Shadowshaper

Sierra goes to Bennie’s house to get her hair braided and realizes how much the neighborhood is changing, being upscaled and gentrified: “Sierra couldn’t find a single brown face on the block” (81-82). Sierra finds Bennie upstairs hanging out with Big Jerome. Sierra asks Big Jerome to leave so she can tell Bennie about the shadowshapers. As a science-lover, Bennie is skeptical about the supernatural aspects of Sierra’s story, and she warns Sierra against talking too much about the shadowshapers with Robbie on their date: “He’s clearly all up in whatever that whole strange world is” (85). Sierra meets Robbie, who takes Sierra to Club Kalfour, where he painted a mural that he’s been wanting to show her: “I’ve been planning this a while” (87).

At the run-down club, Robbie asks Sierra not to freak out once she sees the murals and what the shadowshapers can do. Once again, Sierra is impressed by Robbie’s artistic skill, marveling at the murals that cover the walls. Robbie asks her if she notices anything strange, then instructs her to loosen her focus. Sierra gets a fright when she sees a dark shape moving, but Robbie is excited she can see it: “I knew you could.