Read an Excerpt
It was drizzling a little as the group stepped outside, heading for the
bench at the far end of the playground, the way they did almost everyday.
Keisha and Gina took their usual spots on the bench, and Dexter and his
friends leaned against the metal fence behind them, the way they always did.
Reggie pretended not to feel nervous as she stood quietly between them, her
hands deep in her pockets.
There was a loud crack of thunder and they all jumped. The girls screamed
and ran as the rain poured from the sky suddenly, soaking them through and
through by the time they reached the building.
“Ugh,” Keisha groaned, holding her arms out as she dripped all over the
floor. “Look at me.”
“Look at me,” Gina whined. Leaning forward, she grabbed her hair and
squeezed water out of it. “I look terrible.”
“We can go into the girls’ locker room and dry off,” Reggie suggested.
Keisha looked at her and nodded. “You’re right. Come on, you guys.”
Reggie tried not to grin too hard as she followed them down the hallway.
The bell rang as they held their clothes up to the heat dryers in the locker
room, but neither of the girls seemed worried about it, so Reggie decided
not to worry either.
They were much drier by the time they’d slipped back into their clothes and
towel-dried their hair. Gina ran a brush through hers and Keisha pulled hers
up into a ponytail. Reggie turned to the mirror to fix hers and gasped.
“Ew,” Keisha said, wrinkling up her nose. “What happened to your hair?”
Reggie fought back tears as she saw the two girls’ faces in the mirror. They
looked fine, almost like they’d never been caught in the rain at all. Her
hair, though, had drawn up into a tight afro at the roots, and she could
barely get her fingers through it as she tried to fix it.
“Um, we’d better go,” Gina said, pushing Keisha towards the door. She could
hear them giggling and whispering as they reached the hallway.
The door opened slowly and Dexter stuck his head in.
“What are you doing? Boys aren’t allowed in here!” Reggie cried, hoping he
wouldn’t notice her hair.
But he did, and he stood there for what seemed like forever to Reggie. She
could tell exactly what he was thinking by the look on his face. Reggie knew
she wouldn’t even have to bother asking Mama if she could go to that party
on Saturday after all.
“I gotta go,” he said quietly, turning to leave.
Reggie burst into tears as the door closed behind him. Another bell rang and
she realized suddenly that she’d missed an entire class. Mama was going to
be mad, that was for sure.
Dexter was still in the hallway as Reggie came out of the locker room.
Rolling her eyes, she rushed past him and his friends, who burst into
laughter as she passed them.
She could hear Tee’s voice somewhere behind her, calling her name, but she
ignored him too as she raced out of the building.
