Stella by Starlight By Sharon M Draper-pdfread.net

she did every morning, “Y’all be good now, ’fore you get knocked to the
back side o’ nowhere!” Stella had no idea what that meant, though she
thought it was funny. But this morning Mrs. Spencer added, “And be
watchful, children. Be watchful.”
And it seemed to Stella that at every house they passed, parents—some
already in work boots or maid uniforms—poked their heads out of doors
or stood on porch stoops, warning them, “Shake a leg, y’all,” or “Be
careful, now.”
At the end of Riverside Road, the group turned left onto Main Street.
As if on signal, Stella and her friends slowed, dropping their voices to a
whisper, then finally growing silent. They couldn’t help, every single day,
staring at the perfect-looking brick building with perfect-looking grass in
the front. Mountain View School. The school for white children.
In addition to a track team, Mountain View had a football team and
was known around the state for its academic and sports successes. They
even had their own library.
Each morning, as they headed to their school, the Mountain View
students, most wearing leather shoes and woolen coats against the wind,
would sometimes give them a wave as they passed by, sometimes not. But
they all knew one another. In a town this small, it was impossible not to.
As the two groups eyed each other, a whoosh of thin, cool air encircled
them all. Stella pulled her jacket closer, buttoning up her resentment.