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

nonstop, not really thinking through anything, just rambling onto the next thought that popped into her head. Davis wasn’t upset with her, but it made her sad that her mom was so controlled and confused and determined to clear Everett of any wrongdoing.

Davis took yet another deep breath. “I don’t know, Mom. Maybe Everett’s afraid that we wouldn’t like being married to the same man?”

“President Everett, dear. We must use proper titles and respect for our leader. And I don’t know, maybe. But he’s so kind and wonderful, you’ll see. I just don’t think he knows who you are! We just need to explain, and it’ll get worked out.” Her mom then stopped talking for a second. Her eyes were getting big with awareness and enlightenment. “You know what this means, though? He saved us both! President Everett saved our lives. Both mine and yours.” Ruby was so delighted and thrilled at this prospect, but Davis couldn’t help but point out an apparent discrepancy.

“Mom, didn’t you ever see me at any of the events that I attended? You would have been at them too, although I used the name they gave me at the Children’s Center, Davis.”

“I don’t go to any of them; President Everett always told me my best skills were sitting here, waiting for him to come back, and looking pretty.” Ruby seemed pleased at this, while it made Davis cringe. “Besides, because of the mistake made all those years ago, I wouldn’t have known to look for you or known you went by the name ‘Davis.’” A light dawned behind Ruby’s eyes. “That must be President Everett’s problem in all this too! He didn’t know they changed your name!” Ruby accentuated the last part of her statement as if she solved the entire mystery.

Davis quickly realized that there was nothing she could say or do to persuade her mom that President Everett was not the salt of the earth. She also concluded she should tell her mom her “new” name that Everett had given her, “Delilah,” in case it caused her to get in trouble for accidentally calling her either Davis or Amelia.

Seemingly out of nowhere, in a moment of calm, Davis thought maybe a shadow of her mom’s old self showed. Ruby looked at her daughter, deeply in the eyes, with love and simply and calmly said, “You are my daughter. My beautiful daughter, so courageous and strong.”

“Thank you, mom. You are so strong too. Even when we don’t always feel it, we have a whole legion of people in the Heavens we can rely on, right?” When she said this, Davis thought she saw a twinkle of something behind her mom’s eyes, as if perhaps she recognized her old self, a recollection of a past fear she had about Everett. She seemed to shake it off, so Davis continued, “Look, mom. I better get back to my bed before someone notices I’m gone. I just wanted to see you as soon as I could. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, and we’ll get this worked out. I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, oh, my Little Marigold. My Amelia! Sorry, Delilah. It is so good to see you again.” Then Ruby embraced her again and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry about anything. President Everett will help us. I’m certain.” Then she let go and squeezed her hand as she walked away, glancing back once at the same time Davis happened to look back toward Ruby.

~

What Ruby thought was a glance back toward her was actually Davis looking behind and to the left of her mom. Davis did that because she thought she had heard a shuffling sound and saw movement in that direction. But, as her mom waved goodbye and started walking back, she decided it must be her nerves, so she turned back around to leave. Right after her mom had left and closed her door, she reached out to open her doorknob and thought she heard the noise again. Startled, Davis turned back around and tried to make her eyes focus. The blue light was present, but the storage closet was pretty sizeable, with several rows of shelving. It was impossible to see every corner, especially in the dim light. Her heart started to beat quickly, and she wanted to get back to her bed as soon as possible.

No sooner than she moved to the door again, she realized beyond any doubt she heard shuffling. She strained her ears because there seemed to be a very light and delicate humming sound. After a few seconds, she concluded there was humming, and more so, it was to the tune of the song her mom had sung her a few minutes ago. Davis paused for a second, wondering if she should figure out what was going on. Her stomach dropped to the floor when she realized that was precisely what she shouldn’t do, and Davis started to rush into the exercise room.

A few seconds after she got into the exercise room, she heard the storage closet door open behind her and close again softly. Then the humming started anew, even louder. Undoubtedly, someone was behind her. The humming got louder. She couldn’t help but turn around, and now there was enough light to see who it was.

~

Davis had a moment, one of those moments when her eyes knew what would happen before her brain knew. She saw Brookshire step toward her, and then in the glimmer of blue light; she saw the bee venom vial as it fell from Brookshire’s hands and drop to the ground, his boot crushing it into the hard floor. “You really didn’t think you could get away with it, did you?”

Davis’s wheels started to turn as she realized: Brookshire had played her, played them all. The plan was falling apart quicker than an intricate embroidery having its strings pulled in the incorrect order. “Brookshire? I don’t understand. What is happening?”

“Davis. Let’s not be foolish. Did you think