Read The Sound of Life and Everything for Free Online Page A

to close on Auntie Mildred’s heels, but Dr. Franks stopped it. “Were you planning to join us?”
    Mama took my hand. “Courage, sweetness,” she whispered as we stepped into the elevator.
    The room he took us to was unlike any of the others we’d been in so far. For one thing, it was long, with two rows of theater seats that faced a large window, and for another, it was crammed. Two gray-colored folks were standing closest to the door. Their eyes and cheeks were sunken, as if they hadn’t slept in weeks. A frantic-looking mama with a pack of squabbling kids was standing next to them, and farther down, an old man with a leathery face couldn’t seem to stop frowning. There were other folks, too, but those four stood out. They looked like they needed a hug.
    â€œWho are they?” I asked as Auntie Mildred elbowed around them.
    â€œThe other families, of course.” Dr. Franks motioned toward the window. “They’re here to see the demonstration.”
    Mama’s forehead wrinkled. “But why are they interested in Robby?”
    Dr. Franks leaned toward her. “Come again?”
    â€œI said, why are they interested in Robby?”
    Instead of waiting to hear his answer, I dove into the crowd behind Auntie Mildred. The other families had cleared a path, and it still hadn’t filled in. They must have been wary of her pointy elbows.
    â€œWhere is he?” she mumbled.
    I pressed my nose against the window. It looked down on a gym with a balance beam, monkey bars, and a set of mini hurdles. Several dozen assistants were fluttering around the subjects, whose teal robes and bare feet made them easy to spot. It seemed like Dr. Franks could have at least found them some socks. There were few things I hated more than cold feet.
    Auntie Mildred bent this way and that as she inspected the subjects. “Where
is
he? I can’t see him.”
    But I could see the Japanese man. His teal robe and bare feet couldn’t hide his black hair. Someone had tried to tame it, but it still stuck out every which way. They’d tucked him into a corner, obviously apart from the rest, who were sitting in hard plastic chairs (or, in some cases, slouching).
    Auntie Mildred trembled. “He isn’t here,” she whispered, then shouted it again: “Anna, he isn’t here!”
    The other families, who’d been chatting quietly, snapped to attention. Their eyes settled on Auntie Mildred (whose eyes were filling with tears).
    Dr. Franks perked up. “
Who
isn’t?”
    â€œWho do you think?” Mama asked.
    When Dr. Franks didn’t answer, I rolled my eyes. “They’re talkin’ about Robby,” I said.
    Dr. Franks’s forehead crinkled. “Why would he be?” he asked. He seemed genuinely confused.
    â€œBecause you found him,” I replied. “You said you had a breakthrough.”
    â€œWe
did
have a breakthrough,” he said, “but we have not found Robert Clausen.”
    I swallowed, hard. I’d suspected as much, but it was still hard to hear. Mama’s hands clenched into fists, though she managed not to swing them. Auntie Mildred didn’t react—on the outside, at least. I could only imagine what was going on under that pale pink hat.
    â€œMy apologies,” he went on after clearing his throat. When we just stood there, stunned, he pressed a nearby button, and an intercom crackled to life. “You can go ahead, Jackson.”
    As Dr. Franks’s words reverberated around the gym, the assistants leaped to their feet. They grabbed the subjects—by their hands or their armpits, whichever was more convenient—and dragged them from their seats. As I watched the subjects shuffle from one spot to another, I matched them to their families. The gray-colored man was probably the gray-colored people’s son, and the girl with the frown had to belong to the old man. None of the subjects looked like