orca echoes not for sale Sara Cassidy illustrated by Helen Flook ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS
For Ezra
Chapter One Ancient potatoes lurk in our bedroom closets Under beds with dust bunnies In the toes of rubber boots no one has worn since spring When Mom finds one of the withered gray tubers she waves it in our faces Do your homework Rudy she says Cyrus clean your room Or I’ll touch you with this putrid thing I’ll cook it in your soup without you knowing A slimy tornado of fear whirls in my throat at the thought of wrinkly-potato soup I try not to gag I expect the potato to clink and clack when Mom shakes it in my face but of course it doesn’t It’s not a baby’s rattle it’s a potato A potato that looks like it’s had a fight with a hole punch The shriveled spud is 1
