1. Amari rested the recorder on top of his drawing pad. Then he pulled a green marker from his pack and started tracing it. His hand moving slow and sure around the recorder. I think what's really messed up is the way everything changes all quick from one year to the next. You know?
2. Like, I don't mind my voice getting deep. He stopped drawing and looked up at Holly. Even if you don't hear it, it is!
3. But it's like one day you asking for some Batman sheets for your bed, and the next day somebody telling you Batman is for babies Stuff like that.
4 I thought about the way I had once loved purple so much. About how deeply I had once believed in unicorns.
4.
5. s And like hugging and stuff, Amari said. Boys don't hug each other. I mean, when you're little, you do. It's okay then. You always see the kindergarten kids running to each other and hugging like they haven't been together in years. That's what I love about little kids - they just get to be little kids. But when you get to be big-like us all that goes away. It goes far away. Like once with my dad. I was about eight years old and I went running to him ready to jump in his arms like I always did and he said,
6. 'Whoa, big man! You too grown for that now.' One day yes. Next day no.
7. 6 But you know, deep. like way down inside me? I want it back sometimes. I want to hug you Esteban, like Red hugged you and say, That sucks, bruh!' I want to promise you your dadll be back soon and that this was just a glitch in the road.
8. > That's what my dad called this moment we're living in. 'Glitch in the road.' The Saturday before last, he wouldn't let me go anywhere. Not to Ashton's house. Not to the corner store. Not even to the stoop to hang out with my boys on the block. He kept saying, You just sit tight, Amari, and watch all the TV you want.
9. I'm gonna talk to you later.
в Amari looked up at us All the 7V I want?!?! That was like a zombie talking. Because my dad is the king of Turn off the IV and read a book. 'My dad is the Ill throw that TV out the window kinda dad. You get the picture?
• We all nodded.
10 So around one o'clock, in the middle of me watching like my hundredth TV show, my dad came in and said, 'Walk me to the bank, Mar.' That's his nickname for me. I found out it means
'Sea' in Spanish.
• Mar, Tiago and Esteban said with an accent.
1. Mar, the rest of us said softly.
2. He just calls me Mar because it's short for Amari, but I like that the short name has a meaning. Amari means 'Strength' if you use the Yoruba translation. But in Japanese it means Not Really. 'I think if we were Japanese, I'd be real mad about my name. Just saying.
3. Not Really, Esteban said. That's crazy. But funny.
4. Hey, Not Really, Ashton said. Clean up your room because it's not really clean right now.
5.
6. The rest of us laughed.
7. That's what's up, Amari said. But the cool thing is, that's not the translation, so everybody can let it go now.
18 I guess we can, Holly said. But... Not Really.
1. Even Amari smiled and started talking again. Maybe in twenty years he'd be the mayor of New York and we'd all be in the audience listening to him talk. He spoke like he was so sure of everything he said. Like all his life someone had been saying, You're right, Amari. You're smart, Amari. You're beautiful, Amari.
2. So my mom was at a spin class with her 'girls, 'he said, holding up quotation fingers. They're grown ladies, but she always calls them her 'girls. ' Every Saturday they go to a spin class to work off the calories, and then they do brunch. I don't get it. That's all I'm saying. Why go sit on a bike for hours, then go eat pancakes and sausage and eggs and bacon and everything on a menu? That's crazy! Just go eat! That's what I do the Saturdays I have brunch with them
3.
4. 2 And you know what else is crazy, Ashton said. How come grownups always tell each other how young they look, and kids always want to be grown-up already, so we lie and say we're ten when we're really nine or that we're thirteen when we're really twelve?
5. But grown-ups lie too, Amari said.
6. Facts, Tiago said. My mom's been thirty for, like, ten years!
7. Mine too, Holly said. And don't let her see some gray hairs. It's like she's seen a ghost—all screaming and whatnot. Then running around the house looking for tweezers to pluck it out.
8. Wrinkles too. Ashton laughed. My mom is like, 'Oh my God, Ashton, please tell me you can't see this wrinkle by my chin.' And of course I can see it—it's, like, the size of a river. But I just go, Uh-uh, I don't see anything.'
9. You know that's the right move, Amari said. Or else!
10. Everyone nodded. I didn't know anything about mothers and wrinkles, but I knew that when my uncle first saw some gray hair on his head, he went into his room, closed the door and played sad songs on his guitar for hours.
28 Anyway, Amari said, me and my dad started walking to the bank.
And he goes to me, 'Look, Mar. I want to talk straight with you'
29 And I was like, Yeah?' Because that was strange. I mean, me and my dad, we always just talk straight. Nothing crooked about it.
30 So he says to me, You're in fifth grade now. Happened so fast, I didn't even see it coming.'
31 And I had to smile when he said that. It has to be at least two years since I last sat in his lap.
32 Then my dad said, 'This country is going a little bit crazy. I know it's just a glitch in the road, but I want you to know there're things you can't do anymore.'
33 And I'm like, 'What kind of stuff,' because I had thought the older you got the more stuff you can do, not can't.
34 He said, You can't be running around the playground with that water gun, for one. Or that Nerf gun, or that little light-up key-ring gun thing you got from your aunt last year? You can't even carry that in your pocket anymore.'
35 Then my dad goes, 'You get me, right, Mar?'
36 And I just nodded. I was so mad, I didn't even look at him
37 Amari looked around at us. I knew what he was talking about. I'd seen the papers and heard Holly's mom and dad talking about a boy who got killed for playing with a toy gun. Holly's mom said that it wouldn't have happened if the boy was white, and Holly's dad had nodded.
38 The cops who shot that kid in the park didn't even ask him any questions, Amari said. Just came in the park and shot him right away. And then when his big sister tried to run to him, they didn't even let her go to him
39 How come they didn't let her? Ashton looked surprised, like maybe this was his first time hearing the story.
4o Amari shrugged. I don't even know, he said. It's crazy. My sister's seventeen, she would lose her mind if anyone ever even looked at me funny. That's how crazy she is about me. When I heard about that boy and his sister, it made something in me twist up. Made me want to punch a wall or even worse. That boy could have been me or Esteban or Tiago ...
41 Or me, Ashton said.
42 Amari didn't say anything to Ashton. He acted like he hadn't heard him and kept talking.
43 My mom never liked me playing with guns anyway, Amari continued. So I knew my days of playing with them were numbered. But I didn't know it would all come this quick. You know, like with the hugs Felt like I woke up one day and it was just corny to do. But playing with my guns wasn't corny yet. A water-gun fight on a hot day is still the best thing ever.
44 Facts, Tiago said. When you're all hot and somebody comes out of nowhere and starts squirting you? You act mad, but son, I gotta say, that's the best, bro.
45 For real. Amari pounded Tiago's fist.
46 And that Nerf gun you got, A? Amari said. The one that shoots, like, fifty feet. That's power.
47 Yeah, Ashton said. Remember when we were shooting the dead leaves off the trees?
48 Amari nodded. We were like, powpowpow!
49 Some serious sharpshooting, Ashton said.
so They both got quiet. I could tell by their faces that they were back in the park with their Nerf guns, aiming them at the trees
я No disrespect to you Ashton, but it sort of sucks that you can still go to the park with that gun and not have to worry about getting killed.
52 It's okay, Ashton said. But he started biting on his bottom lip.
53 I can't stand guns, Holly said. I never saw one in real life and never want to.
54 Nobody's talking about real guns! Amari said. Then he looked at Ashton. Ashton, you're, like, one of my best friends, you know that, right?
55 Ashton nodded. Same.
56 But that kid getting killed and then my dad saying I couldn't play with guns anymore? That made me hate you
57 But I didn't do—
Not YOU, I mean, I didn't hate you I don't know how to say it.
59. I do, I said. It's not fair. It's not fair that you're a boy and Ashton's a boy and he can do something you can't do anymore. That's not freedom
6o Amari nodded. Yeah to what Red's saying. You can just play with your Nerf gun all you want, anywhere you want, and no cop is gonna run up and shoot you
61 Amari stopped talking. He got up and walked over to the window, taking the recorder with him. Then, in slow motion, he made the hand that wasn't holding it into a gun, straightened his arm and aimed outside.
62. The cops shot that boy in the stomach, he said. With real bullets.
Not soft ones that bounce off. And the boy fell in the playground.
And then he died.
63 Amari kept his gun hand pointed at the window, his voice dropping down low. And maybe if it was a windy day, the swings just kept on swinging. Making that sad, whiny sound that swings make when they're still moving and nobody's on them And that boy should have been running and playing and jumping off those swings Whenever I jump off a swing, it feels like I'm flying. It feels like I'm more free than anything. That boy should have been having that feeling. He shouldn't have been feeling like he was dying. He should have been feeling like he was free.
In a small essay write a “thought piece” to something important in this chapter. Quote at least once. How does Woodson shape this chapter.
In this chapter, Jacqueline Woodson addresses the issue of growing up and the loss of innocence that comes with it. Through the character of Amari, she explores the rapid changes and restrictions that children face as they transition from childhood to adolescence. The chapter also delves into the topic of gun violence and the racial disparities that exist within society.
One important quote from the chapter is, "That's what my dad called this moment we're living in. 'Glitch in the road.'" This quote highlights the uncertainty and confusion that Amari feels about the changes happening around him. Woodson shapes this chapter by using Amari's perspective to convey the emotions and thoughts of a young boy coming to terms with the harsh realities of the world.
Woodson explores the concept of freedom and equality through the discussion of Amari's inability to play with guns anymore while his friend Ashton can. This highlights the unfairness and lack of freedom experienced by marginalized communities, as well as the fear and danger that young boys of color often face.
Through Amari's narration, Woodson also addresses the issue of police brutality and the tragic consequences it can have. The description of the boy who was shot in the playground serves as a powerful reminder of the violent acts that occur due to systemic racism. Woodson shapes this chapter by evoking a sense of anger, sadness, and frustration in the reader, drawing attention to the need for change and justice.
Overall, Woodson uses Amari's perspective to shed light on important social issues and to provoke thought and discussion about the injustices experienced by marginalized communities. By incorporating these themes into the narrative, Woodson creates a poignant and impactful chapter that encourages readers to critically analyze the world around them.