The Pledge Read Free Page A

quiet. “So, munchkin, you happy about starting third grade?”
    â€œI guess,” she said, shrugging as she played with her food. Cory was only eight, but she was small for her age. She wore glasses, and they seemed to take up most of her face.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Momma asked, frowning.
    â€œWhat if I don’t know any of the kids?” she asked.
    Momma put down her fork and grabbed her hand. “Oh, honey, I’m sure it will be most of the same kids who were in your class last year.”
    â€œYeah, and if not, you’ll just make new friends,” I said.
    Cory looked at her plate. “But I don’t make friends as easy as you,” she said.
    â€œThat’s not true. You forget I’m shy, too,” I said, feeling sorry for her. “It just takes you a little longer. It’s going to be fine, okay?”
    â€œOkay,” she finally said.
    My little sister was really shy, and she was right, she didn’t make friends easily. She liked to sit back and observe people. I used to be the same way. I still saw myself as the fat kid, and when I saw people staring, I always secretly wondered if they were thinking I looked like a cow or something. Being a cheerleader had given me more confidence, so I was just reaching the point where I could walk into a room and start talking. Regardless, Cory is the sweetest girl I know. Even though she’s my little sister, I enjoy spending time with her. She is really pretty hilarious once she gets going, and not many people know it, but she can dance her butt off. I think by the time she’s my age and fills out a little, guys are going to go crazy over her.
    Momma glanced at the clock. “You guys ready?” she asked, taking a final sip of coffee.
    I took another bite of my pancakes and pushed back my chair. “I am,” I said.
    Cory just stood without saying anything.
    We scraped our plates, rinsed them off and put them in the sink, then we grabbed our stuff and headed out to Momma’s Honda Pilot.
    â€œCan I drive today?” I asked.
    Momma looked like she was going to say no, so I quickly said, “Daddy won’t let me drive his car, so the only time I get to do it is when I’m with you. Please?”
    Momma sighed and handed over the keys. “Be careful,” she cautioned.
    I nodded and ran around to the driver’s side. After we were buckled in, I adjusted the rearview mirror, then slowly backed out of the driveway. As I stopped at the sign at the end of our street, Daddy turned the corner. I glanced over at Momma, and she was frowning.
    I blew the horn and let down the window. “Hey, Daddy,” I said.
    â€œHey,” he said gruffly. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, and from the looks of it, he had on the same shirt he had worn the day before.
    We sat there in silence for a few seconds. When the awkwardness finally got to me, I said, “Well, we’re going to be late.” I rolled up the window before he could respond and drove off.
    I glanced over at Momma again, but she was staring out the window. Cory was busy playing her Game Boy, which she had grabbed off the counter before we left, so I turned on the radio. I really wanted to listen to 95.7 Jamz, but I knew Momma liked gospel, so I turned it to Heaven 610 for her. They were playing Birmingham’s first American Idol Ruben Studdard’s version of “Amazing Grace,” and Momma looked at me and smiled.
    We dropped off Cory at Epic, which is a school for really smart kids, then Momma and I headed to Grover, which was a few blocks away on the south side.
    â€œWhat do you have planned today?” I asked, just to make conversation.
    â€œJust working and taking care of you kids,” she said with a shrug.
    She just looked so sad to me. “Why don’t we have a girls-only day on Saturday? I only have two more free weekends before football season starts. We can go get manicures and