Blackbird Fly (21 page)

Authors: Erin Entrada Kelly

BOOK: Blackbird Fly

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“Go to your room, Apple.” Her voice was throaty and flat. “Go to your room and stay there.”

It's hard for me to fall asleep when I'm mad, because the anger swirls around my head and keeps me awake like a bad song that won't stop playing. So I fell asleep later that night without any warningâon my rug with
the lights on and my earbuds still in. When I opened my puffy eyes, Matt Costa was singing sunshine in my ear, even though it was pitch-dark outside my window and I had no idea how long I'd been asleep. My body ached from being on the floor. I stretched, long and hard. My head thumped the way it always does after a hard cry. And my stomach grumbled, because I'd missed dinner.

I took out the earbuds, yawned, and looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. My plan was to stay in my room until it was time for school, because I didn't want to look at my mother. I was too mad at her and regretted giving her Mr. Z's guitar. After all he'd done for me, I should've never put it in questionable hands. But I was hungry, and she was probably asleep anyway.

Matt Costa must have been louder than I thought, because I could still hear music playing. I reached down and turned it off. But it was still there.

I stood up and looked around.

It wasn't coming from my room.

But the only person on the other side of my door was my mother.

I opened my bedroom door and stepped out. “Mom?”

She had her legs tucked under her on the couch. My dad's tape was next to her on the cushion. She was holding Mr. Z's guitar. But not just holding it.
Playing
it. Quietly, like I'd done in my room all this time.

She didn't look surprised to see me, even though I probably looked more surprised than anyone in the history of surprises.

“Your father didn't write his name on that tape,” she said.
“Sa akin.”

That means: “It was me.”

“It was his favorite. He got it when he was a little boy, from an old
sari-sari
store. I was always worried it would get stolen or lost.” She gently patted the guitar, like it was an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time. “He always wanted me to teach him
some of the songs, but he was a terrible learner.” She smiled. Her face softened. “After everything that happened .Â .Â .” She paused and started over. “I haven't played since he died. I wanted to leave it behind, so I wouldn't cry anymore. But I guess you never forget.”

I swallowed. It felt like all the air was gone from my body.

“Mr. Z says it's like riding a bike,” I said.

“I don't know,” she said, chuckling. “I never learned how to ride a bike.”

I laughed.

I could breathe again.

“He liked âOh! Darling.'” She looked up, eyes glistening. “But I liked âYou Never Give Me Your Money.' We had a joke about that one. I would say, âYou never give me your money,' and he would say, âOh, darling! That's because I don't have any.'” She laughed.

“I can play âOh! Darling,'” I said quietly.

“Okay, then.” She lifted the guitar off her lap with both hands and handed it to me.

“I'm ready,” she said.

When I was done, she gave me a tip.

Five dollars.

I also found out that my father's favorite Beatle was John.

And she told me what
atsara!
means.

Pickle.

The next morning I thought about that extra seat on the bus for the field trip. I decided I'd ask Gretchen if she wanted to sit with us. I also pulled all the New Orleans stuff out of my notebook and threw everything in the trash. Everything except Mr. Ted's itinerary.

And I wiped
Analyn
off my mirror.

Analyn is nice, but she doesn't make music.

30
Apple Yengko's IFs

I
was born on an island in the Philippines.

I can play any Beatles song on the guitar.

My name is Apple.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my family, especially Carolanne, who brings music to my life. Thank you, Jane Domino, Carolyn Jenks, Elora Sullivan, Davy DeGreeff, Janice Repka, Neil Connelly, Briana Woods-Conklin, Mary Kole, Sara Crowe, and everyone who supported Apple and her journey. Thank you, Fearless Fifteeners. Thanks to Justen Ahren and the Martha's Vineyard Writers Residency. Thanks to the entire Greenwillow team, especially Virginia Duncan, Lois Adams, and Sylvie Le Floc'h. And thank you, Jen. More than much.

About the Author

ERIN ENTRADA KELLY
grew up in south Louisiana and now lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Erin's mother was the first in her family to immigrate to the United States from the Philippines. This is Erin Entrada Kelly's first book.

www.erinentradakelly.com

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Credits

Cover art Â© 2015 by Betsy Peterschmidt
Cover design by Sylvie Le Floc'h

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.

BLACKBIRD FLY
. Text copyright Â© 2015 by Erin Entrada Kelly. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Interior illustrations by Betsy Peterschmidt

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kelly, Erin Entrada.

Blackbird fly / by Erin Entrada Kelly.

pages cm

“Greenwillow Books.”

Summary: Bullied at school, eighth-grader Apple, a Filipino American who loves the music of the Beatles, decides to change her life by learning how to play the guitar.

ISBN 978-0-06-223861-0 (hardback)

EPub Edition Â© February 2015 ISBN 9780062238634

[1. BullyingâFiction. 2. MusicâFiction. 3. GuitarâFiction. 4. Filipino AmericansâFiction. 5. Middle schoolsâFiction. 6. SchoolsâFiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.1.K45Bl 2015 [Fic]âdc23 2014029444

15 16 17 18 19Â Â Â
CG/RRDH
Â Â Â 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION

Greenwillow Books