Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair Page B

Yusef without being too obvious. I didn’t want to get into trouble with Mr. Cox again. I wondered if Yusef would start giving me the time of day from now on. Things could never go back to the way they were before, I told myself. I knew that my life would never be the same. I had half a mind to write a poem.
    â€œStevie, Stevie!” It was Carla. “Girl, everybody done gone. Ain’t you heard the bell? School’s out.”
    â€œOh.” I started grabbing my stuff. The afternoon had flown by or else I must’ve been in another world. I followed Carla out of the room.
    â€œStevie.”
    I turned around, surprised to see Yusef standing in the hall, with his hands stuffed in his khaki pants.
    â€œYeah, Yusef?”
    â€œCan I walk you home?”
    â€œOh …”
    â€œSure,” Carla finished my sentence. I guess she could see I was practically in a daze. “Stevie, y’all two go head on, I can catch up with some peoples.” She winked at me.
    I stumbled down the steps with Yusef walking on the outside. I had to grab hold of the banister on account of my weak condition. I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven, or at least like those women who used to be on Queen for a Day . I can’t believe it, I said to myself as we walked out into the sunshine. I just can’t believe it.
    Then I saw Roland coming toward me, like he’d come to wake me out of my dream. Oh, brother, I thought, I’d forgotten that I’d told him he could walk me home from school today. No way, there’s no way I’m gonna give up this heaven, I told myself. Maybe he’ll get the message; even he couldn’t be that stupid.
    â€œHi, Stevie … Hi, Yusef.”
    â€œHey, Roland.”
    â€œWhat’s happenin’, man,” Yusef said automatically.
    â€œWell, bye, Yusef, come on, Stevie, let’s go,” Roland had the nerve to say.
    I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t have the sense he was born with. If he messed this up he was gonna be sorry. I would hate him forever!
    â€œOh, y’all got some sort of plans?” Yusef asked.
    â€œYeah, Stevie and I are …”
    â€œGoing to discuss a math problem later, on the telephone .” I grabbed Yusef’s arm and steered him away. “Bye, Roland, I’ll talk to you tonight on the phone.”
    I left Roland standing there with his mouth open. Surely even he had sense enough not to push things any further.
    â€œSlow down, Stevie, why you walking so fast?”
    â€œI always walk fast, it’s good exercise.”
    â€œHold up, let me carry your books.”
    â€œOkay.” I slowed down; we were far enough away from Roland now.
    I felt so special walking with Yusef, I was waving to practically everybody. It seemed to me that all kinds of people were looking at me differently because I was with him. Yusef, who was wearing khaki pants and Converse All-Stars gym shoes, Yusef who’d rather walk home with me today than pitch pennies. Yusef who was now lighting a Kool cigarette and smoking it. I couldn’t believe I was walking down the street with a boy who had nerve enough to smoke a cigarette less than two blocks from the school. I just hoped we didn’t run into my mother or father.
    We were standing in front of my house. Yusef had put his cigarette out a block ago, thank goodness.
    â€œWell, I better be getting in. Thanks for walking me home.”
    â€œSho,” Yusef handed me my books. “Well, see you later, alligator.”
    â€œIn a while, crocodile.”
    I skipped up the stairs three at a time, I was so excited.
    I was watching TV with my brothers in the living room. Mama stood in the doorway. “Jean, telephone!”
    â€œWho is it?”
    â€œIt’s Roland Anderson. Now get up and go to the phone.”
    â€œMama, tell him I’m watching Andy Griffith.”
    â€œThe show is over, Opie and Andy are