Free Heart of Gold by Beverly Jenkins Page A

How’s that?”
    â€œYay!!”
    So they went to the Dog and had burgers and fries, and after dinner, Zoey received her free dessert—a huge sundae big enough to share. They talked about Roni’s West Coast trip, whether Roni had talked to Amari’s dad about the go-karts yet, and what Zoey might say in her e-mail to Danica about the pajama problem. They had fun, but Roni worried about Reg, and Zoey worried about her mom and dad.

C H A P T E R
    6
    M onday morning, Zoey joined Amari, Devon, and Preston out in front of her house for the bike ride to school. They all watched with envy as Eli James backed his car out of his driveway. As he slowly drove past them, he rolled down the window and called out as he did every morning, “Hey, Amari! Wanna race?” Grinning, he rolled the window back up, stopped at Crystal’s house to pick her up for the ride to school, and drove away.
    â€œThat is so unfair,” Amari groused.
    Zoey strapped on the Danica Patrick helmet that matched her jacket. “You say that every morning.”
    â€œThat’s because every morning it’s unfair. How come he gets to drive, and we have to ride our bikes?”
    â€œBecause he has a car,” Preston pointed out.
    â€œAh. The reason we call you Brain.”
    They pushed off and started up the street. Devon and Zoey rode at the front, while Preston and Amari brought up the rear.
    â€œI still don’t think it’s fair,” Amari said again.
    â€œBut it isn’t going to change anything,” Preston pointed out, sounding exasperated. “We’re former foster kids. We know life can be unfair sometimes.”
    â€œWhen I get my car, I’m not giving him a ride either,” Amari declared, as if that would settle the matter.
    But Preston begged to differ. “He’ll be in college by then. He won’t care.”
    â€œThanks for the support, my brother.”
    Devon piped up, “And Dad told you to quit fussing about Eli and his car anyway. He said there’s always going to be somebody getting to do something you can’t.”
    â€œWho asked you to be in this conversation?”
    â€œI can talk when I want to. It’s a free country. Right, Zoey?”
    â€œName’s Bennett. Not in it.”
    â€œNow that, America, is a smart girl,” Amari crowed. “Take notes, Devon.”
    â€œShut up. You take notes.”
    The two brothers went back and forth for the rest of the ride. Zoey turned to look at Preston. He replied with a shrug of his shoulders as in, What can you do?
    After reaching the school, they parked their bikes in the rack out front, removed their helmets, and went inside. The Marie Jefferson Academy was a big, beautiful brand-new building, but because there were so few students, Mr. Jack James, the only teacher, conducted class for everyone in one room. Zoey had recently discovered the old TV program Little House on the Prairie and thought their classroom a lot like Laura Ingalls’, except Laura’s school didn’t have computers, water fountains, or a fish tank.
    They always started off the day with the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Zoey and Devon alternated accompanying the song on the piano, and it was his turn that week.
    When the last notes had faded away and Devon returned to his seat, everyone took out their math books. Math was always the first lesson. Zoey was much better in the subject than she’d been in the past—she chalked this up to working in the garage, where she had to use socket wrenches of varying sizes, which helped her with her fractions (a five-eighths socket was larger than a half-inch one)—and she often helped Amari do the stocking, so she knew that a gallon of something like paint or oil was larger than a quart. As she began working on the assignment, she realized she’d learned a lot of things from