Free At the Crossroads by Travis Hunter Page A

to get out. So you can either go down to that jail and turn yourself in or come up with the money. Rico told me I need to have an answer for him in ten minutes. I’ve been here for about five already. Whatchu gonna do, man?”
    Stick rubbed his raggedy beard as he thought about his dilemma.
    “What’s the other favor you need?”
    “Oh,” Franky said. “I need for you to break back into
    Mrs. Bertha’s house. Jason is locked out, and we need to get a telephone number. She’s in the hospital, and we need to get in touch with their people.”
    “Whatchu mean, break back in? I never broke into her house in the first place,” Stick said with a straight face.
    “Come on, Stick, man,” Franky said, standing. “You’re wasting time. I gotta get back home.”
    “Let me think for a minute on the bail situation,” he said. “I got a friend who might be able to help you out.”
    “What about Mrs. Bertha’s house?”
    Stick jumped to his feet. “Let’s go,” he said.
    Franky and Stick walked down the street together, and once they came up on his house, they saw Rico standing on the porch, still in his underwear.
    “Come here, Franky,” Rico said.
    Franky looked at Stick, whose eyes betrayed him and showed nothing but fear.
    “Go ahead and handle that over there,” Franky said, pointing at Mrs. Bertha’s house.
    Stick gladly hurried away from the prying eyes of Rico, who was staring him down. Franky walked over to his cousin.
    “Whatchu doing with Stick?” Rico asked.
    “Jason is locked out, and I asked Stick to try to open the house so Jason could get in.”
    “Where’s Mrs. Bertha?”
    “In the hospital.”
    “And so why his people didn’t come get him?”
    “He doesn’t know their phone numbers by heart. So that’s why we gotta get in the house,” Franky said.
    “Yo, man,” Rico said. “I’m sorry about this morning, ya heard. I was wrong for that.”
    “Yeah, you were,” Franky said. “But it’s cool. We’re struggling over here, and it’s frustrating.”
    Rico hunched his shoulders as if to say “not really.”
    “Nigel’s locked up,” Franky said casually.
    Rico frowned. “For what?”
    “Burglary. Police think he broke into Mrs. Bertha’s.”
    “Nigel? Nah,” Rico said, shaking his head. “That’s not his thing. That boy wouldn’t burglarize a store even if nobody was in it, and he sure nuff ain’t breaking into nobody’s house. I won’t break into nobody’s house.”
    “I know,” Franky said, looking over at Mrs. Bertha’s house. “Stick did it. Nigel went to get the stuff back from him, and the police showed up. They caught him with the stuff he was trying to return.”
    “Wait a minute,” Rico said. “My brother is locked up behind something that fool did?”
    “Yep,” Franky said.
    “And how do you know all this when you were supposed to be at school?”
    “He just called when I got home. You were asleep.”
    “Oh, okay. Gotcha,” Rico said, nodding at Stick, who was walking around the side of Mrs. Bertha’s house. “So what that fool gonna do?”
    “Nigel told me to get the bail money from him,” Franky said. “But of course he’s claiming he doesn’t have it. He said he will check with his people.”
    “His people? Yeah, okay. He better do something or I will,” Rico said, staring at the bum who was now his enemy.
    “Did you get in?” he said, turning to Stick.
    “Yep,” Stick said proudly. He gave a thumbs-up and started toward his house. It was clear he wanted to avoid Rico at all costs. “The back door is open.”
    “Cool,” Franky said, and walked past his cousin and into their house.
    “Come here, man,” Rico said to Stick. “We need to talk.”
    Stick shook his head and took off running down the street. He looked like a big goofy chicken as he ran while looking back over his shoulder.
    Rico chuckled and didn’t bother to give chase.

11
    F ranky sat on the steps of his house with Jason. Neither one of the boys said much;