Ninth Ward

The day dawns bright and sunny. Lanesha enjoyed letting Spot sleep on her bed. Her mother’s ghost is resting on Mama Ya-Ya’s bed again, and Spot seems to see her. Downstairs, instead of cleaning up the breakfast pans as she typically does while Lanesha eats, Mama Ya-Ya sits to talk with her directly. Lanesha knows the talk is serious because Mama Ya-Ya’s hair is unkempt, something that never happens. Mama Ya-Ya tells her that in a dream, she saw the storm come and go; people went back to normal, but then “everything goes black. Like someone pulling a curtain. Or a shroud over the dead. Or God turning out the lights” (51). Mama Ya-Ya tells Lanesha to pick up a list of storm supplies, like bread and bottled water, after school.

Lanesha has a good day at school. A “popular and cute” (55) girl named Ginia is in Lanesha’s gym class; Ginia once asked Lanesha to try on clothes at the mall. Lanesha said no because she was afraid that Ginia or Ginia’s friends would end up making fun of her. Today Ginia asks again to hang out after school. They decide to go on Lanesha’s errand to the store together.