Marigold by Heather Manheim (best books for 8th graders .TXT) 📕

that the band had gone away, inexplicably. She didn’t know if they had been victims of the Lombardi Plague or “eliminated.” Or maybe they just broke up and went their separate ways.

Ringo was, of course, on drums, and Josie was on keyboards and sang. Although they also originally had a guitar and bass players too, nobody had seen or heard from either James or Sakura in ages. The band started with “Sugared Quail,” a fun yet risqué song about a sweet girl that stole men’s hearts before running off. Okay, thought Davis, maybe not as political and poetic as she remembered. But then they broke into “Tomorrow’s Legend.” Davis remembered this song. There was the small war of 2023 that the former US had with Cuba. For years, stories of inhumane treatment and false imprisonments abounded in Cuba until the US conquered the Cuban government, changing Cuba from the Republic of Cuba to a US territory. The war was bloody, mostly for the Cubans. They were forced to fight but not given proper attire or weapons. Of course, the friendly relations that had been born since the war swiftly dissipated when the Lombardi Plague quickly spread there because of the open-door travel policy. Before that was the war of 2023, and Complicated Justice wrote “Tomorrow’s Legend” to paint a picture of innocent Cubans suffering because of the war.

They say you can’t win

But it’s apparent

You’ll be a legend,

A legend

You may have to wait until tomorrow

As the world turns in sorrow

But you’ll be a legend,

A legend

Blood of the innocents fill the streets

As the government conquers again

But the people will be the legends

Legends

Legends of hope and pride

Legends as they abide their time

But they’ll be legends,

Legends tomorrow…

Davis found herself singing in her head along with the words and was surprised she remembered them as well as she did.

The two bandmates finished off with probably Complicated Justice’s two most famous radio songs, “Like a Heart” and “Shouting Through a Cackle of Hyenas,” the latter quite a well-written satire how the voice of the people is often not heard through the ruckus the politicians create. However, “Tomorrow’s Legend” was Davis’s favorite. It always had been.

After the music ended, Josie and Ringo came and sat with Davis and Brookshire. Josie explained how when things got touchy; she had gone over the border to Canada and lived on Prince Edward Island, which was snappily known as P.E.I. Josie had been born there and, seeing the writing on the wall, she went back when things started going down. Josie’s parents were already ailing, so she wanted to take care of them and not be kept from returning to Canada. They were already starting to crack down on border crossings when Josie went back. It was a little less tricky for her to cross as she had been born in Canada; her family had moved to the former United States when Josie was seven, right next door to Ringo’s family. However, Josie’s parents had gone back to Canada a few years before Josie, and when the plague started to hit, she had a desire to be closer to her parents. Josie was tempted to join Ringo in the bunker from the word go but couldn’t abandon her parents. After both her parents passed away, she started thinking about her friend and “brother,” Ringo and decided to attempt to come to see him and make sure he was okay.

Josie’s next-door neighbor, Tara, owned a successful aerospace manufacturing company. Tara’s husband, Michael, her dad, Bill, and Tara’s daughter and son, Noah, and Sawyer, lived and operated their business out of P.E.I. Tara also ran an underground network of people that helped other people across the border. Many families had been torn apart and separated, just like what had happened with the Berlin Wall. So, Tara connected Josie to her network. There were two routes Josie could take after crossing the Confederation Bridge from P.E.I. and going into New Brunswick. From there, she would have a long drive to Windsor, Ontario, where she could cross the Detroit River alone, and into what was formerly known as Detroit, Michigan. With that route, Josie would join a long legacy of rum runners from the 1930s who brought bootleg liquor into the US from Canada. Then it was another long journey, using a combination of off the grid families and old vehicles provided by them that transported one from city to city until getting to the state formerly known as California and to Ringo’s doorbell. The other option, the one that Josie opted for, was a little riskier in one way. She would be in Canada longer, which was safer. Still, crossing into the former US via an old border crossing in British Columbia into Washington state could be dangerous. The border crossing itself was closed with chains, red flags, and concrete pylons. Regardless, guards heavily monitored it. Security Patrols were both in the booths twenty-four-seven, and sentries patrolled the border on foot. Drone Scanners flew over the area regularly as well.

Tara had flown Josie to B.C., Canada, into Vancouver airport. From there, Tara handed Josie off to her brother, Chris. Tara then flew home, and Josie waited at Chris’s house for two weeks. There was always more danger trying to cross the border after a private plane landed at Vancouver airport. It raised the hackles of the border patrol on both sides. So, it was prudent to make sure enough time had passed that fewer eyes were on the border.

Wow, thought Davis to herself as she heard Josie’s tale. That certainly is the mark of someone who would consider a person to be a close family member. Davis could think of no one she would be willing to do this for, even now, with these new people she supposed would be considered her friends. Davis ended her silence with a smile. “That’s impressive that you would risk so much to see your friend, Josie.”

“Yes, well, Ringo has always been such an important part of