Hoodie Read Free Page B

spotted her sitting near the window. He inhaled deeply and went inside. Just then the bell rang and Mrs. Hartsford stood up behind her desk. She noticed Anton walking towards the windows.
    “Um, excuse me, sir? You aren’t in this class,” she said, watching him walk over to Emma.
    “I know. This’ll only take a second,” Anton replied.
    “Um, no. You’ll leave my class now, please,” Mrs. Hartsford said firmly.
    “Look, I need to talk to her for a minute, okay?” he said pointing at Emma.
    “That’s why there’s time in between classes. Now, I’ll ask you again to please leave.”
    Anton ignored her and turned to Emma.
    “I’m sorry. Okay? I shouldn’t of called you a bitch. You ain’t a bitch. At least I don’t know. Maybe you a bitch. Maybe you not. How do I know? I mean, I don’t even know you. How am I gonna call you a bitch when I don’t even know you?”
    Emma stared wide-eyed, mouth drawn tight.
    “So we cool?” Anton asked.
    “Uh, yeah,” Emma whispered. “Now leave.”
    “I can’t tell if you really accept my apology. Look, we got six weeks of work, know what I’m sayin’? I can’t be dealin’ with all this hostility. You forgive me?” he asked.
    He was squatting beside her staring up at her imploringly. Mrs. Hartsford was on the phone asking for the assistance of office personnel to escort a boy out of her room who didn’t belong there and wouldn’t leave.
    “Can we discuss this later? You’re already in trouble,” Emma whispered though she didn’t know why. The class was completely silent watching the scene. They heard every word.
    “Okay, okay. You forgive me though?”
    “Yes,” she replied, and she saw a wave of relief wash over his face.
    “Okay, so you meet me after school?”
    “Yes,” she said uneasily.
    “Anton!” It was the vice principal. His voice sounded tired, defeated, as though he had been dealing with unruly students all day and hadn’t the energy anymore to care. He looked nothing like a disciplinarian standing in the doorway watching Anton leave.
    “Can’t you just be where you’re supposed to be?” Emma heard as the door slowly closed.
    “It was important, Mr. McCullum. I ain’t tryin’ to be bad. You know that.”
     
    ***
     
    The hallway was clearing out as she watched him load his book bag with textbooks and binders. Did he really do any work when he got home, she thought? He didn’t seem like the studious type. Anton threw his bag over his shoulder and walked towards her. She felt herself getting nervous, knowing it would manifest itself on her face in the form of bright red cheeks.
    When he reached her, he dropped his bag and looked down at her. He said nothing, clearly inviting her to speak first.
    “You pushed me up against the lockers on purpose,” Emma said suddenly. She didn’t mean to open the conversation with that.
    “I know,” he said shaking his head. “I don’t know why I did that. I was just tryin’ to show off in front of my friends.”
    “It was humiliating,” Emma replied, her voice shaking slightly.
    “I meant it to be,” Anton said.
    She wasn’t prepared for that response.
    “Why would you want to do that? Why would you want to hurt me?” Emma asked, her tempering rising.
    “I was tryin’ to put you in yo’ place.”
    “I don’t even know what that means,” she replied.
    “You stuck up. You think you better than me,” Anton explained.
    “You’re so off base with that,” Emma said. She shook her head in disbelief.
    “Oh yeah? I saw the way you was lookin’ at me in class. You looked at me like I was a big waste of yo’ time.”
    “I was irritated with you. You acted like you didn’t care at all about this project, slouching in your desk like you were too good for—”
    “Why you dislike me so much?” Anton interrupted. “You don’t know me any more than I know you.”
    “I don’t dislike you,” Emma replied. “You didn’t give me a chance to even be nice to you. You acted like a