As Brave As You by Reynolds, Jason (z-lib.org).mobi

“What happened?” Genie asked, now all in.
“Well, turned out old man Bristol knew exactly how many pups was in
that litter. And after questionin’ all the men the next day, well, threatenin’
them really, one guy broke and said they saw Daddy and Barnabas run out of
the barn suspiciously.”
“Oh man.”
“Oh man is right,” Grandpop said. “Bristol showed up at the yellow
house, all in my daddy’s face, askin’ all kinds of questions. I was just a kid. I
came to the door to see what was goin’ on and Daddy told me to go to my
room. I ran to the top of the stairs, but then stayed there and listened.
Listened to Bristol tell my father that either he tell him the truth, or he would
have our whole family killed.”
“What?” Genie gasped, not believing his ears. “He could do that?”
“Back then, a lot of people could.”
“So what did your dad do?”
Grandpop looked at Genie, square. “He did what he had to do. He told
Bristol that Barnabas stole the puppy.” Grandpop lifted his right leg and
rested his ankle on his left knee, so he could scratch the snake bite scar.
“Bristol fired my daddy on the spot. The next day Barnabas came to the
house upset because he had gone to the field and Bristol had fired him, too.
But my father didn’t tell him that he already knew what had happened. My
father just couldn’t face him, couldn’t admit what he’d done, couldn’t
apologize for what he knew full well was coming next to Barnabas. And
when he finally had the courage to make it right, it was too late. Bristol and
his boys set Barnabas’s house on fire.” Grandpop nodded slowly. “Burned to
death. The house smoked for two days. On the third day, my father, who had
become a ghost himself, went down to Barnabas’s. I always felt like he went
to pay his respects to Barnabas’s spirit or somethin’. But when he came back
from the burned house, he had that puppy. My mother named her
Samantha.”
Genie gasped again. “You mean, the puppy lived?”
“Yep. The dog lived,” Grandpop replied. “And that wasn’t the only time
my pop went down to Barnabas’s house. He would go all the time, and come
back home with pieces of wood from the floor of the house, and screen wire
from the doors and windows. That’s what he used to make those birdcages
you and your brother found behind that old house.” Genie froze—caught!
“Yeah, that’s right, I know all about that. Your grandma told me.” Grandpop

flashed a slick grin. “Some of them very same cages are in my room, but you
already know that too, don’tcha, Little Wood?” Genie’s breath caught in his
throat. Grandpop dropped his leg back down. “Anyway, why am I even
tellin’ you this story again?”

“We were talkin’ ’bout Samantha, the yellow house . . . ,” Genie reminded
him.

“Ah, right. The point is, my old man was never the same. He was already
a little scattered from his time in the war, and everybody thinks the war is
what drove him over the edge, but after the whole thing with Barnabas, it
really got bad. It was what broke him, because he couldn’t forgive himself—
not for making the decision that he made, but for not apologizing and being
honest with his friend when he had the chance. The old man was locked in
guilt for the rest of his life.” Grandpop circled the rim of his jar with a finger.
“And that’s why I keep Sam—a version of Sam—around. As a reminder.”

“But what about the tree, and all those birds?” Genie asked, trying to keep
the conversation going a little longer, hoping to shake the weird feeling that
was creeping into his stomach. Plus, he really wanted to know. “I mean,
what made that happen?”

Grandpop crossed his legs. “I’on’t know. What you think?”
Genie did have a thought, one that came instantly. Probably from every
scary movie he had ever sneak-watched, combining with the story Grandpop
had just told him. A thought about whether people could die and then come
back. If Grandpop’s dad could be that tree, still trying to break free from the
guilt. Or maybe Barnabas Saint was the tree, tearing the house apart, and
Great-Grandpop was the birds, sitting in all that mess, eating themselves.
Either way, Genie knew he couldn’t actually say this to Grandpop. He
wasn’t even sure he knew how to say it, without sounding silly, or mean. But
what if it were true? Could that happen to Genie? Or to Grandpop? Or Dad?
But it can’t be true. It can’t be. Don’t be stupid. Too . . . many . . . scary . . .
movies! But what if . . .
By now Genie had a lump in his throat the size of, well, a small bird.
Thoughts were coming every which way—the death of Michael Jackson, the
disposing of the body, the constant fear that Grandpop would find out, the
fact that he wasn’t sure anymore if he should catch another one, and he
realized that he also felt . . . trapped. Trapped in a deep hole he’d dug all by
himself.

“I’on’t know,” was all Genie could say, his head spinning. But he knew.
He knew what he needed to do to keep himself from becoming a nasty bird
eating other birds, or a tree growing in a scary house.

He knew it was time to come clean.
“Grandpop, I need to tell you somethin’.”
“What’s that, grandson?”
And then the front door opened.
“How could you let this happen?!” Dad’s voice came through the house—
his dad? His dad! His parents were back!—and it sounded like he was
storming into the kitchen, followed by Grandma, Ernie, and Ma. Dad was
totally going off. “I knew sendin’ them down here was a bad idea,” he was
fuming.
“Ma? Dad?” Genie called out in confusion, hopping up. “What y’all doin’
here? Y’all three days early.”
Ma met Genie in the kitchen entranceway, hugged him tight. “We just
needed to get back to our boys. Missed you too much.” He missed her, too.
He really did. He studied her face to see if it was still tired, if she looked sad.
Because if there was any sadness on her face, Genie would know that he’d
have to get back to figuring out which parent he was going to live with. He’d
also know to never take Shelly to Jamaica. “Woo, you stink. Smell like
outside,” Ma zinged him, scrunching her nose up so Genie couldn’t tell if
there was a smile with it. But she didn’t look tired like she usually did. That
was a start. Genie kept his eyes on his mother as she went over to the couch,
bent down, and kissed Grandpop on the cheek. “It’s good to see you, Papa
Harris,” she whispered. Grandpop smiled sheepishly.
“Um . . . how was Jamaica?” Genie asked, his brain bouncing back and
forth between being happy to see his mother and totally freaking out.
Because, yeah, he was excited to see her, but he was about to confess
something—maybe the biggest mistake he’d ever made—and he didn’t want
her to be there when he confessed it. Because then he’d have to confess it to
everyone. And the difference between parents and grandparents was that
parents were allowed to get real, real mad.
Ma broke into a smile, but before she could answer, Grandpop called out
for Dad. “Son.”
Genie quickly shifted his gaze as Dad stalked into the living room with
Grandma and Ernie, who was holding the suitcase, following behind. Dad

gave Genie a big hug, but his face was tight, his eyes narrowed and lasering
in on Grandpop.

Grandpop rocked forward, slowly getting to his feet, Ma reaching out to
help him but then pulling back, knowing that wasn’t what Grandpop
would’ve wanted.

“Um, boys, why don’t we go upstairs and get your stuff ready to go,” Ma
said, her eyes darting back and forth between Dad and Grandpop.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Grandma followed up. Ernie, who had set the
suitcase down, picked it back up, and Grandma grabbed Genie’s shoulders,
moving him around his father. The rain was picking up.

Grandma hung back as Ma led the way upstairs. Halfway up, Genie asked
Ernie about what had happened at Teeth Man’s.

“He said everything’s lookin’ good and that I should be fine by the time
school starts,” Ernie explained, lugging the suitcase step by step.

“Cool.” Genie nodded. “But what he say about the chipped one? He said
they might be able to put a crown on it? Like a king? That would be sweet.”

“I’on’t know,” Ernie said, now at the top of the stairs. “Maybe.”
As they entered the room, he turned to Genie and gave him a look. A
What’s up with the bird? look. Genie just shook his head. Ernie grimaced.
In the room, Ma started pulling all the clothes from the old blue dresser.
“So, I guess I don’t need to ask if you boys had a good time, huh?”
Ernie helped stack the clothes neatly into the suitcase. Genie folded up the
blanket.
“I did,” Ernie said. Ma looked at him in surprise. “I mean, learning how to
shoot was wack, but I still had a pretty good time, when I think about it.”
“I did too,” Genie said. And he wasn’t even playing Pete and Repeat. He
really did.
Ma looked at them as if she didn’t recognize them. “Well, that’s good,”
she said, smiling at last.
All of a sudden, there was a whole bunch of noise coming through the
floor, from downstairs. Dad and Grandpop. Ma told Genie and Ernie to
finish packing and dashed off to keep their father from “doing something
stupid.” Genie looked at Ernie, Ernie looked back at him, and they both
booked it down the stairs behind her.
And Dad was there, standing in front of Grandpop, all puffed up. Probably
what Uncle Wood looked like when he stood up to Cake, Genie thought. But
this was Dad and Grandpop. Grandma was planted between them.

“You did it to us, and now you’ve done it to them! Are you happy?” Dad
was shouting.

Grandpop didn’t respond, and Grandma tried to speak for him, but Dad
cut her off.

“No, Ma, let him answer. Let him tell me why he can’t get it through his
head that his job was to protect, but he’s done a lousy job of it! He didn’t
protect Wood, he didn’t protect me, and he didn’t protect my boys!” Dad
stalked to the other side of the living room and slammed the wall, the bang
making everybody jump, especially Grandpop, whose hands started shaking.
Ma ran over to Dad as he pressed his head against the peeling wallpaper, and
put her arms around him.

But Genie’s eyes were on Grandpop. He wondered if it all sounded and
felt worse to Grandpop because of how they say people who can’t see can
hear and feel more than people who aren’t blind. What did Dad sound like to
him? Because if he sounded scary to Genie, he must’ve sounded like a
monster to Grandpop.

Dad turned back around and started raging again. “And what if a bullet
ricocheted off a tree and hit him? Or Genie? Did you think about that? What
if it hit you?” His voice started cracking.

“Then at least I would’ve done something to make you happy!” Grandpop
blistered back. He put his hand on the arm of the couch, as if his legs were
going to give out. He crumpled onto it, and in that moment, Dad suddenly
shattered. He took a seat next to Grandpop. He looked at his wife, all the
anger draining from his face. He looked to Genie and Ernie, hurt,
embarrassed. Then he reached over, slowly taking Grandpop’s hand.
Grandpop didn’t resist. Dad dropped his chin for a few seconds, then lifted
his face and quickly whisked tears away from his cheeks.

The rain poured.
Then Grandma, who was staring directly at Ma, cleared her throat to get
her attention, nodding toward the stairs.
Ma nodded back. “Boys, why don’t we go back upstairs and finish
packin’? Leave Grandpop and your dad here to talk.”
That seemed like a good idea to Genie, because things were getting weird.
Again.
Grandma followed them up this time. Ma started cramming shirt after
shirt into the suitcase, telling the boys to make sure they had everything,
Genie his notebook, Ernie his cell phone. And as she went on about how she

couldn’t understand why it seemed like her sons had more stuff leaving than
they had coming, Grandma came over to the dresser and shooed her away.
“You’ve been drivin’ half the night—and these boys know a thing or two
about work, now—they got this.” And that was when she noticed the truck.

“Wait a minute,” Grandma said, picking it up, her eyes watering as she
flipped it over. “Who? How?”

Genie smiled hopefully. “I fixed it.”
A tear fell from Grandma’s eye as she looked back and forth from Genie
to the truck. She set it back in its place in front of the flag and medals and
bottle with Ernie’s chipped tooth and, yes, the piece of broken wheel. She
stepped back and looked at it, gazing at it as if she were remembering Wood
playing with it when he was younger. Then she picked it back up, nodding
her head.
“Take it,” she said, pushing it into Genie’s hands and wrapping his fingers
around it.
“You serious?” Genie asked.
“Baby, we all gotta learn to let things go sometimes. So it’s yours.” She
kissed him on the forehead. “Plus, I don’t think Uncle Wood would mind if
you added this one to your collection. As a matter of fact”—Grandma
grinned wide—“I think he’d be honored.”
Genie lit up. “Thanks, Grandma.”
“And what we gon’ do with this, Big Ernie?” Grandma wiped the tears
from her eyes and held up the beer bottle with the chipped tooth in it.
“Oh my,” Mom gasped. “Ernie, is that . . . yours?”
“Yep. This guy, Crab—”
“I know who Crab is.”
“Oh. Well, yeah, he saved it for me. And then we went to the doctor but
she said—”
“Uh-uh.” She wagged a finger. “I’on’t wanna know.” Grandma passed the
bottle to Ma. She held it up to the light, like she couldn’t believe what she
was seeing. “Just lookin’ at it gives me the willies,” Ma said at last. “So you
takin’ this back to Brooklyn with you? Show it to all your friends, tough
guy?”
“Nah,” Ernie said. He turned to Grandma. “You and Grandpop can keep
it. As a good luck charm.”
“A . . . what?” Mom looked even more horrified.
Grandma, on the other hand, gushed. “Aww, thank you, Ernie.”

Ma looked at them like they were all crazy, then said they had to get a
move on because Dad wanted to avoid Richmond rush hour, so they doubled
down on the packing and Grandma called through the floor to make sure it
was okay to come down.

“Is there still fire in the hole?” she yelled.
“No, Ma, it’s fine,” Dad called back.
On the way downstairs, Grandma hit Ernie and Genie and their mother
with everything she had to get them to stay the night.
“Just stay for dinner, then,” she persisted when Ma turned her down.
“Y’all shouldn’t get on the road hungry. These are growin’ boys.”
“I know, Mama Harris. We’ll stop on the way.”
“But it’s gettin’ late. Y’all don’t wanna rest your heads just for a few
hours? Avoid that traffic?”
“Can’t. I mean, we’d love to but it’s just . . .” The pause was awkward as
Ma tried to find the right words, but Grandma seemed to understand. She
nodded warmly. Ma exhaled and continued. “I slept the whole way down, so
I can take over if he gets tired.”
And on and on, while Genie clunked the heavy suitcase against the shaky
steps, going down them for the last time. And even though he knew that in a
few seconds he’d be about seventeen steps to freedom, there was no way he
could leave without somehow talking to Grandpop.
In the living room, Grandpop and Dad were sitting side by side. They
were drinking sweet tea and listening to the radio, Grandpop’s box of money
—the rainy day stash—in Dad’s lap. Ma hugged Dad’s neck and Grandma
did the same to Grandpop. Everybody loved Pete and Repeat. Even old
people.
“Time to go,” Dad said, clapping his hands together, standing up, the box
in hand.
“What’s that?” Ma asked.
Dad smiled. “Gas money.”
“Enough to get you there. And back.” Grandpop dimpled, rocking a little,
and Ma, glassy-eyed, grabbed his hand to help him to his feet. “All right. I
know you gotta get these knuckleheads back to the concrete jungle.”
“Wait,” Genie said, handing the suitcase to Ernie. “Um, Grandpop, we
didn’t get to finish what we were talkin’ about. I mean, I . . . uh . . . I still
need to just . . . tell you somethin’.”

Dad looked at Genie, curious, concerned. “Son, we really gotta get goin’.
You can call him when we get home.”

“Ernest, just give us a second,” Grandpop said. “It’s still raining a little,
plus I know Ernie has someone he’d like to say good-bye to.”

Dad and Ma looked at Ernie, who gnawed the side of his jaw trying to
hide his embarrassment. But it was true. Dad sighed and nodded at him.
Ernie immediately broke for the door, heading, Genie knew, straight to
Tess’s, while Grandpop, sensing Genie’s need for privacy, asked, “Our
room?”

In the inside-outside room, Genie and Grandpop took their usual seats.
Genie took one last look at the birdcages, one without a bird. His heart
started jumping around, and he couldn’t get his right leg to stop tap-tap-
tapping. He took a deep breath. “Grandpop, Michael Jackson is . . . dead.”

“Yeah, he died a few years back. Somethin’ crazy ’bout a doctor, and too
many meds.” Grandpop shook his head. “Is that what—”

“No, I mean Michael Jackson, the bird,” Genie clarified, then decided to
really get to it. “One of your birds. In this room. One of them is . . . dead.
He’s gone. We were out of flies . . . and I didn’t know what to do because I
had already fed the others, so I just gave the smallest one a few apple seeds
to hold him till Crab brought more flies. And it killed him. I . . . killed him.”

Grandpop drew a long breath, seemed to last forever. Then he simply said,
“I know.”

“Huh?” Genie thought he’d heard wrong.
“I said, I know.” Grandpop knew? How long had he known? What in Sam
Hill was going on?!
“But—but—” was all Genie could manage.
“Because of these, son.” Grandpop tapped his earlobes. “I heard a change
in the room a long time ago. It was as if there were five people talking at the
same time, and then suddenly one stopped talking. Everything changed. I
knew right away that something had happened, but I been waiting for you to
come clean. To speak up. But . . . you never did. Until now.” Grandpop put
his hands together, squeezed and massaged his fingers. “What took so long?”
“I’ve been tryin’ to fix it,” Genie said, now staring down at his beat-up
Converses. “But I just couldn’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Sorry for killing
Michael Jackson and lyin’ about it. I’m sorry for stealin’ his dead body from
the cage before it was light outside and puttin’ it on a shovel and flingin’ it
into the woods. I’m sorry for settin’ a trap and tryin’ to catch another barn

swallow to sneak into the house and put it back in the cage, and I’m sorry for
even thinking about callin’ the new stolen one Michael Jackson too, but then
I would’ve been sorry to the new Michael Jackson for catchin’ him and
trappin’ him in a cage, so I guess I’m not sorry for that part, so . . . I’m sorry
for that too.”

The truth practically vomited out of him. All of it. The whole thing.
Grandpop looked stunned. Genie worried his apology wouldn’t be
enough, even though he was already starting to feel a little better. But after a
few seconds, Grandpop smiled. It was slight, but it was enough, enough to
let Genie know he was okay.
“Anything else?”
“Well, actually, I do have one more question.”
“Your last question.” Grandpop stood, reached his hand out to Genie.
“My last question.” Genie grabbed Grandpop’s hand, standing. “Would
you ever let the rest of the Jacksons go?”
Grandpop went back over to the door, sighed, and yanked it open. He
looked looked at Genie again, the smirk still on his face. “Maybe.”
And as Genie left the inside-outside room, he stepped on something. He
looked down to see what it was. A small jagged piece of plastic, black, with
a bit of silver in the middle.

Acknowledgments

As always, I have to acknowledge my editor, the great Caitlyn Dlouhy,
who, for some reason, never gives up on me. And my agent, my friend,
Elena Giovinazzo for always championing my crazy ideas. My grandfather
Brooke; my older brother, Allen; and my father for inspiring this tale. I also
have to thank my cousin Tracie Smith Furgess, for her help with all the
dental stuff. I had no idea! And lastly, I just want to acknowledge everyone
who has supported me—all the librarians, teachers, students, friends, and
anyone else who has spent a moment or two with my colorful characters. It
truly means the world to me.

Jason Reynolds is crazy. About stories.

If you ever want to know what a perfect peanut butter and jelly
sandwich tastes like, he’s your guy. And if you ever want to know what
the worst selfie in the world looks like . . . he’s still your guy. So he’ll
trade you: a sandwich for a selfie lesson. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll
even throw a story or two in there. He’s already written a bunch for
teens: When I Was the Greatest (which won the 2015 Coretta Scott
King–John Steptoe Award for New Talent), The Boy in the Black Suit,
and All American Boys (which he wrote with Brendan Kiely). And he’s
working on more. Check him out at jasonwritesbooks.com.

A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Simon & Schuster
New York

Visit us at

simonandschuster.com/kids

authors.simonandschuster.com/Jason-Reynolds

Also by Jason Reynolds

When I Was the Greatest
The Boy in the Black Suit

All American Boys

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ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the
author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2016 by Jason Reynolds
Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by John Jay Cabuay
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Atheneum logo is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.
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3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Book design by Debra Sfetsios-Conover and Irene Metaxatos
The text for this book was set in Sabon LT Std.
CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-1590-3
ISBN 978-1-4814-1592-7 (eBook)

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One

Acknowledgments
About Jason Reynolds

Table of Contents

Cover
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Acknowledgments
About Jason Reynolds
Copyright