Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

Clayton Byrd loves his grandfather, Cool Papa. He loves hearing him play his electric guitar, Wah-Wah Nita, in Washington Square Park with a group called The Bluesmen. He especially loves it when he’s allowed to join in with his blues harp, which he would never call a harmonica.

Since Clayton’s mother often works double shifts at the hospital, she doesn’t know he and Cool Papa sneak off to play in the park. Clayton’s mother dislikes blues altogether. She resents her father and has bad memories from her childhood of him leaving for long stretches to play his music.

When Cool Papa dies suddenly, Clayton is devastated. His mother only makes things worse by selling all of Cool Papa’s things — including Wah-Wah Nita — for very little money at a garage sale. His grief worsens when his teacher assigns The Four Corners of the World as their next classroom reading book. Clayton can’t bring himself to tell Ms. Treadwell that Cool Papa had this same book in his lap when he died.

Clayton begs to read something else, and he falls asleep every time it’s read aloud in class. Ms. Treadwell gets angry, and Clayton’s classmates start to tease him. When the school tells Clayton’s mother about his sleeping, she gets angry and takes away his blues harp. The next day, he cuts class, returns home and digs the harmonica out of his mother’s drawer. He takes the $17 he has in his bank and sets out to find the Bluesmen so he can travel with them.

Clayton goes on the subway. A group of young men do a rap and dance performance in his train car, hoping for tips. Clayton pulls out his blues harp and joins them, and the money starts rolling in. They urge him to come with them. The oldest boy is known as Train Ear, because he can hear oncoming trains from far away. He takes Clayton’s porkpie hat, the one item of Cool Papa’s he still owns. Clayton vows to get it back and follows the rappers through the subways. He narrowly avoids being hit by a train when he drops his blues harp near the tracks. Throughout all of Clayton’s encounters with new people and surroundings, he reminds himself of his grandfather’s words: “Look sharp. Be cool.”

Clayton finally gives up on the hat. He makes it to Washington Square Park, only to learn that the Bluesmen have already left for the season. He reluctantly heads home, knowing he will have to tell his mother everything he’s done. He runs into Train Ear and the others again on the ride home. Train Ear says he’ll return Clayton’s hat if he’ll play with them once more. As Clayton performs on the train with them, police surround the boys and take them to headquarters for causing a ruckus.

Clayton’s mother picks him up at the police station, and they argue. At home, she calls Clayton’s father and tells him to come get the boy. Clayton’s mother is generally aloof toward Clayton’s dad, Mr. Miller. She only allows Clayton to spend time with him once a month. She has never married him despite his attempts to make them a family.

When Mr. Miller arrives, he privately and gently tries to convince Clayton’s mother she’s making things worse for their grieving son. Mr. Miller and Clayton talk about Cool Papa on the drive to his home. Clayton asks what happens to people when they die. His dad laughs and responds that people believe different things, so it’s all in what you believe. But no one really knows.

In the aftermath of his adventure, Clayton is given a pass from reading The Four Corners of the World. His mother starts to be more gentle and even surprises Clayton by getting Wah-Wah Nita back for him.