smackenzie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
smackenzie) wrote2011-11-13 01:53 am
smackenzie) wrote2011-11-13 01:53 am
Entry tags:
(i managed to recover part of this after safari crashed on me >.< )
On Monday at school James discovers that Hollis Campbell does indeed wish to be better friends with him. The boys have all been sitting at the same desks for the entire year, lined up in alphabetical order so that Alexei Fokine, who says his father is an exiled Russian prince, and Hugo Gerlach, who is chubby and quiet but quite smart when he opens his mouth, are sitting between Hollis and James, and the boys are not really supposed to carry on conversations with each other during lessons anyway. So Hollis is restricted to recess and lunch for his attempts to start a friendship.
Some of the boys live close enough to the school to go home for lunch, but Hollis and James both live too far away to walk. James imagines that his school lunch is very similar to what he would have for lunch were he to go home, although he would be eating in the comfort of the smaller dining room in his house, rather than a lunchroom with the rest of his fellow students. He wonders sometimes what Mrs Malcolm does during the day, when he and his sisters and brothers are in school and she does not have to feed them. Does she make lunch for Mrs O'Donnell and Mr Sewell and Luisa? Do they eat in the kitchen, or are they allowed to use the smaller dining room? If Mrs Godwin has ladies over for lunch, Mrs Malcolm must cook for them, and she usually has a small snack for him and Aimee and William some time before dinner, but what does she do the rest of the time? He sometimes has these questions during the day, but always forgets to ask them when he gets home. There is always something else to think about and do by then.
During lunch, the boys are too interested in eating and throwing rolls at each other when Mr Van der Waal is not looking, so it isn't until recess that James gets a chance to see why Hollis wishes to be better friends. The big topic of conversation is the birthday party - the little horse was a big hit, as was the chocolate cake and some of the games. But all Hollis wants to talk about are his presents, and what he received from his parents and grandparents and older brother, and that he might get a full-size horse of his own really soon. He will call it Pershing, he says, after the general. James realizes that Hollis just wants an audience to listen to him talk about all his new things.
James is not impressed, as he tells Julia later that day, after she has gotten home from school and he can complain to her.
"He just wanted us to listen to all the things he has," he says. "That is not being a friend."
"And how do you know all the intricacies of being a friend?" Julia asks, laughing. "Did no one try to distract him?"
"Alexei said that he got rollerskates for his birthday from his aunt, and his mother let him skate up and down the hallways in his house, and Hollis just ignored him."
"I wondered why he wanted to be your friend," William comments. James did not even know he was listening. "I guess he thought you would be a good listener."
James sticks his tongue out at his brother.
"Be nice," Luisa says to the both of them. "Do not stick your tongue out at anyone. It is rude."
"William is rude," James mutters.
"And William, do not be mean to James."
"Perhaps Hollis was still excited about his birthday party," Julia suggests, "and tomorrow, when the shine has worn off, he will be less selfish in his conversation."
"What if he isn't?"
"Then you do not have to be friends with him."
After dinner, Con tries to teach James how to play poker, and he forgets about Hollis.
And then it turns out that Julia was right, and Hollis was just so excited about his party that he could not stop talking about his presents. Because on Tuesday, he is much calmer and more inclined to run around the schoolyard during recess, chasing other boys and being chased himself. He is more inclined to group games and less inclined to bragging. James wishes there was a good opportunity to teach Hollis and some of the other boys how to play poker, but during lunch they are eating, and during recess they are supposed to be doing something active, and during lessons they are supposed to be learning. Besides, he does not think he remembers all the rules - there seem to be a lot of rules for poker, altho James suspects that Con made some of them up - and if he cannot remember how to play a card game, he will not be able to teach it to anyone. He will have to ask Con to tell him the rules again. Or he could ask Sean - Sean is older and knows things that James does not.
It is raining again on Saturday when Mrs O'Donnell brings Sean and Liam over, so they are forbidden to play outside. They build a fort instead in the library, which is also Mr Godwin's study, because there is a heavy desk there. A sheet draped over the desk serves as their fort, and while Liam stands look-out, James and Sean steal some apples, a wedge of cheese, a bottle of milk, and some rolls from the kitchen for provisions.
"Why are we hiding in the fort?" Liam asks, after they have settled themselves under the sheet-covered desk. "Are we hiding from Indians?"
"We are waiting for our turn to patrol," James says. "Some of the soldiers must stay behind to protect the women and children in case of attack."
"We are guarding the ammunition," Sean adds. "Barrels of gunpowder and cases of rifles and bullets. And the stores - we have to make sure no one breaks into the pantry and steals our provisions." As if to prove his point, he breaks off a piece of cheese and eats it.
"Isn't that stealing the provisions?" Liam demands.
"No. This is rewarding the soldiers with a snack for guarding the fort." He hands Liam the cheese, and now Liam breaks off a piece, getting crumbs on the floor, and stuffs it into his mouth. James eats a roll.
They sit in their little hideout and eat their "provisions" and listen to the rain coming down outside. James hopes it stops before the brothers have to go home. He would like some help climbing the tree in tthe courtyard again. Hiding under the desk reminds him of sitting up in the tree, with the way the light is filtered through the sheet and the coziness of the space. The desk fort has an advantage in that they can play in it in all weather, but there is something that appeals to James about feeling hidden while at the same time being outside where anyone could see you. It is like hiding in plain sight, being up the tree. Now, in Mr Godwin's library, they are only hiding.
But they have some peace and quiet and space for themselves, while Luisa is busy with Aimee and William, and Con is probably out playing football again, and Julia is sitting in the parlor reading.
Liam lifts one side of the sheet and peeks under it. "Is this your da's room?" he asks.
"It is his study," James says. "And the library. When people come over for dinner parties, the men sit up here and drink brandy and smoke cigars. Sometimes Papa does his work in here, when he is not in his office."
"Our da works on a ship. He's a cook."
"He has never seen any pirates, though," Sean adds, as if sensing that James was about to ask the question. "His ship sails between New York and Europe. He is gone for weeks at a time."
"Do you miss him?" James asks. He does not see his own father enough to miss him if he were to go somewhere for a week, but the idea of not being able to see him at all for weeks and weeks is a little sad. At least he sees his father some on weekends, and sometimes for supper during the week.
"Sometimes. But he was in the war, too - he cooked for the Army in Maryland, at one of their training camps. He missed being on a ship, though."
"Do you never see him?"
"He gets a few days of shore leave when his ship docks in New York, so we see him then. He takes us out to eat, because he says he is tired of cooking for people and he does not want Ma to have to cook for him."
"If your father has a job, why does your mother have to work here? Why does he not cook somewhere closer to home?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Liam asks, but he sounds curious rather than annoyed.
"Because I do not know the answers."
"Da says he likes being on a ship, and Ma says she likes him better when he isn't around all the time." Liam chomps into an apple, evidently done answering - or asking - questions.
"He doesn't get paid enough to really support all of us," Sean says. "He and Ma are saving up for a bigger apartment in a better neighborhood, and maybe someday a house."
James is vaguely familiar with the concept of saving money, but saving enough to buy a house seems to him like it would take a very long time, even if both the husband and the wife have jobs.
"You can come over and play when we have a bigger house," Liam offers.
"You can come over now," Sean says. "Not today, because we are here, but one Saturday over the summer, maybe your ma will let you visit us. You can meet Mrs Meara and her daughter Mary Margaret, and Mary Margaret's baby Johnny. He is this big." Sean holds out his hands about a foot apart. "Mary Margaret's husband Jamie is a policeman."
"You can meet Albert who lives across the street and has a dog that's also named Johnny. And the grocer - he has cats."
words: 1740
total words: 20,216
quickie research: russian and dutch last names, ww1 training camps (mr o'donnell was at fort meade during the war)
Some of the boys live close enough to the school to go home for lunch, but Hollis and James both live too far away to walk. James imagines that his school lunch is very similar to what he would have for lunch were he to go home, although he would be eating in the comfort of the smaller dining room in his house, rather than a lunchroom with the rest of his fellow students. He wonders sometimes what Mrs Malcolm does during the day, when he and his sisters and brothers are in school and she does not have to feed them. Does she make lunch for Mrs O'Donnell and Mr Sewell and Luisa? Do they eat in the kitchen, or are they allowed to use the smaller dining room? If Mrs Godwin has ladies over for lunch, Mrs Malcolm must cook for them, and she usually has a small snack for him and Aimee and William some time before dinner, but what does she do the rest of the time? He sometimes has these questions during the day, but always forgets to ask them when he gets home. There is always something else to think about and do by then.
During lunch, the boys are too interested in eating and throwing rolls at each other when Mr Van der Waal is not looking, so it isn't until recess that James gets a chance to see why Hollis wishes to be better friends. The big topic of conversation is the birthday party - the little horse was a big hit, as was the chocolate cake and some of the games. But all Hollis wants to talk about are his presents, and what he received from his parents and grandparents and older brother, and that he might get a full-size horse of his own really soon. He will call it Pershing, he says, after the general. James realizes that Hollis just wants an audience to listen to him talk about all his new things.
James is not impressed, as he tells Julia later that day, after she has gotten home from school and he can complain to her.
"He just wanted us to listen to all the things he has," he says. "That is not being a friend."
"And how do you know all the intricacies of being a friend?" Julia asks, laughing. "Did no one try to distract him?"
"Alexei said that he got rollerskates for his birthday from his aunt, and his mother let him skate up and down the hallways in his house, and Hollis just ignored him."
"I wondered why he wanted to be your friend," William comments. James did not even know he was listening. "I guess he thought you would be a good listener."
James sticks his tongue out at his brother.
"Be nice," Luisa says to the both of them. "Do not stick your tongue out at anyone. It is rude."
"William is rude," James mutters.
"And William, do not be mean to James."
"Perhaps Hollis was still excited about his birthday party," Julia suggests, "and tomorrow, when the shine has worn off, he will be less selfish in his conversation."
"What if he isn't?"
"Then you do not have to be friends with him."
After dinner, Con tries to teach James how to play poker, and he forgets about Hollis.
And then it turns out that Julia was right, and Hollis was just so excited about his party that he could not stop talking about his presents. Because on Tuesday, he is much calmer and more inclined to run around the schoolyard during recess, chasing other boys and being chased himself. He is more inclined to group games and less inclined to bragging. James wishes there was a good opportunity to teach Hollis and some of the other boys how to play poker, but during lunch they are eating, and during recess they are supposed to be doing something active, and during lessons they are supposed to be learning. Besides, he does not think he remembers all the rules - there seem to be a lot of rules for poker, altho James suspects that Con made some of them up - and if he cannot remember how to play a card game, he will not be able to teach it to anyone. He will have to ask Con to tell him the rules again. Or he could ask Sean - Sean is older and knows things that James does not.
It is raining again on Saturday when Mrs O'Donnell brings Sean and Liam over, so they are forbidden to play outside. They build a fort instead in the library, which is also Mr Godwin's study, because there is a heavy desk there. A sheet draped over the desk serves as their fort, and while Liam stands look-out, James and Sean steal some apples, a wedge of cheese, a bottle of milk, and some rolls from the kitchen for provisions.
"Why are we hiding in the fort?" Liam asks, after they have settled themselves under the sheet-covered desk. "Are we hiding from Indians?"
"We are waiting for our turn to patrol," James says. "Some of the soldiers must stay behind to protect the women and children in case of attack."
"We are guarding the ammunition," Sean adds. "Barrels of gunpowder and cases of rifles and bullets. And the stores - we have to make sure no one breaks into the pantry and steals our provisions." As if to prove his point, he breaks off a piece of cheese and eats it.
"Isn't that stealing the provisions?" Liam demands.
"No. This is rewarding the soldiers with a snack for guarding the fort." He hands Liam the cheese, and now Liam breaks off a piece, getting crumbs on the floor, and stuffs it into his mouth. James eats a roll.
They sit in their little hideout and eat their "provisions" and listen to the rain coming down outside. James hopes it stops before the brothers have to go home. He would like some help climbing the tree in tthe courtyard again. Hiding under the desk reminds him of sitting up in the tree, with the way the light is filtered through the sheet and the coziness of the space. The desk fort has an advantage in that they can play in it in all weather, but there is something that appeals to James about feeling hidden while at the same time being outside where anyone could see you. It is like hiding in plain sight, being up the tree. Now, in Mr Godwin's library, they are only hiding.
But they have some peace and quiet and space for themselves, while Luisa is busy with Aimee and William, and Con is probably out playing football again, and Julia is sitting in the parlor reading.
Liam lifts one side of the sheet and peeks under it. "Is this your da's room?" he asks.
"It is his study," James says. "And the library. When people come over for dinner parties, the men sit up here and drink brandy and smoke cigars. Sometimes Papa does his work in here, when he is not in his office."
"Our da works on a ship. He's a cook."
"He has never seen any pirates, though," Sean adds, as if sensing that James was about to ask the question. "His ship sails between New York and Europe. He is gone for weeks at a time."
"Do you miss him?" James asks. He does not see his own father enough to miss him if he were to go somewhere for a week, but the idea of not being able to see him at all for weeks and weeks is a little sad. At least he sees his father some on weekends, and sometimes for supper during the week.
"Sometimes. But he was in the war, too - he cooked for the Army in Maryland, at one of their training camps. He missed being on a ship, though."
"Do you never see him?"
"He gets a few days of shore leave when his ship docks in New York, so we see him then. He takes us out to eat, because he says he is tired of cooking for people and he does not want Ma to have to cook for him."
"If your father has a job, why does your mother have to work here? Why does he not cook somewhere closer to home?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Liam asks, but he sounds curious rather than annoyed.
"Because I do not know the answers."
"Da says he likes being on a ship, and Ma says she likes him better when he isn't around all the time." Liam chomps into an apple, evidently done answering - or asking - questions.
"He doesn't get paid enough to really support all of us," Sean says. "He and Ma are saving up for a bigger apartment in a better neighborhood, and maybe someday a house."
James is vaguely familiar with the concept of saving money, but saving enough to buy a house seems to him like it would take a very long time, even if both the husband and the wife have jobs.
"You can come over and play when we have a bigger house," Liam offers.
"You can come over now," Sean says. "Not today, because we are here, but one Saturday over the summer, maybe your ma will let you visit us. You can meet Mrs Meara and her daughter Mary Margaret, and Mary Margaret's baby Johnny. He is this big." Sean holds out his hands about a foot apart. "Mary Margaret's husband Jamie is a policeman."
"You can meet Albert who lives across the street and has a dog that's also named Johnny. And the grocer - he has cats."
words: 1740
total words: 20,216
quickie research: russian and dutch last names, ww1 training camps (mr o'donnell was at fort meade during the war)