OPTION ONE: Ask if we can adopt Noodles. The answer is likely to be no, so proceed to
OPTION TWO: Ask if we know anyone in the family, or from the store who wants a dog. If no, proceed to
OPTION THREE: Can we post a flyer in the store?
By the time Jin finished her list, Rose had designed a flyer that featured the cutest picture of Noodles dressed in a little three-piece tweed suit. They printed out a few copies so that Rose could post them around the neighborhood and brought one to the front of the store to show Halmoni. Jin went through her list of options. Halmoni said no to the first two, but when she asked her if she would post the flyer on the bulletin board, Halmoni said yes right away.
“This dog look very professional. I like that,” Halmoni nodded as she stuck the flyer up on the board.
Rose flung herself at Halmoni, hugging her tightly. “Thank you, Halmoni! Thank you!” She said, tearing up.
“Okay, enough. You welcome.” Halmoni pried Rose off her and shooed her out of the store before she started to cry again.
The door hadn’t even closed behind Rose all the way, when Alex walked in, lugging a shopping cart full of groceries behind her. She didn’t say anything to Jin, who was standing near the entrance. Instead, she marched right up to the counter and held out her hand for Halmoni to shake.
“Hello, my name is Alex Roebuck, and I’m collecting food donations for the Harlem women’s shelter. I was wondering if you would like to make a donation,” she said sweetly. Halmoni studied her for a moment before grabbing a couple of plastic bags and quickly filling them with fruit and vegetables from the produce bins. She even added a jar of her prized kimchi.
“No way!” Jin gasped, and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. Halmoni never gave anything away without asking questions first. Her grandmother was full of surprises today.
“Thank you so much.” Alex smiled as she loaded the bags into her cart. She looked nothing like the scowling angry girl who had unleashed her wrath on Brittany Stevenson in class the other day.
Unfortunately, the old Alex was back by the time she turned around to face Jin. “Coming?” she hissed, heading toward the door.
“Halmoni, is it okay if I go out with Alex for a little while? She goes to my school and we’re working on a project together,” Jin asked quietly. She was a little embarrassed that she had to ask to go out, especially in front of Alex, who didn’t seem like she had to ask permission to do anything.
“Why you whisper? Speak up!” Halmoni yelled. Geez, could she be any louder? Jin’s cheeks burned as she took a quick look behind her. Alex had already left.
“I said, is it okay if I hang out with Alex?” Comeoncomeoncomeon … Jin hopped from one foot to the other.
“Be back before five o’clock,” Halmoni instructed. Jin grabbed her jacket and notebook, and sped out the door.
Alex hadn’t gotten far with her heavy shopping cart. Jin easily spotted her swerving through the throngs of Saturday shoppers on 125th Street and fell into step beside her.
“Hey, doing a little grocery shopping?” Jin cringed at her corny line, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
Alex was not amused. “Let’s get one thing clear.” She stopped walking. “You are only here because you pretty much forced me to work with you.”
“About that, I’ve never done—” Jin attempted to explain, but Alex cut her off.
“We are not friends. And us hanging out like this? Not. Happening. Ever. Again. Got it?”
Jin nodded hesitantly. “But isn’t it going to be hard to work together if—”
“Oh, and one more thing,” Alex cut her off again. “Don’t say anything. I do the talking when I make my deliveries. You do not speak to anyone, or touch any of my stuff. Understood?” Again, Jin bobbed her head as they zigzagged through the crowds on 125th Street.
They turned and continued walking uptown. When they stopped at a corner to wait for the light to change, Alex walked over to pet a dog tied to a nearby lamppost. Suddenly, Jin had a brainstorm. Maybe Alex could help her to find a home for Noodles!
“Hey, speaking of helping people,” Jin said before the light changed. “My friend Rose, who goes to our school, has to give away her dog, Noodles, because, well, it’s a long story. Anyway, I was thinking that maybe you could help us find a new owner?”
“Helping your friend and her stupid dog was not part of our deal,” Alex snapped, tugging the cart forward.
“Noodles isn’t stupid!” Jin crossed her arms over her chest. “He just needs a new home. You obviously like dogs and I just thought, with all the good deeds you do in the neighborhood, you might know someone.”
“I don’t.”
“Look, I think it’s cool that you give MetroCards and food to total strangers. But what about helping a real person, I mean, like someone you might actually know?” For a second, Jin thought she saw the beginnings of a smile as Alex studied her.
“You are very persistent and very annoying. Kind of like a mosquito.” Alex shook her head. “I’ll keep my eyes open. That’s it.”
“Awesome! Rose will be so happy.” Jin grinned. Alex rolled her eyes. Not to be deterred, Jin kept talking. “Why don’t we discuss our project?” she suggested. “We absolutely don’t have to do this, but one idea that I had was to do something on the writers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Their work really—”
“No offense, but the Harlem Renaissance is over,” Alex interrupted, shaking her head. “I personally don’t see the point of doing something about the past, when so much is going on in Harlem right now.” Alex lugged her cart in the direction of a restaurant called the Magic Skillet, located on the corner of 135th and Malcolm X Boulevard.
“So enlighten me. What’s going on in Harlem? I live here, too, you know,” Jin bristled as she followed Alex into the small diner that was so packed with customers all the windows were fogged. The smell of crisp bacon and grilled hamburgers clinging to the thick air made her stomach grumble.
“Well, for one thing, this restaurant is an institution,” Alex said to Jin over her shoulder. “Lots of famous people ate here, including Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But haven’t you noticed all the big corporations and restaurant chains that have invaded Harlem recently? Those places almost always push out the poor and the small businesses that serve everyday people. The Magic Skillet may not be around for much longer.” Alex scanned the crowd, craning her neck to see over the backs and heads of the diners at the counter.
“It seems like it’s doing okay,” Jin commented.
“Just a matter of time,” Alex said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jin asked, but Alex was already moving in the direction of a waitress who was waving at her from the back of the restaurant.
“There you are, sugar!” The woman gave Alex a quick hug with one arm, while pouring coffee with the other. “Got some good stuff for you today.” She sat the coffeepot down on a warmer and disappeared into the back. She returned carrying a large shopping bag full of food, and one long French baguette.
“This is great!” Alex stuffed the bag and the bread into her cart. “The women at the shelter are going to love this.”
“And here’s a little something special for you.” The waitress handed her a brown bag with grease stains seeping through paper. “Eat ’em while they’re warm,” she winked.
“Thanks!” Alex grinned and dragged her cart toward the exit. “Here, try this.” She thrust the bag toward Jin once they were out on the street. “Homemade doughnuts. They’re the best.”
Jin reached in, grabbed a warm doughnut, and took a bite. The outer crust was just the right amount of crispy, and the inside was so fluffy and moist it practically melted on her tongue. She closed her eyes to savor the deliciousness and had another brainstorm.
“We could do our project on small businesses in Harlem!” Her lids flew open. “Or maybe even on the things you’re doing to make the neighborhood a better place.”
“Uh, I don’t know.” Alex hesitated. “The things I do are private. I don’t like to publicize them. But the small business idea has potential,” she said as they turned and headed west on 135th Street.
“I don’t get it,” Jin said, struggling to keep up with Alex. “People seem to appreciate what you do. If it were me, I would want as many people as possible to know. Wait … ” Jin paused mid-thought. “What if it wasn’t only you? We could interview all sorts of people who are doing good things for Harlem. Like that kid, Jarvis Monroe, who discovered that rare painting.”
“Yeah, I heard about that,” Alex said.
Jin continued. “Or Councilman Markum and his Harlem World project. What do you know about him?”
Alex stopped abruptly and whirled around. “Never say that man’s name around me. Ever,” she spat with a scowl, just like the one Halmoni had on her face after she threw the wet rag at the TV. What’s up with this guy? What did he do to make Alex and Halmoni so upset? Jin wondered. But before she could ask, a kid on a skateboard with a messenger bag slung across his back suddenly swerved in front of them. He made a figure eight around them, then tapped Alex on the head as he passed.
“Hey!” Jin yelled, shocked. She expected Alex to run after him, but instead Alex started laughing and waving. The kid circled back and hopped off his board, flipping it up into his hand. He was tall and skinny, with electric-purple-and-blue dreadlocks, which looked even brighter against his mahogany skin.
“This is my friend Rad.” Alex grinned as she introduced him. “And this is Jin.”
“What up?” Rad held out his fist to Jin for a bump. Jin tapped it lightly. Rad turned to Alex. “Dude, where you off to?”
“Just making deliveries. You?”
“Gonna start a new piece. I found this killer location and some sick new colors.” He opened the flap of his bag to reveal several cans of spray paint. Jin gasped.
“Nice.” Alex nodded.
“Total righteousness.” Rad nodded back, climbing back on his board “That’s why I gotta keep it movin’. Don’t wanna lose the light. Later, dudes,” he said, pushing off.
“See you at SEEL!” Alex called after him.
“Arf! Arf!” Rad clapped his hands together and barked like a seal, as he sped down the sidewalk, weaving his way among the pedestrians.
“What was that all about? Are you two in some kind of marine animal club?” Jin’s brain buzzed with questions.
“No, it’s not seal, it’s S-E-E-L, which stands for the Society for Excellence in Education and Leadership. It’s just some stupid club our parents made us join. It’s supposed to mold promising young people into the ‘leaders of the future,’ ” Alex said, sarcastically, making air quotations around the words leaders of the future.
“Sounds cool.”
“Believe me, it’s not,” Alex replied in a way that made it clear she was done talking about SEEL.
Jin, still curious about Alex’s friend Rad, decided to take a different approach. “Is your friend a graffiti artist?”
“Is this an inquisition?” Alex bristled. “If you must know, Rad is an artist. Period. Graffiti is just one of the styles he works in.” Alex stopped her cart in front of a plain brick building.
“What’s this place?” Jin asked.
“It’s the shelter we’ve been collecting food for,” Alex answered as she lifted a few bags out of the cart. Jin reached out to help. “I got it.” Alex jerked the bags away. “You stay and watch the cart. And pay attention.”
“Yeah, okay.” Jin looked away, her feelings a little hurt. “I think I can watch a stupid cart,” she snorted under her breath. As Alex marched up to a door on the side of the building, Jin noticed the French baguette sticking up from inside the cart. “You forgot the bread!” she called and held up the loaf, but Alex didn’t hear. “Now who’s messing up?” she muttered, stuffing the bread back into the cart.
Jin took out her notebook as soon as Alex disappeared inside the shelter.
At a women’s shelter. Alex is delivering food. Pretty cool, but still not sure why she does it. What’s her deal? BTW, Alex is very bossy and has some strange friends. We just met one kid who does graffiti—which is illegal!!!
We still don’t have an idea for our project. Working with her is going to be harder than I thought …
Jin was so busy writing that she didn’t notice an odd figure, dressed in an oversized trench coat and baseball hat, staring at her from behind a nearby tree. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement and looked up just in time to see the stranger, coat flapping in the air like a pair of giant wings, charge toward her. He slowed down just enough to grab the knobby end of the baguette and lift it out of the cart, leaving only its white paper wrapping behind.
Jin let out a small cry of alarm, and Alex came running up beside her.
“Stop, thief!” Alex shouted. The two girls took off after him. As they ran, Jin noticed something tumble out of the stranger’s pocket. She rushed ahead to pick it up.
“Hey! Come back! You dropped something!” Jin yelled after him, bending over, hands on knees, to catch her breath. She took a closer look at the object. It was a red plastic Pez candy dispenser with a goat head on top. She knew this goat! It was identical to the Pez dispenser that the old man with the baseball hat had bought in the bodega a few days ago.
“We’ll never catch him. He’s too fast,” Alex wheezed when she caught up with Jin, nearly collapsing beside her. “Hey, what’s that?” She snatched the Pez dispenser out of Jin’s hand.
“Hey, you!” Alex shouted after the thief, holding the goat above her head. “If you don’t get back here with our bread, the goat’s toast!”
The figure slowed to a stop and paused for a moment before turning and walking back toward them.
“Why’d you let him steal the bread, anyway?” Alex said out of the corner of her mouth, keeping her eyes steeled on the thief.
“I—I didn’t let him. He just appeared … out of nowhere … It happened so fast!” Jin sputtered, her heart pounding against her rib cage as the figure approached. He held his head down so that she couldn’t see his face. She wasn’t sure who they would find beneath that huge trench coat and baseball hat. She sucked in her breath and stood as tall she could, trying to at least look as brave as Alex, who, with her arms folded across her chest, seemed ready for just about anything.
Close up, the thief wasn’t all that scary. He was a full head shorter than both Alex and Jin, who were about the same height. Looking closely at the face peeking out from under the hat, Jin could tell he was just a kid.
“Here’s your stupid bread.” Without looking up at them, he shoved the baguette toward Alex, who promptly took it and placed it back into the cart.
Jin raised her eyebrows. “I need to talk to you. Now!” she said through clenched teeth, and pulled Alex by a ratty sleeve behind a parked SUV. “I can’t believe you actually took the bread back!” Jin admonished. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe he needs it? Maybe he’s really hungry.”
“Yeah, but he could’ve asked.” Alex crossed her arms again.
Jin shook her head. “I thought you wanted to help people. Is this helping people?”
“No, but … fine!” Alex spun on her heels, marched back to the cart, and thrust the loaf of bread toward the kid. “Here, keep it.”
He hesitated for a second but then shook his head. “No thanks. I just want my goat back.”
Jin shot a look at Alex and nodded toward the kid. Alex reluctantly handed over the goat. “If you don’t mind me asking, where did you get this dispenser?” Jin asked.
“None of your business,” the kid said gruffly, stuffing the goat back into his coat pocket.
“It’s just that a man came into my grandparents’ grocery store the other day, and he bought one just like it. Now that I think about it, he was dressed almost exactly like you,” Jin quickly added.
“What did the guy look like?” The kid gave her a susp
icious look.
“He had smooth, light brown skin, a white beard, I remember that, and tiny round glasses.”
The kid took a tentative step forward and opened his mouth to speak but just as quickly changed his mind. “Probably just a coincidence,” he sighed, and stepped back.
“Maybe not,” Jin pressed. This kid was hiding something, and she wanted to find out what. “Just one more question,” she ventured, thinking fast. “Did you happen to have spaghetti for dinner a couple nights ago?”
The boy’s stomach grumbled loudly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jin grinned as his stomach grumbled again. “The man who came into the store bought spaghetti and a jar of sauce, which I happen to know is the least flavorful brand that we sell. It probably tasted like tomato-flavored water. Sorry about that.”
The kid cracked a smile.
“My name’s Jin. What’s yours?”
“I’m Elvin,” he answered shyly.
Jin nudged Alex to introduce herself. “I don’t talk to thieves,” Alex said coolly.
Elvin’s smile disappeared. “I’m not a thief.” He locked eyes with Alex.
“Then what’s your deal? I hope you don’t steal bread from strangers just for fun.”
Alex kept her arms folded across her chest and tapped her toe against the sidewalk. Jin glanced back and forth between Alex and Elvin, unsure of what to do next. She wanted to know more about Elvin’s story, too, and part of her wished she had been the one brave enough to ask the question, but did Alex have to be so rude about it? Elvin looked really uncomfortable, like he wanted to disappear into that coat of his, which was already about ten sizes too big.
The Harlem Charade Page 3