Member-only story
Black Patent Leather Shoes
It was the second week of school when the new girl arrived. Our class had just taken out the new social studies books when we heard people coming up the stairs. We went into slow motion, lifting up our desks in unison and choosing the second book from the top in the stack on the right side, and lowering the top ever so slowly so the sounds would not interfere with our eavesdropping.
There was a lady talking and then a girl said something and we could only make out a word here and there. Then Mrs. Cox, the principal said something and the lady laughed, a polite laugh that meant it wasn’t that funny. Then the three of them were in the open hallway and moving closer to our classroom, and a bird began to sing, and then they were right inside the door.
“Your class has a new student, Mrs. Tucker,” announced Mrs. Cox as she surveyed the classroom. Her eyes peeked out above the top rim of her glasses, not fixating on any particular student.
The class looked back and forth between Mrs. Tucker, standing behind her desk and the principal and the visitors, frozen in place just inside the classroom door. There was an awkward silence until our teacher moved out from behind her desk and closer to the others. She stopped in front of the girl, tall and skinny and wearing a brightly colored dress with huge flowers in the design. Her shoes looked new, not so shiny…
