt there’s plenty of white folks to ring up first. Well, soon as my brother does come on out of the shop, he’ll know what to do. He’ll make Buck and Jimmy leave me alone. In my head, I beg for Elias to open that shop door, while my breath, it flames inside my chest.
    I take a step toward the store.
    Buck whips out an elbow to block my path. “Gimme the cat,” he says.
    I hug Flapjack tight, but Buck clenches the scruff of Flapjack’s neck and tears him from me.
    Flapjack moans.
    I jump up to save him but snatch twilight instead.
    Honey’s voice scrapes across the lot. “Leave the cat alone!”
    “Stay out of it, pudgeball!” Buck yells.
    I turn to see Honey slink back down on the store steps. I open my mouth and gulp the sky like it’s water. But it’s hard to get enough. I look round real quick. For Delilah. For Cool Breeze. But who am I kidding? They’re not dumb enough to be stuck out here when the sun’s starting to set.
    Soon it hits me: even though Buck and Jimmy play for the white high school’s football team, I’ve got no choice but to fight them off myself. So I ram my shoulder into Buck’s stomach. Then Buck throws me to the ground with his free hand—the one that isn’t wrapped round Flapjack’s neck. The pavement rips open the skin on both my knees, and through the blur of my tears, I see Flapjack’s paws scrape the blue-gray sky.
    “Reckon coloreds don’t learn manners at school,” Buck says, cackling. “Think we ought to teach this one a lesson?” he asks Jimmy.
    Jimmy is Honey’s big brother. He’s got butter white hair and looks like he tumbled into a bucket of freckles.
    “Go out for the pass!” Buck yells. He shakes Flapjack up and down while my liver slams into my spleen or whatever’s in there next to it.
    “The pass?” Jimmy asks. Jimmy’s the star quarterback, so all the white folk are counting on him to take the Kickers to the state championships come December. But anyone can see Jimmy Worth, three bricks shy of a load, has been tackled one time too many.
    “Yeah, Jimmy, the pass,” Buck says.
    Jimmy sprints across the parking lot toward the bayou, arms open like he expects to catch a ball.
    Buck hoists Flapjack back in his right arm. Even from here, I can see Flapjack’s green eyes bulge under the streetlight while Buck hurls my cat halfway across the lot.
    Standing at the bank of the bayou, Jimmy catches Flapjack round the ribs. And Buck is so excited he jumps up and down. “Drop-kick!” he shouts, and