Stella by Starlight Read Online Free

there, Jonah,” she said, deliberately changing the subject, Stella thought. “The children are gonna need shoes soon.”
    Papa blew on the coffee. “They’ll be fine. When I was a kid, I never wore shoes. Made me tough. ’Sides, I’ve got lots more on my mind today than barefoot children.”
    Stella saw her mother’s eyes narrow, but she switched subjects again. “Jojo, Stella, you two get on out of here. Ain’t none of the other younguns got shoes neither, so don’t you worry at all about that. If you run to school, you’ll stay warm. Just be sure to sit by the stove in the schoolroom when you get there.”
    Stella looked down at her dirty toenails and rusty-looking feet. Shoes might be nice, but she knew those feet could outrun just about anybody in Bumblebee. Well, anybody but Tony Hawkins. And that was good enough for now.

5
Quit that Skylarkin’!
    As Stella and Jojo got their jackets and lunch pails, their mother warned, “Y’all be careful, you hear! Those crazy Klan folks are up to something. Until we figure out what, you’re to come straight home after school. Stay together, stay out of the woods, and keep to the main road.”
    â€œYou got that?” Papa added.
    Stella and Jojo nodded solemnly and headed out into the nippy, sparkling morning. But as soon as they were off the porch, Jojo cried out, “Race ya!” and he took off.
    â€œTo the apple tree in the Winstons’ yard!” Stella hollered after him, breaking into a run herself.
    â€œWinner gets to be the boss!” Jojo yelled back.
    â€œWell, get ready to lose then!” Stella ran full-out up the dirt road. Laughing and breathless, she touched the tree just seconds before Jojo did, her lunch bucket clunking against the trunk. “Ha-ha! I’m the queen of the world!” she shouted to the sky.
    â€œI almost beat you! You ain’t even princess of Bumblebee,” Jojo told her, laughing as well.
    â€œI am queen and you gotta do what I say,” Stella declared, folding her arms across her chest.
    Just then Johnsteve Winston came out of his house, lunch pail dangling from his left hand. He was thick and sturdy, built like a man already.
    â€œShe think she’s the queen again?” Johnsteve asked Jojo, his thumb pointing to Stella.
    â€œYup.”
    Stella fixed them both with a steely glare, then said in her best royal voice, “Both of you must go and slay a dragon for me. Begone!”
    Johnsteve raised an eyebrow. “First of all, Your Highness, I didn’t lose no race. Second of all, you’re in my yard.”
    â€œAnd third,” Jojo finished, stretching out his arms, “there ain’t no dragons around here!”
    â€œWell, how about a bear, then?” Stella asked, hands on her hips.
    â€œMaybe a bear,” Johnsteve mused. “But if I caught one, what would you do with it?”
    â€œI’d put it on a leash and take it to church!” Stella said.
    â€œYour sister’s crazy,” Johnsteve said to Jojo.
    â€œYup.”
    Mrs. Winston poked her head out her front door. “Y’all quit that skylarkin’ and get your butts to school ’fore you be late! And mind you keep your eyes and ears sharp!”
    â€œYes, M’am,” they all replied, and commenced walking again. The town square, and beyond that, their school, were a little more than a mile away.
    â€œSo what all went on at the meeting at your house last night?” Johnsteve asked, changing the mood.
    â€œFar as I can tell, all they did was swear to help and protect each other—and us,” Stella said. “I guess it’s good they all got together like that, but . . .” She gave a rock a good, hard kick.
    â€œYou musta been pretty scared—seeing real live Klansmen!”
    â€œA little,” Stella admitted. “Nighttime made them even scarier. But the way I figure it, those robes