Bradbury Misfits
From the Author
I’ve mentioned before, Bradbury Misfits actually started out to be the first book and a standalone. My intent was to write a humorous story based on three friends, Molly, Tess, and Sebastian, growing up in a small town and being the town misfits. But because they had each other and Nan, they really didn’t care what anyone thought of them.
As I started writing Sebastian’s back story, it became clear to me that his was the story meant to be told, so I put Misfits on hold. I shut everything out, let my mind wander and just started typing. I wrote From Sebastian to Sam as you read it (if you read it), always intending to cover his origins with Molly and Tess. It is important to Sam’s story to understand what he was protecting by not going back home when he could. He would do anything to protect his girls and the love he had in Bradbury and to understand why. The comic relief he had with Molly and Tess and the compassion and understanding from his Nan were everything to him. By protecting them, he was protecting the boy he was. The Christmas incident in book one began his future but to become the man he wanted to be, he had to have something to hold onto. He had to protect his home, and his girls, by staying away until he could defend them. Thus, the story of his girls.
I hope you enjoy Bradbury Misfits, many of the shenanigans were actual scenarios my sister Beth and I found ourselves in. So as not to spoil the story, I listed the true events and context at the end of this book. Though the names have been changed and for this story the context, some of our childhood friends will recognize the heart of these events. Unlike Molly and Tess, Beth and I were not the best of friends; we bickered constantly! We were polar opposites; I was the introvert, but I was also the overweight one, and Beth was the extravert, skinny one. We were thirteen months apart and knew exactly what buttons to push; however, we always had each other’s back. It didn’t matter if we agreed with the other sister’s position, if anyone tried to start shit with one, they had to contend with the other; in that regard, we were just like Molly and Tess. Then she and I would go back to bickering again. It drove our parents up the wall, especially our mother because she and her sister were so close.
It took several decades but we finally developed the relationship we both wanted when we were in our forties. I moved back home after twenty years in Florida, and we became closer than we had ever been. I will forever be grateful to God for that last year we spent together. Beth started having health issues then was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in March 2016 and quickly lost her battle on June 10th. I miss her terribly.
I am writing this book in the summer of 2025, so it’s been a bittersweet journey. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and any time I got stuck I would ask myself, what would Beth and I do? And then I’d laugh again.
Using the same context as Sam’s Tale, each time period is marked by their age. Since all three were born the same year, you can assume all three are the same age, birthdays notwithstanding.
Thank you for joining me on this ride!
J.M. Walle
Chapter 1 - Introductions
Sebastian’s father Nick Mitchell died in a car accident when Sebastian was two, under suspicious circumstances. Sebastian’s mother Mary Ann was a bit of a wild child but settled down after marrying Nick just out of high school and becoming pregnant with Sebastian. After Nick’s death she began drinking more each day and caused her to lose many jobs in town. She tended to pick up men in bars who would tolerate her behavior (and pay her bills) for a while but would inevitably end it. Sometimes it would end in physical violence, sometimes they just walked out never to return.
Sebastian and his mother lived in a rundown trailer park on the outskirts of town. Mary Ann was quite frankly, the town drunk. Everyone knew that to be fact but overlooked her behavior because her mother Nan was so loved. Nancy “Nan” Clark was a former teacher in town who retired when Sebastian’s father died. It was also known that Mary Ann was the town whore. This fact was not overlooked and caused much turmoil in young Sebastian’s life. To be constantly whispered about and ridiculed where everyone felt it their business to question his parentage. Nan begged Mary Ann to live with her in town, but Mary Ann always refused telling her mother she was going to live her life her way and not by her mother’s rules. The only two rules Nan had was no drinking and no strange men in her house; this was unacceptable to Mary Ann.
Sebastian’s grandmother Nan, whose family was one of the founding residents of Bradbury, had owned and ran the local logging mill Bradbury Lumber for five generations. The south side of Main Street was cleared to make way for houses and businesses. Nan’s family kept the acreage on the north side, building only the family home which was where she lived. Sebastian loved exploring the woods behind her house.
At six, Sebastian was rather small for his age and considering his father was such a tall robust man, this added to the gossip about Sebastian’s true lineage. Molly Strope was average height for her age though a bit portly much like her mother Ruth. Ruth owned the town’s bakery Sweet Stuff and saw no harm in Molly’s growing figure. As for Tess Levin, her mother Astril was a self-proclaimed bo-ho hippy. Astril was born Alice, she married Tess’s father and moved to California where Tess was born. Astril’s husband resented becoming a father so young and never let a chance go by without throwing into Astril’s face. She divorced him and returned to Bradbury after Tess was born and her divorce was finalized. During the divorce she decided to change her name from Alice to Astril.
Astril bought the local bookstore, The Bookstore, next door to Sweet Stuff. Since it was the only bookstore in town and had been there for fifteen years, Astril decided to keep the name. Ruth was not happy about this; she had plans to lease the bookstore and expand Sweet Stuff, howeverAstril beat her to the punch thus escalating the feud between them.
It was the first day of school when the three children officially met. Nan told Sebastian how wonderful school would be and how much he would learn in school and how proud she would always be of him as long as he studied hard and did his best. Sebastian adored his Nan, secretly more even than his own mother.
Nan and Sebastian exited her car and went into the school. Sebastian had been to the town library with Nan many times, but this was so much better. Red brick building with white pillars out front just like the library! And so many rooms for reading and learning and numbers. Sebastian loved learning new things, and he always remembered everything he learned.
Nan brought Sebastian over to the registration table where she chatted with the Principal, Mrs. Newland. Nan knew almost everyone in town since she used to teach at the middle school. Mrs. Newland introduced Nan and Sebastian to Miss. Grey the first-grade teacher. Miss Grey was new to teaching and new to Bradbury. Miss Grey shook Nan’s hand with a smile on her face then looked Sebastian up and down. Sebastian knew that look, all smiles to his Nan but then the disdain came off her when she looked at him; that smile not quite reaching her eyes.
There was a commotion coming from the entrance. Raised voices in a hushed sort of yelling.
“Oh dear” said Nan, “it’s Ruth and Alice again”.
“Astril” Mrs. Newland replied.
“Oh yes. I keep forgetting,” said Nan. “I’ve known those two since they were Sebastian’s age, it’s just as hard for me to call her Astril as it is for me to call Ruth Mrs. Strope.
“She’d have us call her Mrs. Mayor if she could get away with that. In the short time I’ve been here, she always has to mention she is the mayor’s wife”. Miss Grey said in a catty manner looking disapprovingly at Ruth from across the room.
“Mmmmm”, Nan mumbled. Nan wasn’t sure what to think about Miss Grey. Nan didn’t like catty women and had no tolerance for rudeness. For a teacher to be gossiping in a school setting with children and parents around did not sit well with Nan. She had her fill with town gossip about Sebastian’s mother far too long, she didn’t want to have the same thing happen with her grandson. Nan looked at Miss Grey and said “Well, Ruth and Edward have been a pillar of the community for many years and both of them deserve our respect”.
Mrs. Newland familiar to Nan’s directness, just smiled. Miss Grey, however, was clearly embarrassed. “If you will excuse me,” Miss Grey said, “I have to go meet some parents”, emphasis on parents and walked abruptly away.
“My apologies Nan,” Mrs. Newland said to her, “She is new, I’ll keep an eye on her”.
“That would be appreciated my dear.” Nan told her.
Nan just watched Astril and Ruth march over still loud whispering something about a parking spot.
Meanwhile, Molly and Tess were doing their best to disappear into the shadows. Molly looked at Tess and asked, “Is Mrs. Alice your momma?”
Tess replied automatically “It’s Astril”
Molly said wide eyed, “Your name is Astril? That’s a beautiful name!”
Tess looked up and replied “No my mom, her name is Astril not Alice. My name is Tess”.
Molly said confused, “Then why does my mom call her Alice?”
“Don’t know” said Tess “grown-ups are just stupid”.
Molly gave her an incredulous look and Tess realized she had let yet another wayward thought slip out of her mouth, which is why she was usually quiet. She looked at Molly and quickly said “I didn’t mean your mom, I just meant that most grown-ups don’t make any sense”.
Molly then started laughing. She had never heard anyone, especially someone her age, speak like that about a grown-up. “I’m Molly, your new best friend” to which Tess smiled and replied “Oh, okay, nice to meet you”.
Tess and Molly were shown to the room where they would spend most of the day. They would take Language which included reading, writing, as well as math. Since Bradbury was a small town, grades one, two, and three in the elementary school each had their own room. Instead of the children rotating within the school, the teachers did according to the subjects. It was much easier this way than to try to heard six to nine year old children around. Fourth through sixth grades the children would be assigned hall lockers and would attend separate classrooms according to subjects.
Tess and Molly walked into their classroom. There were four large round tables set up and six chairs at each. Most of the tables were full and the ones that weren’t didn’t have two open seats next to each other except one. The table just had one small boy at it, his bookbag on top and he was reading. Tess and Molly looked around, shrugged their shoulders and went to sit at his table. Just then one of the girls, Rhonda Brannigan, shouted for Molly and Tess to come sit at her table. Sebastian looked up at them non-committal as if to say he didn’t care one way or the other. He shrugged his shoulders and kept reading.
Molly pointed to the table at Rhonda, she looked at Sebastian and shook her head no. Tess sat down first next to Sebastian then Molly shrugged her shoulders at Rhonda and sat down next to Tess. The rest of the children filled the places at the other tables; one boy came and sat next to Sebastian.
Miss Grey stood up from her desk, “Okay children, settle down. I am Miss Grey; I will be your language teacher for the year.” Miss Grey wrote on the blackboard Miss Grey – Language. “Mrs. Jenkins will be your math and art teacher”, as she wrote Mrs. Jenkins – Math and Art under her name on the blackboard. “I would like you all to take the next fifteen minutes to introduce yourselves to the students at the table you are sitting with. Tell them a little bit about yourselves and be sure everyone has time to do so".
One boy shouted out to her “How’d we know when time’s up?”
“First,” Miss Grey said “we do not shout. If you have a question, raise your hand”
The boy raised his hand and said at the same time “How do we know when times up?”
Miss Grey looked at him “Did I call on you to answer my question?”
The boy looked confused. He raised his hand and said “No. But you said if we had a question to raise our hand and ask” as his hand was still in the air.
“To be clear, for those of you who may not understand” she said as she looked at Trey, “if you have a question, you will raise your hand. Once I call on you, you can then ask your question. Does everyone understand?” All the children shook their heads, yes.
Miss Grey thought the boy was mocking her. “What is your name?” she asked him.
He raised his hand again “Trey Thompson, ma’am”. And then put his hand down.
Miss Grey looked at her attendance sheet and asked, “Are you Tommy Thompson?”
Trey raised his hand.
“Yes Trey” she said
“No ma’am, my name is Trey” he said confused because he just told her that.“Is Trey your nickname then?” she asked
Trey raised his hand.
“Yes Trey” she said getting frustrated.
“I don’t know what that word means but my name is Trey Thompson”.
“Is your daddy Sherrif Thompson and is his name Tommy too?” she asked him.
Trey raised his hand. His arm was getting awfully tired.
“Yes, Trey…”
Trey raising his hand to answer her, “Well, my daddy’s name is Daddy and yes, he is the Sherrif. That’s what people call him, Sherrif or his friends call him Junior” he said to her.
“Well Trey, if your daddy is a junior, that means he was named after his father, and you are named after him, that makes you Tommy Thompson the third which is probably why they call you Trey, your nickname is Trey.”
Trey raised his hand.
“Yes Trey” Miss Grey said through gritted teeth.
“I don’t know about all that, but I do know my name is Trey. And I can spell it for you – T-R-E-Y, Trey, Trey Thompson” he said proudly.
“Trey, are you mocking me?” Miss Grey asked him.
Trey raised his hand “I don’t think so, ma’am. I don’t know what that word means”. The other children giggled.
“Trey you will go sit in the corner” she said to him as she pointed to the stool in the corner, “until you can be more respectful!”
Trey, surprised and taken aback, stood up and walked to the corner and sat on the stool. He had no idea what he did wrong. He did exactly what she said to do. And she still hadn’t answered the original question as to how they would know when time was up.
“Good” Miss Grey continued, “now, does anyone have any questions about introducing yourselves to the table?” No one raised their hand. Except Trey. Miss Grey took a deep breath, “Yes Trey?”
Trey took a deep breath “Well ma’am, seein’ as I’m not at a table, who should I introduce myself to? And you didn’t answer my question ‘bout how we know when time is up.”
“Trey Thompson go to the office now. I will not have you mocking me in my classroom. Do you understand?”
Trey raised his hand timidly. He knew going to the office meant he had two older brothers, and they had to go to the office a few times. He knew he was in trouble, but he still had no idea why. Miss Grey closed her eyes and counted to three. “Yes Trey?”
“Well Miss Grey, I still don’t know what that word means, and I don’t know how to get to the office.” He didn’t want to get into more trouble, so he didn’t mention the fact that she still did not tell the class how to tell when time was up.
“Okay class, I’m going to escort Mr. Thompson the comedian to the office. I will be leaving the door open and ask Mrs. Jenkins to keep an eye on you all”, she said to the class. She then turned to Trey and said, “Trey come with me”.
Trey stood up, head bent and followed Miss Grey to the office.
Sebastian took all this in. “He wasn’t wrong”, he said out loud.
“Who Trey? Asked Tess.
“Yes, he wasn’t wrong. She didn’t take into account not everyone knows how to tell time”. He looked at the clock on the wall, “especially that clock. My Nan taught me how to tell time, but most clocks are digital that one isn’t”.
The girls turned their heads and saw the large white round analog clock. “Tess, you know how to tell time on that?” Molly asked.
Tess shook her head no and said, “All our clocks have those red or green numbers on them”.
“Mine too. I know my numbers, but I don’t know that clock”, Molly told her.
Molly looked at the boy and said “I’m Molly and this is Tess. What’s your name?”
“I’m Sebastian, Sebastian Mitchell”, he waited for their reaction. Most people, when hearing the last name, the next question he would be asked was whether he was Mary Ann’s son. Then when he confirmed that she was his mother, they looked him over and either dismissed him or would give him a look of disapproval while mumbling something ugly. Or they would pity him. He could take the first two, but he didn’t want or need anyone’s pity. However, both girls didn’t seem to know or if they did, they didn’t care.
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Sebastian” Molly said. Tess was always shy, simply nodded her head. Sebastian took this as a good sign, but time would tell.
Miss Gray came back into the classroom, Trey following her. She told him to go back and sit at his table and gave him a disapproving look. Sebastian caught this and figured Trey was able to explain his way back into first grade and Miss Gray was not happy about it.
“…told her I didn’t know what that word means”, Trey quietly mumbled.
Tess whispered to him “What does it mean?”
“It means she thought I was making fun of her” he whispered back.
Miss Grey put what looked like a digital clock on her desk. “This, children, is a timer. When we have timed assignments, I will put the time on it so those of you who can’t tell time yet…” she looked disapprovingly at Trey, “will count down and a bell will ring when time is up. Does everyone understand?” No one raised their hand for fear of being sent to the office.
“Good, moving on”, Miss Grey said as she started the first day of class.
Chapter 2 - Fisticuffs
It was lunchtime and Miss Gray told the children to line up then they would follow her into the cafeteria. The children lined up in a single file line and followed her out. She brought them to the line and told them to wash their hands when they got to the fountain. There was a large rectangular fountain with soap dispensers and hand sanitizers in the hall leading to the cafeteria. All the children had to wash their hands before going in. Each teacher stood in front of the fountain to be certain the children from their class did in fact wash and sanitize their hands. Once finished, they would follow the other children to the end of the food dispensary line, pick up their trays and again follow the child in front of them, to sit in the next empty seat. For those who brough their lunch, they also had to follow the same rules but were only to pick up one milk or water to take to their seats.
When Miss Gray’s class got to the hand washing fountain the children were playfully washing their hands amazed at the foot pedal which was a bar going from one side of fountain continuously to the other to turn on the water. This way there was no reason for any of them to touch any handles. The soap, sanitizer, and paper towels were dispensed when they put their hands under it. Miss Grey had to move them along several times.
Rhonda, first in Miss Grey’s class, moved to the end of the lunch line she followed the other children to get her lunch, the others following her. They walked single file into what appeared to be a small serving room. The room had a glass case where the food was put on trays for the children by the cafeteria workers. The children got their own milk out of the top of the open cooler. They then slid their trays down the aisle as the cafeteria workers filled their trays with food. Everyone received one of everything, protein, side, vegetable, and desert. When they were at the end of the room, Rhonda watched as the other children picked up their trays, she did the same, then followed. The large cafeteria was situated with long tables set up in several rows. “Please sit next to the person you are following and do not leave any space in between” they heard someone say. Miss Gray’s class followed suit.
Trey was in the middle of the class line and Sebastian, Tess, and Molly were at the end. When Trey got his lunch and looked up, the row was full. He didn’t know what to do, he just stood in the Exit doorway of the food service room holding up the line. The teachers were all at the front of the cafeteria talking and finally looked around when they saw the line was not moving. Miss Grey saw Trey standing in the doorway, marching over and asked him why he was holding up the line. As he went to raise his hand, he dropped his tray and his lunch spilled all over Miss Gray’s shoes. He was quite embarrassed.
“Trey Thompson! What are you doing?” she yelled at him. “Look at my shoes!”
“Um, well”, he said “you said to raise my hand before I speak”, he stammered.
Miss Grey closed her eyes, counted to three, opened them and said “Okay, but why didn’t you go sit down? And put your hand down”
“Miss Grey, there ain’t no more seats” he said as he motioned to the end of the table.
One of the cafeteria workers came out to clean up the mess. Miss Grey kicked the food off of her shoes and pulled him to the side.
Miss Grey sighed heavily “Then why on earth didn’t you just go to the next row?” as she pointed out the remaining four rows of empty tables.
Trey looked at her like she was crazy. He started to raise his hand, she gave him a look so he put it down “Because you didn’t say nothin bout going to another row. You said to follow and sit next to the person in front of me, she’s right there and she’s in the last seat.”
“Trey, if there are no more seats, then you go to the next empty row and sit at the first chair all the way on the end” she said exasperated. “Now come with me, we need to get you another tray”. She looked at the girl who was behind Trey and told her to move on to the next row. The girl mumbled as she went to sit down “That’s what I told him, but did he listen? Nooooooo”. Miss Gray took Trey to get back in line to stay with her class and the rest of the children sat down and ate their lunch.
As the children finished their lunch, they were told they could go out the side door for recess. Sebastian finished his lunch and went outside. Tess and Molly still eating shortly after. They looked around and saw all sorts of equipment. Swings, monkey bars, jumping ropes, and something that spun around in circles. And on the ground was painted a hopscotch design, a basketball court, and a large round circle they would later find out was for something called marbles, but the children used it for the safe space for a game of tag.
Molly and Tess watched sitting under a large oak tree as the older children played. As they chatted, they heard some commotion behind them. There were three large boys yelling at Sebastian and then one of them pushed him. At six, Sebastian was small and fell to the ground. Molly marched over, Tess right behind her and started yelling at the big boys. “Fred Jessup you big bully stop it or I’m telling your momma!”
Fred looked over at her and shouted, “Shut up you big fat tattle tale!”
Tess was having none of that about her new best friend! She ran and jumped on Fred’s back yelling “You take that back Fred Jessup or I’ll tear all your hair out and you’ll be bald just like your daddy!” as she started pulling Fred’s hair. Molly stood shocked at this display because all day Tess hardly said a word.
Fred yelling at his friends “Get her off me!” while trying to shake Tess off his back.
Fred’s friends went for Tess to try to pull her off him. Sebastian then got up from the ground and, using his head, targeted the first boy smashing him in the gut like a bull. Another boy grabbed Sebastian and thew him down again. Molly then ran to him and kicked him in the shins. The boy started screaming in pain. Sebastian and Molly ran over to help Tess who was still hanging on Fred’s back pulling his hair. When she pulled a large clump out, he screamed and then was able to push her off making her fall to the ground. Fred felt the bald spot on his head and started yelling at her “You crazy toothpick! You ripped my hair out. And you!” looking at Sebastian “You are just a dirty little bastard that no one wants around! Not even your whore of a mother!”
Sebastian saw red. Not only did Fred insult his mother but he insulted both Molly and Tess. Even worse, was that both girls were bleeding from scrapes they got on his behalf. Then all three descended on Fred. Before they could get to him, three teachers pulled them off. At six Sebastian may have been small but he was the hardest for the teachers to hold; he was feral at this point.
All of the children involved were brought to the office and their parents called in. Mary Ann did not have a phone, so the school had to call Nan. The principal insisted Mary Ann be present so Nan would have to reach her.
Chapter 3 – Forming Friendships
Nan drove to Mary Ann’s trailer and pounded on the door. “Mary Ann! Answer the door!” Nan yelled. “The school called and said Sebastian was in a fight. Mary Ann! We need to go to the school NOW!”
A disheveled man answered the door “What the fuck lady? Do you know what time it is?”
Nan looked him up and down “It’s well after noon. Where is my daughter?”
“Dunno, woke up to your banging and she was gone.” He looked in the driveway. “My van is gone so she probably went to get more whisky. She likes her whisky”, he said smirking at Nan.
“Yes, well that’s all very well and good Mr…?”
“What you want with her anyway?”
“The school called, her son was in a fight. She needs to come down with me now.”
“That bitch!” the man said. “She didn’t say nothin bout having no kid”.
“Yes well, that’s neither here nor there. I need her to come with me now.” Nan told him.
A beat-up van drove up and Mary Ann got out of the driver’s seat with a couple of bags in her hand. Without even looking at her mother she said, “What are you doing here Nancy?”
Nan visibly irritated at being called Nancy told Mary Ann’s back “The school called, your son was in a fight, and you need to come down and talk to them.”
“Fuck!” Mary Ann said as she walked into her trailer.
The man followed her inside “Why didn’t you tell me you had a kid? I don’t want nothin to do with a woman has a kid.”
Mary Ann then looked over at her mother with a scathing look and said to the man “It just didn’t come up is all. You wanna go, go. I really don’t give a shit.”
Stil looking at her mother she said “Why can’t you go instead? I have to get ready to go to work.”
“I thought you worked nights” Nan told her.
“Yes, mother I do, but I still need to get ready”, Mary Ann said exasperated.
“It’s only 2:15, you have plenty of time. What do you want Sebastian to do stay at school all night?”
Mary Ann mumbled “Would serve him right getting into a fight first day of school”.
“Mary Ann, he’s your son!” Nan yelled at her.
“Yes Nancy, he is MY son, not yours. I think you forget that often”.
Nan closed her eyes to settle her temper. She and her daughter only ever fought anymore. Ever since her husband died, she has been spinning more out of control even worse than her younger years. She settled down a bit after she married but the last four years since losing Nick has been almost unbearable. But Nan would bare anything for her grandson, even put up with Mary Ann’s outbursts. Nan wasn’t ready to give up on her daughter but for Sebastian’s sake she may have to.
Mary Ann reluctantly rode with Nan to the school. They walked into the office and found the children sitting with their parents. The woman at the front desk saw Nan and Mary Ann enter. “Hello Mrs. Clark” she said to Nan. “Mary Ann…”, she said to Mary Ann. Nan was a retired teacher at the local middle school so most of the town knew her as either Nan or Mrs. Clark. Mary Ann grew up in Bradbury, so most folks knew her as well. They still regarded her as the wild child of the town, and for good reason. If Mary Ann wasn’t working at the strip club the next town over, she was out partying or at one of the local bars. She didn’t want to move away from Bradbury because she needed Nan’s help taking care of Sebastian. Not because she wanted the best for him, but because she wanted to be able to come and go as she pleased. That and she knew Nan would continue to help her financially if Sebastian was with her. Mary Ann only loved three things, her money, her whisky, and her sleep; and in that order.
Mary Ann gave the woman behind the counter a look “…Tanya…” she said to her. “What’s he done?” she said clearly irritated.
Nan looked at Tanya behind the counter, “Hello Tanya dear, what seems to be the trouble?”
Tanya replied “Seems there was an incident at recess. Mrs. Newland is speaking to each of the parents separately. Fred Jessup and his parents are with her now. She has spoken to everyone else so she will speak to you next”, Tanya said to Mary Ann.
“How long is this gonna take? I have to get to work”, Mary Ann said to Tanya.
“I’m not certain, you will just have to wait until the Jessup’s are finished”.
Mary Ann was already irritated. “Can’t my mother just take care of this?”
“I’m sorry Mary Ann, but Principal Newland must speak to the parents or legal guardian of the child directly”.
Mary Ann looked at Nan, then at Tanya “That’s Mrs. Mitchell to you Tanya” she said. Pissed that her mother was addressed properly but she was not. Mary Ann was about the same age as Tanya so they attended school together. Mary Ann dealt with this her whole life, everyone adored her mother but her, they all regarded her as a piece of shit. Not that she cared much, she just liked putting people in their place.
Mary Ann gave Sebastian an angry look, Sebastian just slunk in his chair knowing what was to come. “Really? The first day of school?” she said to him.
“I’m sorry mom, but…”
“Quiet! Because of you I’ll be late for work”, she said to him.
Molly tried to intervene “Mrs. Mitchell, it wasn’t his fault, he didn’t start it…”
Mary Ann looked over to Molly and gave her an angry look but didn’t say anything to her. Then she looked at her parents. “Ed, Ruth. Surprised to see you two proper citizens in here”, she said sarcastically.
“Yes, well, it seems Molly and Tess got caught up defending your son against three older boys”, Molly’s father Ed said to her.
Then Mary Ann looked at Astril, Tess’s mother. “Alice…” she said Tess’s mother.
“It’s Astril”, Tess’s mother said to her irritated at her former name being used.
“Whatever”, Mary Ann said to her.
Nan sat on the other side of Sebastian. She said to him “What happened, dear”.
Sebastian looked at her, then at his mother. “Fred was saying mean things to me. I got mad and said mean things to him”.
Tess jumped in quietly “Then Fred pushed Sebastian down and called him some bad words”. Molly nodded her head in agreement.
Molly added, “I yelled at him that I was gonna tell his momma. Then he called me bad names, and…” she looked at Mary Ann “…then said some mean things about you.”
Tess said “Then I ran and jumped on his back for sayin mean things about Molly”.
Sebastian finished up “And then it was a free for all fight” he said as he looked at the floor.
“Sounds like this Fred kid started it” Mary Ann said to Sebastian. Sebastian looked at his mother and nodded yes. “And you finished it?” Sebastian nodded his head yes.
“Sebastian, name calling is no reason…” Nan started to say.
“Mother, I’ll handle this, he’s my son” Mary Ann said to Nan.
The door to the principal’s office opened and Fred and his parents walked out clearly angry. Fred gave Sebastian a scathing look. Fred’s parents looked at Mary Ann as if this were all her fault. They were dismissed to go home.
Mrs. Newland looked over and asked Mary Ann, Nan, and Sebastian into her office. She asked Molly and Tess’s parents if they could stay a few more minutes, and they agreed. Mrs. Newland asked them all to sit then asked Sebastian to recount the fight as best he could. Sebastian reiterated the events to her.
When he was finished Mrs. Newland said “I interviewed all the children who witnessed the fight and with a few differences, it appears Fred and his friends started it by pushing Sebastian down. All the children involved will have detention tomorrow, which is staying after school for one hour. Detention usually consists of writing what they did wrong on the blackboard for the full hour. However, since there are six children involved, they will sit and write it out on paper.
“Why is my son being punished for defending himself?” Mary Ann asked clearly angry.
Mrs. Newland looked at her “Because he could have walked away and told a teacher. Instead, he let his temper get the best of him and pursued the fight”.
“I’ve taught my son never to start a fight but to always finish it” Mary Ann said to her.
“Well maybe he needs to learn other ways to settle arguments rather than his fists”, Mrs. Newland said.
“That’s how you raise a pussy Mrs. Newland!” Mary Ann yelled at her.
“MARY ANN!” Nan yelled.
Sebastian just closed his eyes and hung his head down.
“No mother, I will not sit here and let this woman tell me how to raise my son. I’m not gonna have him become a little tattle tale that can’t defend himself. There’s a big shit filled world outside of this town and he will learn how to take care of himself outside of your bubble!” Mary Ann yelled at her mother.
“Ladies, please!” Mrs. Newland said, trying to settle them down.
“Mrs. Mitchell, my apologies, I did not mean to insinuate how to raise your son. What I meant was that we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to fighting in school. If Sebastian can’t fight back in other ways, he will be in and out of this office and detention until the fights escalate to the point he will be expelled”. Mary Ann didn’t say anything to that, and Nan just looked at Sebastian worried. Sebastian just continued to look down at the floor.
“Anything else?” Mary Ann asked.
“No Mrs. Mitchell. Do any of you have any questions?”
Sebastian then raised his hand.
“Yes Sebastian?” Mrs. Newland asked.
“Do Molly and Tess have to take detention too? This was really my fault, I don’t want them to get into trouble because of me. I can take their time”.
Nan and Mary Ann both looked at him. Nan because she was proud he was taking responsibility, Mary Ann angry for the same reason.
“I’m afraid they must serve their own punishment Sebastian. They both participated in the fight, they both will get detention too. But I think they will appreciate the fact that you wanted to take their punishment for them. They were both adamant about defending you in this mess” she said to him.
“Now, Sebastian if you could wait outside, I’d like to talk to the grownups together” Mrs. Newland said to him.
“Yes ma’am”, he said as he left the office”.
“Mr. and Mrs. Strope, Mrs. Levin, can you please join us? Tess, Molly, you wait here with Sebastian”.
“Yes, ma’am” they all said.
Mrs. Newland closed the door and sat in her chair. “I would like you all to hear me out before you say anything”, she said as she looked at all four of the adults. “I’m sure your first reaction to this incident will be to separate all three children; but please hear me out first”. Ruth, Molly’s mother, started to say something, but her husband put his hand on her arm to stop her.
“Go ahead then”, Ruth reluctantly said to her.
“When we have incidents where children do something wrong and know they will be punished, their first reaction is to try to push the blame on to someone else. It doesn’t matter who was at fault, as long as they don’t get into trouble. In this case, Tess, Molly, and Sebastion, all three, not only took responsibility for the incident but as you all recall, wanted to take the punishment for the other two.”
The parents and Nan looked at each other not knowing the other two did the same since each meeting was separate.
Mrs. Newland continued “I’m sure your first reaction is to separate the three of them. I think this would be detrimental to them all. From what I’ve observed here and there in town, all three are loners and they are fine with that for now. They all have personalities much different from the other children. The fight notwithstanding, I believe they could help each other to form friendships, and they will look out for each other. If they get into trouble together, they receive the same punishment together. I feel this will make them, at the very least, keep each other in line”.
Astril considered this and thought it made sense. As much as Ruth irritated Astril, she did respect Ed and reluctantly Ruth for their parenting skills. And with her Tess so shy, she could see the benefit of a friendship with Molly. As for Sebastian, she didn’t know the boy, but of course she loved Nan. It was Mary Ann she didn’t want her daughter around. Astril looked at Ed and decided to wait for his thoughts on the matter.
Ruth started to speak “I don’t think I want my daughter…”
Ed interrupted “Ruthie dear, hold on just a minute. I think Mrs. Newland has a point. I adore my Molly, but she does tend to just blurt out whatever is on her mind. Most of the other children find her rude”.
Ruth looked confused “Who thinks my Molly is rude?!?”
“Everyone” Ed said to her quietly.
He continued looking at Astril “Little Tessie seems to be very shy, am I correct?”
Astril sighed and said to Ed, “Yes, she is which is why I’m so confused about her behavior today. She hardly even says anything at home when it’s just the two of us.” She looked at Ruth and said, “I think Molly may bring her out of her shell”. Then she looked at Nan, “And I think she could benefit from a friendship with Sebastian as well. She’s never had anyone stand up for her before”.
Ruth reluctantly said “Neither has Molly, except her father and I.”
They all looked to Mary Ann who said noncommittal “Whatever…”
Nan then said “I think it would be a good idea too. Sebastian doesn’t have any friends his own age, just me and his mother. He will be staying with me on school days then going home on the weekend and holidays. My daughter and I already worked it out, so it’s easier on both of them to get him to school since he can walk from my house.
Again, they all looked to Mary Ann who couldn’t care less. “Fine, whatever, are we done?”
Ed gave her a scowl then said “I think they need to be punished at home for this too, not just detention. And as Mrs. Newland suggested, all three have the same punishment. If you all agree, I think having them do chores together outside of what they already do, when they get home for the rest of the week would be appropriate”.
“What do you propose, Ed?” Asked Astril.
Nan said “What about chores in both your stores? Sweep, tidy up, stocking what they can, things like that. This will give them a sense of responsibility, and you will get to know them each a little better and monitor their interactions”.
Ed looked at his wife Ruth silently asking her opinion. “Yes, okay, fine”, she said reluctantly.
Astril said “I think that’s a great idea. They can work at the bakery tomorrow and Thursday, then at the bookstore Wednesday and Friday”.
“Yeah, sure, fine”, from Mary Ann.
Ed smiled and said “Great, it’s settled then”.
Mary Ann stood up “Super, can we go now? I’m really going to be late. Mother you will need to drive me to work.”
They walked out and informed the three children of their detention tomorrow plus their punishment for the rest of the week. Nothing was said about them continuing their friendship; the adults wanted them to figure that out on their own.
As they left, Nan hugged Mrs. Newland and whispered to her “Thank you Pam, I really appreciate what you said”.
“No need Nan, I meant every word”, Mrs. Newland whispered back to her with a wink.
Chapter 4 – Finding Sebastian’s Genius
Nan drove Mary Ann out of town to her job, Sebastian sitting in the backseat.
Mary Ann said to him “This isn’t over, we will talk about it this weekend”. Sebastian knew that meant a whooping. But he would do it all over again to protect Molly and Tess. They were the only kids who were ever nice to him and stood up for him. All the other kids he came across either teased him or ignored him. Even Trey, although he sat at their table, didn’t talk to him but he did talk to Molly. Tess though quiet with everyone else, did talk to him, albeit just a little bit.
Nan asked Mary Ann “Will you have a way to get home after work?”
“I always do Nancy” she said as she got out at Lenny’s, the strip club just outside of Bradbury.
Nan watched her go inside wondering not for the first time where she went wrong. She didn’t care that Mary Ann danced for a living, but she was just so selfish, cold and distant, even to her own son.
Sebastian climbed into the front seat next to Nan and buckled up. “Are you mad at me Nan?” he asked very worried.
“No, sweetheart, not mad. Just maybe a little disappointed in you”, she said.
Sebastin would rather her be mad. His Nan never got mad at him, but his mother did. All the time.
They drove home in silence the rest of the way to Nan’s house.
“You can help me with dinner, sweetheart” Nan told Sebastian.
Sebastian put his bookbag in his room at Nan’s and went into the kitchen to help her.
She looked at him and showed him how to peel potatoes. She said to him as she started making meatloaf “You know Sebastian, fighting isn’t the only way to defend yourself”.
“Like what?” he asked.
“Well, you could have walked away and told a teacher”.
Sebastian looked at his Nan, she didn’t understand how things worked for kids. He tried to explain “I know you think mom is wrong on this one Nan, but in this case she is right. If I would have done that, those boys would keep coming after me. This way, they will think twice about it”.
“What exactly did your mother teach you about fighting?” she asked him.
He looked at her knowing he would get into trouble if Mary Ann found out he told on her.
“I promise not to tell your mother. I just want to know what she said”. Nan told him.
He stopped peeling potatoes and said directly to her “Mom said exactly that, that bullies will keep coming at you unless you fight back. She said protect what’s yours, and Nan, Molly and Tess are mine, like you are”.
Nan felt her throat tighten at that. He was so protective of her and now the two girls. She worried about how he would handle that in the future. It was then she realized he did not include his mother in that statement. She didn’t want to push him on it, so she left it alone.
“Did she give you any other advice about fighting?” Nan asked as she put the potatoes in the boiling water and the meatloaf in the oven.
“She did say never to start a fight but always finish it. And if she found out I started a fight, there would heck to pay.
“I see”, said Nan.
“Do you have any homework, sweetheart?” she asked him.
“No ma’am. I don’t think we get homework in first grade. They don’t like us taking our school books home. We just take our notebooks”, he told her.
“Okay then, while dinner is cooking, how about you tell me what you learned today. Aside from the fighting business”.
Sebastian filled Nan in on what he learned. He also told her about the incident with Trey Thompson. Nan found that interesting, he sounded just like his daddy at that age.
“I don’t understand Nan, I would have known about the raising of my hand ‘cause you told me that before. And I probably would have moved to the next row of empty seats in the cafeteria. He did exactly what Miss Grey told him to do but he still got into trouble. She thought he was mocking her”.
“Do you know what that word means? Mocking?” she asked him.
“Yeah, you had told me before, it means to make fun of someone. But he didn’t know that and she put him in the corner before I could tell him what it meant.”
“Well, I didn’t teach his daddy in first grade, you know I taught in middle school. But I did know him at Trey’s age. Now let me ask you something…you know the Sherrif is Trey’s daddy, right?”
“Yeah, he told Miss Grey when she gave him the inquisition about his name”, Sebastian told her.
“Do you know what that word means, Sebastian? Inquisition?” she asked him surprised.
“It means a long intense questioning or investigation” he told her.
Nan looking surprised at him asked “How do you know that word?”
“I had to look it up in the dictionary when I was reading one of your books”, he told her.
“Which book, sweetheart?” she asked him curiously.
“One of your teacher books on the bookshelf. I took it out to the treehouse over the summer to read. You said I could read anything in your bookcase Nan. Was that wrong since it was a teacher book?” he asked worriedly.
“No honey, I did tell you to read anything on the bookshelf. Why did you choose that one?” she asked.
“Because I read everything else you had already” he told her relieved.
“Is it still at the treehouse?”
“No I brought it back.”
“Can you bring me all the teacher books you’ve read? You’re not in trouble, I just want to see what you’ve read.”
“Sure Nan”. He went into the living room located the World History book he told her about. It was heavy so he put it on the kitchen table and went to get the others. American History, Social Science, both Reading and Math for Seventh Grade textbooks. “I have a science book in the tree house now”, he told her.
She did a double take at the books and looked at him “And you understand these books?”
“Well the math I’m not real sure of so I put that one back. I figure it’s because like you told me before, with math you gotta build up to each grade and it’s a seventh-grade book so I don’t know what’s in between”.
Nan looked at the American History book “Can you tell me the date of the Fort Sumpter attack?”
“April 12th, 1861” Sebastian told her.
“Where did it take place?” she asked him.
“Fort Sumpter, South Carolina” he told her.
“Do you know what the significance was” she asked him.
“It was the beginning of the American Civil War which lasted four years”, he told her.
“When did you read this, child?”
“I started reading the book on June 18th and finished it on July 27th this past summer, Nan”.
The timer for the meatloaf went off making Nan jump. She was so engrossed in her thoughts about Sebastian teaching himself not only to read at this level but also to comprehend and retain the information.
She smiled at him, “You, my dear, are a very smart boy. Now let’s get dinner finished.”
As they ate dinner she asked him more questions. She would open the book, ask him questions then ask what page it was on. He always knew the answers and page numbers.
After they finished dinner, Sebastian helped Nan with the dishes, drying and putting them away. He turned to her and asked “Nan, can I ask you something not in the books?”
“Sure, honey, you can ask me anything”, she told him.
“Well, it’s going back to Trey, you started telling me something about his daddy then we got to talking about your books.”
“What is it, dear?” she asked.
“You started to say something about the Sherrif being like Trey was. Why did Miss Grey think Trey was mocking her?”
“Well, like I started to tell you, I didn’t teach the Sherrif in first grade, but I knew his mom and dad, so I knew him when he was your age. Most children your age think in terms of black or white when really the world works in shades of grey. Meaning that not everything is literal but most children your age don’t know the subtle difference. It’s something they learn as they age. Does that make sense?”
“I think so.” he said, “It’s like when you say don’t count your chickens before they hatch. And I told you we don’t have chickens. Then you explained to me it was a sayin that really means don’t count on a certain outcome until it happens. Right? So, the black, white, and grey sayin is like the chicken sayin, right?”
“Yes that’s pretty close” she said to him. “So, even though Trey was correct in that Miss Grey told him what to do, she just assumed he knew what she meant when clearly, he didn’t. It’s just something he’d never considered before.”
“Mom said when you assume, you make an a-s-s” he spelled out, “out of you and me”, he told her.
“Hmmm, yes well, your mother is correct on that. Just please don’t repeat it”.
“Yes ma’am. So why did Miss Grey assume Trey knew what she meant? I would have seen the lunch row was full and gone on to the next one”.
“Well, I guess he’d never been taught otherwise. He was just told to do exactly what the teacher told him to do and she didn’t clarify enough for him”.
“Well, if most kids my age think in black and white like you say, then Miss Grey should know that and be clearer with her instructions”.
Nan couldn’t help but laugh because he was very perceptive. “I agree with you, but don’t say that to Miss Grey. I’m told she is new to teaching and she has to learn these things as well”.
“Well Trey shouldn’t get into trouble for that, that’s just not fair”, he said to Nan belligerently.
“You are too perceptive, my boy. But I’m sure the Sherriff will be at the school explaining that to Mrs. Newland in the morning. Well kiddo, thanks for helping with dinner and dishes but it’s time for a bath and bed. You have school and detention tomorrow. Not only that, you and the girls are to report to Mrs. Ruth at her shop after detention. The three of you are to face your punishment by cleaning up her store tomorrow and Thursday, then Mrs. Astril’s store on Wednesday and Friday. You are to do what they say without argument, do you understand?”
Sebastian hung his head and said, “Yes ma’am”.
As Nan expected, Sherriff Thompson pulled into the school with Trey at the same time Nan did. “Don’t forget detention and over to the bakery afterwards”, she told Sebastian as he got out of the car.
“Yes ma’am” he said as he grabbed his bookbag and waited for Trey to head into school. Trey looked at his father. The Sherrif Thompson said “Go on inside with Sebastin son, I want to talk to Mrs. Clark a minute”.
“Yes sir”, he said and walked with Sebastian into the school.
“Mornin’ Mrs. Clark” he said as he leaned down to her window.
“Good morning, Sherriff” Nan replied.
“Seems we had a situation here yesterday” he told her.
“Yes, seems we had a few” she told him.
The sheriff smiled and said “So, you heard about our new Miss Grey then, huh?”
“Yes, I did. I explained to Sebastian that Trey was just following her literal instructions. She is new to teaching and she will learn about teaching six-year-olds” Nan told him.
“Yes well, apparently it escalated on the walk of shame to the office. She insinuated my boy is stupid. Somone needs to clarify to her the difference between understanding literal instructions and being stupid. Kinda’ like you did with me many years ago,” he said to her.
Nan chuckled remembering that day. “Yes well, if I recall, your mother had a word with that teacher.”
“Yes, and you had a word with me”, he said with a smile.
“Well, I had to do something, you walked around my block five times before I had you come inside. Not sure how many laps you would have done if the middle school wasn’t closed that day and I wasn’t home. Said you walked out the school and was running away”. She said chuckling.
“Yeah, I didn’t quite think that through. Kept having to walk around the block ‘cause I was only six and wasn’t allowed to cross the street by myself”, he said laughing. “But you told me to come inside, fixed me a glass of milk and gave me some of your delicious cookies ‘till my momma showed up. Then after she found out Mrs. Anderson called me stupid in front the whole class, she marched to the school and gave her the what, to, for”, he said laughing. “Don’t know if I ever thanked you for that Mrs. Clark, if not, then thank you”.
“Well, Sherrif, you turned out to be a fine man, a great father, and a pretty darned good Sherrif.”
“When you gonna go back to calling me Junior Mrs. Clark? “, he asked.
“I don’t know Sherrif, maybe when you finally call me Nan. All my friends do and Sebastian does too, short for Nanny”, she told him.
“Fair enough, Mrs. Nan”, he said to her.
“We’ll work on it then, Mr. Junior”, she said chuckling.
“Mrs. Nan, I don’t mean no disrespect but, the fight yesterday…”
“I know Junior, I’m trying to teach him to fight back with more than his fists. But his mother…” she just let that thought hang out there.
“Yeah, Mary Ann is a bit of a hand full” he said.
“I’m sure she’s seen the inside of your cell a time or two” she said inquiring.
“Yes, well, haven’t seen too much of her lately but I understand she’s spending more time outside of town. I cover the county but haven’t been called out on her behalf since she started working…nights”, he told Nan.
“It’s okay, I know what she does for a living, and so does Sebastian. I just hope the kids don’t get on him about it”.
“Afraid that’s inevitable, you know how kids are”, he said.
“Yes, all too well” she said to him.
“Well, I best be getting inside and have a word with the principal. Afraid my temper may flair if I speak to that Miss Grey directly” he said as he stood up.
“Good luck Mr. Junior”, she said to him with a smile and wink.
“Good day Mrs. Nan”, he replied tipping his hat.
Chapter 5 – Repercussions
Sebastian took his seat at the table with Molly, Tess, and Trey.
“Did you get into trouble?” Sebastian asked the girls.
Molly said “My momma had her …his…his…histrionics, as my daddy calls them”.
“What’s that mean?” asked Tess.
“Like when she goes on and on about stuff. You’ll see” Molly said to her. “But I didn’t get a whopping like I thought I would. What about you, Tess?” Molly asked her.
“I didn’t get a whoppin’ either. My mom said she doesn’t believe in violence” Tess said quietly.
“What about you Sebastian?” Molly asked him.
“Not from my Nan, but I don’t know what my mom’s gonna do when I go home this weekend”.
Trey who was quietly following the conversation interjected “You don’t live with your momma?” he asked Sebastian.
“I live with my Nan on school days”, he said, “then I will go home on Friday’s and stay with my mom until Monday”.
“That’s weird” Trey told him.
Sebastian looked at him and started to say something, but Tess interrupted him, “you’re weird Trey Thompson!”.
Trey quickly responded, “I didn’t mean he was weird; I just mean that it was weird he stays with his grandma’ on school nights then to his momma on not school nights”. He said sheepishly. “But at least you got a momma to go home to, mine left. I don’t know where she went. My daddy said she loved us, me and my brothers, just didn’t like living here”.
“I’m sorry Trey,” Tess said to him. “My daddy left too. I don’t ‘member him. Maybe we can get your daddy and my momma to get married! Then we’d be brother and sister! I don’t have any brothers or sisters. It’s just me and my mom”, Tess said sadly.
“Okay class, time to quiet down and let’s get to work”, Miss Grey said.
Sebastian thought about what Tess and Trey said about their missing parents. He knew his own father died and his mother wouldn’t tell him what had happened. He would ask Nan.
Tess, Molly, and Sebastian stayed after school for their detention. Miss Grey wrote on the blackboard I will not fight in school which they had to write on ten pages, front and back or until one hour was up.
Though Tess and Molly knew their letters, they didn’t know how to spell well. They copied the letters, and Sebastian told them what each word was if they didn’t know it. They all three were able to fill in the ten pages on both sides. When they were all three finished, they were pretty happy thinking they would get out early. They all three raised their hands to let Miss Grey know. Miss Grey then gave them five more blank pages to fill. Their smiles dropped.
“My fingers hurt”, Molly told the others.
“Yeah, mine too,” said Sebastian.
Tess shook her head in agreement.
When the hour was up, Miss Grey dismissed them and sent them home. They walked the two blocks to Sweet Stuff, Molly’s mother’s bakery. Sebastian had been inside with his Nan, he was always mesmerized by the sweet smells and baked bread. The display cases all full of bright, beautiful, amazing confectionary delights. Sebastian’s mouth was watering as the children walked to the display cases and put their hands on the glass just taking in the sight.
Ruth walked over and said “Not today children. Today is punishment day, no treats when you are punished”, she said reluctantly with a heavy sigh. She loved sharing her baked goods with children, but she promised her husband, no treats today.
Ruth gave them each dust rags and told them to wipe down every counter. Then she would give them the window cleaner to wipe down every glass surface in the shop. They looked at all the display cases and windows in the store, sighed, knowing they would be there for a while, then got to work.
When they were through, they all took one last longing look at the treats, hung their heads down and walked out the front door. Ruth watched as Sebastian walked across the street and one block over to Nan’s house and Tess went next door to where her mother was waiting for her.
Wednesday was similar, they went to school, they already served the one-day detention but still had to finish their punishments the rest of the week. After school they walked to The Bookstore; the store was large and filled with books and games the previous owner had sold. They had a contract with the local schools to sell textbooks, there wasn’t much of a margin but it kept the power on. To supplement income, they also sold computer and console games which Astril kept. She then added new age items such as crystals, oils, and jewelry she made. The locals weren’t to keen on the crystals, but the locals and tourists loved her essential oils and her jewelry. She didn’t want to get rich; she just wanted to make enough to pay her bills. Surprisingly her jewelry was a hit in her online store as well so she was able save for a rainy day.
Astril greeted the children and gave them each a duster to dust every shelf in the store. It was a large bookstore, and so many books! He saw the store when he was with his Nan but had never been inside. He thought he was in Heaven. Astril had to get after him a few times when he would stop because he was mesmerized at the books he hadn’t read yet. He asked Astril if she had a place where children could come in and read, she told him no but would consider it.
When the children finished cleaning the store Astril, like Ruth the day before, watched as Sebastian tiredly walked to Nan’s and Molly went to her mother next door.
Thursday and Friday followed the same activities as Tuesday and Wednesday. By the end of the week the three were all in agreement, they didn’t want to get detention or punished again.
Friday when Sebastian got to his Nan’s, she had his dinner waiting for him and after they ate, took him home to his mothers. Sebastian got out of the car and found the hidden key, Nan followed him inside, but no one was home. Nan was not happy about this.
“It’s okay Nan, you can go home. Mom is probably working tonight, she’ll be home soon”, he said to her.
“Does your mother leave you alone at nights when she works?” Nan asked him.
Sebastian thought nothing of the question shrugged his shoulders and said, “Yeah, sometimes”.
“And other times?” she asked.
“Other times one of her friends stays over”, he told her.
“A man or woman friend?” she asked lightly not wanting to alarm him.
“Both I guess, sometimes it’s a man, sometimes it’s a woman”, he told her.
Nan looking around at the mess, then asked, “Do they stay the night?”.
Again, Sebastian shrugged and said as he started cleaning up, “Yeah, sometimes she has sleep overs”.
Nan helped Sebastian clean the living room and kitchen. Then yawned and told her he was tired and was going to bed. She said she would wait until his mother got home.
“You don’t have to Nan, if no one is here I lock the doors” he said to her.
“That’s all well and good dear, but I need to discuss some things with her” Nan told him. “You go on to bed, I’ll just wait for her”.
Mary Ann was dropped off at home by a coworker, it was 2:15 a.m. Nan was so angry she could not sleep. Mary Ann walked inside “What now, Nancy?”
Nan looked at her daughter as if she’d never seen her before. “Are you joking? I bring Sebastin home to an empty house and you come home well after 2 in the morning? How often do you leave him alone at night? He could have stayed with me until the morning!”
“Well, Nancy, not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I do have to work”, she told her mother.
“He is SIX years old!” Nan quietly yelled at her.
“Yes, he is six, and may I remind you, he is MY son. He knows when I’m not home to lock the doors and not to answer to anyone, including you, unless he hears my voice”, she said to her mother.
“What if he hurt himself? What if someone barged in? You don’t have a phone; how can he call for help if he needs it? Please Mary Ann, just let him come live with me full time” Nan begged.
Mary Ann looked at her mother and now she was getting angry. “If you say that one more fucking time, I will take Sebastian away from this fucking town. Do you hear me? I’m serious, Nancy, I’m tired of this shit!” Mary Ann said while fixing herself a whisky.
“Mary Ann, please…”
“Nancy, I’m tired and you need to go home. Now” Mary Ann said as she started turning off the lights.
Nan resigned, slowly retrieved her purse, looked at her daughter and quietly left.
“Oh Sebastian, we will have a chat in the morning”, Mary Ann said out loud to herself as she shot down her whisky, poured another, and headed to bed.
The next morning Sebastian got up and made himself cereal for breakfast and fixed the coffee pot for his mother when she got up. He knew Mary Ann would sleep in, as she usually did the morning after she worked. He got one of his books and went outside to read it.
Shortly after ten Mary Ann got up, made her coffee and sat at the table. She thought about the events at school and last night. She knew Sebastian was already punished by doing chores, but he had to learn her own brand of punishment too. Not only for getting caught fighting, but also for letting her mother in on her business. She added her whisky to her coffee and went outside to sit next to her son on the front steps.
“So kid, we need to talk” she said to him.
Sebastian hoped the few days away would calm her down. She wasn’t yelling so maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as he anticipated.
“First the fight” she said to him as she drank her coffee spiked with whisky. “I’ve taught you better than that. I know you didn’t start it, but you got caught. I want you to be able to defend yourself, bullies are a dime a dozen, and you need to toughen up. I wonder if the time you spend with Nancy is making you soft and I’m not sure you spending time with those girls is the best thing for you.
Sam knew better than interrupting her so he didn’t say anything and wouldn’t until she asked if he had any questions.
Mary Ann continued, “Right now I don’t have much of a choice, you have to go to school, and I can’t get you there in time. So, you will continue to stay at Nancy’s during the week while you have school”.
Sebastian was so relieved to hear this.
“As for the two girls, I know they defended you. They didn’t need to but they did. Is that when you attacked the other boy?”
“Partially” he told her.
“Explain” she said to him.
“When he called Molly a bad word, Tess went after him…”
Mary Ann interrupted him “Tess is the tall quiet one?”
He answered, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Go on…” she said.
“Well, I couldn’t let him hurt her”, he said.
“That was her decision to go after him, I’m guessing she learned her actions have consequences. There are repercussions Sebastian to decisions you make. She would have found out the hard way, when you go after someone you can get hurt in the end. Do you understand?
He said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Do you have any questions on this subject? About the fight?”
“Well mom, I understand that if I fight, I could hurt someone, or they can hurt me. But how do I fight back if I’m not supposed to hit them?”
“That’s not the right question, son”, she said with a sigh, disappointed in him.
“What’s the right question then?” he asked.
She looked at him in the eyes and said, “The right question is, how do I not get caught?”
Mary Ann continued, “Let me tell you what is probably going to happen. You got caught so now you are labeled a troublemaker. Hell, you’re my son, so that gives you two strikes. That boy will probably continue to come after you, he’s a bully, it’s what they do. But he will think twice since you stood up to him. The thing you have to do is watch and listen, Sebastian. Learn a bully’s strengths and weaknesses. Most bullies, hell most people, do not like to be humiliated. Use that to push his buttons or to make him keep his mouth shut. Use your words to shut him down. If you get the upper hand in a fight and there are no witnesses, use his insecurities to force him to keep his mouth shut. Do you understand?”
“Sort of” he told her. “How do I know what someone’s insecurities are?”
“Do you know what that means? Insecurities?” she asked him.
“I think it means they aren’t sure of themselves about something or afraid of something about themselves?” he answered.
“Such a smart boy, yes that’s close enough” she said to him.
“How do I find out what his or anyone’s insecurities are?” he asked.
“Well, I can’t speak for a specific person, but generally with boys, their biggest fear is not being strong enough either physically or mentally. With girls, it’s more about their appearance; they don’t feel pretty enough or don’t like something about their appearance; usually it’s their hair, their weight, their tits, ass, clothes. Stupid superficial shit like that” she told him.
“Really?” Sebastian asked “That’s just silly, it’s just hair”.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s true”, she said to him.
Mary Ann continued, “But with boys, boys do not like to be compared to girls. Think about it, if someone called you a pussy, would you be mad because it’s a bad word, or because they think you weak?”
“Weak” he responded.
“Exactly” she told him, “See, to call a boy a bitch is telling them you believe they are weaker than you. Calling them a pussy, well that tells them they aren’t worth your time but if they continue with their behavior, you will show them who’s boss. If they don’t back down, then you have to show them you are not weak. It may cost you an ass kicking, but they will think twice about going after you and move on to a weaker person. Bullies always go for the weaker person or who they think is the weaker person. That’s why I have taught you to go after the biggest one first. Take that one out, his buddies might back down. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t but it’s the chance you take. I’ll be right back; I’m going to get another cup of coffee.
Sebastian considered his mother’s words as well as Nan’s. He understood what they were both saying to him, he just had to figure out how to make it work for him.
His mother came back outside with her Irish coffee and continued, “One other thing son, the smart bullies will abide their time. They will wait for the moment they feel it best to pounce on you with words or fists. That’s why you should always be prepared. Once you identify the bully in the school, club, business, whatever, you keep your eyes open, and your mouth shut and plan. Take in everything they do and say. Give them enough rope to hang themselves, that way you aren’t at fault. Then take that information and use it to your advantage and never let them see you coming.
“How do I do that?” he asked.
“By having everyone turn on them, especially their own crew. So, this Fred kid had two friends in this fight, right?” she asked.
“Yes” he answered.
“Watch and listen to what they do and say, especially to and about each other. You then find a way to get what they say out, and they will then focus their anger on each other. If you do it right and don’t run your mouth, it will never come back on you. People may suspect but, again, if you plan and succeed correctly, there is no proof you were behind it. Make sense?
Sebastian took a few minutes then answered her “Yes, ma’am”.
“Good. Now about last night. Sebastian, look at me,” Sebastian looked her in the eyes and she continued, “this is my house and my rules. You will not share our business with anyone, not even Nancy. Do you understand me?” Sebastian shook his head yes. “If anyone persists, you just clam up, keep quiet or change the subject. My business is my business, not yours, not Nancy’s, and especially no one in this shit town, got it?” she said with conviction.
“Yes ma’am” he said shaking his head.
“You promise me, promise me you will not discuss what happens in our house with anyone Sebastian” she said to him.
“I promise mom, not to discuss anything that happens in this house with anyone”.
“Now pinky swear it”, she said.
Sebastian had given pinky swears before and thought nothing of it. But this time when Mary Ann locked on his pinky, she pulled it back hard. Sebastian screamed in pain. Mary Ann continued to pull his pinky back saying “You have got to learn my lesson son, my punishment isn’t fucking chores, it’s pain. Do you hear me?” She asked him angrily.
“YES MA’AM! Please mom, it hurts!” he yelled.
“So does betrayal Sebastian, and that’s what you did last night” she told him as she continued to bend his pinky backwards. “You betrayed my trust in telling Nancy my business!” she yelled at him.
Sebastia was crying out loud then his pinky popped, and he screamed.
Mary Ann let go and said “Now you will remember this lesson son. Give me your hand”.
Sebastian looked at her crying in pain and shook his head no.
“Son, give me your hand so I can pop it back in place. If you don’t I will do the same to your other pinky. Now, give me your hand”, she said calmly.
Sebastian reluctantly gave her his hand.
“Now on five, four, three…” then she popped his pinky back in place.
Sebastian screamed at the pain, then when it was back in pace it still hurt but not nearly as much as it had.
“Now, go in the bathroom and get the first aid kit. I’ll bandage it up for you. If anyone asks, you fell out the tree. Got it?” she said to him.
Sebastian looked at his mother, shook his head yes, went inside and got the first aid kit. Mary Ann continued to drink her Irish coffee down sitting on the steps thinking he will learn.
Chapter 6 - Peas! Peas! Peas!
Nan had to go visit her son-in-law Nick’s parents Cade and Cora Mitchell in Colorado. Mary Ann didn’t know Nan had kept in touch with them after Nick died. They wanted to keep in touch to keep up with Sebastian, but Mary Ann wanted nothing to do with them. They never approved of her marriage with their son Nick and when he died, she cut all ties. Nan, however did not hold a grudge, if they wanted to keep tabs on Sebastian, she would keep them informed.
Nan told Mary Ann she was going to visit her sick cousin. The only fib was it wasn’t her cousin. Nan checked with Molly’s father Ed to have Sebastian stay with the Strope’s while she was out of town. She told Ed the truth, that Cade was ill and she wanted to go visit them. She dared not bring Sebastian with her, she knew better than to try to get that past Mary Ann. Ed agreed and convinced Ruth to allow it. Since the children formed their friendship, Ruth had come to enjoy Sabastian’s presence and had spent time in her home. It was just spending the night with them for three days that didn’t sit well with her. Since the children had school, it was the better choice.
Nan arrived at the Strope’s, she and Sebastian said hellos, Sebastian ran upstairs to Molly’s room where the girls were playing. Ruth only had one rule when Sebastian or any boy was over, if they were in Molly’s room, they had to leave the door open. House rules, she insisted.
The adults said their greetings and goodbyes, Ed graciously driving Nan to the airport. Ruth called the children down for dinner. Tess the tallest got the dishes down, Molly the utensils, and Sebastian salad, dressing, salt, and pepper. And all set the table. Ed said he would be late getting back for dinner and to go ahead and eat when it was ready.
As the children sat down at the table, Ruth made their plates. Another rule in the Strope house, you had to eat everything on the plate. Ruth always put large portions on each plate and the children often had a difficult time eating everything.
The children all sat down at the table, they looked at the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. Tess asked “Um, Mrs. Ruth?”
“Yes, dear” she replied
“I don’t eat peas” Tess said timidly.
Sebastian looked at them and said, “Mrs. Ruth, I don’t want to be rude but, I don’t like peas either”.
Molly closed her eyes and hung her head, she knew what was coming.
“Well, there are starving children around the world who would love to eat anything including peas. In this house, we eat everything on our plates” she told them.
Molly stood up from her chair and went to the refrigerator.
“What do you need Molly?” her mother asked.
“I’m looking for the ketchup” she said as she dug into the refrigerator.
“You and your ketchup” her mother said, “we are out Molly”.
“Moooom, you know I can’t eat peas without ketchup!”, Molly whined.
“Ewe” said Sebastian.
“It’s the only way I can get them down”, Molly said sitting back down at the table.
“Well dear, you’ll just have to suffer the indignity of eating your peas or sit at the table all night. That goes for all of you. Mr. Ed has his rules and that is one of them.
“Mrs. Ruth, I don’t mean to be rude but, I think I’m allergic to peas” Tess said.
“Nonsense, I asked your mother and Mrs. Clark if either of you had any allergies. Besides Tess, isn’t your mother a vegetarian?”
“Vegan…” Tess said as she looked at her peas.
“Of course, dear”, Ruth said not knowing the difference and really not caring.
Sebastian tried to eat a pea by covering one in the mashed potatoes. Nothing doing, he could still taste it and swallowed it whole. Then all three children ate the meatloaf and mashed potatoes leaving the peas on the plate.
Ruth looked at their plates and said reluctantly “You will all sit at this table all night until those peas are gone”.
Sebastion wondered if he could drop them on the floor. But no, he knew Mrs. Ruth swept the floors after dinner. The children rolled the peas around their plates hoping it looked like less peas and Ruth would let it go.
The children looked at each other and sighed. Molly was able to get a few down by putting one at a time in her mouth and swallowing it whole. Sebastian followed suit but started choking. Mrs. Ruth told them to “Children don’t be so dramatic, chew the danged peas and finish your plates already. You’ve been playing with your food long enough.
Ed finally arrived back home surprised the children were still at the table. Ruth explained about the peas. She quietly asked Ed if they can skip the eat your plate clean rule this one night, Ed told her no. Children have to learn to eat things that are good for them, even if they don’t like it. To give in on this, they would only ever eat junk food.
The kitchen table was a six-seat white Formica top and was wrapped with a metal strip. Sebastian looking for a way out, took his hand and felt a small lip under the table, just big enough to fit a few peas. He took one when Ed and Ruth weren’t looking and put it on the lip. It worked! The pea was staying. He then looked at the girls and tried and nodding his head to tell them what to do. They didn’t get it.
“Mrs. Ruth, can I have some more water? I need something to wash the peas down with”.
“Sure honey, I’ll get it”
Sebastian then silently showed the girls what to do with the peas but mouthed the words “Do it slowly so she doesn’t figure it out”. They both shook their heads in agreement.
Molly tried one and it worked, Tess’s pea fell on the floor. Tess gave Sebastian a look and he saw the pea roll on the kitchen floor. Ruth also saw it, looked at the children and shook her head no. “Eat” she said as she picked up the pea and thew it in the trash.
Sebastian then tapped Tess on the leg and held his hand out to her under the table. Tess carefully picked up a few of the peas and handed them to him. Sebastian then put her peas in the crevice under the table. He alternated between a few of his and a few of hers. Molly was doing well on her own.
Tess would engage Ruth and Ed in conversation so when they looked at her to answer the other two would tuck a few peas at a time in the lip under the table.
When they were finished eating Mrs. Ruth said, “See children, that wasn’t so bad was it?”
“No ma’am” they all said.
Molly got up and put ketchup on the grocery list.
“Molly”, her father asked, “if you were on a deserted island and all they had was peas and no ketchup, then what would you do?”
Molly thought on this a minute, “Well daddy, I do know how to fish so I would use the peas as bait and catch my food that way”.
Ruth exasperated said, “You children go wash up, it’s time for bed. Tess, you’ll sleep in Molly’s room, and Sebastian I set up the spare room for you”.
The children all ran upstairs giggling.
Sebastian told them, “We gotta make sure to get those peas out before she finds them”. The girls both agreed they would get the peas out the next morning, which they did…this time.
Chapter 7 – The Treehouse
The next week at school, Sebastian told Molly and Tess about his treehouse at his Nan’s. He did this at recess, so it was just the three of them. It’s not that he didn’t like Trey, he just wasn’t sure about him, and he didn’t want his secret hiding place known to everyone. He spent enough time with Molly and Tess that he knew he could trust them. He told them his daddy built it for him and since they were his two best friends, he wanted to share it, but they had to promise not to tell anyone else.
“Well” Molly said, “it’s not like we have a bunch of friends to tell anyway. And besides, it can be our own secret place to go!”. Tess shook her head in agreement.
After school they walked over to Ruth and Astri’s shops to ask their mothers permission to spend the afternoon with Sebastian at Nans, they both said yes as long as Nan approved.
They crossed the street, both mothers watching until they reached Nan’s house. They gave each other the side eye, nodded and went into their respective stores.
The children were excited! They ran into Nan’s house where she was busy going through her bookshelves to see what she could exchange for Sebastian. The girls followed Sebastian inside and asked if he could show the girls his treehouse. “Of course you can” she said, “Do your mothers know you are here?”
They both replied, “Yes ma’am.”
“Ok but Sebastian be sure you are all back for dinner. I’ll call your mothers and see if you all can stay to eat if you like.
“Um, Nan, we aren’t having peas, are we?” Molly asked.
“No sweetheart, I know how Sebastian does not like peas. We will have baked chicken, potato casserole and carrots. You all okay with that?” she asked.
“YES MA’AM!”, they all said in unison.
“Good, go on then and play until supper is ready. Six o’clock Sebastian and don’t be late”.
“Yes ma’am”, they all said as they ran out the back door.
The three children ran down the back porch steps and into the backyard, Molly and Tess stopped short. “Oh Sebastian, I’ve never been to Nan’s backyard before. It’s beautiful! Can we take a look around?” Tess said hopefully.
“Sure, come on I’ll show you around” Sebastian said. He walked the girls throughout the yard. It was flat and had six large garden beds planted in rows filled with various fruits, vegetables, flowers, and spices all mixed together but separate. Sebastian explained that some fruits and vegetables liked certain others as well as other plants in the same garden bed. Nan had at various stages of growth carrots, onions, potatoes, beets, okra, snap beans, kidney beans, white beans, broccoli, cauliflower just to name a few. She also had blueberries, blackberries, mulberries, and raspberries bushes and vines planted throughout the yard. There were also a number of nut and fruit trees the largest the pecan tree at the end of the yard. Sebastian told the girls that each generation a new tree was added when the first child reached ten years old. That child picked which kind of tree to plant; it was a family tradition. In addition to the pecan tree, there was a walnut tree, an apple tree, a peach tree, and a fig tree. Sebastian being the only grandchild of Nan asked what he was going to plant when he was ten, he said “A cherry tree, right over there”, as he pointed out a spot.
“That’s so cool!” Tess said, completely mesmerized at the sight. Tess loved gardening. “Think Nan would let me come over and help her in her garden?” she asked Sebastian tentatively.
“I don’t see why not. I try to help her but it’s not really my thing and I don’t think I’m much help. She usually scoots me away” he said laughing. “Come on, we’re going into the woods to see the treehouse. We’ll come back before supper so you can look at the garden some more Tess”. Tess reluctantly agreed.
The children walked the small path into the woods, Sebastian pointing out what to look for on their way so as not to get lost.
“See that tree? The one with the dot painted on it? My dad marked that so we wouldn’t get lost but my Nan had to show me how to get through it” he said sadly. “That red dot, that’s how you find where to go into the woods.” The girls saw the red dot, though faded, still visible. Sebastian continued “Look down, can you see the path? It’s a little more worn than the rest of the ground, we follow that. But if you ever get lost, look for the painted red dots and there are sign posts around too” he told them as he pointed them out.
They came across an old wooden post with four faded words painted on 2” arrow shaped wooden signs. Sebastian explained again if they ever got lost, to also look for these posts. Each arrow sign pointed to the direction of where to go, NAN’S, TOWN, CREEK, and TREEHOUSE.
Molly said excitedly “You can get to the creek from here?”
“Oh yeah, didn’t I tell you that?” he asked.
“NO!” the girls shouted.
“Oh yeah, it’s not that far from the treehouse. I keep a change of clothes in it for when I go to the creek” he told them. Sebastian grew up with this, so he didn’t realize it was such a cool thing.
They kept walking and came across a hard turn in the path. When they turned the corner Sebastian stopped, he always stopped and took in the sights of it. There it was, the hardy beautiful treehouse his father had built him. As the large trees cleared, there was what looked like a small wooden house built on top of sawed-off tree trunks to keep it off the ground. The stairs on the outside left were sturdy and opened to what looked like a second story balcony. The front door in the middle of the treehouse with a window to the right. The structure was clearly built using the trees in the forest blending in easily with the surroundings.
As the girls took in the view, the sun shined through the trees giving the treehouse a glow. “Oh Sebastian, it’s beautiful” Tess said. Molly just stood there taking it all in; for once, she had no words.
Sebastian ran up the stairs, he stood on the balcony looking at the girls below, “Don’t just stand there, come on!”
Molly and Tess recovered from their gaze and ran up the stairs to meet Sebastian. They joined him on the balcony and looked out. They could easily see the path they took. The treehouse was built within the forest containing several types of pine trees, oaks, holly, and Tess thought she saw a dogwood too. If they were close to the creek, no doubt there would be a number of cypress trees which were her favorite.
“Come see inside” Sebastian said to them as he walked into the treehouse. Molly went inside and Tess tearing her gaze from the forest followed her.
The girls looked around, it was just one room, smelling of fresh cut forest pine and cedar. In the middle of the room were two tree stumps for stools, and a makeshift table. Near the back was a hammock with books marked and closed on it. On top of the table was a basket with two walkie talkies in it, and a box with flashlights and batteries inside. On the floor in the back corner was an old toy chest open with comic books, plastic Mardi Gras cups clean worn towels and blankets inside. There was one window on each of the four walls that opened outside, a few towels hanging on hooks next to the door. Hanging on the wall were several pictures of Sebastian and Nan as well as Sebastian and a man the girls didn’t know.
As the girls looked at the pictures, Sebastian told them that it was his dad, Nick. He told them he died four years ago in a car accident. When his mom was pregnant his dad started building the treehouse and finished it the day he was born. His Nan told Sebastian his dad did this all by himself. Nick wanted a place special he could take his son to and teach him about the woods, the town, and all the fun things Sebastian grew to love. Sebastian told them after he was born, Nick started to build furniture for the treehouse but was never able to finished it. He and Nan did the best they could, but she had trouble getting up the stairs with her knee and Sebastian was too small to do it himself.
The girls took all this in. They could see Sebastian’s father and much love and care put into this place for his son. Tess felt sad that Sebastian’s father wasn’t around, it seemed like he was a good man. His mother though…no, Tess didn’t want Sebastian’s mother anywhere near this place.
“Well, what do y’all think?” he asked timidly. He truly hoped they would love it as much as he did.
“Sebastian, we love it!” Molly said looking at Tess. Tess her eyes tearing up just shook her head in agreement. Molly, having both her parents living together, could never understand the significance of this place like she and Sebastian could. Tess could feel all the love and pride that was put into building the treehouse.
Tess quietly said to Sebastian “I can feel your father in this place. Strong, comforting, honest, and true. That’s what I feel when I stand here. It’s beautiful Sebastian, it’s you”.
Sebastian took in her words, closed his eyes and then let himself feel the place. She was right, he did feel his father here, even though he didn’t remember him.
“This is you and your dad too?” Molly asked about one of the pictures.
“Yeah, Nan said that was taken the day I was born. She was able to save some pictures my mom doesn’t know about”, he told them. “Please, you have to keep those secret too. She won’t let me have any picture of him and before you ask, I have no idea why. Nan said to keep them here, mom knows about the treehouse, but she’s never been here. I asked her once why, she told me it’s none of my business and if I want to keep the treehouse to never bring it up again. So, I don’t or my dad. Nan didn’t know him for very long but if I have any questions she said to ask her. We don’t talk about him much.
“Oh dang it! I forgot to tell Nan we are here!” Sebastian grabbed one of the walkie talkies, turned it on and pressed one of the buttons “Eagle Two to Eagle One, over” he said into it. “That’s our code names, she’s Eagle One, I’m Eagle two”.
“Eagle One here, you kids make it okay? Over” they heard Nan’s voice.
“Yes ma’am. I’m sorry we are late we just got caught up in talking when we got here, over” he said.
“I thought as much, I was giving you ten more minutes then was going to come out there to check, over” her voice said.
“We are fine, we’re gonna take a walk to the creek in a few minutes, over” he said.
“Turn the other walkie talkie on and show the girls how to use it first. Keep it on this channel and practice first. It’s too cold to go into the creek so you can show them but do not go in, over,” said Nan.
“10-4, Eagle One. Anything else? Over”.
“Let me know when you head out there, when you get there, and when you head back. “You have one hour until supper, over”, said Nan.
“10-4 Eagle One, Eagle Two over and out”, Sebastian said ending the conversation.
“Why doesn’t Nan just get you a cell phone to use?” Molly asked.
“First because walkie talkies are cool. Second, we get no reception out here. You know how everyone complains about the weak reception in town? That means they can’t always use their cell phones” Both girls shook their heads yes. “Well, there is no reception at all out here, but my dad put in a tower out back to boost the signal. He was going to have a CB radio but I’m not old enough to use it. So me and Nan talked to her friend Gunny, he was a Marine! Anyway, he got these for us and taught us how to use them”, he told them.
Sebastian showed them how the walkie talkies worked. Tess wanted her code name to be Petunia. Sebastian cringed and said quickly it was to many syllables; they discussed it more and decided on Daisy Mae. Tess either not realizing or not caring it was the same number of syllables as petunia.
Molly said she did not want to have a flower as a code name so they all agreed her code name would be Sassy Girl. Yes, Molly thought, that suits me just fine.
Because it took so long to decide on the girls’ code names and the time it took the girls to learn to use the walkie-talkies, they didn’t have time to walk down to the creek. Sebastian said they could go tomorrow if their mom’s said it was ok.
The girls, using their new code names and the walkie-talkies, let Nan know they were on their way back to her house. They talked and giggled the whole time using their code names.
The children arrived back at Nan’s for supper. They helped Nan set the table and told her all about the treehouse and she listed as if she didn’t know these things. They were excited and she was just so happy Sebastian had not one but two friends he trusted enough to bring out there. That plus she wouldn’t have to make the trek herself. She would for Sebastian, but he needed to make and keep friends his own age.
They chatted animatedly as six-year-olds often do, laughing and giggling. Then Sebastian dropped his fork and when he bent down to get it, a very loud fart expressed itself from his little body. He sat up quickly and said “Oh excuse me! I’m sorry Nan, it was an accident”. The girls giggled brushing their hands in front of their nose. Nan just chuckled “I know dear, you’re excused”. He looked at both the girls still giggling.
Sebastian said to them and shrugged, “Well if you can’t toot in front of your friends, are they really your friends?” Then all four of them started laughing.
They finished eating their dinner, Nan and Sebastian walked them across the street to their mothers’ respective stores. They said goodbyes, Sebastian went back to Nans’s where he helped her clean the dishes then he took a bath and went to bed.
Chapter 8 - Prepping for Easter
Molly’s parents Ed and Ruth oversaw planning the annual Easter Day Festival. Back in the day all the parents would contribute one dozen dyed eggs to hide outside on Main Street for the children to find. A committee would go to an early church service and while the rest of the town attended regular service the committee would hide the eggs all around the block of Main Street. To make things relatively fair, the younger children, six and under, would be allowed to go out first, they would have the opportunity to find the most obvious eggs. Next, the seven- to ten-year-old's, would find the ones hidden quite easily, then ten and over who by this time knew where to look so they would find the hardest hidden eggs. The town didn’t typically have teenagers join; they all thought they were too cool for such baby games. Instead, they would help the adults get ready for the street fair following the egg hunt.
“Well, it’s brand new! I didn’t want to risk the eggs breaking all over my seats or getting crushed in my trunk!” Ruth explained.
Additional chapters will be added as they are completed. I will post updates on my Facebook page under J.M. Walle - Author
Thank you for your interest in Sam's Tale
As I have mentioned above, some of the Misfits stories are loosely based on events that happened in my life mostly with my sister Beth. Beth was thirteen months older than me and as the eldest, felt it was her duty to look after me. When we were children, it wasn't an issue, until we started developing our individual personalities. As we got older we became polar opposites which cause much turmoil in our house. It wasn't until we were in our forties that we could spend time together without getting into an argument.
We lost Beth to pancreatic cancer June 10, 2016; I was devastated. Luckily I had moved back home one year earlier, and we became closer than we ever had. I will never regret moving back even with all the personal adustments that came with it because we finally, FINALLY, had the relationship we always wanted.
I wanted to share the real stories behind the events in Misfits as it was how this series originally began. So I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed reminiscing.
Bradbury Elementary is designed after my memories of attending Jefferson Elementary in the 1970s. The main building was two stores and the floors open and separated by movable objects. The water fountain was real, and as a first grader I remember we were all fascinated by it. The lunch line description was also as I remember as well as the playground (without shade trees). We walked to school, so I had nothing to draw from on taking a school bus to school.
I did receive detention once, not for fighting but for being upstairs in the classrooms during recess. There was a matter of a note from one of my riends who has a crush on a boy and one of his friends got the note and stashed it in his desk. Well, it was a matter of pride that we had to locate said note. We had a plan but the boys found out and followed us. Needless to say, we got caught and all had detention for a day. Once again I was grounded. My daddy could not understand the importance of retrieving the offending note.
The story of 'Junior' running away was based on the time Beth and I decided to run away. We got in trouble for something we did and Beth decided she coudn't live like this anymore so she was runnng away. Well, I couldn't have her going by herself so scared as I was, I told her I was going with her. Now I'm the practical one, I harrassed her to the point of driving her crazy with my questions about where we were going. She shot down all my ideas because mom and dad would find us. She decided we'll figure it out on the way so we just started walking. Well we got to the corner, turned right and continued to the next corner, turned right again and kept doing it until we got back home again. You see, although mom and dad never said we could not run away, they did tell us we couldn't cross the street alone. We were six and seven. So after walking around the block twice, we decided enough, and took our punishment. I was so relieved!
Peas! Peas! Pease! is based on a true story. We and our parents were friends with a family of four sisters, all who HATED peas. And like the three children, every time the sisters stayed at our house, for some reason my mother would forget and cook peas for dinner. And just like Ed, my father made everyone eat everything on their plates. He considered these sisters family not guests, so they too had to finish their plates. Peas were one of the only vegetables I liked then, so I wound up eating all of theirs. What I hated (and still do) are cooked carrots.
Prepping for Easter has a couple of truths in there. Who doesn't get into a water fight when washing the car with your friends? So, yes, there were a few car washing fights. Also, the dress getting tucked into Tess's underwear is true - it happened to me. I attended a vocational school when I was eighteen. I had a drop waste dress on so the top was longer than a normal dress. I got up from my chair and thought I felt a draft, brushed my hand behind my butt, and the skirt was where it was supposed to me. Now this was mid-1980s so panty hose was always worn so no, I didn't feel the bottom of the dress on my legs. Well we were all ready to go to lunch when my friend told me I was flashing the class. Again, I brushed my had on my behind and didn't feel anything out of the ordinary so I thought he was teasing me. "No, really Jean, you really should fix it before we go to the cafeteria". He was chuckling so I asked another friend to check. When she busted out laughing, I knew he was right so I screamed at her to FIX IT! She did and all was right with the world again. Until I got home and threw the dress in the trash. That's when I realized I was not wearing my best undergarments. Ladies, you know those ones you wear on laundry day? Oh yes, the ones you hang on to a little to long just in case you need a spare. Well those also went into the trash along with any other 'spare' pair I had.
