Katani's Jamaican Holiday

Katani's Jamaican Holiday by Annie Bryant

Book: Katani's Jamaican Holiday by Annie Bryant Read Free Book Online
Authors: Annie Bryant
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night, for example. Dinner seemed to take forever that night. The adults were chattering away. They wanted to hear all about my experience at Olivia’s school. Grandma Ruby, of course, was very interested. I wondered why they didn’t notice how restless Olivia and I were. Finally, we announced that we were tired from the day’s activities at school and we escaped as soon as we could.
    We didn’t change our clothes, but covered up with the sheets in case anyone looked in on us. When we heard Grandma coming, we pretended to be fast asleep. She stood at the doorway for a few minutes. I heard her say, “They must have had quite a day for themselves.”
    We had to wait until they were all settled for the night, and it was a good thing that we did, because Cousin Cecil, who had never checked on us since I was there, also came in. He opened the door and shone a flashlight around the room,then went over and closed the window, which Olivia had left open. It was as if he knew we were planning something and trying to prevent it. Maybe I should just pretend to fall into a deep sleep , I thought, and Olivia will give up this crazy idea .
    But as soon as I heard Cousin Cecil go to his room and there were no more sounds of anyone moving around, Olivia whispered, “Dad never checks on me unless I’m sick. He works so hard during the day that he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. You think he suspects something?”
    “He closed the window,” I pointed out.
    “I oiled the hinges this morning. It won’t make any noise,” she reassured me.
    “Olivia, I’m worried about all this. I think we should just tell your dad….”
    “Katani.” Olivia’s voice sounded desperate. “I can’t. I don’t want to…. I can’t disappoint him. I need to get that necklace back, and everything will be okay,” she pleaded. “Let’s go, now,” she directed, and jumped out of bed.
    I rubbed my eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed. How could I let Olivia down? She had been so nice to me and Grandma Ruby since we’d arrived. I had to help her now. After all, isn’t that what family is all about?
    There were no more sounds in the house. As silently as possible, we put on our sneakers and Olivia grabbed a large flashlight and a small bag. Despite her earlier assurance, the window seemed to creak loudly as she opened it. I shook my head. Not a good sign.
    We waited a bit, but nobody stirred, so Olivia went through first. There was only a short drop to the ground. When it was my turn, I don’t know what happened, but instead of landing on my feet, I fell over backward right onto my backbone and had to stifle the “ouch” that nearly escaped. Olivia gavea little nervous giggle. Again, we stayed frozen for a few minutes.
    As we tiptoed away from the house, Olivia whispered, “Stay on the grass. The gravel makes noise.” Maneuvering through the darkness undetected was so hard. I tried not to breathe.
    We had to walk about a mile to the bakery, and after that, another quarter mile to reach Ol’ Madda Bird’s house along the winding country road. What if someone saw us? What would I tell Grandma Ruby? A pale fingernail moon gave us only a small fraction of light, but Olivia couldn’t turn on the flashlight until we were well away from the house. The banana trees along the way seemed even more eerie than usual. There was no breeze, so they stood dark and still, looking like they didn’t approve of what we were doing. I hugged myself, thinking, Go home…go home… I wondered if I could get Olivia to turn back.
    Too late! The end of the driveway was in front of us. Then I heard a rustling sound. Before I could whisper, “What’s that?” two shining orbs appeared. I ran for the bushes, and Olivia shone the light in that direction.
    “Spotty!” Olivia exclaimed softly. “Come back, Katani.” She spoke firmly to the goat. “How you get away? Go back to your pen!”
    I don’t know why—maybe he didn’t like the way she

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