A Friendship Begins

©2000 -2006 by Christine Bruun

Jake and Chuck had been friends since the first grade when Jake's father had taken a job as a manager at the local department store.  They had moved from the big city to this small town in rural Utah.

It had been quite a change and it had been difficult at first.  Jake had been "that new kid in town" and was ignored by most of the other boys.  They had lived in the town all their lives and had formed longtime friendships over the years.

The girls, of course, seemed to like the idea of having a new boy in town, but it didn't make up for the loneliness of not having a friend to pal around with.

One day, about six weeks after he had arrived, one of the boys from another class had stopped him on the playground and demanded his lunch money.  The kid was older and much bigger, and his circle of friends were there to provide him backup. 

"No!" Jake had said proudly.  That one word would seal his fate.  It would trigger the start of his very first fight, and the beginning of a friendship.

The Bully's fist shot out, hitting Jake in the stomach and doubling him over in pain.  The other boys laughed.  The Bully smiled.  

The next thing Jake remembered was a sharp crack to the face as fist met cheek.  Blood ran from the corner of his lip onto his new shirt.    He was laying in a crumpled heap on the ground encircled by taunting, laughing faces.

The Bully raised his arm to send the final punishment.  Jake gritted his teeth and tried to protect as much of himself as he could as he lay on the ground, helpless.

He could hear the excited chatter of the bystanders as they watched the pummeling. Then there was a dead silence.  Jake looked up.

The blow he waited for had not been thrown.  He shut his eyes and opened them again to get a second look.  The Bully's arm was caught in mid pummel by a tall, freckled boy from Jake's class.

Even though the boy was in his class he was much bigger than most.  He had a deep farmers tan from working in  the fields with his Grandfather, even at the tender age of a first grader.  The boy later explained that his birthday was a couple of days past the cut off date for starting school.  He had been forced to spend an extra year before starting the first grade.  That made him an entire year older than the rest of his classmates...and a whole year larger.

The boy was holding the Bully's arm and scowling as he talked.  There was a dead silence all around as the two faced off.  Despite the silence, Jake could not make out the words, for the boy had taken the Bully off to the side and was talking in low whispers.

Then, if by magic, the Bully backed away, pulling his arm free of the boy's grip.  He scowled at the boy, hesitating for just a moment before turning slowly and walking away amidst a crowd of his buddies. Jake could see them clamoring for some sort of explanation. The Bully refused comment and silently disappeared around the corner of the school building.

The boy who had intervened reached out a hand.  Jake grabbed it and slowly pulled himself up.  He brushed himself off and wiped his lip with the back of his hand.  

"Thanks," was all Jake could muster.

"No big deal.  He won't bother you again."

"I hope not!" Jake laughed sarcastically. The two boys walked towards the school building together.

"So, do you like it here?" the rescuer asked without looking at Jake.

"Don't know yet, I guess so."

"How about walking home with me after school.  I think I live just through the block from you."  Jake looked puzzled.  "You moved into the old Thompson place didn't you?"

"Yeah, I think that's what the realtor called it."

"Well, my back yard is right behind yours.  We share a fence."

Jake had wondered who the boy was that he had heard playing scales on a trumpet every evening after school these past few weeks.  The backyard fence was solid and taller than he was.  He couldn't see through it or over it but he knew there was someone out there and he often spent time imagining who it was.

"That is you?" Jake sputtered.

"Yeah!  All we have to do is climb the fence back and forth. Real convenient, huh?"

"Yeah!"

The two boys followed the crowd into the school building, stopping at the restroom to clean up before heading for class.  They didn't want to alarm the teacher.  They stood silently in front of the sink to check out Jake's war wounds.

"Not bad," the boy said after helping Jake to fix his split lip with a wad of cold, wet paper towel.  The bleeding had stopped and they had wiped away as much of the blood as they could.   "By the way, my name is Chuck.  What's yours?"

"Jake."

"Ok, Jake.  Let's go to class."

After the bell rang announcing the end of the school day, the two new friends headed towards their homes near the old Catholic church on the east side of town.  They didn't say much.  They  just walked side by side. They spent the silent moments looking down at the sidewalk, for treasures that might be laying there. 

Chuck walked Jake home and then leaped the fence with the help of a lawn chair he had placed in a strategic spot at the lowest point.  Jake heard Chuck's voice as he said goodbye from his back yard and then waited to hear Chuck's back door open and close before going into his house where his mom was waiting, as she usually did, to hear the events of his day.

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