Blended

The school is just getting back to normal when, without warning, the school security police come into Mr. Kazilly’s classroom and escort Logan out. Mr. Kazilly stays vague about the reason but strongly hints it has to do with the noose incident. Izzy goes to Imani’s home that night for a sleepover. The two girls have been friends since third grade, and now they talk candidly about race and racism. Izzy has always been impressed by the decorations and furnishings in Imani’s home. The artifacts reflect her family’s pride in their African identity and culture. Izzy cannot help but feel again as if she is two people. The trauma over the noose runs deep in Imani. Just seeing a noose in an Western they are watching on television is enough to cause Imani to panic.

Spring is beginning to return. Izzy’s father plants his annual daffodil garden although Darren worries he might be planting too early. Izzy whispers quietly to the struggling buds to hang in there until spring sticks around. Meanwhile, Izzy is picking up on the increasing tensions between her parents when it comes to sharing custody. The hand-offs are getting more tense and are occasionally confrontational. Each parent is getting less forgiving when the other shows up even a few minutes late. Izzy takes secret delight when, during her school’s Open House night, her parents are forced to get along: “They are so pitiful it’s hilarious” (141). In Mr. Kazilly’s class, Izzy reads Joyce Kilmer’s iconic poem “Trees.” Although delighted by the play of words and the subtle rhythms, she sees that the poem idealizes nature. The poet fails to mention the hard reality of bugs, for instance, destructive and annoying creatures that permeate nature. She composes her own parody of the poem that celebrates bugs that crawl, buzz, and fly into people’s mouths.

During her week with her mother, John Mark sheepishly asks Izzy’s permission to propose to her mother. Izzy is impressed by his sincerity and humility. She has no objections. Later, however, she begins to appreciate the dimensions of the proposal—how the custody arrangement, already complicated, is about to get more complicated. She will now have an entire white family to deal with: “I’m officially gonna be an outsider” (154). The next week, as John Mark prepares to make the proposal, he shows Izzy his newest tattoo: her name penned in elegant script on his left wrist. Izzy is touched. The next week, Izzy accompanies John Mark to the Waffle House, where, amid balloons and flowers, he proposes, and Izzy’s mother accepts.

Following a particularly angry confrontation at the mall between her parents, Izzy turns more and more to her piano as a refuge and, particularly, her preparation for her recital. The piece is under her command, but now she is starting to think about her appearance, including what she will wear and how she will do her hair. With two of her friends, Izzy heads to the mall to window shop for a recital dress. When Darren drops her off, she has a wonderfully selfish moment when she realizes that for the next few hours, she can be entirely herself: “It’s just a little me time” (165).

On a whim, Izzy and Imani venture into a high-end dress shop that offers exclusive designer clothes. Izzy is amazed by the beautiful, expensive clothing, particularly a baby-blue cashmere sweater. The girls become aware a store security guard is following them through the aisles. He comes up to them and, without any explanation, asks them to leave. He explains that his job is to “remove possible…threats” from the store (174). It takes a moment for Izzy to understand she and her friend are the threat. Imani vehemently objects, but Izzy grabs her hand and steers her out of the shop, their “brown fingers latched like a chain-link fence” (173). For the first time, Izzy understands the implications of being Black. The security guard saw them only as two Black girls and, consequently, as shoplifting threats. On her way out of the store, Izzy yanks the expensive cashmere sweater from the display and drops it to the floor. The two, both shaken, agree never to tell their parents.