She’s over by where moms park to pick up their kids. She’s standing next to the dirty white car that’s always parked in front of Gordy’s house. “Gordon!” she yells. “Gordon Vance, you get your be-hind over here!” She’s wearing a flowery nightgown and purple sweatpants underneath.
It’s like freeze tag, like everyone in the courtyard got tagged. Hailey and I are frozen, everyone is frozen, staring at Gordy’s mom. Except for Gordy and Corey. Gordy keeps throwing the football and Corey keeps missing it.
Mrs. B. walks over to the fence. I can’t hear what she’s saying to Gordy’s mom but Gordy’s mom’s yelling, “Don’t you make me come get you!” in this really scary voice. She sounds like a man. She sounds like a murderer!
Gordy keeps throwing the football like he doesn’t even hear her, even when she yells, “I am not leaving here until that boy gets his lazy be-hind inside this car!”
Mrs. B. just called for me. I think because I was just talking to her, I was telling her that one of the tiles on the art wall is broken, LOVE has a crack in it.
I don’t want to go over there, I don’t want to get yelled at by Gordy’s mom, but I have to. “Come on,” I say, and pull Hailey with me.
“Girls, would you please go get Ms. Ranker?” Mrs. B. says in this really sweet voice, like it’s not a big deal at all that Gordy’s mom just yelled, “You better come find that damn dog of yours before I get hold of him!”
We run for the doors, we run down the hall even though there’s no running in the halls. I don’t know if Gordy will be mad at me for getting the principal, or glad. I hope he isn’t mad.
When we come back outside with Ms. Ranker, Gordy’s yelling at everyone to stop staring at that crazy bad-word, and he doesn’t even know who that crazy bad-word is.
Ms. Ranker says something to Mrs. B. that makes Mrs. B. blow her whistle and hold up her arm. We all follow her arm to the green doors like a bunch of little grade-school kids, while Gordy’s mom screams at Ms. Ranker for stealing her boy, and I don’t know what everyone else is thinking right now but I’m thinking about the flames. I’m thinking about God. Wondering if he forgives people like Gordy’s mom, or if Gordy’s mom will be a marshmallow in the fire.