Paulie. I jump.
Mr. Langley is right
beside me, pointing
at the flowers on my paper.
Why did you change
them? he says.
I look at the picture.
I guess I wasn’t paying attention.
Instead of the lilies
Mr. Langley has in his vase,
I painted tulips.
Mama’s favorite.
I shrug and look away.
I can feel Mr. Langley’s
eyes on me, like he knows
why I did it and he didn’t really
need to ask me
at all.
But how could
he know?
with something after school? he says.
He waves his hand at some
crates beside me. In them
are cans of spray paint
in all different colors.
What is it? I say.
It’s the first time I’ve spoken
in a class since the
school year began.
You’ll see, he says,
smiling so the skin around his eyes
wrinkles like crumpled paper.
Okay, I say.
I’ll just have to let
Aunt Bee know.
Come as soon as the
bell rings, he says,
like he already knows
what Aunt Bee will say.
counting the hours
until the school day ends.