Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair Page A

Tyrone.”
    â€œHey, Roland.”
    â€œHi, Stevie.” Roland stood there grinning, looking even goofier than usual.
    â€œStevie … uh … I was thinking … maybe … you know ah, would you mind if I kind of walked you home from school today?”
    â€œI guess.” I forced myself to smile. “Well, Roland, I gotta go play volleyball. You need to wipe your glasses off, they’re all steamed up.”
    â€œOh, okay. Well, see you after school.” He grinned.
    During lunchtime, me and Carla sat in the swings on the playground and ate our fried-bologna sandwiches. A few minutes ago, Tyrone had come by and dragged Carla away, laughing and screaming.
    Now I just sat in the swing and let it rock me gently back and forth. The sun was in my face and I just let my feet drag through the wood chips that they always put on the playground.
    I felt somebody’s hands pushing up against my back. I started moving forward and I grabbed onto the swing’s chains. I turned around. I couldn’t believe it: Yusef Brown was pushing me!
    I liked the way his hands felt against my back. And the rubber swing felt good up under my butt.
    Yusef grabbed the swing and brought it to a halt.
    â€œI heard about you.” Yusef bit back his bottom lip. He had what Grandma called laughing eyes.
    â€œHeard about me, what did you hear about me?” I asked, surprised. I wasn’t the kind of girl that boys usually heard about.
    â€œIn class this morning, eighteen sixty-five.” Yusef burst out laughing.
    â€œOh, that,” I said, not sure whether I now thought it was funny.
    â€œYou cracked everybody up! ‘Eighteen sixty-six.’” Yusef laughed some more.
    I still wasn’t crazy about Yusef laughing at me, but I figured it beat being invisible.
    â€œStop making fun of me.” I punched at his arm playfully.
    â€œOkay, okay.” He smiled, holding his arm. “Look, I wasn’t making fun of you. I just thought you was so cool counta the way you took it, didn’t get bent outta shape or nothing behind it. They said you was cool to the end, just said, ‘Around Valentine’s Day, Mr. Cox.’”
    â€œI have to really hand it to Willie Jean, though; she’s the one who whispered eighteen sixty-five.” I decided to go along with Yusef.
    â€œYeah, that was really slick.”
    The afternoon bell rang and I picked up my stuff. I hoped that Yusef would walk me back to class. I wanted everybody to see us.
    â€œOh, Stevie, they told me the reason you got into trouble in the first place was counta you was checking me out making jump shots in the hallway.” Yusef winked as we walked toward the building.
    â€œI suppose maybe I glanced out there once or twice. Who is ‘they’?”
    â€œThat’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Yusef had the nerve to reach over and poke my nose. I felt so dizzy I could barely stand up. The halls were crowded with everybody rushing, but I hoped somebody had seen that. Yusef Brown had talked to me. Yusef Brown had pushed me in the swing. Yusef Brown had played with my nose! Yusef Brown was walking me to the classroom door, and all on accounta Willie Jean. Carla was never gonna believe this.
    I would always sit in that middle swing and I would only eat fried-bologna sandwiches in it. I smiled goodbye to Yusef and took my seat.
    It was afternoon recess and we were out on the playground. It was the first chance I’d had to talk to Carla about Yusef.
    â€œIt was right here, he came up right behind me. You couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes. Just started pushing me.”
    â€œI can’t believe it, after all this time. Yusef talked to you and all on accounta her. Tell it to me again, I swear I can’t believe it.”
    â€œCarla, that’s what you said the first two times I told you.”
    Recess was over and I was back at my desk. I tried to sneak a peek at