Entity of Conviction
All the way to school, plans for the summer were underway between the three girls that swore they were friends for life.
Walking up the sidewalk, the first bell rang. One of the bigger kids ran past them, knocking Katie’s books out of her hands and scattering papers across the ground. The wind swirled and churned the papers as if daring them to collect them all as they ran in circles trying to gather them. Katie instructed the other two to go on. "No sense in all of us being late!" she told them as she watched her papers whirl down the cement steps outside the entrance.
As the school’s second bell rang, Kate grabbed the door, swinging it open to pivot inside and close it behind her, breathlessly. Ms. Sanderson was watching impatiently from her desk as Kate slid into her seat, papers sticking out chaotically from her notebook.
"That’s the second time this week," unhappily she announced for the class to take note of, "and today is only Wednesday." Pulling out a notebook, she jotted down a memo to herself.
There was chatter amongst the peers at this point. "Have you anything to say for yourself?" Ms. Sanderson leaned against the corner of her desk keeping direct visual contact with Kate.
"No, ma’am. I don’t." It was true and Kate knew it so there really was no reason for arguing about it. But she knew that if she continued being tardy for school she would need to attend a meeting with Mr. Hildebrande, the principal, and her mother. That wouldn’t look very good, especially since she made the deal with her mom about this summer. If she could lift her grades one full level, she would be allowed to attend Summer Camp with Celeste and April.
"Okay then," Ms. Sanderson continued, "I would like to introduce to you our new student, Gabe."
There was a slight chattering amongst the students as they all turned around in their seats to face the desk on the back row. There sat a curly-headed, blond boy with huge blue eyes. The clothes that he wore appeared old and worn, as if they’d gone through many owners before settling down on him. A couple of kids giggled as they whispered comments to each other.
"That’s enough, class," her stern side was showing as she mindlessly twirled a pencil between her forefinger and thumb, "Gabe, would you care to share something about yourself with us?"
Sitting motionless for a moment, he finally worked up the nerve to speak, "Yes, ma’am."
"Great! Why don’t you come to the front of the class so we can all hear what you’re saying then."
Spinning around her desk to take her position in her chair, she gave Gabe the floor by sweeping her hand through the air as an introduction.
As he sauntered up the aisle, there were a few titters and jeers as his view shifted from side to side at all of the inspecting eyes that were sizing him up. He seemed extremely embarrassed.
When he’d made it to the front of the class, he talked about how he had just moved from another city that was quite smaller than this one. He told them that generally he was very shy, but he’d like to make new friends.
Someone in the back of the room murmured something and it caused several students to laugh aloud. Ms. Sanderson stood up immediately, demanding to know who was talking out of turn. Several students pointed out Scotty Miller who sat proudly as if willing to take his punishment like a man, with an indignant smile across his face.
"Scotty," Ms. Sanderson directed towards him, "Would you care to share your humor with the rest of the class?"
"Sure, just remember," he winked smugly, "you asked for it."
Standing up tall and clearing his throat he recited as if singing a song, "That blond-haired Gabe sure is a cute babe. He swims like a duck and boy, can he…"
Red-faced and fuming, Ms. Sanderson stood up, not knowing what to do at the moment.
The entire class broke out in uncontrollable laughter as Gabe stood petrified in front of the room. Kate began to smirk until she saw his face with the tears welling up in his eyes. Somehow it drained all of the humor out of it for her. Turning back to look at Scotty, she saw that several kids were leaning over their desks to give him a high-five. Scotty had a smug expression on his face and his eyes that were half-lowered, peered at her as if he could sense a rising conflict.
"Class! Class!" Ms. Sanderson called rivaling with Scotty for attention.
Finally giving up, she grasped his arm and led him out of the room to the principal’s office. But the damage had already been done.
Gabe looked as though he didn’t have a friend in the world. Kate wondered if he did as he stood there with his watery, blue eyes and golden, twisting hair.
When school was over, Kate made her way to the exit and saw Gabe through the window of the double-doors. Obviously, he was in a hurry to go wherever it was that he was going.
"Kate," Celeste approached from behind, with April right behind her. It startled Kate for a second, taking precedence over Gabe’s direction. "What are you staring at?" Celeste asked her as she peered at her friend suspiciously, obviously attempting to decide for herself.
After receiving no answer, April offered, "I think she’s staring at the new boy, Abe."
"His name is Gabe," Celeste corrected and then turned her attention back to Kate, "You’re not looking at him, are you? He’s a loser!"
"Yeah!" April supported her friend, "Who do you think dresses him in the morning?"
Both girls giggled for a moment before they caught sight of their friend’s watchfulness again.
Kate offered no explanation, just continued staring as Gabe finally disappeared behind the hedges. He was walking toward her house!
"I’ve got to go," Kate insisted, "I promised my mother that I’d help her pull weeds after school."
"Fine," Celeste added indignantly, "You’re going to miss my afternoon pool-party then. But hey, that’s fine by me."
Snobbishly grabbing April by the arm, they exited off the other side of the stairs, leaning together and whispering. Celeste laughed haughtily as she glanced over her shoulder before vanishing around the corner of the building.
Kate waited until they were gone before hurrying along behind Gabe, curious as to where he lived. Barely being able to make him out ahead, she began to hum an old song that she’d heard somewhere but she wasn’t sure where. Then, it came to her, it was ‘Tomorrow’ from the Little Orphan Annie play.
Her house was quickly approaching on the right and Gabe continued to walk. Deciding that there would always be another day to follow him, she gathered the
mail, dropping it off on the coffee table and ran up to change clothes.
After doing her daily chores, she grabbed the hammer and nails out of the garage and headed to the woodlands behind her house. This was where she went for quiet time by herself to build the tree-house. It was almost finished. April’s brother had helped her rig an elevator up to it that was balanced by a pulley on one of the thicker branches. The ladder going up the tree wasn’t built yet, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted one. This way little kids couldn’t come up and ruin it.
Approaching the leafy tree that was surrounded by many others, it was difficult to know which tree it was, until the rope was spotted hanging from the branches. Wee purple flowers were creeping up the trunks and butterflies flitted all about. An occasional chipmunk scurried across the ground. For so much activity, it certainly was serene.
Climbing onto the big, white rock beneath it, she pulled the wooden platform up and positioned a foot on either side of the rope before pulling hand-over-hand on the rope, all the way to the top.
As she stepped off of the platform, she hoisted it over onto the porch to keep until she was ready to leave. Taking a gander at how far she had come in the last week, she was quite pleased. Most of it she had done herself because although April and Celeste said that they wanted to be members of the club, they hadn’t really helped that much.
The walls as well as the floor, were up and the roof was on. The shingles that she had pained all day Saturday bringing up, were in the corner. There were two cans of paint that her mother let her have (leftover from redecorating last spring). It was a tough decision of what to do next. Painting would have been easier if she would have painted it before she nailed it together, but to nail the shingles on she’d need to climb on the roof. Ill-fated as it was, she was petrified of heights. If it wasn’t a contest between time to herself building or being home with her baby brother, she wouldn’t even be here. She was sure of that.
Flopping down in the corner, she was trying to make up her mind what to do, when she heard something. It sounded familiar. Someone was whistling the song that she’d been singing on the way home from school.
Peeking out the corner of the window, she saw someone walking towards the tree-house. It was obvious that it wasn’t Celeste or April, but she continued watching until they stopped. Standing still and staring at the ground, Gabe lifted his eyes up to meet hers. "Hi, Kate," he greeted her, "Need some help?"
Apprehensive at first, she stood and leaned through the window. "With what?" she demanded.
"It looks like you’re about to paint or something," he smiled at her.
Glancing back and forth at the hut through the window, she was searching for a sign that denounced she was about to paint, but didn’t see any.
"Well I was, but I only have one brush," she remembered before adding, "Maybe you can help me tomorrow, if I paint."
"Can I come up and look at it?"
After thinking for a moment, she didn’t see any harm in it. After all, Celeste and April really didn’t have any rights to it, so their opinion wouldn’t count for much.
"Sure," she welcomed him, "Come on up. I’ll lower the platform down to you."
Pushing it off of the little deck, Kate lowered it down slowly so as not to hit him with it. After he climbed on, she directed him on how to pull the other side to bring himself up.
"Wow!" he exclaimed as he got off of it, pushing it to one side, "I didn’t realize that this was an apple tree. I guess because they’re so green, they blend right in with the leaves."
"Yep," she felt like a frontiersman now, because she knew something that someone else didn’t know, "They’re crab apples so they’re not good for much, but most of the trees out here are full of ‘em."
"Where do you want to paint first?" he asked, picking up a brush that evidently wasn’t there before. Katie eyed him quizzically before asking him where he got it from and then picked up her own. "It was just lying there," he shrugged before approaching the waiting paint cans.
Opening one up, he grabbed a dead branch that was hidden in the corner and stirred the paint. The two of them had quite a good talk before she finally asked him where he lived. Pointing over his shoulder, he said, "Down the road."
"There’s only two more houses on my block, and no more after that," she offered, waiting for an explanation.
Dipping his brush into the paint, he stroked it down the wall, leaving a bright green stripe behind. "This is going to look great!" he remarked, changing the subject. Katie realized this, but figured that she didn’t know him well enough to demand an answer.
"I actually was going to paint the outside, but I guess we can do both," Katie grinned from ear to ear at how good it did look, even though they’d just begun.
After the inside was just about done, Kate glimpsed at her watch, "Oh, I’m sorry, but we’re gonna have to go. It’s nearly seven-thirty. My mother is going to be sick!"
"Okay, I guess you’re right," Gabe agreed before reaching out the door and grabbing a pail of water off of the mini-terrace.
Sticking his brush in the bucket, he swooshed it around to clean it, urging Katie to do the same. She wanted to ask him how the water got there but decided not to, because she liked him and didn’t want to make him defensive.
When the brushes were rinsed, they climbed on the elevator, leveling out the weight by standing on opposite sides. It did lean his way a little more, but not terribly bad. While it was gliding down, Katie felt a unique closeness to her new friend. It was a feeling she’d never forget.
When Kate got home, dinner was ready and her mother told her that she was just about to send out the troops to go looking for her. Katie was going to tell her mother about her new friend, but didn’t think her mother would approve of her spending hours with a boy like she’d done. After all she was twelve and according to her mother, that’s when boy craziness kicks in. But, Katie didn’t feel crazy. She just liked him.
The next day at school, Gabe remained in the back of the class studying quietly, not offering any answers or asking any questions. Kate was in the front of her row, so it was impossible for her to know that Scotty was passing notes around the class until lunchtime.
That was when Celeste approached Kate from behind, tugging impatiently on her hair as they left the classroom, "So, the word is that someone saw you and geek-boy coming out of the woods last night about nine o’clock."
In line Celeste continued prodding her, asking all sorts of questions about yesterday until they left to find a spot to sit.
Katie set her tray down on the table while Celeste and April did the same. Across the room she could see that Gabe was sitting at a table by himself, visibly melancholy.
Sitting down, she continued to watch him while her friends prompted her for answers to their questions.
Unable to take any more, she took a deep breath and exhaled. "First, it wasn’t nine," Katie squinted her eyes and shook her head, "and secondly, he isn’t a geek. If you’d just…"
She could tell by the rolling eyes that her time for defending herself was up, so she gathered her tray and crossed the room to where Gabe sat.
"What are you doing?" she heard April appealing above the din of the cafeteria, but she ignored her, leaving the two girls to look on.
Placing her tray on Gabe’s table, she asked permission to join him. "Of course," he sounded surprised that she’d asked, "You’re the perfect company for a delicious meal."
"Thank you," Katie wrinkled up her nose, eyeing him oddly, "But I’m not sure I’d call vegetable soup a delicious meal."
"Oh," he faked astonishment, "Is that what it is?"
They both laughed.
Neither one of them noticed Celeste standing by the garbage can at the exit, whispering to Scotty. Suspiciously, Scotty cast his head in their direction, nodding slowly.
The girls didn’t talk to each other the rest of the day, instead they glared at each other, scowling.
After school was out, Katie decided that enough was enough. Approaching Celeste and April, she asked them if they wanted to come and help paint after school.
"Is it already finished being built?" April asked excited.
Katie was just about to answer when Celeste interrupted her, "Is your friend, the babe, gonna be there too?"
Uncertain of how she should answer, because she didn’t know if he would or not, she shrugged her shoulders. "In that case, I don’t know if I’ll be able to help," Celeste cockily stated before interrupting herself, "Oh right, we have that thing today, remember April?"
"What thing?" April seemed genuinely confused.
"You know," Celeste was growing impatient, "That thing?"
"Oh yeah, the thing," she repeated, winking at her friend and nodding. She seemed like a puppy that was waiting for a reward for doing a trick right.
"Well, just remember that I offered," Katie hugged her books to her chest and headed home.
This time on her way home, she decided to pass her house and see if she could see where Gabe lived. Continuing up the street she passed a field with a deteriorating, burned barn in it. From there on, there was nothing. Nothing but fields and woods.
Standing for a moment, trying to determine if she could have somehow mistaken the directions he’d given her, she decided that there was no way.
Kate went home and got ready to paint.
Just as she arrived at the tree-house, Gabe also arrived in ratty jeans and a stained T-shirt. "Want some help today?" he asked her, cheerfully.
"Sure," she answered, "Come on up!" and she ducked back inside, preparing the paint cans by first shaking them and then prying off the lids with the branch that Gabe had found.
They’d both dipped their brushes and had begun painting when all of a sudden there were screams and curses being bellowed outside. The two looked at each other before Katie stuck her head out of the door. Sighing heavily, her body slumped against the side of the crude cabin.
"What do you want, Scotty?"
"I’m the Avon lady, and I came to sell make-up," he said in an elevated voice.
"I don’t wear make-up," Katie threw to him, turning to go back inside.
"Well," his voice was lower again, "Maybe your friend wants to buy some."
There was an onslaught of laughter as Katie reached up to one of the branches and plucked a small, green apple from it. She hurled it as hard as she possibly could, hitting the ground in front of Scotty’s feet and throwing dirt up on his shoe.
"Just leave us alone!" she shouted.
"Uh oh," their villain grinned while the five other kids, Celeste and April included, murmured before giggling.
"The two of you want to be alone?" he jested, putting his hands to his cheeks in mock surprise.
Kate stood defiantly with her hands on her hips, not noticing the apples being gathered by the children on the ground, but having direct eye contact with Scotty.
"Where is your little boyfriend, anyway?" Scotty teasingly asked, although his face was hard and cold, anything but kidding.
Unmoving, Katie remained where she was, not wanting a scuffle.
Without receiving an answer, he added, "Tell you what. Why don’t you throw that rope down here so I can come and see for myself?"
Katie shook her head and soon noticed that Gabe actually had come out to support her.
It was then that Scotty shouted the order, "Charge!" The gleam in his eyes was that of a soldier in combat, running toward enemy lines and the others appeared the same.
All of the apple collectors were chucking apples as hard as they could toward the misfits. Gabe began to cry. "Stop it! Stop it!" Katie yelled above the laughter of the mercenaries. "Get back inside!" she instructed Gabe as she turned to take the brutes head-on.
Reaching out from the tiny porch toward the nearest branch, her attention was directed towards the children. Cocking her head, she caught a crabapple directly on her temple, causing her to lose her balance and fall. The children stopped throwing the apples long enough to witness Katie’s head coming in contact with the big, white rock below.
April immediately ran to her and turned her over. Blood, thick and dark, stained the white rock underneath. Katie’s lifeless eyes stared up at the tree-house. Without thinking April’s did too, although she didn’t see anything.
The silence was overwhelming until April started to sob.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Scotty sneered, spitting saliva on her as he spoke.
"No," Celeste broke in, "You shut up, Scotty! You did this. You killed my friend."
"Give me a break!" he defended himself, "I wasn’t throwing all of the apples alone!"
The other three kids gave Scotty a numb stare. Celeste began to cry, demanding that someone go get help.
"We all did it! All of us!" he insisted as he aimed his finger at each of the others in turn, "We did it together!"
After a cold, cruel silence everyone else left the two girls with their friend. Scotty brought up the rear.
Katie’s friends, Celeste and April sat with her and waited. They remembered the slumber parties, the swimming clubs and everything that they managed to do together, especially the clubhouse. It had been Katie’s idea, but they’d all thought it was great.
Unexpectedly, April sat at attention, staring up at the tree house.
"Where’s Gabe?" she inquired, "Did he leave?"
Celeste saw that the platform remained in the tree. "Gabe, come out! We’re not going to hurt you!"
The only answer was the rustling of the leaves above them as the breeze stole through the branches. A couple of leaves shook loose and fluttered to the ground.
After calling him several times, they decided to see for themselves. Leaning against the tree, Celeste put her hands together as a step for April. After April was towering above her, she was barely able to lift her. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I’ve gotta put you down! You’re too heavy!"
"I’m almost to where I can see!" April tipped her head back, straining as she held on to the ledge.
"Pull yourself up!" Celeste begged, looking down at the remains of Katie on the rock beneath her, "Can’t you pull yourself up?"
"But what if Gabe knocks me down?" panic was obvious in her voice as it shook the words out.
"Gabe? Give me a little credit," Celeste panted, "He couldn’t hurt a fly!"
Grasping the porch with her fingers, April pulled as hard as she could. Then Celeste was out from under her, pushing her up by her legs. Soon, she was hanging by her elbows as her hands stretched for something to hold onto.
"Nobody’s up here!" she grunted.
"Get up there and look around!" Celeste cupped the bottoms of her shoes with her hands and gave her a tremendous shove.
Soon, April’s legs disappeared above her.
"Well, what do you see?"
There was no talking and straining to hear, Celeste couldn’t detect anyone walking around either.
"April? April, what’s up there?"
Then the patrol cars and paramedics arrived. They told Celeste that she needed to back up so that they could investigate. "But my friend is up there with another kid," she argued.
"April?" she called again. This time, April answered by knocking the elevator off of the branch and tediously maneuvering it to the ground beside the rock.
"Well?" Celeste asked her curiously, "What did you find?"
April shook her head stating, "There was only one brush and one can of paint. It looks like she was by herself."
The two girlfriends looked at each other bewildered because they had both seen Gabe up there only moments before.
Scotty was over by the officer’s car, giving a statement with the other three.
Hidden amidst the tree branches, Gabe looked on at the guilty consciences that littered the forest and watched them each blame the other. Rotating his head to examine his new friend, he took Katie by the hand and with a tremendous flap of his flawlessly white wings he flew away, taking her with him.
As he did this, a gust of wind caught the attention of the people on the ground for a moment.
But then, the talking began again and drifted far away as Katie glided into the clouds, holding tightly onto Gabriel’s hand.
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