Fire in the Streets (27 page)

“I have something for you,” he tells me. He has a small paper bag with him.

“Is it mittens?” I tease, reminding him of the first gift he ever gave me, back when he was trying to win my heart. He won that particular battle a long while ago, but I can't say I lost in the process.

His face remains semiserious.

“What, then?”

He opens the bag and lets me look inside. I blink at the contents, confused. “It's Raheem's,” Sam says. “Before he left he made me promise to keep it for you.” He tips the bag, bringing the object nearer to the opening. Not revealing it to the whole street, but just to me.

I stare at the silver handgun resting against Sam's palm. Raheem's gun. Handed down to me.

“He said to give it to you when you seemed ready. Do you feel ready?” Sam says uncertainly.

It's everything I've wanted. Everything my whole life has been building toward. A way to make sense of it all, a way to do something. I'm thinking ahead, toward the six a.m. lineup and how loud I'm going to shout when Leroy says “Who we gonna be? How we gonna live?”

“The Black Panther Party. Gonna live for the people.”
I practice it in my mind, like I've done a thousand times. It makes me excited, gives me the first inkling of happiness I've had since I found Raheem in that alley.

Raheem is ever present in my mind. He always finds ways to look out for me, even from a distance. I suppose he means to be passing a torch to me, and I wonder if he's really never coming back. If he can feel me from a distance, the way I feel him—in my memory and in my heart—I know I will make him proud.

“Maxie?”

Sam watches me carefully. I smile at him. My fingers fold around the edges of the bag, taking back what is rightfully mine. Maybe it's always been mine, I just needed to reach out and take it.

“Yes,” I tell him. “I was born ready.”

T
HANK YOU, AS ALWAYS, TO MY PARENTS
and my brother, Kobi, as well as to all my family and friends who continuously support my work.

Thank you to my many writer friends who read early drafts and sections of this book and offered ever-wise advice: Laurie Calkhoven, Josanne La Valley, Marianna Baer, Elizabeth Bird, Donna Freitas, Marie Rutkoski, Jill Santopolo, Eliot Schrefer, Susan Amessé, Holly Kowitt, Catherine Stine, Peter Havholm, Edith Kunhardt Davis, Caroline Nastro, Lindsey Tate, and Kerri Topping.

Thanks to Tangi for her double Dutch notes; to my mom for being a stellar research assistant, investigating random historical details; and to Pam Harkins and Seth Harkins for sharing memories of Chicago in '68 and the Democratic National Convention. Numerous adult readers of
The Rock and the River
have also shared their memories of this time with me, and I am grateful for the ways you all have helped me open the door to this history.

Thank you to my agent, Michelle Humphrey, and to my editorial and publishing team at Aladdin/Simon & Schuster—especially Fiona Simpson, Liesa Abrams, Mara Anastas, Kate Angelella, Laura Antonacci, Annie Berger, Bethany Buck, Michelle Fadlalla, Anna McKean, Karin Paprocki, and Catharine Sotzing—and to everyone else at Aladdin whose work has supported my previous books and helped bring this book to fruition.

This book would not exist at all without the many other people who helped its companion,
The Rock and the River
, achieve the success it has. Thanks especially to the dozens of librarians and bloggers who spread the word about the book—those wonderful early reviews and shout-outs made all the difference. I'm forever grateful to the 2010 Coretta Scott King Book Award Jury for honoring me with the CSK/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, and to the NAACP Image Awards selection committee who chose
The Rock and the River
as an Image Awards nominee for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teens.

Finally, thank you to the many readers of
The Rock and the River
who were excited enough about this world and these characters to ask, “What happened next?” Well now you know!

also by kekla magoon

THE ROCK AND THE RIVER

ALA Best Books for Young Adults

ALA Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent

ALA Notable Children's Books

Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year

Capitol Choices List (DC)

CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council)

CAMO GIRL

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

First Aladdin hardcover edition August 2012

Copyright © 2012 by Kekla Magoon

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

ALADDIN is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and related logo is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.

Designed by Karin Paprocki

The text of this book was set in Cochin.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Magoon, Kekla.

Fire in the streets / by Kekla Magoon. — 1st Aladdin hardcover ed.

p. cm.

Sequel to: The rock and the river.

ISBN 978-1-4424-2230-8

[1. Civil rights movements—Fiction. 2. Black Panther Party—Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 4. Racism—Fiction. 5. African Americans—Fiction. 6. Chicago (Ill.)—History—20th century—Fiction. 7. United States—History—20th century—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.M2739Fir 2012

[Fic]—dc23

2011039129

ISBN 978-1-4424-2232-2 (eBook)