The group engulfed her, and even though we couldn’t see her, we knew that she was in there, so when the boys ran back our way, we joined them. We didn’t know who was “it” or how you won the game, but we ran with them, and when some of the boys frowned, and were confused about why we were in their game, we ran faster, cracking up. Ricky and Derrick yelled for us to go back to our girl games, but we just kept laughing and enjoyed the strange sensation of being engulfed in a sea of boys who we weren’t afraid of. They were our classmates and our friends’ brothers. They were familiar and safe, and at peace too. Back at the building, they had to hold their breath as they passed by the older boys who were making plans for their lives or who had caused unnecessary conflict with them, but for the most part, at school, when the day was young and playground monitors stood guard, we felt safe to be kids.

For the rest of summer school, whenever we felt like it, we crashed Run G Run. More girls joined us too. Some of the boys didn’t like it, and wanted us to stay in our place, but you couldn’t convince us that we had a place, so we did what we wanted whether they liked it or not. And our guys, who were not really our boyfriends, but something like that, they liked running with us—even though they’d never admit it.

When the second bell rang, we ran to our spots. Most teachers were already at the front of their lines, but Ms. Pierce loved to make an entrance. The door eased open, and she sashayed over to us, a can of Pepsi clamped in red manicured fingers. She never had much hair, and behind her back, Stacia called her “that bald-headed heifer” but never to her face and never anything harsher. Stacia had deep affection and respect for Ms. Pierce, and though she wouldn’t have admitted it back then, she actually thought of her as a mother figure.

Our elementary school was not only a refuge in a season of life when we needed to take cover, but it also gave us an example—early in life—of how influential an educator could be. Ms. Pierce would raise the bar high for us, and my friends and I would all grow up expecting that level of quality and attentiveness from every teacher we encountered.

Six
Sweeps