My Name Is Not Easy - By Debby Dahl Edwardson Page 0,18

guilty.

“She doesn’t have anything. Just a comb and a Bible and a book of poems written by some lady.” My cheeks get even hotter and the boys are starting to look at me, too. Me and my red freckles.

“Hey, Snowbird! How come you get so red?” says Bunna.

Bunna started calling me Snowbird because my name is Chickie and I am white like a snowbird. He thinks he’s funny.

Now all the boys next to him are chirping “snowbird, snowbird,” like a winter chorus of big, wild birds.

I wish I could melt right into my chair, but instead I sit up 54

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S N O W B I R D / C h i c k i e straight and stare right at my opponent, just like Swede says to do. Look ’em in the eyes, Swede always says, which I do.

“My aaka says you aren’t supposed to mess with snowbirds.” I spit the words right at Bunna, and his eyes get wide.

Bingo. Bunna still has a smirk on his face, but he isn’t laughing anymore. I bet you money his aaka has told him that if you are mean to snowbirds, you will never be a good hunter. Th at’s

what Aaka Mae always tells boys.

“Come on, girls,” Evelyn says, glaring at Bunna. “Too many Eskimos here. Let’s go.” She heads for the door.

Evelyn is trying to make me feel better, but this only makes me feel worse. Th

is world doesn’t have too many Eskimos. It has too many sides and too many closed doors and too many people who don’t understand.

Th

at’s what I think.

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Kickball

SPRING 1961

SONNY

—

Sonny watched as kids fl uttered up the hall on their way to lunch like a thick fl ock of ravens. Junior, Chickie, and Donna were laughing at some joke.

Th

ose two Eskimo brothers—Luke and Bunna—were stuck together behind Amiq like an Amiq-shaped shadow.

And Amiq, as usual, was looking for trouble.

“So you been out hunting lately?” he was saying, saying it real loud, too, like he wanted to make sure everybody heard him. Like he wanted to make sure Sonny, in particular, heard him.

Sonny did. He knew those brothers. Th ey were always out

in the woods. Hiding from Indians for the most part, he fi gured. Not hunting.

Th

e older brother, Luke, looked at Amiq like he wasn’t sure what the heck he was talking about. Th en he glanced

back at Sonny with a nervous look. Sonny scowled.

“Yeah. Hunting. Me and Bunna,” Luke said—like he 56

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K I C K B A L L / S o n n y

knew he was supposed to say it but wasn’t sure why. You could tell he was trying to sound tough.

Sonny wasn’t fooled.

Amiq was still eyeing him. Like he was daring him to do something.

“You ever run into that old Indian?” Amiq said. He used the word Indian like an arrow aimed right at Sonny. Rose and Evelyn and the Pete boys sidled up next to Sonny.

Luke frowned, as if he were trying to remember something. Or maybe forget it. “Yeah,” he said.

“And he said to quit scaring off all the animals, right?” Amiq coached.

“Yeah! He did!” Th

is was the younger brother, Bunna.

“And he acts like he’s gonna shoot us, too, but he never.” Suddenly Amiq burst out laughing, like it was a really funny joke. Possibly the funniest joke in the history of funny jokes. Th

e sound of that laugh made Sonny stop walking and turn to look back at them, hard. Th at little smart mouth.

Now all of them had stopped walking and they were all watching Sonny and Amiq.

“Heck, that old guy ain’t gonna shoot nothing,” Amiq said. “He’s half blind, that one.”

Only he didn’t say blind, he said “plind.” And he looked right at Sonny when he said it, too, like he was accusing all Indians of being half blind.

“Plind,” Sonny mimicked.

Evelyn giggled. “How come he talks like that?” she whispered.

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M Y N A M E I S N O T E A S Y

“He’s from Barrow,” Sonny said loudly. “I mean Parrow.

Th

at’s how they dalk. ”

Rose and Evelyn giggled.

“Th

at old Indian’s probably waiting for somebody to scare the animals his way so he could eat sometime,” Amiq told Bunna, glaring at Rose and Evelyn. “He’s so blind, he can’t even fi nd his own butt in broad daylight.”