First Draft Chapter 2

"Wake up Jon.  Wake up Jon."  The cheerful voice of Abel was like a dagger into my ears.  What time was it?  Seven?  Seven thirty?  No one slept late in this house.
"Wake up, wake up wake up!" he shook my body.
"Go away," I grumbled.  My hand made a tired swing backwards.
“Dad said I wasn’t supposed to let you sleep.”
And at this point I knew it was useless.  I sat up.  Abel opened my window.  The room was bathed in sunlight.  It was then that I had the pleasant realization that it was another day free to fill up as I desired.  Ah, summer.
I stood up, welcoming the new day.
“What are you going to do today Jon?” Abel asked.
“I don’t know.  Something.”
“Can I come?”
“Of course not.”
“Please?”
“No” I said angrily.  I felt like I went through this everyday.
Abel picked up a shirt lying on my desk and threw it against the wall.  “I hate this house.  I hate it!  I hate it!  I hate it!”
“Will you quiet down?”
“I sit here everyday by myself.  There’s nothing to do.”  Well the kid did have a point.  We lived away from everything.
It was a luxurious house by so many standards, but to us it was a prison.  It was isolated.  Not many other houses were around.  The houses that were there were filled with old people.  No one our age.  I was old enough to strike out on my own, butAbel was only eight.  Everyday that I left he stayed home by himself.  Our mother had been dead since he was two years old.  He was too young to remember her.  I was not.
At this point, I decided to take Abel with me.  “We’re going to have to hang out with my friends.”
“I know.”
“Do you think you can keep up with us?”
His face lit up, because he knew this meant he was coming.  “Yes.  Yes I can.”  No, no he can’t.
“And your not going to get tire and whine?”
“No, Jon, no!”  Yeah right.  Of course he was.  But I didn’t have the heart to tell the kid he was staying in this place all alone.
“Well, come on then.  Get ready.”
It was about an hour walk into town.  I usually biked, but Abel did not have a bike, and so we walked.  And with Abel slowing me down, it was probably close to double that hour.  No matter.  No one else was up at seven.
Instinctively I headed towards David’s house.  I met David before I got to his house though.  David was with Simon.  The two of them were walking down the street.
“Jon” David called out.
“Dave, I was just on my way over to your house.  Hello Simon.”
“Whose the small fry?” Simon asked.
“This is just my little brother, Abel.”
“He’s cool” David reassured Simon.
“So how have you been Simon?”
Simon leaned against the wall.  “Oh, I’ve been okay.  Hey, I’ve been hearing stories about you, Jonny boy.”
David blushed.  Of course I was not upset.  I wanted to be talked about.  That’s why I took the hat.
“I’ve been busy,” I said with a big grin.
“So where is this hat?”
“I’ve got it in a safe place,” I said, my chest bursting with pride.
“What hat?” Abel asked.
“Nothing Abel.”  I gave him a patronizing pat on the head.
“Your brother stole a Strate’s hat,” Simon volunteered.
I could not believe the nerve of Simon.  Had I not made it perfectly obvious I didn’t want Abel to know?  My hand flew out and smacked the back of Simon’s head.  “Are you brain dead Simon?  He’s going to tell my Dad.”
“No I won’t.  No I won’t.”  Abel jumped up and down by my side.
“Hey, don’t touch me man,” Simon said, angrily advancing until his nose was almost touching mine.  Somehow, David managed to squeeze himself between us.
“Hey, cool guys.”  That was all David needed to say.  His voice was sweet and soft.  His eyes were bright and gentle.  It was impossible for either of us to stay mad.
“You took a Strate’s hat?” Abel asked me.
“He put it down.  I just outran him.”
“You are too much” Simon said in admiration.  “David says you’re going to get yourself a whole uniform,” Simon pressed.
“I’m working on it,” I said proudly.
“You out ran a Strate?” Abel said in disbelief.
“It wasn’t easy either.  Those fellows are quick.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Simon said.  There was a silence in which everyone gazed at me in admiration.
“So what are you boys up to?” I asked.
“Just hanging” David answered.
Just then, Simon nudged me.  A Strate was heading our way.  The boys all looked at me, and I knew what they were thinking.
“Hello officer.  Lovely weather today, isn’t it?”
The Strate glared at me.  Who was this cheeky young man who dared to talk to me, his eyes said.  “Yes, quite” he answered gruffly, and continued on.  We smiled at each other, and as soon as he passed the corner we burst out laughing.
“Yes, quite” Simon said, in an excellent imitation of the Strate’s voice, imitating the shocked impression as well.
“Oh, he didn’t like that at all,” David exclaimed with glee.
“You talked to him,” Abel said, his voice filled with awe.
“Come on, let’s go to the hills” I said.  Four boys ran off to the hills to hike, climb, and play swords with the branches lying around.  Simon accidentally hit Abel to hard with one of our make shift sword, and Abel started crying until we all comforted him.  We took off our shoes and waded in the stream.  Eventually, we all got hungry and went back into town.
“I’m so hungry” I exclaimed, upon arriving back by the merchant’s booths.
“Let’s see how much money we have,” David said.  We all dug into our pockets and produced handfuls of coins.  Abel did not have any money, so we agreed to pool our money and all buy the same thing.  All we could afford were four apples.  We did not expect much more.
We sat down on the curb to eat.  A Strate passed by on the street opposite us.  The boys expected me to do something.  Without really thinking, I lobbed my half-eaten apple at him.  It hit him in the back of the head, knocking his hat into the mud.
“Wow Jon!” Abel said.
“Shut up Abel.”  David’s voice was worried.  He quickly took Abel’s apple and dropped it into the sewer.  Simon followed David’s example.
The Strate picked up his hat and angrily looked around the street.  He didn’t see who threw the apple, but he had a pretty good idea it was the group of boys.  He strode over rubbing the bruise on the back of his head.
“You’ve gone to far now Jon,” David said under his breath.  He was really worried.  You can’t be worried.  It’s a sure sign of guilt.
The Strate came over, stood in front of us, and took a deep angry breath.  “Alright boys, which one of you threw the apple?”
Abel looked at the ground.  “Was it you, son?”  Abel shook his head, without looking up.  The Strate knelt down.  “Was it you?” he asked Simon.
“No sir” Simon answered.
“Alright boys,” the Strate said, standing up.  “Alright, if no one wants to come forward, I’ll knock everyone’s head in.  How does that sound?”
Abel started crying.  David flashed angry eyes at me.
“Sir, we didn’t do it,” I said.
The Strate reached down, grabbed me by the shirt, yanked me to my feet, and shook me.  “Are you telling me a lie to my face, boy?”
“Get your hand off of me” I said, pulling to free myself from his grip.  “Let go of me.”
“He didn’t do it,” David said.
The Strate let me go with a push.  “Then who did?”
“Another boy,” David answered.  “He ran off as soon as he threw the apple.”
“Just ran off like that?”
“Yes sir.”  As if by divine providence, to prove David’s point two children only slightly younger than us ran through the street.  In a flash, they had turned the corner and were gone.
The Strate stepped back.  He was rethinking things now.  Perhaps we weren’t the culprits after all.  He rubbed the bruise on the back of his head.  He had to take his anger out on someone.  He became even angrier at the prospect that we might not have thrown the apple, then at the prospect that we had.  It meant the culprit had gotten away.
Abel continued crying.  The Strate’s composure snapped.  He brought his face down so that it was level with Abel’s.  “Shut up!” he yelled loudly.  Abel immediately became silent, and gazed back at the Strate with wide frightened eyes.  Abel scooted back, away from the Strate.
I was still standing.  “Sir, don’t talk to him that way.”
The Strate stood up as if someone had just pricked his bottom with a pin.  “What did you just say to me?”
“I said don’t talk to him that way.”
The Strate was dumbfounded that someone would dare talk back to him.  David glanced at me with a face that was a mixture of anger and horror.  “Don’t mind him sir.  He’s just stupid,” David said.  Only a tense silence followed.  “He’s not thinking right” David volunteered to break the silence.
“Is that true, boy?” the Strate asked.
I glanced down at David, then back at the Strate.  “Yes sir,” I replied.
“You boys better watch it,” the Strate commanded, looking at each of us as if his eyes could pierce through us.
“Yes sir,” we all answered in unison.
“See that you do,” the Strate said before turning to leave.
I let out a sigh of relief, and was then hit.  Overcome by anger at the last minute the Strate had turned back to me and hit me with his club on my side.  I doubled over in pain, and the Strate’s hand hit me in the head.  My body spun around and I landed face first on the ground.  The Strate kicked me twice while I was on the ground, and his foot stamped my back.  He brought back his club to hit me again, but David inserted himself between the Strate and me.  “Sir, he’s just stupid sir.  Don’t pay any attention to him.”
The Strate took a deep breath.  Beating a fourteen year-old boy had made him feel better.  He smiled at David, patted him on the head, and left saying, “You kids are going to get yourself in some serious trouble someday.”
“Yes sir,” Simon and David answered.  They watched the Strate in silence until he was out of sight.
I was already sitting up by this time.  Abel was hovering around me, making sure I was okay.
“Don’t get up,” David cautioned.  “Stay there until you’re sure that you’re alright.”
I felt my face with my hand, making sure there was no blood.
“I’m alright Dave,” I said, standing up.  I leaned on the wall of the neighboring building to help me stand.  My side sent me a sharp pain to protest to my activity, and my face reflected it.  David and Simon rushed to help support me.
“I’m alright.  I’m alright.”  I maintained, but they insisted on helping me to my feet anyway.
“Let’s get him out of here,” David said to Simon.  “Your house is close.”
“Yours is closer” Simon responded.
David shook his head.  “Are you kidding?  My parents would freak out if we carried him in like this.  They’d wanta know everything.”
“Well so would mine.”
“Simon, your parents are never home.”
“Guys, really” I interjected.  “I can walk.”
“Are you sure?” David asked.
I gently separated myself from my two supporters, and took a couple steps forward.  “See?  I’m fine.”
David looked at me, then Simon, then back to me.  “Alright,” he said.  “You can come to my house.  But Jon make sure you don’t fall down in front of my parents.”
“Dave, I’m alright.”  And I was.  My body was sore, but I knew the Strate could have hit me a lot harder if he wanted to.  I would be sore for a couple of days, and then I would be fine.
David and Simon insisted on supporting me while we walked the three blocks over to David’s house.  As soon as we got near the house, they both parted and I walked into the house on my own.
“Gentlemen, welcome” David’s dad called out.  “Simon, how are you doing?”
“Good, thank you.  How are you?”
“Good, good.  Jonathon, always a pleasure to see you.  And little Abel, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“I’m eight years old,” Abel protested.  David’s father laughed.
“Of course.  My you boys look dirty.”
“We went to the hills again,” David said.
“Well, feel free to wash up.”
“Thanks Dad.  I think we’re just going to hang out in my room for a while.”
“Aren’t you going to help your mother with the dishes?”
“Dad, I’m busy now.”  David’s voice was annoyed.  His dad just laughed as he stood up and came around the table to us.
“Of course.  You’ll help tonight then?”
“Yes.”
David’s father looked at me curiously.  I’m not sure what tipped him off.  Perhaps my tired expression.  Perhaps the scratches on my face from where I contacted the road.
“Are you okay, Jon?” he asked.
“He’s find Dad,” David answered quickly.
“I’m fine.  I just fell out on the hills.”
David’s father looked at me strangely, then evidently decided to let it go.  “Well, you should at least clean up.”
“We will Dad,” David replied, and herded us down into his bedroom.  “Just stay here,” David commanded.  He left and returned with a bowl of cold water, soap, and a wash cloth.  “Alright, Jonny,” he said.  “Let’s get you cleaned off.”
I winced at the cold water as David applied the wash cloth to my face.  Simon crossed the room to look at David’s possessions, then returned to us.  “Man Jon, that was about the coolest thing I ever saw.”
“What was?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“The way you just stood up to that Strate.  He was so shocked you talked back to him.”
“Don’t encourage him,” David said.  “Jon, your lucky he didn’t hurt you any worse then he did.  You realize that, don’t you?”
“Yes” I answered to placate David.  I wanted to hear more of what Simon had to say.
“Listen to me,” David pleaded.  “You’re really going to get yourself hurt someday if you keep this up.”
“All right, all right Dave” I said, but I didn’t mean it, and he knew it.
Simon, I’m sure, felt like he should say something.  “Yeah Jon, be careful.”  But I could tell I had his admiration.
Once I was cleaned up to David’s expectations, and he was satisfied that I was not seriously injured, the conversation shifted to other things.  We hung out in David’s room till late, and his mother even came into bring us food.  At this point, David remembered that he was supposed to help his mother with the dishes, and excused himself, and I decided it was unwise to arrive home late two days in a row, and I knew my travel would be lengthened with Abel by my side, and so Abel and I parted company with Simon.
On the long walk home, I impressed upon Able the necessity of keeping his mouth shut about the day’s events.  “If Dad asks anything, just tell him about the hills.”  It was a loose end.  The kid has a bad track record of not keeping secrets.  He seemed pretty sincere though.
“I promise I won’t tell.  You can trust me Jon I promise.”
I was worried despite the promises, but at this point he knew, and there was nothing I could do about it.
We arrived at my house before dark.  “Can I see the Hat?  Can I?” Abel pleaded.
We were still out in the yard at this point, but I was seized by an irrational fear that my dad, who I knew was in the house, would over hear.  “Not so loud!”  I glanced around nervously.  “You see what I mean Abel? You’re going to blow everything.
“No I won’t” Abel protested, distraught at how easily he had become under renewed suspicion.
I hesitated.  On one hand I was uneasy about taking loose lipped Abel to the scene of the crime.  One the other hand, what damage could it possibly do?  He knew everything already.
“Alright, come on,” I said, putting my finger to my lips to indicate silence.  Despite the fact that I knew my father was in the house, we still conducted ourselves as if we were in a war zone.  I kept low to the ground and hid in the shadows.  Able followed my lead.
We arrived at the shed.  With great deliberation I opened the door.  Abel, not willing to wait for my dramatic introduction, rushed in.  I was annoyed that my ceremony had been disrupted, but chose not to say anything.
With Abel jumping up and down by my side in anticipation, I removed the hat from its hiding place on the shelf.  I held it out.  Abel’s mouth dropped open in awe.  A ray of light shined through the window, illuminating the hat.
All right, I made up the part about the ray of light, but in both of our minds it existed at the time.  Just as both of us could have sworn we heard the faint voices of singing angels.
Abel reached eagerly for the hat.  I was appalled by the sacrilege and jerked the hat away.  “What are you doing?” I asked angrily.
Abel immediately assumed a penitent face.  “I just wanted to see it,” he said timidly.  I looked at the hat, protectively.  “I won’t hurt it.”  Abel’s voice was so quiet I could hardly hear it.  I handed over the hat.
Abel carefully took the hat from me, very aware of the importance of what was in his hands.  “Wow,” he whispered.  The hat balanced loosely in Abel’s hands, as if he was afraid he would damage it by holding it firmly.  “How did you get this?”
I shrugged.  “Just like I told you.  A Strate took it off.  I grabbed it.  I outran him.”
“Tell me,” Abel pleaded.
And so I told him the whole story, probably in more detail then I have recorded for you, reader.  I might have exaggerated things, or over dramatized the whole event.  In fact I’m sure I did.  It’s so hard to remember everything exactly.
Abel interrupted me frequently with questions.  Finally, when my epic tale was completed, Abel and I went into the house.
Our father came over to greet us as soon as he heard us enter.  “Hello boys.”  He was clearly surprised that we were together.  “Have you two spent all day with each other?”
I nodded.  Abel bubbled over with information.  “Yes.  We walked all the way into town, and then we met David and somebody named Simon, and we went to the hills, and played swords, and Simon hit me but he didn’t mean to, and Jon bought me an apple.”
Involuntarily, I cringed at the word apple, but Abel stopped there.  The kid was doing good.
My father looked over at me.  “Well, that was nice of you.”
I didn’t know quite how to respond to that.  I certainly did not want to make a habit of taking Able with me everywhere.
Dad turned back to Abel.  “But you didn’t get any reading done.  School starts soon.”  Abel is a slow reader.  Dad put him on a reading program so he wouldn’t fall too behind in school.  Abel loved it, reading about all sorts of mythological heroes.
“I’ll do it tomorrow.  I really don’t need all those books anymore though.”
“Oh, you don’t?” My Father’s eyebrows raised.
“No, I’ve got a new hero now.  Jon.”
My father wasn’t quite sure how to react to that one.  (Nor was I for that matter.  I felt my cheeks blush, and I just kind of looked at the ground).  “I think you need to find a new hero,” my father said in a stern voice, but I could tell he was pleased.  “It’s late Abel, you should get to bed.”  My father led Abel to the stairs, stopped, looked back at me with a curious expression, and walked Abel the rest of the way up to his bedroom.