Chapter Five - Part One

THE FIRST SECTION:

William first heard the girls’ shrieks of laughter when they were two blocks away. There was no doubt in his mind they were Elizabeth’s sisters because he recognized the viciousness in their tone as they approached the lot where he was sitting. He was already doing his best to stay away from the bullies who were on the other side of the lot and oddly leaving him alone. The last thing he needed was for these girls to initiate the teasing he endured almost daily and was managing to avoid at the moment. He sighed when they finally came around the corner and noticed him sitting nearby.

“Elizabeth,” they chanted, “you’re boyfriend is waiting for you.” The girls laughed and two of them each picked up a small stone and tossed it at William. William bowed his head in his hands and stared straight down as the rocks bounced off the side of the house behind him. He refused to look at the girls believing that, like all bullies, when they got bored they would leave him alone.

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But it did not take long before his spirits were lifted. Elizabeth emerged from behind her cruel siblings and was fighting them just as hard as when he had first met her. One of the older girls pushed her to the ground and Elizabeth fired back up with a handful of dirt that she sprayed into her sisters’ eyes. They all screeched in pain and called her every name in the book but it provided just enough of a diversion for her to slip away to where Willie was sitting. And by the time the girls managed to clear their eyes, their focus turned to the bullies.

“Hi William,” Elizabeth said to the young boy, “do you remember me?”

Willie blushed and looked away to hide his embarrassment. Of course he remembered her. He had not been able to get her out of his mind since the day he met her. But it was impossible for him to say that, and so in place of talking he remained silent and turned his head away from her every time he felt his face redden. Elizabeth persisted, poking her face wherever Willie moved his and talking about the games she liked to play when Willie refused to answer. Finally William was forced to take action.

“Hey!” shouted one of the bullies. “That Calloway kid is talking to that girl. We didn’t give him permission to talk to anyone today did we?”

“Not that I can remember,” answered another bully.

“We leave him alone for just one day and look at how he treats us?” said yet another. Pretty soon the whole group was taunting him and started to move closer.
“There is a pecking order here kid…and we’re on top!”

“Yea, we give the orders around here. You only talk to people outside of this block when we tell you to, and even then you can’t say anything without us knowing about it.”

One of the bullies approached Willie with his fist in the air and said, “Let this be a lesson for you.” The bully swung at Willie but missed the ducking boy’s head. Willie then grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and pulled her toward the front of the house. They ran around the corner to Lewis’ house with the bullies and the sisters running hard after them. On their way they managed to bump into two customers that were trying to decide if they should buy fish from Mr. Keenan or to head down to the docks instead. First, William startled the couple as he ran by. Then Elizabeth knocked the woman off balance as she raced by. By the time the couple heard the two children shout their apologies, the bullies and sisters came flying around the corner and completely wiped the woman out.

But the children did not need to fear any longer because Lewis’ father David was outside and had been keeping somewhat of an eye on the boys all day long. Safely behind David, they sat down on a box next to Lewis and watched their savior put the brakes on the elder kids. William, Lewis and Elizabeth watched him scold the kids and send them back to other side of the building. And then they watched Mr. Keenan dig into the pack even more for disrupting his business, which was far worse of a sin they could ever possibly commit. It was a safe and victorious retreat for Willie, one that was both rare and temporary. Every now and again the bullies would get caught abusing him, but the blessing often turned into pain much later on. Just like any bully, these did not enjoy getting caught and made sure Willie paid for it dearly when no one else was looking.

Willie turned to Lewis and said, “Lewis, this is Elizabeth…my friend.”

“Hi Lewis,” Elizabeth said extending her hand with a huge smile on her face. “I have heard a lot about you.”

This took William by surprise as he had not mentioned anything about Elizabeth to Lewis, but in a way it comforted him that he did not have to explain who she was. And then she hit the two of them with a random question.

“What would you do if you were rich?” she asked as she sat down between them.

“Rich?” Lewis asked before pausing to think. “I’d bring my mother back. Just to have her around. I kind of miss her.”

“Where did your mom go?” Elizabeth asked.

“She went away,” William interrupted, “He doesn’t remember her.”

“I do too,” exclaimed Lewis. “She was tall and had blond hair.” He paused again and looked down at the ground. “But that is all I remember. It was a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said and then turning to William asked, “What about you? What would you do?”

“I’d buy a house, like the Montgomery one. And have a lot of dogs and horses,” was his response.

“I don’t know what the Montgomery house looks like,” Elizabeth said.

“Really?” Lewis asked. “Maybe we can take you there. It is a fun place to go.”

“Yea,” William continued, “But you have to pretend that nobody can see you.”

“Why?” she asked. “Is it like a game?”

William began to explain that the people who lived in the North End did not enjoy having people from Marnie hanging around their neighborhood. “My dad said that he used to go to the gardens there all the time to play with the other kids. But that does not happen anymore. I guess they are particular about the kids being there too.”

“Why is that?” Elizabeth asked again.

William shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe the kids get into trouble. I know that I don’t, but maybe other kids do.”

“Elizabeth!” her sisters cried. “Where are you! You little brat!”

Elizabeth sighed and looked at William, “I guess this means I have to go. Sorry.”

“That’s OK,” William said with a smile, “You can come back. And then we can go see the Montgomery house together.”

“OK,” she replied as she started to run off, “but are you going to come too Lewis?”

“Yea sure,” he replied, “I like playing like I am invisible anyway.”

The two boys remained seated in the lot next to Lewis’ home as Elizabeth ran off to catch up with her sisters. The boys watched her sisters slap her and send her back home, oddly without them. This sight did not confuse David at all however, who had been quietly watching the older boys and girls from the steps of his building. After fifteen minutes had passed by, the group of bullies started to head down toward the docks and David followed.

“Willie! Will! William!” shouted his mother from the window.

“I’m right here mum!” he yelled back.

“Then get up here. Your father is home. It is time for dinner,” she yelled. Before closing the window she paused, looked at David and then nodded her head before heading back inside.

“Lewis,” David said with his hand on his son’s shoulder, “why don’t you go and have dinner with Willie tonight?”

Lewis’ eyes sprung wide open with excitement, “Really!”

“Yea,” William said, “and then we can go play invisible man in the alley afterward.”

“Just go on up boys,” David said, “I’ll be around in a bit to get you.”

With that the boys ran upstairs to Willie’s flat, oblivious of the rats in the hallway, and David jogged toward the docks in hopes of catching up to the bullies. But with David followed another man, one who had been watching David closely for most of the afternoon. The two men worked their way through the thinning crowd and eventually caught site of the bullies walking toward an old storehouse near the pier.