Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Just a boy Part Three
A year had gone by, and James had slowly shed his shyness. Around Heather, his newfound best friend, he had slowly gained confidence in himself. Soon his dusty blue eyes met others and did not waver, and his voice grew louder, enough to be heard properly. It was time for summer vacation, and before he boarded the train, he embraced Heather and gave her his phone number. "Call me. We can try to see each other over the holiday."

He arrived at his aunt's house, and remembered to speak softly and not meet her eyes. But a week rolled by, and the phone rang for him. Picking it up, he recognized Heather's voice and began to laugh and talk with her. Her voice was sweet as it said, "Want to stay at my place for a week?"

Forgetting everything, James laughed, "I'll go ask."

Setting the phone down gently, he entered the living room where his aunt was sitting. With a smile, he said cheerfully, "Aunt, a friend of mine from school is on the phone. She wants to know if I can stay over at her place for a week."

His aunt's back was stiff. "A... friend?" she said, her voice dangerously soft. It was soft as silk, but with an edge like a hidden knife waiting to pierce you. His heart pounded in his chest. Then his aunt was upon him, striking him across the face. Startled, he fell back, and she began to hit him as hard as she could. Terrified, he raised a hand to shield himself.

Between each strike, she screamed, "No one would want to be friends with you! You're a wretched creature that no sane person would care for! How dare you inflict this poor child with your miserable life?!"

He curled up, praying she wouldn't kill him. With a shock like lightning, he realized he hadn't hung up. Heather could hear as his aunt screamed at him, hear him as he cried out. "Aunt!" he screamed, frantic that Heather not hear his suffering. "Heather's still on the phone! She can still hear you!"

His aunt froze, then walked over to the phone and picked it up with a deadly calm. "Hello? Heather, is it? Listen to me. My nephew is no good to you. I advise you to cut yourself off from him. Leave him to his misery. Transfer schools. Change your phone number. It's up to you." With that, she hung up, ending all things dear to me.

When autumn came around again, Heather had transferred to another boarding school.
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