You can’t judge a book by its cover,” my dad said as we drove home from the game.
“What do you mean?” Cassie asked.
“When I first took this job, I heard a lot of negative things about the football team. I was told the guys were lazy and unmotivated. My faith allowed me to cast all the doubt away. I believe in these guys.”
Dad told us that winning the game let him know what his players could achieve. “Most people have more to them than what you see,” he said. “If we see something bad in a friend, it might be our job to pull out the good in that person.”
“What does that have to do with book covers?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You’ve got to spend time reading a book to truly know what it’s all about, Miss Lady. Books are like people in that you can’t size them up before you take time getting into all the parts. You guys remember that as you make new friends. Don’t judge them by what you see. Get deeper and become friends with kids who believe in God and have good hearts.”
“Then if I get a friend like that, Daddy,” Cassie asked, “will we get along all the time?”
Dad laughed. “I wish I could say yes for sure, sweetie pie, but you’ll still probably have slight differences. Just having friends that love God like you do helps to minimize the … drama, as you guys call it.”
“Go, Dad,” I teased.
He smiled.
That night in bed, I thought about my dad’s statements. I’d been excited about the fifth grade. Now I was scared. Would the kids in my class like me? Would I get along with them? Could I continue to get good grades? Would I like the school activities? Unfortunately, I had no answers. But I did know that I couldn’t judge what my school was going to be like until I went there.
I tossed and turned all night.
Before I knew it, Mom was waking me up for Sunday church service. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. But my mother’s serious tone told me my idea was not an option.
At the breakfast table Clay said to Daddy, “That game yesterday was awesome. Beating the Tigers by twenty points was so cool.”
Dad patted my brother on the back. “You’ll be ready for the high school team soon. You’re already in seventh grade. Time to take your playing up to another level. I hear the athletic program at the middle school is great. Having you on their team will only make them greater.”
“Pops, you know I don’t want to play football anymore,” Clay said with distress in his voice.
“Ah, Son,” my dad responded, “that’s just nerves talking. Sure, there will be bigger, tougher, and faster boys on the field this year, but don’t you worry. I plan to have you ready. You’ll be all right.”
I caught a peek of Clay’s face, and I knew he wouldn’t be all right. He truly did not want to play football. He didn’t want to be involved with any sport. And that wasn’t because he was lacking in the talent department. My brother could play ball. But Clay would rather spend his time playing on his computer than playing sports … unless he was playing a sports-themed video game.
“Y’all got some change to spare?” the homeless man asked as people strolled by him and entered the Zion Hill Baptist Church.
Dirt covered the dark man’s face. He smelled like he didn’t have a clue what a bath was. His T-shirt, which was obviously once white, was stained with every color of the rainbow. Holes covered his tennis shoes. Although I felt sad for him, I was afraid of how rough he looked.
About thirty people went into the church doors before my family. Not one stopped to give the man change. I didn’t think we were going to either. However, when the man stared eye-to-eye with my father and asked for money, Dad gave him a ten-dollar bill.
“Do you really think he’s gonna use it for a good cause?” Clay questioned. “I saw on the news that some street beggars take money from hardworking people and then use it to buy alcohol or drugs.”
My dad stopped just before we entered the front door of the church. “Remember what I said to you yesterday about prejudging people?”
My brother nodded.
“How can we know this man won’t use the money wisely? Something really tragic could have happened to put him in that situation. We never know when we might need someone’s help. We should always think twice before we make judgments about someone’s situation.”
Zion Hill was similar to my old church, Mount Calvary Baptist Church. Though we lived in a white area, my family drove thirty miles to the nearest black church. Now our drive wasn’t that far. We only had to ride ten minutes over to Petersburg, Virginia.
The pastor caught my attention as he spoke boldly. “I went to a play last week. Actually, my wife dragged me to it. It was a Christian musical. Don’t tell her, but I actually enjoyed it.”
The congregation chuckled. I hoped I’d get to go to a play soon. I loved musicals.
“In the front of that theater,” the reverend continued, “sat a smelly, dirty man. He was asking folks dressed in their evening best for money. Hardly anyone gave him anything. After the play started, we found out that the man was a member of the cast. He was playing the part of Jesus in the production. I was so moved by that, I asked Deacon Ray to do the same thing for me.” He paused as people in the congregation shook their heads and stared at the floor. “Some of you are probably feeling bad about passing by that homeless man this morning.”
Wow, I thought to myself. The man out front was acting. But he looked so real. He wasn’t Jesus, but he could have been.
“Some of you walked right past him. You only took into account what you saw. You didn’t tell him about the love of God or take a moment to pray for him,” Reverend Wright admonished us. “I saw most of the congregation walk by without giving a penny. I’m often tempted to ignore people begging due to my uncertainty of their character. But God doesn’t ask us to judge others, or to determine if they are worthy of our charity. He just wants us to give and pray.”
Reverend Wright then told Deacon Ray to stand and give a report of the money collected. When a low number was announced, the crowd grew loud, and I saw lots of people shaking their heads. Then our pastor accepted the large, practically empty basket from Deacon Ray and told us that the collected funds would be donated to a homeless shelter.
“This message is for you kids too,” the pastor added, walking into the congregation. “As you enter another school year tomorrow, try being a better person than you were last year. Try loving your neighbors. Try being your brother’s keeper. Try not judging people. Be better than some of us adults, who are set in our ways. We’re often scared to go out on a limb and trust people.” He stopped in the aisle beside me. “I’m not saying you won’t get hurt along the way. I’m not saying trust strangers. But if you keep God in your heart, He will always protect you.”
“We’re in the same class; isn’t that great?” Riana announced as she saw both of our names posted on the same class list in the gym. Our teacher’s name was Miss Pryor.
“How cool!” I was glad I’d have at least one buddy in the class.
Back in July, Mom had taken my little sister and me for a tour of the school building. But the place looked different with people in it. Rolanda, Riana’s sister, knew her way around. Although she and Cassie wouldn’t be in the same class, she promised to take my sister to her new room.
“Come on—let’s get a good seat,” Riana said with excitement as she pulled me up the stairs. “We’re fifth graders, so we’re the oldest. We get to run this place.”
At my old school, elementary wasn’t finished until the sixth grade. Here at Ettrick, the fifth graders were the cream of the crop. I had waited so long to be in the oldest grade. Maybe getting that wish a year early was compensation for having to move.
When we arrived at room 202, we found lots of classmates already at the desks. We couldn’t find any two seats together up front. However, we walked across the front aisle looking at the back rows.
I stopped my feet from moving another inch when I saw Spence Webb, the cute boy from the football game, standing near a seat in the back. I hadn’t had a chance to tell Riana about him.
To my surprise, I caught her staring in Spence’s direction. My friend grabbed my shoulder and whispered, “I can’t believe he’s in our class!”
I didn’t want to have a crush on the same guy my friend liked. But Spence was cute. His gingerbread complexion and teddy bear smile made him absolutely adorable.
“That’s a cute black shirt he has on,” Riana said with a sigh.
I blinked. Spence wasn’t wearing a black shirt. But the guy standing next to him was.
I sighed with relief. “I thought you were talking about Spence.”
Riana turned quickly to me. “How do you know Spence?”
“I met him Saturday at Virginia State’s football game,” I said.
Riana nodded. “His grandpa does something important over there, doesn’t he?”
“Dr. Webb is the president of the university. I’d say that’s pretty important,” I joked. “Spence and I didn’t talk a lot, but he seemed nice,” I said, trying not to look at him.
I’d never liked a boy before. I hadn’t been sure I liked Spence until I thought my friend liked him.
“What’s the name of the guy in the black shirt?” I asked.
“That’s Hunter Jones,” Riana told me with a big smile. “He was in my class last year. We were science partners. I really missed Hunter over the summer. I think that means I like him. I’m glad he’s in my class again anyway.”
Riana asked people to move so we could sit together, but no one would budge. We ended up taking two seats in the second-to-last row. In my old school, I usually sat in the front row. The board was so clear from there.
Riana pulled out her reading glasses and put them on. She didn’t seem to mind the distance. I didn’t either when I noticed Spence and Hunter take the seats right behind us. The boys said hello as they sat down. My friend and I just giggled.
Mrs. Morgan, the principal, came on the loudspeaker. As she gave a welcome and the announcements, I checked out my new surroundings. Three bulletin boards were up at the front of the class. One had the words math and science in bright red cut-out letters. Reading and English were placed in blue on the other board. The third bulletin board behind Miss Pryor’s desk was blank.
There were thirty seats in the room, five rows with six desks in each. Every place was filled but one. That made twenty-nine students in the class.
Just then, the door opened, and a girl rushed in. She was shorter than me with dark chocolate skin and short hair.
After she spoke to the teacher, the girl took the last empty seat in front of Spence. She looked around the room and made eye contact with Spence and Hunter.
Riana leaned over and nodded toward the girl. “That’s Layah Golf,” my friend whispered. “She’s the best athlete at this school. All the guys like to hang with her. They think she’s cool. I think she’s a tomboy.”
That skinny little thing, an athlete? I thought. She looked like she’d tip over if she held my CD player in her hand.
“She plays football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, kickball, tennis … everything but the sport like her name, golf.” Riana snorted.
Miss Pryor called the class to order. She started with an overview of what we could expect from the year. She announced that this was an advanced class and that she’d be expecting a lot out of us. I must have done well on my placement test to land with this smart group. When I saw some other surprised faces, I realized I wasn’t the only one who was not aware that this was an accelerated fifth grade class. My parents would be pleased.
Miss Pryor seemed really nice. She was young and pretty. This was her first year at the school. Just like me.
Lunchtime was the first break of our long morning. Miss Pryor pointed out three big tables that were set aside for our class. We could sit anywhere at those tables, she said, after we received our food. But if we caused too much trouble sitting where we wanted, she would assign seats.
Hunter and Spence stood in line behind Riana and me. When Riana asked me how I liked the new school, I told her it had definite potential. She grinned, catching my hint about the cute boys behind us.
When we had our food, Riana found four seats together. We hoped Hunter and Spence would take the other two. As the boys started toward us, my heart skipped a beat.
Just before they reached our table, Layah walked up to them.
“Oh, Hunter, don’t sit there,” she said smoothly. “You and Spence come over here, and let’s rap.”
“That’s a bet,” Hunter agreed as he followed Layah.
Spence looked at Riana and me and shrugged. “See you after lunch,” he said before joining his friend.
We watched the guys move away from our table. But before they sat down, a fight broke out. A big girl tripped Layah. Then she started beating up on the girl, who probably was double her weight.
Some people cheered. I couldn’t understand how anyone could applaud someone else’s pain. The whole thing scared me. I’d never witnessed girls fight. I’d only seen them argue. Layah must have felt she was right because the other girl started the fight. But in my mind there was no reason for what she was doing.
We hadn’t been in school a whole day, and I had already learned a great lesson. It was like my dad said after the game. And Reverend Wright said at church. I hadn’t truly understood the meaning of prejudgment until that moment. Although I didn’t really know Layah, she seemed like a pushover in the classroom. But I knew now she was nothing like what I had seen at first glance.