Lacey and the African Grandmothers Read Online Free Page B

And that I could help her. But how? How could I convince Angel that she is not powerless – that none of us is?

Chapter 4
Grannies and Babies
    T he wind blew snow across the prairie like a cloud lifting from the ground. It flung arrows of ice that pierced my eardrums as I walked from my school to Sequoia, and made my long hair dance and twist into knots that would hurt to take out. As soon as I came inside, my glasses fogged up and made me blind. My fingers and nose were so frozen that they burned as if they were on fire. I was cold and tired, and just wanted to curl up and sleep like the babies dozing on the mats and in the playpens.
    The weather seemed to be a little mixed up. It was supposed to be getting warmer, not colder. I wished the snow would melt, and the prairie grasses would begin to grow. But instead, we had more snow, and winds as fierce as a hungry bear. It was a good thing my little seeds were warm and safe inside.
    â€œLacey, guess what?” Angel asked me. Her brown eyes were sparkling with happiness, and she looked as if she wanted to jump around. She took my cold hands in her warm ones. “Brrrr! Did you forget to use your pockets?”
    â€œI’m OK. What did you want to tell me?”
    â€œMy math test! I passed! I passed math. Isn’t that the greatest news? And I not only passed, I got 82 percent!”
    â€œI’m so proud of you, my smart sister. I knew you could do it!” I gave her a high-five.
    â€œI’m proud of me too. When Mrs. B. gave me back the test, I gave her a hug and a big kiss. I think that surprised her.”
    â€œHow about Kelvin?” I asked. I looked around the room, but he wasn’t there. “Did he pass?”
    Her face lost its glow. “No,” she said. “He didn’t make it. I think he’s mad at me because I passed and he didn’t. But I studied and worked hard. He should have done that too, instead of watching TV and going to parties.”
    After I watered the dirt in the little containers, I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders, sat with the babies, and stayed quiet. I’ve learned that it’s often best to be quiet, especially if I don’t want to go outside. When I’m quiet, sometimes I’m also invisible, and no one gives extra work to people they can’t see. I had enough work already with my dad and my older brothers gone away to sing. Mum wasn’t feeling well enough to do everything herself, so for Angel and me it meant lots of cooking, cleaning, laundry, and looking after noisy little brothers. I was starting to think Mum should go have that operation.
    Kayden stood in a play saucer on the floor beside Angel. I crept across the floor to her and tried to make her laugh by playing peek-a-boo and batting the toys attached to the play saucer. I like it when she laughs. She makes a happy sound deep in her throat that turns into a high-pitched squeal, and she flaps her arms and tries to jump up and down. Even her hair laughs. It’s just like Angel’s hair, and swings in little curls that bounce like a spring. Watching her laugh always makes me laugh, too, but I am careful to laugh quietly, without opening my mouth. If I have a big laugh, I have to make sure to cover my mouth to keep the sound inside and to hide my crooked teeth.
    There was music coming from a CD – the sound of drums and the voices of men singing ancient songs. Kayden bounced to the beat of the drums. The music made me think of sitting around a fire, and it made me feel warmer. Two of the little kids were making long blue snakes out of the play clay that Lila had mixed. Some of the older kids were drawing, working on the computers, reading, and writing things in their binders. Everyone was quietly busy inside because no one wanted to go outside. The babies didn’t know enough to be quiet, so some were crying or babbling. A few were banging on toys. I picked up one of the babies who was crying and jiggled