Bang, Bang!

Papa was planning on going down to Vicksburg with Stacey and Mr. Morrison to go and get food since our family was not allowed to go to them Wallaces for food and supplies. Mama insisted that Stacey stayed with them while Papa went with Mr. Morrison but Papa said that Stacey should man-up and go with them. Learn his responsibilities. And there they went, up to Vicksburg.

They were planning or returning later that day but there was an unexpected "change in plans". Mama was starting to worry when Papa, Stacey and Mr. Morrison didn't show up when they said they would. I was unable to sleep and so were my brothers. We were all to excited waiting for them to arrive.

A long time had passed, and it was when Mama was starting to lose hope when we heard Mr. Morrison's voice traveling through the distance, calling to Stacey. It was raining hard and Papa was being carried by Mr. Morrison.. As soon as we saw him, I knew something was wrong.

Papa was shot. As Papa got to bed and changed his clothes, Stacey said that as they were coming back from Vicksburg, when the back wheels from the wagon came off. Then Papa and Mr. Morrison thought someone messed with them wheels, 'cause both hopped off the wagon at the same time. Stacey told them he'd seen two boys near the wagon earlier when they were in Vicksburg. Papa and Mr. Morrison were afraid someone was coming after them so they didn't have enough time. They had to put those wheels on fast. Papa was certain that people were after them.

After we found the bolts and the wheels, Papa told Stacey to hold Jack's reins real tight, to keep him still while Papa put the wheels and bolts back on. Still, Jack was real agitated and skittish because of the storm.. Mr. Morrison had the wagon lifted to help Papa.. and that's when he got shot.

I couldn't imagine why anyone would shoot Papa like that, in the middle of the night. Stacey said that he then saw a truck coming towards us, however none of us saw it or heard it 'cause of the rain and 'cause they didn't have their lights on. They only noticed it when it stopped. There were three men in the truck, and as Papa saw 'em, he reached for his shotgun. That's when they shot him, and Papa fell with his left leg under the wagon. Stacey stopped talking for a moment and looked ashamed of himself. He continued, saying that Jack got afraid with the thunder and reared up, and Stacey couldn't hold him. The wagon hit Papa's leg.

I felt sorry for Stacey, especially with that look of guilt in his eyes. I wouldn't have known what to do either if it had happened to me... Stacey went on after a while, saying that he tried to reach Papa but he told Stacey to duck under the gully and them men went after Mr. Morrison, after shooting Papa. Stacey stated that it wasn't clear for him to see what had happened exactly but he did see that Mr. Morrison got one of the men and lifted him, like he was nothing but a bag of chicken feathers, and threw him in the floor so hard it could've broke his back. The other men got the shotgun they had and Mr. Morrison decided not to hit them. He might have thought it was too risky.. Instead, he ducked under the truck in the darkness and them men went after him. Stacey said he saw nothin' more after that.

Them men then went on and took the man Mr. Morrison threw down and took him to the truck. Bones cracked, men cried, and all dissolves into the whispering night.
Papa is sleeping now, in his bed and does not look like he will wake up the next morning.. He has a bandage wrapped around his head, his face seemed exhausted, even though no expression was shown. My brothers, Mama, Big Ma, Mr. Morrison and I... we all just hope Papa gets better soon. Not only to work and sustain us but also for his own sake. I have a feeling that it's all gonna be alright soon, I really hope it does.

Source: "Blog." Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. 

Friends with the Enemy

For some days then, I've been thinkin' 'bout what had happened down in Strawberry, with Lillian Jean and them Simmses and that white father of hers and I realised: that wasn't gonna stay that way. I had the most brilliant plan of all to get my revenge on Lillian Jean because of what had happened and for the humiliation she made me go through. So I'd decided I would act as if Lillian Jean was all important because she's white and I was s'pose to carry her things and act inferior to her, as if I had learnt my lesson. If my plan worked, Lillian Jean would had what she deserved.
So for a couple of weeks now, I have been walking with Lillian Jean on our way back from school and she just starts telling me all that has been happenin' to her and her friends at school, secrets her friends had told her and who she likes (as a crush!). I don't know what's gotten' into her but she just assumes I'm her friend/book-carier/inferior-black-girl... I even call her "Miz Lillian Jean", which might be stressing sometimes but I've started to get used to it.
One day, coming home from school, I told her I had a surprise for her and she got all excited thinkin' it was a gift or somethin' I'd make for her. We stepped onto a dry gully and scrambled onto the bank. Lillian Jean was uncertain at first but I reassured her that the 'surprise' was hidden there, not too far. As we reached a clearing, far from the road, I smashed all her books onto the ground. She demanded me to pick 'em up thinkin' she wouldn't have to say that twice. But bravely, and quietly, I said "Make me." If only you could have seen her face! It was almost comical! She asked "What?" and I repeated. Her face paled and then turned bright red with anger. The girl slapped my face (and for the record, I wasn't planning on hitting nobody. She was the one who slapped me first) and I started tackling her so strongly that we both ended up falling. That ole Lillian Jean tried fighting as best as she could but the girl was no match for me. I punched her in the stomach and buttocks, twisted her hair but didn't touch her face once. She called me names and managed to scratch me twice, however could't pull my hair because I had purposely asked Big Ma to braid my hair into flat braids against my head. As I had pinned Lillian Jean to the ground, securely underneath me, I demanded an apology for all them names she had called me and for what happened down at Strawberry. She hesitated at first but I threatened her saying "You wanna be bald, girl?". And so, she apologised for herself, for her father. For her brothers and mother. For Strawberry and Mississipi. I think that she'd have apologised for the world being round if I had continued to jerk her hair like that.
I had it all planned. As I let her go, she threatened to tell that to her father 'bout what had happened but I told her that if she did that, I'd let everyone at Jefferson Davis know how good of a friend she is that keeps all her friends' secrets. I told her that if one single person knew, those were the last secrets she would have heard. Besides, if anyone did hear about it, she'd be laughed at for being hit by a nine-year-old when she's thirteen.

These pictures are something like where I had gotten ourselves into, and how it looked like along the way. 

 

Source Image #1: "View Topic - The 4 Clans: High Ranks Open! - Chicken Smoothie." View Topic - The 4 Clans: High Ranks Open! - Chicken Smoothie. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. 

 
Source Image #2: "Texas Water Resources Institute." Gully Plugs. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.