The Butterfly Ethic/9

Chapter 9

I didn’t fall back asleep, the sun rose and I lay there, pondering what happened. Elijah woke up and left the room, shutting the door behind him. I sluggishly got out of bed and locked the door. I looked desperately for the clothes I went to sleep in, but they were nowhere. I still felt shaken from that horrid place. I did some of Rachel’s breathing exercises, anything to prepare for my voyage today, but the smel was still strongly with me. I put some clothes on, but they did little to hide it. I bathed the night before because I knew I wouldn’t have time in the morning. Hopefully no one would notice the smell coming off of me, or the burn on my arm. I made sure to get a long sleeve shirt from my drawer, but I needed something I could put over it all the time. By the time I was ready for school, I came up with the perfect idea: I could cover it with my wristwatch. It had no other purpose than this one. I pulled it out of my bag and adjusted it. It squeezed tightly around my arm, but that wouldn’t be a problem for very long. When I got the watch last Christmas, it came with means to change the size. The band contained many panels, and small staples that hooked each panel together. I just had to pull the band apart, then add a few staples and panels and it would be big enough to fit there. Of course, I couldn’t do it at home, for there was no time, so I put some tweezers in my backpack and went off to school. Perhaps I would find the time to fix the watch in this long and dreadful day.

In English class, I got a card pull for not paying attention, not that I was able to. I still felt that mark on me, and though the physical pain subsided, it seemed as though the man in black had burned my soul. I felt like I had committed an unforgiveable sin, and I would have to live with it the rest of my life. I wanted class to be over, but the clock said we still had thirty-five minutes. Sometimes I felt Amber’s clock was even slower than mine.

At lunch, I found the time to adjust the watch. I ate all my regular food, the only thing remaining was the cottage cheese, a food that baffled me all of my life. Why would we take a perfectly good gift from The Lord, let it go rotten, and eat it? Usually when things get rotten, that means you shouldn’t eat it. Is there some exception to milk? Rotten milk tastes worse than regular milk, and it isn’t any healthier.

Looking around, I noticed that none of the teachers were looking. The moment was at hand for me to dump this abomination in the garbage barrel. All I had left was rice with ground beef, which I ate while I tried to fix my watch. As I sat there at the table, putting the staples in, Sam came to me.

“Where were you on Tuesday?” Sam asked.

“Tuesday? Oh yeah, I forgot.” I said.

“Well, do you want to go in there now?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I’m busy now.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“With what?” He looked at what I was doing. “Fixing a watch?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I’ve outgrown it, so I’m making it bigger.” Sam pulled the watch from my hands.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It doesn’t even work.” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, well. It’s important to me.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“How’d it break?” he asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Patrick was trying to punch me in the face, I held up my arm to block, he hit the watch.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Ouch.” Sam said. “Well, are you going to the old infirmary or not?” I wasn’t in the mood, but I followed Sam anyway, taking my lunch with me. He had to stop by at room ten to get a few troublemakers.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">There were some kids sneaking in the building, when Nephi walked in carrying a store bought pie. “Hey guys, guess what day it is: March 14th: Pi day.” He threw a piece of the pie at Christopher’s friend.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Stop!” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Here comes another one!” Sam threw a piece at Christopher. It went over his head.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Knock it off, Nephi!” he said, but Nephi continued throwing them, singing: “It’s Pi Day, Pi Day, Gotta get down on Pi Day.” This was where Sam and I walked in.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Nephi!” Sam shouted. “I have something for you to do!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Is it time?” He asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes.” Sam said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Christopher! Ortell! Let’s go!” They seemed to know what he was talking about, for they went with us to Sam’s evil lair.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why is he here?” Christopher asked when he saw me.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Martin can be useful for us.” Sam told him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“How do you know that?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“He has the mind of a criminal genius, Monday’s cookies show that.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Christopher mumbled something about baking cookies not being very evil. As we snuck down the white hallways of the kids’ area, Christopher found another reason for me to not be there. “Martin, you stink!” he said. “Have you been swimming in the Jordan River?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“No.” I replied.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, you sure smell like it.” This was the third comment like that I heard.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes! He stinks!” Gunther, one of Sam’s henchmen, said. “He should come in on Monday!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You’re just looking for an excuse to throw me out!” I said. As I took another bite of my lunch, Sam came and sniffed around me. “Don’t go to music class like that.” He said. “Get that taken care of, but after this.” We came across a hall monitor, but the fourth grader was no match for Sam. He dispatched one of his henchmen, her half-brother, to keep her busy, while the rest of us snuck by. We made it to the old infirmary, situated right next to Shelley’s office, the most feared room in the school. The room was almost empty, save for a few shelves, a coat rack, and a table of pencil sharpeners, which Sam seemed to take the most interest in.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Here are the instruments of our triumph.” He said. “These look like ordinary pencil sharpeners, but they are in disguise. They are the doom of the school.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“DOOOMMM.” Nephi said in a low voice.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes, doom.” Sam said. “These stupid pencil sharpeners have one thing wrong with them.” He pulled a pencil out of his pocket and put it in the sharpener, it started up. When he pulled it out, it kept going. Nephi laughed maniacally at this.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You see, these can easily be adjusted to sharpen all day, and when they do, or should I say, when they don’t, it will only add more and more to the school’s electric bill, and when the school can no longer pay its teachers for study hall, they won’t have it anymore.” Sam brought everyone together and demonstrated that if you jam the spring that detects the pencil, the sharpener will keep going.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So what do you think?” He asked. I wasn’t listening to him as much as he hoped I would. By the time he was done with his demonstration, I was finished adjusting my watch. I slipped it up my arm to a point in which it covered the mark.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why do you have it up there?” Sam asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I like it up here” I said. “It looks cool.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It doesn’t look cool, or useful.” He said. “But I can use it, from this day forward; all members of my evil team have to wear their watches up their arms, as a secret code. Write that down Nephi.” Nephi searched around the room for some paper, and found a piece of notebook paper with a hand-drawn picture of an ox. He drew a wristwatch around the ox’s front leg.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Samuel!” I said. “This is stupid. This whole idea is stupid, in fact it’s probably the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of. There’s no way this will work!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then why don’t you leave?” Christopher asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I will!” I said. I slammed the door on the way out, just as Shelley was walking out of her office. She was upset with me being there, and found the others in the room. Each of us was given two card pulls, one for being in the school, and one for entering that room. Because we already received card pulls earlier that day, (I wasn’t paying attention in class, and Nephi broke a binder in half,) Shelley called our mothers and explained what happened. Sam kicked me out of his secret organization because of that, not that I wanted to join anyway. I did want something else, and Joseph Fradin had it. I found him at the dodgeball area and asked him: “Joseph, can I borrow some of your cologne?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why do you need some?” He asked. I stepped closer to him. “Okay! Okay! I’ll get you some!” That solved one of my problems.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Music class that day was the first time I noticed Wendy since I went back in time. I didn’t think she was pretty or important; she was just another sixth grader. I didn’t see in her today what I saw in the future.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">After the class, Ross accompanied me on the way out and asked me about the Austrians, and their part in the First World War.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They started the war.” I told him. “They attacked Serbia because a Serbian shot Archduke Ferdinand.”

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh.” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You studying for the test on Tuesday?” I asked.

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, I also need to get my book report done by Monday.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Is it due on Monday?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, Amber told us about it this morning. I’m done reading my book, I just need to write the report, but there’s no story. It’s just a bunch of smaller stories about a bunch of different people.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What’s it called?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Canterbury Tales, it was written in the middle ages by some monk, it’s pretty hard to understand. Is yours?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">‘Well, it’s British, and it’s about cricket, and I don’t know how cricket is played, so yeah, it is.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, I don’t know what to tell you.” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I spent the day trying to contemplate the game of cricket, which was impossible. How could you possibly have 400 innings in a single game? Who in the right mind would play a game that complicated? The fact that these British upper classes would expect us to know about their lifestyle was classism. They’re still sore about losing the Revolutionary War so they have to do away with baseball and give us cricket. Was burning down Washington D.C. not good enough revenge that they had to shun our culture, or did they still have to terrify us by giving us antimony to drink and sending Amber to us. Wait a minute! Amber was British! I could just ask her how to play cricket. The only problem was that I didn’t know how Amber would react to finding out that I wasn’t even half-way done with the book.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Phil came to school that day and took us to one of the Jordan River’s marshes. Amidst the yellow grass and thistles was a black trail that followed the river’s course. We all got out and looked around while Phil got his bike out of his van.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Are we going to run along this trail?” Ross asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes, we are.” He said. “We’re going to do relay races.” He organized us into teams, putting me on Ishmael’s, and then placed each of us in different locations. I was second to the last, so by the time Moroni ran forward with his baton, the other team was well ahead of us. I received it and ran as fast as I could. Just ahead of me, Phil rode on his bike, and ahead of him, one of the kids was running toward Ross with his baton. Ishmael was our next runner, and he was at a disadvantage when he started running. Ross was a good twenty feet ahead of him. When he took the baton, he ran as fast as he could, almost catching up to him, but the finish line belonged to Ross, and he marked his place well.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Ha-ha!” Ross shouted to Ishmael. “You tried, tried again, and lost, Ishmael! How does it feel?” Ishmael said nothing. “Speechless? I can see why!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s enough, Ross.” Phil said. Ross quieted down, but only when Phil was around, when he wasn’t, Ross went all out on him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Phil wasn’t around later because he was training the slower runners in smaller groups. Joseph, Hyrum, and I were running in front of Phil. Whenever we’d fall behind, he would push us forward. We went a half a mile like this in six minutes, which Phil thought was good time.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Next Friday, we’ll run a whole mile.” Phil told us. “And maybe by the end of the year, we can have a race to see who’s truly the fastest.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Ross.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I wouldn’t say that just yet, Elijah.” Phil said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Elijah?” I asked. “My name’s Martin, Elijah’s my brother; he graduated from Deseret last year.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh, that’s right,” Phil said. “You’re Martin, the dictionary kid.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Amber told you about that?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Amber tells me everything.” Phil said. “She told me that people think you have a time machine.” Joseph laughed, and Phil turned to him. “She also says you caused a chemical accident.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It was an accident!” Joseph yelled.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“But it was funny.” Hyrum added.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So why do you work here now?” Joseph asked. “Don’t you have a job elsewhere? I thought you worked at Deckard.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I did, but there’s some element of destruction there. Everything’s going wrong, so they sent me over here for now.” Phil said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Whatever, I bet you just want to be with your wife more.” Joseph said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s just a bonus.” Phil said. He continued training us, and then led us to a wooden bridge. By the bridge was a monument to a man named Henry Grow.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“This bridge was built in 1861 by our ancestor, Henry Grow.” Phil said. “He was the greatest architect in Utah history, and the second best engineer, next to the guy who built the Bingham Canyon Mine.”

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s not so great.” Joseph said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s one of the greatest holes ever dug, my brother, Shem, works there.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So is Henry Grow all of our ancestor?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Except for you, Moroni.” Phil said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s right, Moroni, walk back to school in shame!” Joseph said. “And don’t cross that bridge!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Moroni is from the Cannon family, one of the smartest and most noble polygamist families in the nineteenth century.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">We all turned to Moroni with the same thought in our heads: that apple fell out of the tree and rolled seven miles into a mud puddle.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Phil continued lecturing us on great figures in Utah history including our ancestors, which kept us out later than we expected, which caused us to be late for study hall. When we arrived in the cafeteria, Kolleen demanded to know why we were late.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Excuse them all.” Phil said. “It was my fault. I kept them out later than I should’ve.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh.” Kolleen said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Would you be able to excuse them?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They’re in Amber’s class, so you’ll have to tell her that.” Phil had us go to our seats while he went to speak with Amber. I saw him telling her the story as he shook her hand, and didn’t let go. Amber excused it as an accident, proving that having the husband of the scariest teacher in the school is a huge advantage in a place like this, especially when Amber’s marriage is as strong as that of Lehi and Sariah. She might actually be in a good enough mood for me to ask her about cricket. I walked up to her, hoping for the best.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Hey, Sister Amber.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What?” she asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“How do you play cricket?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I don’t know.” She said. “Why do you ask?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Aren’t you from England?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I moved here when I was seven, Martin. Why do you want to know how to play cricket.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, they play cricket a lot in this book, and, I don’t know what’s going on.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You didn’t finish the book yet?” Amber asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, no I didn’t.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What have you been doing in the last three weeks?” I couldn’t tell her about the wizard, the time machine, and the crazy things that happened last night, so I used the umbrella answer: “I don’t know.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, you weren’t reading,” she said. “That report is due on Monday, and if you don’t finish it, you probably won’t pass my class, so if I were you, I’d start reading. If you don’t understand how cricket is played, then just don’t put those parts into the book report, now read!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I read through the rest of study hall, and on the bus ride home, until I couldn’t read more. I felt that I couldn’t comprehend the plot of the book, that it was a stupid, incoherent mess written by some ugly lady who deserves to be ridiculed.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I set the book down on the seat next to Lehi, then noticed something: Freya and wasn’t on the bus.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Where’s Freya?” I asked Lehi.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Eh? She went to the car place with Rachel?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What car place?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They went to get a new van, since Rachel busted the old one.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why didn’t they tell me, I don’t want to ride the bus home.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Me neither. Rachel left before study hour, My teacher wouldn’t let me go home early.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh, I wasn’t at school at the time.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Where were you?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“We were at a park for P.E. Brother Phil took us there.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I don’t know who that is.” Behind me, a little blonde head poked up.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Phil Woodhull?” Nephi asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What the heck are you doing here?” I asked him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I’m riding the bus.” He said. “Duhh.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“No, I mean, what are you doing in my conversation?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Listening, I heard Phil was your teacher.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“He is, for P.E.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Phil? Teaching P.E.?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, he’s awesome.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Is he?” Nephi said. “I’m sure he is compared to you, but he’s probably the biggest wuss in the universe. What does he teach you guys?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Running.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That explains a bit. That’s all he can do.” Nephi said. “One thing that’s fun is to sneak up behind him, and scare him, and see him run like a rabbit from a hunter.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, he’s married to Amber. That should make him a tough guy.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, but Amber beats him up at home, it’s amazing how someone can get beat up by his own wife.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">If I didn’t see the way Amber acted when Phil was around, I probably would’ve believed Nephi’s shady story, but he had insufficient proof. I still respected Phil, and even though my life would be a lot easier without Amber, I almost respected her too, but even Sariah murmured against Lehi at one point. Maybe when I had some free time this weekend, I’d think better of Amber, but I needed to get home and finish my book.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I jumped off the bus and ran home to this errand, not knowing that we were being followed. This particular car followed us every day, waiting for the right moment to strike.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I was up in my room, trying to comprehend the plot of my book. Sometimes I really wished it were illegal to stray from the main plot. I really hated books that introduce a million plot points in the first few chapters and then expect you to keep track of them all. I had to take a break from this. Kolleen celebrated pi day by giving us a lot of math homework. I would continue trying to find the volume of the spheres until I collapsed rather than read this book.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">While I tried to do my math homework, the younger kids played in the front yard. Eventually, Alice came into my room and asked me what we had to eat.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s not even suppertime, Alice.” I told her.

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s almost five-thirty.” She said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, go see if we have anything in the kitchen.” I told her. “I have too much to do, right now.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“No, you don’t, you’re just up here reading a book.” She said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, you’re just playing around.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I’m just a little girl, though.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, I’m just a little kid too.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“If you’re big enough to know you’re little, you’re big enough to make some food.” I should’ve come up with that one first. Now I was beaten by my sister, whose young age of seven years old only added to the humiliation. Wait, I can still save this one.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Alice, if you have enough energy to play, you have enough to make your own food.” I said. “You and Lehi can make something of your own. Where is Lehi anyway?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“He’s outside.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I went to my window. A slim, silver car was parked across the street. A dark-haired woman wearing a sweater vest and jeans stepped out of the passenger side. She came on to our front lawn and talked to Lehi. I had a hunch on who she was, but I hoped I was wrong. There was only one way to find out: “Did she ask who the oldest one home was?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah.” She replied. I threw my book in my anger. It narrowly missed Alice and hit the wall with a KERSLAP! sound. I took off down the stairs and out the door. By the time I got there, the woman was already heading to the front door and Lehi was doing all in his power to keep her based in the front yard.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Who are you?” I asked her.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I am Ms. Tanner, of the Division of Child and Family Services.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal">''<span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I always wondered what DCFS stood for. Oh wait. DCFS are here! Crap! ''

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Are you the oldest one home?” Tanner asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“umm, no.” I lied. She didn’t appear to buy it.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“May I speak with him?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, I’ll go get him.” I said. I then beckoned Lehi, Alice, and Tori to come inside. As they followed me, Ms. Tanner walked across the mound in our yard where the endive grew to her car to make a phone call, probably to Hailey Fultz in her house made of candy.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">There was no way out of this. She was calling the police. Before long, they would separate us again, this time for good. They might even throw our parents in jail, and there was nothing I could do about it.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Though he was five years old, Tori seemed to know what was going on. When I closed the door he asked me: “Are they going to take us away again?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“No, they won’t.” I said. I locked the door to keep them out. We were going to remain indrawn like Switzerland, at least until I could find a weapon, then we’d do away with them like the Ming Dynasty to the Mongols. I now felt what they felt against the Mongols.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Lehi, bring anyone in the backyard inside.” I told him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Okay.” He said. He ran out of the house and brought Alice and Walter into the living room.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Okay, you guys, the police are coming. Everyone get to the spider’s den.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“But there’s spiders in there!” Alice said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Alice, which is worse, spiders, or the police?” Lehi asked her.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“The police.” She said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then let’s go.” Lehi said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">The spider’s den was what we called the empty crawl space under our house. The entrance was a hidden door under our pantry. The last time the DCFS came to take us away, the door was covered with containers of rice, beans, and oats. Now, we made sure to cover it with only newspapers to keep it hidden. We rushed to this location and pulled open the door. A foul wind blew out, and hundreds of wolf spiders the size of baby mice went scurrying through the labyrinth of spider webs. I uttered a prayer in my heart for the horror I was about to face.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“We don’t have to go in there.” I said. “They haven’t come yet.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, they’re coming.” Lehi said. I shushed him and listened through the pantry door. I heard the door open, and then a muffled voice began explaining something to someone. After a bit of ear straining, I recognized it to belong to my eighteen year old brother, Patrick. He mentioned The Constitution, but I couldn’t hear anything beyond that. It didn’t matter, for his arrival meant we didn’t need to go into the spider’s den. I led the kids out of the pantry and to the living room, where Patrick stood with the DCFS woman at the door, holding out his driver’s license to prove to her that he was eighteen years and two months old.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, where were you this whole time?” she asked him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Inside, studying while keeping watch over the kids.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Sounds like you were doing more of the former.” She said. “You need to see to it your brothers and sisters are safer.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Were they doing anything dangerous?” Patrick asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They played on the front lawn and in the streets.” She said. “It would be very easy for someone to kidnap these kids and you would never know about it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“All of them? One of them can come inside and tell me, and I’d be out there in a heartbeat.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You wouldn’t get there in time.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I probably would, and besides, this is a safe neighborhood. Since last month, we’ve only had one person who I’d call a kidnapper, and she’s not coming in because, if she does, I’ll sue her for breaking the fourth amendment.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Hmm, so you would deny that there is any external threat?” Tanner asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Pretty much.” Said Patrick.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, then I must remind you that this here, is the front lawn where Martin was assaulted and hospitalized, so if there is no external threat as you say there is, then I will tell the police to start looking for an internal threat. Maybe search for thieves who would neglect their brother, even though he clearly needs help.” Ms. Tanner looked straight at me, then turned around and walked back to her car, talking on her cell phone.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“She’s probably trying to get a warrant.” Patrick said as he watched her drive off. He turned to us and told us to start cleaning the house. As I cleaned, I wondered where Rachel was. I also wondered if the impending threat of a government takeover of our house might be a good enough excuse for Amber.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">The police did come, not with a warrant, but they didn’t need it. Patrick let them in and showed them that, despite the mess, the house was a reasonable place to live; we were a well-supported family who didn’t need social services. He was a reasonable guardian, or at least he was while they were there. After they left, Patrick came to us and asked whose idea it was to let the kids play in the front yard. He didn’t even try to hide his anger.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Nobody’s” I said. “They just went out there.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Who was supposed to be watching them?” He asked. “Where were you at the time?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I was up in my room.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, watch the kids when you’re here!” he said. “Get it through your head! You don’t let the kids play in the front yard. You of all people should know that, that’s where you were when you led them to our doorstep.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I didn’t lead anyone anywhere.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh, then I must’ve imagined the constant calls from child services and the newspaper articles telling lies about us being abused!” As he said this, I felt pain from the marking under my wristwatch I pulled it off and held it out.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“We’re only abused by our brother, you can have this watch you broke; you owe me a new one!”

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Keep it.” Patrick said. His anger was now fading, but he still had charges to press. “Elijah says you brought some evil spirits into this house, Martin. What the heck were you doing?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I was just trying something new.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, don’t try something new. Keep to what you regularly do. Stop this time travel crap and go back to being your traditional self: My stupid brother who can’t accomplish anything with his life, so he has to make up stories for attention.” I put the watch back over the mark, which began to hurt more. I wanted to end this conversation, but the river under the bridge was dammed up.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Don’t worry,” Patrick said. “Maybe this trick can get you a nice girl, and there might be hope there.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It means you’d better have some amazing kids when you grow up (not that you will) because at the moment, this family would be better off if you weren’t in it!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then why don’t you just let them take me?” I said. “I’m pretty sure there’s plenty of foster brothers out there who are better than you!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“If it was just you, Martin, I would. I’d send you and those Andrews kids to Barcelona if I could! That would do away with any ’internal threat’.” He said. “Now get this kitchen clean, it’s an embarrassment to have people come in and see this.” Patrick walked off after this, presumably to his room.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Oh, where is Rachel? I thought. I like it better when she’s here.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">It was a beautiful day ; the Jordan River flowed gently into the Great Salt Lake. The snow on the mountains was on the move, and Tracy Carter was going to get her van from the auto repair.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">The entire radiator needed to be replaced at a cost of two hundred forty dollars. This didn’t include the labor cost, which would cover the service monkeys taking out the old radiator, installing a new one, and fencing with the wrenches, which was what Ishmael Whigfield and Bryan Webster were doing when Rachel, Freya, and Tracy walked in. She watched as the Ishmael parried his brother’s blows, but he wasn’t quick enough. Bryan knocked Ishmael’s wrench from his hand and held his wrench to his neck.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I have won!” Bryan said. He pulled the wrench away from Ishmael’s neck and climbed a ladder leading to a tool shelf.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Hey, get that clipboard down from there while you’re up there.” Ishmael said. “We need it for the customers.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I can’t find it!” Bryan said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s up there; it’s got Tracy Carter’s paperwork on it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why do we need to help a family of freaks?” Bryan asked. Rachel slammed her hand on Ishmael’s shoulder, scaring him half to death.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Waaah, Be- Because they’re standing behind me!” Ishmael said when Bryan found the paperwork. Bryan turned and saw a neatly dressed family of three waiting for him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Aah, wha- what are you doing here?” He jumped down from the shelf and gave the paperwork to Ishmael and regained he senses.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You must be Tracy.” Bryan said. “What are you here for?” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I’m here to pick up the blue minivan.” She told him. “And file a little complaint to your customer service department.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“We don’t have one of those!” Ishmael said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, we could tell.” Rachel said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Which vehicle are you looking for?” Bryan asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s the really old one? The Spanish one? The one driven by Abraham?” Ishmael said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What does that mean?” Tracy asked him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s a family thing.” Ishmael said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">And they believe we’re the freaks? Freya thought.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s the blue minivan, Plate number, 770 WFG.” Tracy said. “Just get the key with my name on it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Okay I’ll get the keys.” Bryan said. He walked into the office room, leaving Ishmael with the Carters.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">It was a beautiful day, Tracy had just finished the eightfold project before her deadline, she received her van, the children were finished working on it, and Rachel found an interesting thing on the counter.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What is this?” She asked as she held up a notebook belonging to her brother.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Bryan found that in the van.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“This is Martin’s.” she said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I know that.” Ishmael said. “This is the one that was stolen, right?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes, but he got it back.” Tracy said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh.” Ishmael said. “What about the picture?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“How do you know about that?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It says in there, I didn’t read it, but Bryan did, but it didn’t say anything, at least anything we didn’t know: just the part about time travel.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Anything else?” Rachel asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh yeah, there was a deep hatred for Robert Osburn, and a part about Andrew Fredriksson.” Rachel wanted to ask what it said about him, but she knew better. “That’s private, you can’t read that.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What do you mean ‘time traveler’?” Tracy asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I dunno, Martin started that rumor.” Ishmael lifted the hood of a green car and opened up the transmission, releasing a burnt odor in the air.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, he did that.” Rachel put her collar over her nose. “It’s his way of getting more power over people, to stop being the underdog. That’s his explanation for the whole picture incident. If you ask me, though, I think he drank too much Sierra Mist.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then why’d you take him to the college?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I didn’t know about the time travel back then!” she said. “He told me it was a dream, and Sister Kolleen says to listen to kids’ dreams.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s right, she does.” Ishmael said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Be quiet.” Rachel said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I will.” Ishmael slammed the hood down. “I get the feeling I shouldn’t be here, anyway.” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Rachel, you need to tell me things like this.” Tracy reproached.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Okay, I just thought it didn’t really concern you anyway.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Of course it concerns me, Rachel, when one of my kids are saying things like that. I just want you guys to be honest- could you turn your music down?” Tracy asked Ishmael.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“My music?” Ishmael asked. “I thought that was yours.” They all realize then that the music was coming from ten feet outside the garage door, where a man in light red robes stood, holding an iron staff in one hand, and Rachel’s backpack in the other. “Who are you?” Ishmael asked him.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Mithrandir.” Rachel said. “And he has my bag!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why do I have to work in the weirdest neighborhood ever?” Ishmael complained. The wizard seemed to ignore them, but when Rachel ran in front of him and tried to take the backpack, the wizard grabbed under her left armpit and hoisted in the air. Rachel wrapped her legs around the wizard and hoisted him backwards to the gutter. They both fell into the river of water, motor oil, and transmission fluid that flowed through the parking lot.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">The Wizard’s robe was stained, but he still got up as though nothing were wrong. Ishmael ran after him with his twelve inch wrench. “I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” he said from behind the wizard. Mithrandir simply strafed around him and headed for the gate. “I warned you!” Ishmael said. He threw the wrench at the wizard; it barely missed his face, but still, he took no notice of it.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">It was a beautiful day. The security camera was running, Bryan was closing the gate for defense measure, and the wizard was now trapped in the parking lot by a galvanized fence. Once this was done, Bryan flexed his muscles and prepared to face the thief.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” Bryan said as he ran out the door. The wizard turned to face his challenger, who was making an unlucky charge at him. When he was halfway toward the stream, a pit bull ran beneath Bryan’s feet, causing him to trip face first on the pavement. Bryan looked up and saw his little sister standing beside the stream staring down at him with her black eyes. Bryan tried to get up, but his body felt too relaxed. He wanted to stay where he was and let the wizard go, which was what he did. The wizard grabbed onto the gate, and pulled.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s stronger than-“ Ishmael dropped his jaw as he saw the wizard push the gate open. He could hear the motor trying to keep it closed until it gave way to the might of the crimson wizard.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">It was a beautiful day. The gate was broken, a maniac had made off with stolen property, and the children stood in awe at what happened.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“He exists. He actually exists.”Freya still said this while they reported the robbery to the police, went home with the van, and walked through the front door. When I stepped out of my room for a break from my book report, she said it again. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her, but I did anyway.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Who exists?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“The wizard you spoke of.” She said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You saw him?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Where?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“We saw him at Alex’s Auto Repair.” Freya said. “He stole Rachel’s notebook.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Wha- Where’s Rachel?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“In her room.” Freya said. I dashed upstairs and threw open her door. Rachel was removing her belt and looked flustered at me coming in.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Knock first Martin!” She shouted.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Sorry.” I closed the door and knocked three times.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What is it?” she asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Can I come in?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Wait a few minutes.” She opened the door a few minutes later, wearing more casual clothes than before. Her hair was dripping with a foul smelling liquid, and in her dirty clothes basket was a red shirt and a long skirt, and hanging on her coat rack was her jacket, drenched in mystery sludge, just like the clothes she was wearing.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What happened to you?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“We saw Mithrandir at the shop.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“And he stole your stuff?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes.” She said. “Did Freya tell you this?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then why’d you ask?

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What happened to your hair and your clothes?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s motor oil, and transmission fluid.” Rachel said. “He threw me into a puddle of it, and then he stole my bag and everything in it.” Rachel said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, everything he stole, he should give back, or at least that’s what he did to me, and I think we have some good stain remover. The only thing you won’t get back is the picture.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then is it in the hands of Nima?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Probably,”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Then I’ll be able to get it back from her.” Rachel said. “Do you think we should give her a share? You know, for her cooperation?”

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height: normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I’ve been thinking: I don’t think we should get it back from her.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why?” Rachel asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Because, we stole it from her. I stole it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I thought you said she gave it to you.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“She did, but only because I tricked her into doing it.” I said. “I went there because I knew it was valuable, and if I wasn’t there, she’d have it now.” I said. “If I didn’t go back in time, she’d be rich.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So you want her to be rich?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, no, I just- I don’t think I should’ve gone back in time in the first place.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why not.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Because, I’ve been in the past for three weeks, and already I ruined everything.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Like what?” Rachel asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“DCFS at our door, I have to go to some doctor, and everyone’s making fun of me for being a time traveler.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“The last one’s your fault.” Rachel said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, well I just think that maybe if I take the picture from Nima, I’ll mess things up there too.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Gee, Martin, it’s been three weeks and already you’re worried about time travel. Science fiction writers have warned us about this stuff for years.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, what do you think I should do, go back to the future?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Can you?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, I went to the past; I don’t see why I can’t go back to the future.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I don’t think you need to do that, I think you need this.” Rachel set her textbook down and got a different book from her shelf titled: Classic Stories 1 by Ray Bradbury. “There’s a story in here you should read.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Oh, Rachel, I can’t. I don’t have the time. Sister Amber wants me to turn in my book report next Monday.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What book is it?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“A Prefect’s Uncle, remember?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You didn’t finish that book?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“No, I don’t understand the plot.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, I’ll help you. It’s quite simple, but after I’m done, I want you to read one of these stories. It’s called The Sound of Thunder <span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">.” I opened the book and looked through it. As I reached the story, one of the paged gave me a paper cut across the web of my thumb.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“All right, I’ll get to it when I finish my book report.” I said. “If I’m not sick of reading by then.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'SegoeUI',sans-serif;">“You should’ve finished that before.” Rachel said regarding my book report.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I should’ve, but I was too busy living my own story.” I said. “If you think about it, I’m practically living in my own story now.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I see what you mean.” Rachel said. “Maybe you can write your own time travel story about what happened and give it to Sister Amber.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, but she would just call it a new Lord of the Rings.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Martin, every book plagiarizes The Lord of the Rings; at least this one’s willing to admit it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Every book?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Every book in the fantasy genre, even Harry Potter.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It is? Well I’d sure like to have known that before you made me read The Fellowship of the Ring. I could’ve just read Harry Potter and skipped the Tom Balbodil parts.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Harry Potter is original enough to make it its own story.” Rachel said. “Anyway, I have something that may help you with your book report. It’s a psychic skill you can use.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Really?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes.” Rachel said. “You can use your psychic powers to enter other worlds created by other people.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“And this book is another world?” I asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It is a world that exists only in the mental sphere, you can go into it, or you can use your own subconscious to create your own based on what you’ve read from this book. Either way, it will be a huge help. Do you still have that psionics book?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I think so, let me check?” I shoveled through my backpack, but it wasn’t there. “No, I think I lost it.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Okay, well, maybe you don’t need it.” Rachel said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You go into the alpha state, and you extract the parts of the book from your subconscious mind.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s hard.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“That’s not all.” Rachel said. “After you do that, you take the memories and go back into the subconscious mind, and then you go deeper.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Deeper?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“There is a state of mind deeper than the alpha state, it is the beta state, and it contains the true power of your subconscious.” Rachel said. “The trick is meditating and concentrating at the same time, most people think they are the same thing, but they’re not.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So how do I do both?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What I would recommend is to read the book, then think only about the book. Try to imagine yourself as one of the characters, and then, you meditate and let your mind wander in the world of the book.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">I tried what Rachel suggested, but it didn’t work. In the end, Rachel had to practically write the book report for me. The result was something Amber would probably call “passable”. Afterwards, I read The Sound of Thunder.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So do you think you’ll get the painting back?” Rachel asked when I finished.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I don’t know if I should.” I said. “That book made me realize that everything I do could have drastic changes on the future.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“But you wouldn’t know, right? I mean, you lost your memories.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“But I’m regaining them, last night I-“ Those images of that dreadful place were all the rage in my mind. I didn’t dare tell Rachel what I saw, or what was under the wristwatch on my arm.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You what?” she asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I- I got a memory.” I couldn’t tell her what was in the memory, either.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What was in it?” Rachel asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I don’t remember.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, if you don’t remember, it isn’t a memory.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I got it, I just can’t recall it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s like a dream then?” she asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yes.” I said. “I remember getting it, but I don’t remember what was in it.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You need to write it down, right as you wake up.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What’s the difference between then and now?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Right when you wake up is usually when you remember the dream most.” Rachel said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I see, I’ll be sure to remember that, then.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Do it, the more you remember about the future, the easier it will be to decide what to do.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">On the ride to school, Monday morning, I harvested every moment I could for sleeping time, waking up every so often to the sound of Nephi talking to Sam. Sam didn’t normally ride the bus. I was too tired to inquire the matter any further, but when the buzzer sounded to wake us up, I heard Freya asking him why him and Ross were on the bus.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, this morning, Amber had her baby.” Sam said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Did she now? Is it a boy, or a girl?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Both!” Nephi said. Ross slugged him on the shoulder. “Ouch! What was that for?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What you said. It hurts, doesn’t it?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah.” Nephi said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, the pain will last longer than the mental image. You have been warned!” I felt overjoyed at this news. This meant that for the next six weeks, we would have a substitute. Sam felt the same way, he celebrated by bringing his GameCube to school with a copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Mario Party 4. All this was set up in the room by Amber’s where I ate the raspberries. When we walked in, there was a collection of BB guns, metal rods, and all manner of weapons. The TV was plugged in, and three chairs were set up for Nephi, Sam, and Ross. I had to stand behind them; it was very tiring. Eventually, I pushed the weapon collection off the wrestling mat and lapsed onto it.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Check it out, Martin.” Ross said as he turned on the GameCube. “I went into a mosque with the anti-muslim shirt, and Jeff gave me ten dollars.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So what did the muslims do?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They swore at me in Arabic, and then kicked me out, it was funny.” Ross held up the only unused controller. “You wanna play?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah.” I said quietly. I think I was too tired to get anywhere in the game, Ross and Sam kept beating me.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:35.45pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">When I was younger, we played the first smash bros. game, but then Ross borrowed it and lost it. To this day, we never found it, but it didn’t matter, for the sequel had everything the first one had, and more. My favorite character in the game was Ness, for when I was in my foster home, I would pass the time playing Earthbound. In those days, it was just me, Shiloh, and Ness. Despite him never failing me back then, he turned out to be a terrible character to play as in this game. Luckily, we there were only four of us playing, so nobody could take my place, until Nephi’s thirteen year old sister, Helen, came in.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What are you doing, Nephi?” she asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Playing video games.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Why?” She asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Because it’s fun.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Well, yeah, it is, but shouldn’t you be outside?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It’s cold out there.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They let you in the lunchroom. You can do your homework.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Helen,” Sam said. “We’re tired of doing math homework. I’m not going to sit there solving exponents when there’s video games to play.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“And I’m done with my homework.” Ross said. “How about you, Martin?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, I’m done too.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So you finished your book report?” He asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Yeah, it was hard.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Mine was too, I had to get some cliff notes, and when I did, I wish I didn’t. That monk has a very sick mind.” Ross got up from his chair. “Is that mat comfortable?” he asked me.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“It sure is.” I said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Alright, get off.” I got off the mat, and he laid on it and played GameCube from there.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Sam won against me, Ross, and Nephi, but we still had plenty of time left to play another round, and another one, and another one. After the bell rang, we parted ways to our own classes, awaiting lunch break when we would return.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Charlotte was the substitute for the first half of the day when there was no music class. I wondered who would be the afternoon substitute. Maybe we would have none, maybe we could go home early. . . no, there was no chance of that. Regardless of who it was, we were no doubt disobeying them by going in the building during lunch and playing video games. I talked to Ross during lunch break when we went back to the game room, but Ross didn’t listen.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“You can’t disobey who’s not here.” He said. “Now let’s play some Super Smash Bros.” We all pulled out our controllers and started playing, all while some younger kids turned on the faucet to room ten and ran off.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">Good old mischief, something I haven’t done in a while. It was times like this that I went back for, these are the good old days.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">We had kitchen duty that day in Seminary, Ross and I went to the kitchen singing:

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“What did I say?” Ross asked.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Tell me, what did I say?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I can’t hear you!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Okay, I can hear you now.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Dare to be stupid!”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Be quiet!” Sandra said as we joined her host of workers. After we finished, we went to PE, where Phil Woodhull had us play soccer.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“So why are you here?” Ross asked Phil while they watched on the sidelines. “Shouldn’t you be at home with Amber, Carl, and the other one?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Ross, do you have an idea how many in-laws are at my house right now?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I see, Amber’s family is scary.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“They’re not too bad, but it’s a bit crowded there, and Carolyn can be a bit bossy. But I’m here because I need some fresh air, and some exercise. We should go out and play.” Ross and Phil joined the game, only to have their team lose. After PE was over, we went back to homeroom and waited for Phil. He came in soaked, and Ross asked what happened.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Giovanni threw a water balloon at me.” He said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Really?” Joseph asked, trying not to laugh.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“He did, I gave him a card pull.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“I would’ve given him more than one.” Ross said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:"SegoeUI","sans-serif"">“Just one will do for now. Maybe he’ll get more tomorrow.” Phil said. He dreaded teaching him again the next day. He had a good idea of the true reason Giovanni did that, and if he were right, it would be a very long week.