Ruthie Mae was screaming her head off, when Willie finally came running up, signaling for the boys to let her go. Then he grabbed her and demanded that she carry his books the rest of the way home. She hollered that she wouldn’t and found herself back in the hands of the two boys who’d caught her. One held on to her, while the other one tickled her. In between laughing and screaming, she begged Willie to make them stop, promising she’d take the books now.
He shoved them into her arms so hard and fast, she almost slipped in the mud. They were all just laughing at Ruthie Mae, and instead of Ludell getting on along while she could, she stood at a distance cracking her side too. Then in a fit of flurry they were after her! She tried her best to outrun them but couldn’t. Willie had her left arm, twisting it round in back of her and she was screaming madly.
“Now what you mean taking off from me so fast today young lady?” he said all bossy. “Don’t you know I starts the running roun here firse? Th-een, you take off and try to get away!”
“She musta jumped out the window or something!” shouted one of the other boys. “Cause she was all the way up here when we got roun the comer!”
Willie stood still, holding her arm somewhat loosely, but not enough for her to jerk away. She felt as though he didn’t really want to beat her, but she knew he would regardless, to show off.
“I’m gon give you a couple of licks to teach you a lesson young lady,” he said, pulling a switch from a bush.
“Willie Johnson I done already told yo mama on you now boy! If you beat me wit that switch, I’m going straight to the principal tomorrow and tell her bout how you be chasing and beating up all the fifth grade girls everyday!” she shouted.
“I ’on care,” he said. “Evon Jenkins already did, and I just tole Mis Stevanson that yall be flirting with me. She said it’s probably true cause she know how fresh girls can be! Then she tole ole Evon to git on back to her room, and she let me go just like that!” he said laughing. “Now you just hold still so we can get this over with.”
“Swish, swish,” he went with the switch, brushing her lightly across the legs. It wasn’t hurting that much, but she felt so shame—him standing there whipping her like he was somebody’s mama! She began kicking at him wildly, and he laughed and said, “Look at them ashy legs!” The other boys laughed harder now. “Betch they don’ know what lotion is!” Willie added, and they all went crazy laughing while she screamed and kicked.
“Turn me loose, you big-headed ba-boon! Leave me lone you ole stanky gopher you!” she cried.
Ruthie Mae came dragging up, all weighed down with two sets of books.
“Willie whon’t you leave that girl lone boy? I’m telling mama on you time she git home! And HERE! TAKE YO BOOKS!” she shouted, throwing them down on the wet ground and taking off!
“Girl I’m gon kill you now!” he hollered, letting go of Ludell in his anger. He bent down, picked up the books, and started wiping off the mud, looking cheap. His own buddies couldn’t help laughing. Ludell was dying to but was too scared. Mad as he was already, she figured he might turn and beat her brains out on the spot. She started running, and as soon as it was safe, began shouting back to him, laughing and teasing him about his muddy books. Then as he and the boys came closer, she began making it for her door.
Heading up the steps, she could see Ruthie Mae over next door. “You sho fixed him good-fashioned,” she hollered over to her, as Ruthie Mae rushed inside. Though their mother Mis Johnson wasn’t there, Mattie their oldest sister was, and she wouldn’t allow Willie to beat up Ruthie Mae.
“You-you,” Ludell stuttered, trying desperately to think of something extra bad to call the boys as they passed her house. Unable to think of anything super, she settled for plain “ole black dogs” to which one boy responded, “Ya mama!”
“Yours,” she said softly, feeling licked. She started for the door and suddenly remembered that she hadn’t taken off her tennises. Rushing back off the porch and tipping around to the side of the house, she eased underneath and changed into her shoes.
Mama hadn’t left for work this morning on time, so she’d had to hide her tennises under her jacket until she got outside. She knew well that she had taken a big chance, because Mis Henley could have pulled up and blew for mama while she was switching shoes. Had she, mama would have surely had Mis Henley wait while she whipped her, because mama wasn’t one for putting off a whipping.
Ludell was hurrying, realizing that she could still get caught. She didn’t know how she was going to get the sneakers inside. She couldn’t put them under her jacket now because they were wet and would mess up her dress that she had to wear again tomorrow. She was sure of one thing though, and that was that she’d better hurry and get in that house before mama came looking for her. Unable to think of anything else to do with them, she stuck the tennises inside her notebook, and slung her jacket over it.
Walking into the house she was thinking, “Lo-oord what if mama be sitting on the porch one day when I come strutting up not wearing my shoes!”
“The chances I’m taking,” she said shaking her head. “But it’s worth every risk I take—not having to wear them boy-looking shoes and have everybody at school picking at me. Specially ole Willie! He always saying something bout me!”
“I know he’d just have himself a field day if he ever saw these,” she thought, looking down at the brown oxfords as she stepped into her room. “Dessa must be crazy sending these thangs down here to me,” she said, taking them off. “Maybe they the style in New Yawk, but they sho ain’t in Waycross!”
She took off her dress and started putting on some playthings; then bent down to stick the tennises under her bed to dry out.
“Hey!” mama said, easing up on her and making her jump up from the floor.
“Oooh! H-hey mama,” she went, turning around to face her.
“What you jumping for chile?” her grandmother asked.
“You scared me mama, that’s why. I didn’t hear you coming.”
“I was in the kitchen there, sprinkling down my ironing,” mama explained. “I thought it was past time for you to be in, so I was going to the front to look. I didn’t even know you was back here already. I guess you finally learning how to walk inside without slamming the door,” she said laughing. “That’s how I can use-ually tell you here!”
Ludell smiled, then asked, “You want me to help you with the ironing today mama?”
“Naw, mostly I got Mr. Henley’s white shirts to do,” she answered. “Rich as they is, you’d thank he’d send them thangs to the cleaners! You can gone play—but don’ git carried away and let the streetlights catch you out there again. If you aine here ’fore dark, I’m gon come beat you rat there in fronta everybody—you hear?”
“Yes mam,” she said heading for the door, then running on out.
“And stop slamming that dev-lish door!” mama hollered, after Ludell forgot and did it again.
She headed straight next door to Ruthie Mae’s. Carefully avoiding the places where her foot could slip through on the Johnsons’ ragged wooden porch, Ludell thought, “Be kinda tough hiding shoes under the porch over here man.”
She knocked on the door and lil snotty-nosed Cathy came running to see who it was. When Ludell asked if her sister was home, Cathy got smart with her and said, “Which sister? I got two!”
“You know I’m talking bout Ruthie Mae, girl,” said Ludell.
“And you know she home,” replied Cathy. “Ruthie Mae, YOU-KNOW-WHO is here!” she shouted.
Ludell rolled her eyes at Cathy, and she in turn stuck her tongue out at Ludell and went running on toward the