our breath. We had been running so fast I could barely speak. After our breathing quieted a bit, Olivia grabbed my arm and whispered, “Come on! We can’t stop. We have to get away from here in case Ol’ Madda Bird woke anyone up and they’re looking for us!” I was sore from running, afraid that Ol’ Madda Bird would somehow know it was us, and feeling really bad about scaring her. This wasn’t an adventure anymore—now it was just trouble.
As we ran past the bakery we saw a wavering light coming from the back of the building. I heard Olivia gasp, then she pulled me deeper into the shadows. We stood quietly, hardly daring to breathe; whoever it was with the light would have to pass right by us. The light went out as the person came near. Just then a mosquito buzzed in my ear so loudly, I reacted without thinking by slapping at it.
“Who’s there?” a woman’s voice asked. Olivia stepped out into the road and shone the light on the person. “Precious!” she exclaimed. Then Olivia must have remembered how close we were to Selvin’s house because she lowered her voice to ask, “What you doing here this time of night?”
“What you doing on the road, this time of night?” Precious hissed back at her. She was a sassy girl.
Olivia, of course, could not answer. They stood facing each other for a moment, then Precious said, “If you don’t tell anybody you see me, I won’t tell anybody I see you, ’cause I know you up to some badness.”
With that, she stalked off. Olivia and I watched herdisappear into the darkness, but I thought I saw her climb into a blue SUV. We heard an engine start and the sound of a car driving away. That was weird. Was she meeting with Mr. Biggs again?
“That was a stupid thing to do, shining that light. What if it was a thief!” I yelled at Olivia.
“I wasn’t thinking,” she replied. “What we going to do now?”
“Olivia, I know that SUV,” I told her. “I think it belongs to Mr. Biggs. I saw him sitting in it, talking to Precious, when we were walking back from church that day.”
“You did? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were so worried about the necklace, I totally forgot. But now I’m sure that Precious is a spy for Mr. Biggs! I mean, why else would she be sneaking around here with him at midnight? We have to go wake up Selvin and tell him right away.”
“You mad!” exclaimed Olivia. “You forget why we are here?” She patted her pocket, where the necklace was safely stowed. “I just hope he didn’t damage it. Let’s just hurry home.”
“But, Olivia—”
“Katani, if we tell Selvin, then he’ll be asking why we are sneaking around here at midnight! Maybe it wasn’t Mr. Biggs’s SUV at all. It dark out here. Just forget about it.”
We started off again, walking fast. I was still annoyed with Olivia, but now, with the mission accomplished, anger was beginning to give way to exhaustion and worry. I just knew there was something funny going on with Precious, and I was concerned about Ol’ Madda Bird. I remembered something Grandma Ruby always said: A lie is easy to tell and hard to manage. I felt awful. What a huge mess!
“You think Ol’ Madda Bird is going to tell anybody?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Olivia replied. “She can’t know it’s us.” “I thought you said she was a powerful witch,” I answered sarcastically.
“But she’s blind. She couldn’t see us,” Olivia answered nervously.
“She recognized you on the way to church,” I reminded her. “Besides, she’s really old and we may have scared her half to death. I feel terrible about that.”
Olivia stifled a sob.
We didn’t talk much after that. As we got closer to home I began to pray that Spotty was not waiting for us and that I wouldn’t have to hear Olivia say “Run!” again that night.
Fortunately, Spotty wasn’t around and we crept through the window and into bed. I was so tired that I didn’t even lay out my clothes for the next day as I
As we ran past the bakery we saw a wavering light coming from the back of the building. I heard Olivia gasp, then she pulled me deeper into the shadows. We stood quietly, hardly daring to breathe; whoever it was with the light would have to pass right by us. The light went out as the person came near. Just then a mosquito buzzed in my ear so loudly, I reacted without thinking by slapping at it.
“Who’s there?” a woman’s voice asked. Olivia stepped out into the road and shone the light on the person. “Precious!” she exclaimed. Then Olivia must have remembered how close we were to Selvin’s house because she lowered her voice to ask, “What you doing here this time of night?”
“What you doing on the road, this time of night?” Precious hissed back at her. She was a sassy girl.
Olivia, of course, could not answer. They stood facing each other for a moment, then Precious said, “If you don’t tell anybody you see me, I won’t tell anybody I see you, ’cause I know you up to some badness.”
With that, she stalked off. Olivia and I watched herdisappear into the darkness, but I thought I saw her climb into a blue SUV. We heard an engine start and the sound of a car driving away. That was weird. Was she meeting with Mr. Biggs again?
“That was a stupid thing to do, shining that light. What if it was a thief!” I yelled at Olivia.
“I wasn’t thinking,” she replied. “What we going to do now?”
“Olivia, I know that SUV,” I told her. “I think it belongs to Mr. Biggs. I saw him sitting in it, talking to Precious, when we were walking back from church that day.”
“You did? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were so worried about the necklace, I totally forgot. But now I’m sure that Precious is a spy for Mr. Biggs! I mean, why else would she be sneaking around here with him at midnight? We have to go wake up Selvin and tell him right away.”
“You mad!” exclaimed Olivia. “You forget why we are here?” She patted her pocket, where the necklace was safely stowed. “I just hope he didn’t damage it. Let’s just hurry home.”
“But, Olivia—”
“Katani, if we tell Selvin, then he’ll be asking why we are sneaking around here at midnight! Maybe it wasn’t Mr. Biggs’s SUV at all. It dark out here. Just forget about it.”
We started off again, walking fast. I was still annoyed with Olivia, but now, with the mission accomplished, anger was beginning to give way to exhaustion and worry. I just knew there was something funny going on with Precious, and I was concerned about Ol’ Madda Bird. I remembered something Grandma Ruby always said: A lie is easy to tell and hard to manage. I felt awful. What a huge mess!
“You think Ol’ Madda Bird is going to tell anybody?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Olivia replied. “She can’t know it’s us.” “I thought you said she was a powerful witch,” I answered sarcastically.
“But she’s blind. She couldn’t see us,” Olivia answered nervously.
“She recognized you on the way to church,” I reminded her. “Besides, she’s really old and we may have scared her half to death. I feel terrible about that.”
Olivia stifled a sob.
We didn’t talk much after that. As we got closer to home I began to pray that Spotty was not waiting for us and that I wouldn’t have to hear Olivia say “Run!” again that night.
Fortunately, Spotty wasn’t around and we crept through the window and into bed. I was so tired that I didn’t even lay out my clothes for the next day as I
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