The Skin I'm In

At school, Maleeka submits her work for the library writing contest. She decides to sit with some poetry books that remind her of Daddy’s poem. At the school office later, Juju comes in yelling that Charlese is failing because of Miss Saunders. What has actually been happening, though, is that Maleeka has been doing less of Charlese’s homework; additionally, as soon as Miss Saunders arrived at the school, she separated Maleeka’s and Charlese’s seats, so Maleeka hasn’t helped Charlese cheat in class, either.

Mr. Pajolli introduces himself, but Juju continues ranting. When Miss Saunders gets to the office, she shows Juju Charlese’s incomplete work. Before Maleeka can see what happens next, Miss Carol sends her on an errand to get her out of the office. When she returns, Juju is stomping away, threatening to keep Miss Saunders from ever teaching again if she gives Charlese a failing grade.

Charlese has taken revenge on several teachers in the past, and her antics usually involve destroying their property. Now, Charlese has been talking about getting revenge on Miss Saunders, and Maleeka knows Charlese means it. While they hang out behind the school, Charlese tells Maleeka and the twins to meet her tomorrow to plot the payback.