Little Sister Is Not My Name Read online

  “Safety?” I repeat. “That’s not safe, that’s dumb! My family is stuck in an elevator because of that!”

  “Well, let’s go see if we can get them out, little lady!” Mr. Williams says. His voice is full of confidence. I relax a little.

  He speaks into his walkie-talkie and alerts the police. “Family stuck in elevator on the twenty-second floor of the Tower Building,” he says. “Send units to this location right away.”

  Then we hurry down the hall and back to the elevator. The narrow opening I had crawled through is still there. So are Sabin’s boots.

  “Mom! Daddy! I found Mr. Williams!” I call to them. “He says the whole city is blacked out — no power, no phones anywhere!”

  “Oh, no!” I hear Sabin cry out.

  “Can you get the elevator started from that end, Mr. Williams?” I hear Mom ask.

  “Sorry, ma’am. Automatic shutdown. But I’ve called a rescue squad and they’ll be here shortly. Is everyone okay in there?”

  “We’re fine, sir,” Daddy’s voice replies. “My son needs to find a bathroom pretty soon, but other than that, we’re all safe.”

  “Your daughter here is a hero!” Mr. Williams exclaims. “If she hadn’t been small enough to squeeze through that opening, you all would probably have been in there for hours!”

  I can hear Sabin groan. I try not to laugh.

  Considering there are probably lots of really serious emergencies tonight, the rescue team from the fire department arrives really quickly.

  The firefighters wear their serious working gear — bright yellow uniforms made of some kind of stuff that I guess doesn’t burn, and helmets and hatchets and ropes.

  One guy carries an oxygen tank and another firefighter — a woman — carries one of those funny-looking tools that had been used to get Travis out of the chair.

  “How did you get up here?” I ask the woman.

  “The stairs,” she answers.

  “You walked up twenty-two floors?” I ask.

  “Actually, when we heard a family was trapped, we ran up the stairs!”

  “Wow,” I say. “Way cool. Thanks.”

  “Are you okay?” she asks. “My name is Rosa, and that’s Big Bob over there.”

  “I’m fine,” I tell her. “It’s my family that needs help. And my brother has to go to the bathroom.”

  Rosa and Big Bob hurry over to the elevator door and get to work. It’s all over in a few minutes. They pry the door open with the equipment, and, like a burp, Sabin explodes out of the enlarged opening.

  Even though he only has on socks, he runs so fast down the hall to the bathroom that he could make the Olympic track team. The firefighters chuckle at his run, then carefully help Grammy, Mom, Sadora, and Daddy out of the elevator.

  By the time the firefighters are packing up their gear, and my family are all standing in the hall looking a little embarrassed, Sabin walks back to us — slowly this time.

  “Feel better, son?” Daddy asks.

  “Oh, yeah!” Sabin says, exhaling with relief. “Thanks, Little Sist — uh, I mean, Sassy,” he says. “I couldn’t have held out one second longer!”

  We all crack up. Sadora starts the laughter, then Sabin giggles, laughing at himself. Then Mom and Daddy and Grammy join in, and we sound like the laugh track to a television comedy show.

  Wiping his eyes, Daddy says to Rosa and Big Bob, “We really thank you for taking the time to rescue us. We know you have lots more calls to answer tonight.”

  “Your family is lucky that you had someone small enough to get out and call for help,” Rosa says.

  Everybody looks at me and smiles again. I feel really special.

  “I really want to thank you,” Sabin says. “Another few minutes and I would have exploded!”

  Rosa laughs. “It’s our pleasure, son.”

  “Does your family need assistance down the stairs?” Big Bob asks Daddy.

  “No, thanks. We’re fine,” Daddy says. “Go and do what you need to do for others.”

  Big Bob and Rosa hurry on to their next emergency. The hall is suddenly dark and silent once more.

  Our whole family, along with Mr. Williams, walks slowly back to Mom’s office. The storm has passed. The city, lit only by moonlight and stars, looks quiet and sleepy.

  “The cars on the road seem like they’re lost,” Sabin says. “As if they don’t belong there or something.”

  No one else says much — it’s a really strange sight.

  Then, as suddenly as they had gone out, the lights begin to flicker back on. The computer in Mom’s office buzzes and hums, and the lights sputter back to life.

  The lights below in the city blink once or twice, as if they are waking up.

  Then, like somebody is flicking a switch, the whole city bursts back into life. Streetlights. Red and green lights. Neon signs. Buildings and houses. Brightly shining once again.

  We all cheer.

  “Well, this is certainly an evening we’ll always remember!” Grammy says. “This is a great story to add to my collection!”

  “I’m just thankful we’re all safe,” Mom says.

  “And that I didn’t embarrass myself!” Sabin adds.

  “And that my cell phone is working again!” Sadora declares cheerfully.

  “My dress got all dirty!” I announce sadly.

  “Remember what I told you, Sassy,” Grammy reminds me. “It’s what inside that counts.”

  “I think I get it now,” I tell her.

  “Well, we’re all really thankful that our Sassy, our baby girl who we love so much, was little enough to save us all!” Daddy says with pride.

  “You know what?” I tell everyone, admitting something I’m just figuring out. “I really don’t mind being called Little Sister sometimes. It means something special now. I’m glad I was little enough to get through that door.”

  They all hug me then, one of those group hugs like you see on TV comedy shows, but this is very real, and way cool.

  We leave Mom’s office and head back down the hall. We look to our right, where the elevator is now working and waiting for us, and to the left, where the staircase is. We take the stairs!

  I’m the first to get to the bottom of the stairs. Whew! That was a lot of steps! I push open the doors of the building and I’m almost blinded from blinking and flashing lights in my eyes. I don’t get it. Cameras?

  A lady reporter hurries over to me. I have seen her on the six o’clock news. “Are you the one who saved your family?” she asks. She looks excited. I’m not sure why.

  “I guess so,” I tell her.

  Somebody snaps my picture again. I look down and realize my pretty white dress is dirty. My hair is a mess. This is not a good time to have a photo taken.

  I dig down into my Sassy Sack and pull out a brush and a pink hair band. I don’t think either one helps very much.

  By this time the rest of the family comes outside. The news crew seems to confuse them also.

  “What’s up?” Sadora asks me as she fixes her hair and puts on lipstick. “After all, we’re just an overdressed, overstuffed family who got stuck in an elevator with a kid who had too much to eat and drink.”

  I giggle. “You’re right!”

  Sabin has put his shoes back on. He looks a little embarrassed.

  “What is your name, sir?” the reporter lady asks Daddy.

  “Samson Sanford. Why are reporters gathered here? Is someone hurt?” Daddy holds my hand.

  “We heard about how a little girl risked her life during the blackout to save her family and we want to talk to her,” the reporter replied.

  “It was no big deal,” I say.

  “Oh, yes, it was!” Sabin says loudly. “Sassy saved me big-time!”

  Daddy grins and squeezes my hand. “Our Little Sister, our Sassy, is the woman of the hour!”

  I’ve never heard anybody call me a woman before. I feel really tall.

  “Sometimes the best things come in small packages,” G
rammy adds quietly. She gives me a big smile.

  The photographer snaps pictures of all of us. Click, click, click.

  Then the reporter asks me lots of questions.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Sassy Simone Sanford.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Nine and a half.”

  “How did you get out of the elevator?”

  “I squeezed.”

  “Why were you chosen to be the rescuer of your family?”

  “Because I’m the smallest. Everybody else was too big. I was the only one who could fit through the door.”

  “Were you afraid?”

  I pause. “I was a little scared of the dark,” I admit.

  The photographer gets more pictures of our family.

  I notice he takes lots of photos of Sadora and not very many of Sabin. When the news people finally realize our family is not very exciting, they pack up their gear and rush to the next emergency.

  We walk slowly to the parking lot, pile back into our car, and drive home quietly. When we finally get home, I drop off to sleep right away. What a night!

  The next morning, I wake up early because I know Grammy will be heading for the airport in a few hours. I hurry down the stairs to grab some breakfast. Nobody else seems to be up.

  But Grammy sits at the kitchen table, reading the morning newspaper and eating a bowl of granola cereal with blueberries and bananas on it. She makes even healthy stuff look yummy.

  “Good morning. How’s my little hero girl?” Grammy greets me with a smile. “Want some blueberries?”

  “Hi, Grammy,” I say. I give her a hug. “I’ll have a banana, and I’m no hero. Actually, I think Sabin ought to get a prize for not wetting his pants!” We both laugh.

  “Well, the paper says you’re a superstar,” Grammy tells me quietly. She continues to spoon her cereal into her mouth.

  “What paper?”

  “The morning newspaper right here.” She nods toward the paper in front of her.

  “I’m in the newspaper?”

  “We all are.”

  “No way!”

  “Way.” Grammy grins at me.

  I grab the paper. Page one is full of stories about wars and gas prices and the blackout. I don’t see anything about our family.

  “You’re teasing me,” I say to Grammy.

  “Turn to page two,” she says. She rinses out her cereal bowl.

  I flip to the next page and almost drop the whole thing. In the middle of the page is a fuzzy black-and-white photo of me!

  I’m grinning and looking a little goofy. My white dress looks really pretty, even though it looks a little dirty.

  Under the picture the caption reads, LITTLE SISTER SAVES FAMILY.

  “This is really funny,” I tell Grammy. “Even the newspaper calls me Little Sister!”

  The rest of the story is very short, but it’s all about how I had crawled through the gap and gone for help. I can’t believe it!

  * * *

  Sassy Sanford, the youngest child and smallest of three siblings, became a hero last night during our city’s power emergency. When her family got trapped in an elevator, she was the only one who was small enough to climb through the partially opened door. She ran alone through the darkness to find help, and because of her efforts, her family was rescued quickly and safely. No one was injured.

  * * *

  The story doesn’t mention anyone else’s name, not even Mr. Williams. And of all the pictures of Sadora that had been taken the night before, the only photo to show up in the paper is the one of me in a dirty dress.

  “Wow, Grammy,” I say in amazement. “Wait till the kids at school see this!”

  “I’m very proud of you, Sassy,” she says as she hugs me again. “And the rest of your family are as well.”

  “I really didn’t do very much,” I tell her.

  “You did what no one else could have done,” Grammy reminds me. “That’s all that counts.”

  I nibble on my banana and read the story once more. All the articles on that page are about the blackout.

  BABY BORN IN TAXICAB DURING BLACKOUT! is at the top of the page.

  HOSPITAL USES EMERGENCY GENERATORS is another story.

  HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAME PLAYED BY CANDLELIGHT, another story reports. Cool stuff.

  And one story about me and my family. Awesome.

  The rest of the family finally trickles in for breakfast.

  “This is so cool!” Daddy says as he reads the article. “I’m going to buy ten copies of today’s paper!”

  “Get twenty,” Mom says as she fixes breakfast. “I’m sending this to everybody I know!”

  “Hey, really cool, Sassy,” Sadora tells me.

  “You don’t care they didn’t use your picture?” I ask her, amazed she’s not upset about that.

  “You were the one who saved us, kid,” she admits. Then she gobbles the rest of my banana.

  “I’m just glad they forgot to mention me and my bathroom problems!” Sabin announces with relief after he reads the story.

  I guess we can’t delay it any longer, so we head out to take Grammy back to the airport.

  At the security area she hugs us all, then she takes each grandchild aside for a private word or two. She always gives each of us a small package before she leaves.

  I wonder what it will be this time.

  I don’t know what she says to Sabin and Sadora, or what she gives them, but when she gets to me, she kneels down and says, “Your name is your song, Sassy. Remember that.”

  I’m not exactly sure what she means, but then she reaches down into her Grammy Bag and pulls out a small package wrapped in gold foil paper.

  “Open it when you get home. I love you, Sassy!”

  “I love you, too, Grammy!” I’m trying not to get all sniffly.

  She waves and disappears into the crowd.

  The drive home seems slower and longer than usual. Sabin and Sadora finger their gold-wrapped packages like I do, but nobody peeks.

  When we get out of the car, I race to the bathroom and lock the door. I want complete privacy as I open my surprise.

  Even though I’m excited, I don’t rip the gold foil. I take my time and slowly unwrap the paper. I find not one, but two most wonderful things.

  The first is a small, shiny plaque from The Name Store in the mall. Decorated with plastic diamonds and rubies around the edge, the letters in my name are written in gold sparkles. It’s just perfect!

  I hug it and grin. Grammy always knows what I need!

  The second item is even smaller. It’s a soft-pink key chain. On it is a tag made of shiny pink enamel. In bright gold letters, engraved on one side, is the word SASSY. On the other side, it says LITTLE SISTER.

  A little note is attached. I take my time and read it slowly.

  Dear Sassy,

  The plaque is for your bedroom door and the key chain is for your Sassy Sack. The sparkly part of you can never hide under plain brown wrapping paper. Everyone knows it’s there. To me you will always sparkle and shine like a jewel. I love you.

  Grammy

  I’m starting to get sniffly again. I blow my nose with toilet paper.

  Sadora knocks on the bathroom door impatiently. “Hurry up, Sassy!” she cries. “I gotta go!”

  I take my time, unlock the bathroom, and she rushes in. I think she wants privacy to open her gift as well.

  I proudly hang my new sign on my bedroom door.

  THIS ROOM BELONGS TO SASSY SIMONE

  ALSO KNOWN AS

  LITTLE SISTER

  I carefully place the pink key chain in a zippered pocket of my Sassy Sack. I touch the sack gently. Every thread, every sparkle, every shiny button reminds me of Grammy. I miss her already. I can’t wait until summer when I see her again.

  Then I rush to the phone to call Jasmine. We have so much to talk about. Getting stuck in an elevator. My picture in the paper! I can’t wait to see her at school tomor-row. I wan
t to stand back-to-back and check our heights. I think I might be just a little taller.

  Sharon Draper is the acclaimed author of many books for young people, including the New York Times bestseller Out of My Mind, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award winners Copper Sun and Forged by Fire and the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award winner Tears of a Tiger.

  Ms. Draper is also the author of the popular Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs series, as well as November Blues and The Battle of Jericho, both Coretta Scott King Honor Books.

  Ms. Draper was the 1997 National Teacher of the Year and has been honored at the White House six times. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband.

  Text copyright © 2009 by Sharon M. Draper

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

  Sassy : Little Sister is not my name / Sharon M. Draper.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Fashion-savvy Sassy does not like being the smallest student in her fourth-grade class, until a family emergency calls for a pint-sized hero.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-545-07151-2

  ISBN-10: 0-545-07151-8

  [1. Size — Fiction. 2. Self-acceptance — Fiction. 3. Family life — Fiction. 4. African Americans — Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.D78325Sas 2009

  [Fic] — dc22

  2008015634

  First edition, March 2009

  Cover copyright © 2009 by Jackdaw

  Cover design by Einav Aviram and Elizabeth B. Parisi