Read Push for Free Online

left in chicken place. As she talking girl walk in.
    "It's nine thirty-seven," teacher say. "Jo Ann you late."
    "I had to stop and get something to eat."
    "Next time stay where you stop. Starting tomorrow this door will be locked at nine o'clock!"
    "I better be on the side that's in," grumble Jo Ann.
    "We agree on that," say teacher, she look Jo Ann in eye. She not scared of Jo Ann. Well gone Miz Rain.
    "We got some new people—"
    "I found something!" Jo Ann shout.
    "I beg your pardon," say teacher but you can see she ain' beggin' nothin', she mad.
    "No, I'm sorry Ms Rain"—I see right now Jo Ann is clown—"but I jus' want to say, do anyone need an extra notebook I foun' in the chicken place?"
    "It's mine!" I say.
    "Git a grip," Jo Ann say.
    "I got one." I shocks myself saying that. "I left that book at Arkansas Jr. Fried Chicken on Lenox between one-two-seven and one-two-six this morning."
    "Well I'll be a turkey's asshole!" Jo Ann screamed. "Thas where I found it."
    I reaches my hand she smile me. Han' me my book, look at my stomach, say, "When you due?"
    I say, "Not sure."
    She frown, don't say nothing, and go sit a couple seats away from me in the row right behind me.
    Miz Rain look pretty bent out of shape then melt, say, "We got more new people than old people today, so let's just go back to day one and git to know each other and figure out what we gonna do here together." I look at her weird. Am' she spozed to know what we gonna do. How we gonna figure anything out. Weze ignerent. We here to learn, leas' I am. God I hope this don't be another ... another ... I don't know—another like before, yeah another like the years before.
    "Let's try a circle," teacher say. Damn I just did sit myself down in front row and now we getting in a circle.
    "We don't need all those chairs," teacher say waving at Jo Ann who dragging chairs from second row. "Just pull out five or six, however many of us it is, and put 'em in a little circle and then we'll put 'em back in rows after we finish introducing ourselves." She sit herself in one of the chairs and we all do the same (I mean she the teacher 'n all).
    "OK," she say, "let's get to know each other a little bit uummm, let's see, how about your name, where you were born, your favorite color, and something you do good and why you're here."
    "Huh?" Big red girl snort. Miss Rain go to board and say, "Number one, your name," then she write it, "number two, where you were born," and so on until it all on board:
    name
    where you were born
    favorite color
    something you do good
    why you are here today
    She sit back down say, "OK, I'll start. My name is Blue Rain—"
    "Thas your real name!" This from girl with boy suit on.
    "Urn hmmm, that's my for real hope to die if I'm lying name."
    "Your first name Blue?" same girl say.
    "Urn hmm," Ms Rain say this like she tired of mannish girl.
    "Splain that!"

    "Well," say Ms Rain real proper. "I don't feel I have to explain my name." She look at girl, girl git message. "Now as I was saying my name is Blue Rain. I was born in California. My favorite color is purple. What do I do good? Urnmm, I sing purty good. And I'm here because my girlfriend used to teach here and she was out one day and asked me to substitute for her, then when she quit, they asked me did I want the job. I said yeah and I been here ever since."
    I look around the circle, it's six people, not counting me. A big redbone girl, loud bug-out girl who find my notebook at chicken place, Spanish girl with light skin, then this brown-skin Spanish girl, and a girl my color in boy suit, look like some kinda butch.
    Big Red talking now, "My name Rhonda Patrice Johnson." Rhonda big, taller than me, light skin but it don't do nuffin' for her. She ugly, got big lips, pig nose, she fat fat and her hair rusty color but short short.
    "I was born in Kingston, Jamaica." Ain' that something! She don't talk funny at all like how coconut head peoples do. "My favorite color is blue, I cook