There was something different about the cave that day I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until I put my hand on it I leaned on the table and felt something sharp It was a string with a bunch of pointy white things threaded onto it A little hammer lay next to it too and a nail What are you making I asked Juleree Kabungo pointed to my bead necklace Like Belly I took a closer look at the white things They looked like teeth K What are these Shark toofs she whispered seriously Shhh Secret toofs You mean teeth I said Without grammar words are worthless My English teacher Ms Beaux-Beaux is always saying that Ya ya Teefs I gave up So where did you get them I asked holding one up to the fire Jo’s Ocean she said even more seriously Shh I had zero idea what she meant Star City where we live
is nowhere near the ocean And I didn’t know anyone named Jo I cotch toofs shh In Jo’s Ocean Belly help cotch I was about to say No way but then I thought it might be a good idea to find out where she was getting these teeth I consider it my personal mission to keep Kabungo out of prison So I told her Okay Let’s go As I turned away Kabungo grabbed my sleeve Nnn she said Wait Sungo Sungo means night to Kabungo And sunup means day I’ve tried teaching her the proper terms but she just doesn’t remember So I told her I’d be back at sungo Promise Belly she said looking worried Kabungo has trouble trusting people Promise I said Kabungo smiled As I waved goodbye I reminded myself to buy her another toothbrush The sun sets pretty late in Star City It was nine o’clock when I reached the cave Ready Belly said Kabungo stepping out of the shadows
She sure was ready She had on her beast furs made from what animal I have no idea and her snakeskin pouch There were smudges of red paint on her forehead and under her eyes Belly come she said Sniff Kabungo To Kabungo sniff just means follow Maybe because dogs follow a scent by sniffing That’s just a guess I sniffed Kabungo across Main Street through Mr Banbury’s backyard and down the alley It was dark in the alley About all I could see was the snakeskin pouch sparkling in the starlight All I could hear was the crunching of leaves underfoot So I followed the sparkle and the leaf crunch and just tried my hardest not to run into any of the trees that lined the alley It’s a good thing Kabungo has tiger eyes Finally she pushed through some branches and Here said Kabungo She pointed at a long orange building with a yellow sign The Sunset Club The Sunset Club isn’t really a club It’s a retirement home for older people My Uncle George has an apartment there It smells like peppermints This is Jo’s Ocean I said
Kabungo shook her head In she said Sniff Shh I sniffed her around the building to the fifth window on the ground floor It was a surprisingly warm night for October so most of the windows were wide open In she said again softly Shh Shh Ocean K I whispered You can’t go in there But it was too late She sprang through the window like a wildcat I leaned through it trying to pull her back when she reached out pulled me in and plopped me on the floor For a ten-year-old Kabungo is mighty Kabungo I hissed We’re breaking the law But she just shook her head and said No breaks Belly Carful Shh And she tiptoed across the room
