Fighting Words

Della and Suki live with their foster mother, Francine; they moved in with her in August, after escaping Clifton’s house. When Francine asks them where all their stuff is, Suki explains that Clifton burned it in an attempt to hide the fact that the girls ever lived with him.

With their clothing allowance from the state, Francine takes Suki and Della to Old Navy. Suki shows Della a pair of velvet Purple High-Top Sneakers. Della loves them, but her cart is over her allowance when they go to check out. Suki buys Della the sneakers, putting back a few of her own items.

Francine tells the girls at dinner: “I keep the foster kids for the money” (18). This does not bother Della, as she likes to know where she stands with people. Francine asks if there is anything else the girls need while they are with her, and Suki asks for cell phones for both her and Della. Francine tells her that Della is too young, and that Suki can get a job if she wants a phone.

After dinner, Della asks Suki if she saw her best friend, Teena, that day. Suki tells her to stop asking about Teena. Della explains that Suki is angry at Teena and her mom because Teena’s mom called the cops after they escaped Clifton’s house, which landed them in foster care. Suki changes the subject and tells Della it is time for bed. There are bunk beds in their room, but Della climbs into bed with Suki. Suki sings “Skinnamarinky” to Della before bed, a nightly routine. Della falls asleep against Suki’s shoulder.

Suki thrashes in her sleep most of the night, keeping Della awake. At breakfast, Francine tells them that they will eat breakfast and lunch at school as part of the state’s foster care benefits. Della asks Francine if she is legally their parent now, and Francine explains that Della and Suki are wards of the state for now. Della says that Suki will take care of her, and Francine reminds her that because Suki is only 16, she legally cannot be Della’s guardian.

When Della arrives at her new school, she meets Ms. Davonte, who laments that she does not know where she will be able to put another desk. A boy named Trevor suggests that Della can sit by the garbage can, and Ms. Davonte gives him a strike on the board. Della quickly introduces herself as Della to avoid being called Delicious, and Ms. Davonte puts her desk behind Trevor’s. She hands Della a math quiz and asks if she has a pencil. Della shakes her head and notices Ms. Davonte sizing up her new clothes. Ms. Davonte suggests that Della should be able to afford school supplies, and Della tells Ms. Davonte “[her] mama said the school had plenty of pencils [she] could use” (27). She wants to show Ms. Davonte and the rest of the class that “[she can] hold [her] own” (27).

Della does not know any of the answers on the math quiz and writes down random numbers. She feels distracted by her classmates’ stares. Trevor tells Della that she is ugly, and Della asks aloud if she must sit behind “this snowman” (29). Ms. Davonte tells her that they do not use foul language in her classroom.

Della recalls a few scenes from her previous schools, at which she quickly developed a reputation. Della thinks back to her only school friend: a girl named June whose mother made her stop speaking to Della after Della told her, “My mama cooks meth [...] It looks like sugar. Only it makes you act funny and sometimes it makes the room explode” (31). When Della asked Suki what she did wrong, Suki told her not to talk to people about things like their mother’s meth addiction or Clifton.

When Della gets home from school, Suki tells her that they’re going out to find Suki a job. Della makes Suki promise to buy her a slushie on the way home. Suki agrees to buy her a small one because she lost most of her money when they ran from Clifton’s house. They walk to town and Suki applies at nearly every store available. Whenever Suki goes in to apply, she instructs Della to wait outside. Suki gets Della her slushie and they sit on a bench. Suki asks Della about school, and Della gives a few details, mostly about Trevor and the girl who sits next to her, Nevaeh.

Della asks Suki if they are allowed to talk about Clifton now, but Suki shudders and says she never wants to talk about Clifton again. Della explains to the reader that Clifton was never officially their legal guardian, but that after their mother went to prison, they stayed with him for fear of ending up on the streets. Della tells Suki that they should have “told on Clifton” a long time ago (36), and Suki gets angry. She says Clifton used to threaten her by saying that if they told then Suki would be separated from Della.

Della tells Suki that once she makes her video testimony about what Clifton did to her, Clifton will go to prison for a long time. Suki grows further upset, standing up from the bench and running down the road. When Della catches up to her, Suki grabs Della’s slushie cup and throws it to the ground. Della grabs Suki’s hand and tells her that they are safe, and Suki apologizes. Della writes that this should have been the moment that she “guessed what had happened to Suki” (39). Della will need to find the courage to tell the rest of their story.

When they get home, Francine reminds the sisters to leave notes to let her know where they are going because it is her job to keep track of them. Della thinks that if she ever gets in trouble, Suki will be the one to get her out, like always. Suki tells Francine that the minute she turns 18, they will be out of Francine’s house and Suki will take care of Della on her own. Della is surprised when Francine is understanding, responding that Suki will “get there” (42).

Della explains that she has trouble trusting adults, even when they seem to be on their side. Teena’s mom called the police even when Suki begged her not to, and the woman they stayed with during their emergency foster placement did not believe their story, dismissing their experience as “accusations” against Clifton (43). This was the moment Della realized that her story would be difficult to tell “because people [don’t] want to hear it” (44). When she remembers their brief time with the emergency placement woman, Della thinks that Francine might not be so bad after all.

The next day at school, Trevor ties Della’s shoelaces to his chair. In retaliation, Della trips Trevor and Trevor loses recess as a result. Nevaeh tells Della that she could have just untied her shoelaces instead of causing a scene, and Della tells her that she does not take “snow” from anyone (47).

When Della gets home, Suki announces that she was hired at Food City and that her first shift is tomorrow night from six to midnight. Francine says they can make it work but that she usually goes out with her friends on Friday nights. Francine and Suki discuss what to do with Della, who suggests they invite Teena over to watch her. Suki refuses and decides that Della will go to work with her; she can sit in the deli out of the way.

At Food City the next night, Suki gives Della a dollar to get a soda at the deli while she waits. Della notices that the woman at the deli counter gives her the “stink eye” (51). Della then sees Nevaeh from school and the two girls strike up conversation. Nevaeh takes Della to the deli counter, explaining that they can get a free cookie. The woman at the counter, Maybelline, refuses to give Della a cookie when she says that she is 10 years old, explaining that the free cookie is only for children nine and under. After a moment, Maybelline relents and gives both girls a cookie.

Nevaeh and Della eat their cookies. Then, Della pulls out the list of items Francine asked her to buy. Nevaeh is excited that Della can go shopping by herself and asks to join. As they leave the deli, Maybelline asks Della where her mother is, and Della responds, “Incarcerated” (55).

Della and Nevaeh shop for the items on Francine’s list, laughing over the number of coffee creamer options available in the store. Nevaeh tells Della that she is sorry to hear about her mother. Della says that she is sorry too, but that she does not really remember her mother much except for when she blew up a hotel room while cooking meth. Before leaving, Nevaeh tells Della that she has an uncle who is incarcerated and that “[her family] love[s] him anyhow” (59).

Abandoning her cart, Della goes to visit Suki at the checkout line. Suki tells her to go back to the deli. When Della gets there, Maybelline asks her who she was talking to at the checkout and says “[her] deli is not a Holiday Inn” (60). Della explains that Suki is her sister and that she needs this job. Maybelline gives Della a rag, telling her that she might as well help clean the tables while she waits. Della fills the saltshakers for Maybelline as well and cannot help but think about how similar salt looks to crystal meth.

Della recalls the day that their mother blew up the hotel room. Clifton was away for his job as a long-haul truck driver. Suki and Della’s mother took them to a motel room where she met up with another man to cook meth in the bathroom. She put Suki and Della in front of the television, which they watched until their mother burst out of the bathroom, which was in flames, and told them to run. The three of them ran to their mother’s truck, but realized that their mother left the keys in the motel room. Firefighters soon arrived and their mother was arrested, while Suki and Della were taken to the police station in a separate car.

That night, Suki and Della went to live with Clifton, who pretended to be their father. Della recalls that no one asked for proof that he was actually their father, and that when Clifton told Suki and Della that he would be taking them, Suki “[f]linched, like somebody’d slapped her” (64). They lived with Clifton for years until they escaped. Della chides herself for feeling that, at the time, living with Clifton was not so bad. She realizes now how wrong she was, but states that she is not ready to tell that part of the story just yet.

A man wearing a Food City uniform interrupts Della’s recollections, asking Della what she is doing. Maybelline intercedes, explaining that Della is a friend of hers, that she is shopping and just paused to help. The man introduces himself as Tony, the Friday night manager. He asks if Della is finding everything she needs. Tony tells Maybelline to give Della something to eat and then walks off to help someone else. Maybelline asks Della what she would like to eat, and Della chooses macaroni and cheese. At the end of Suki’s shift, Della finishes the grocery shopping, and the girls are able to use Suki’s employee discount to buy treats.