TDTLBU Chapter Twelve

Summer was waning fast and the faint touch of autumn breeze was already wafting through the air. Fields had turned golden and in the orchard, the branches were bowed under the weight of juicy, ripe apples. These last few golden days of summer were precious to the childrens’ hearts. Although harvest was in full swing and all were expected to pull their weight, they were still given their cherished moments of freedom. The boys rounded up the season with a baseball tournament and played so hard they all came home with a layer of dirt for a second skin. Emma walked around with her nose plastered to a book, never even watching where she was going, and not learning her lesson even when she ran smack into a tree. Josh didn’t let her forget it though, even long after the black and blue bruise in the middle of her forehead faded. 

The last week of summer was the county fair. Emma put down her book with a regretful sigh and set to work making apple pies. The friendship quilt, one square done by each of the girls at their church, was finally finished, stitched together, and proudly hung on display. Josh rooted out Pigwick, and with much struggling and muttering of words that Myra wouldn’t approve of, and finally the acceptance of Ronnie’s help, he managed to get the stubborn hog into the back of Rob’s pickup and off to the fairgrounds. When Pigwick placed second in the hog show, Josh nearly split in half with pride. 

“And in spite of that dumb name too,” he told Emma smugly. The name of “Pigwick” had, of course, been her idea. Josh had never heard of the hog’s proper British namesake, or of his creator, Dickens. He had argued over the name too, insisting the animal be given a name befitting its station. But Emma called it Pigwick, and so did everyone else, until Josh finally shrugged and gave in. 

The end of the fair marked the beginning of the school year, and that fall marked, according to Josh, the first time he had ever set foot inside a real school. His teacher believed that fact with all her heart. The boy was a living terror in the classroom. What with all his pranking and goofing off and attempts at playing hooky, it was a wonder how he managed to keep up his grades. He was a smart kid, and his work proved it, though often sloppily done. His performance in gym class and all other outside activities was nothing short of a wonder. He made the track team the very first day and broke an old school record by the end of the second week. 

One of Josh's greatest talents lay in the ability to make an entire hard-working, focus-driven classroom erupt into laughing chaos in a matter of mere seconds. He prided himself in this ability and took great care in selecting the worst possible moments at which to work his terrible magic. One of his earliest attempts was releasing an entire armada of young frogs into the classroom during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. How he managed to catch that many frogs was a mystery to all. Apparently Jerry's instruction had been well-learned. 

It took a good twenty minutes to reclaim the terrified amphibians, but thankfully, there were plenty of eager volunteers. All the boys participated gleefully in the round-up while the girls shrieked atop their desks. Except Emma, of course, who was busy catching frogs. In fact, it was she who revealed the guilty party to the teacher when the icy inquiry was made as to the culprit.

"It was Scout," she suppressed her giggles with a stern and knowing nod. Josh glared at her as she spoke, partly for the betrayal and partly for the nickname. She had called him that ever since the day he and Jerry had gotten lost in the woods… “because you’re such an excellent navigator,” she told him, laughing. “Like the scout Hawkeye. La Longue Carabine… The Long Rifle.”

"Scout?" Mrs. Walker replied, dumbfounded.

"I mean Josh." 

Mrs. Walker turned to look at Josh with the kind of look that would have struck terror into the heart of a weaker student. But Josh returned her glance with twinkling eyes and the hint of a smile hovering on his lips. The classroom had fallen into dead silence, the offending frogs having been released by a laughing janitor. All seemed to hold their breaths, their eyes riveted on Josh.

"Young man, what do you mean by bringing those animals in here?" Although the situation was unprecedented, Mrs. Walker felt confident in her ability to quell the young sinner as she had done with countless others before him.

"They wanted to go to school too," Josh returned innocently. "Equal education opportunities, you know."

Mrs. Walker was never quite the same again after that day.

✯✯✯

Emma had moved a year ahead in school, skipping the entire sixth grade by way of exceptional grades and test scores in the fifth grade. Although no one ever connected it, it was an extraordinary mercy that she had landed in the seventh grade with Josh. The fact that she was there, earning perfect grades and generally being a model student in spite of the fact that she was a strange sort of chaotic tomboy outside of school, somehow pushed Josh to better standards. If she could do it, so could he, right? It became his driving force all through that first year of school.

While Josh was terrorizing the seventh grade, Mickey was more or less doing the same to the kindergarten class. It was his first year in school and his standing within said school was developing quickly. His weary teacher often said of him with a laughing sigh, "It's a terribly good thing he's so cute." It was equally a good thing that she happened to be an energetic and enthusiastic young girl who could, for the most part, keep up with Mickey and his compatriots. She understood children well and long before the first quarter ended, she had her little charges well in hand and her classroom in apple pie order.

Katie worked her way through quietly and with good grades. She was an average student in the way of work, and a model student in the way of behavior. She was like Ronnie in that way… just doing what needed to be done and getting it out of the way. Her passion was music and she lived for the choral practice at the end of the day. That was her moment to shine. 

“Her voice is golden,” her teacher would smile proudly. “Mark my words, this girl has a career in music.”

But Katie would only smile shyly and reply that she had no need for a career.

“My place is at home,” she said softly. “And it always will be.”

Emma had big dreams for the future. She had set her eyes on the vision of a nursing career and nothing would sway her from her course.

“Helping people.” she said simply. “What nobler cause is there? Besides writing books, of course. Just imagine… being able to fight death and pain! I’m gonna do some good in the world, somehow.”