The Special
Contributed By - Maha Yogaraj (11 Year old, 5th Grader)
“RUN! Run as fast as you can! Away from this wretched place, away from the darkness, away from me!
RUN! Run away from the only place you’ve ever known, back to the place where you were born, where you will be free!
RUN and don’t look back, because you are special Charlie Fronton, and if you look back, you will yearn to come home, and they will find you!”
This is what his aunt had said before she told him to leave, with nothing but the shoes and clothes he had been wearing. The soles of his shoes were broken, his shirt was ripped, and he was covered with mosquito bites. He was running through the forest, with no place to sleep and no food to eat. He had been adopted by his aunt shortly after he had been born and his parents had passed away. He was 15 years old and the only thing he knew about his past was that he was born in a quiet town called Lanero, Hewlum and had no idea of where he was going. His aunt had told him that he would know when he saw it, but he wasn’t really sure.
He had been running for days, seeing no end in sight. He had no clue when to stop or who to ask directions from. He was starving, hurt, and dirty. Finally, after traveling for what seemed like forever, he had made it. He stood in front of a sign that said WELCOME TO LANERO. A Quiet Place.“ At least finding this place wasn’t so hard”, Charlie thought.
Charlie walked around the town, looking for someone who could help him. As he strolled, he realized that each house had a name on it, the name of the person who lived there. He tried to find any names he recognized from any of Aunt Clara’s stories, and suddenly, he noticed a name that looked familiar. ‘SALLY FRONTON’ the door said in big bold letters. Who was she? Charlie knew that he had heard that name before. He remembered a story that Aunt Clara had told him about his “superhero” grandmother Sally.
“What was she like?” asked young Charlie with wonder. “Oh, she was the best.” Aunt Clara said, remembering her childhood. “Your mother and I loved her with all of our hearts. She always knew when we were hurt without us even shedding a single tear and came to our aid, fixing us in a jiff. I was so upset when I had to move all the way out here after marrying your Uncle Jim, but I promised to visit a whole lot.” “Did you, did you?” “No, I never could. I regret not going, but I sent postcards so frequently, so the day I got you, she knew. I bet if we walked up to her doorstep right now, she would know it was you.”
Charlie took a deep breath and knocked. The door creaked, slowly opening up, as a petite, old lady appeared in the doorway. She wore a vibrant green and blue dress with laces, small polished black shoes, thick circular glasses, and had ocean blue eyes and wavy brown hair. She looked exactly like Aunt Clara. “H-Hello.”, Charlie stuttered, not knowing how else to start a conversation with the grandma he never knew. “Charlie?” Sally asked surprised. “It took you this long to visit me? Oh, you’ve grown so much since the last picture Clara gave me! Speaking of which, where is she? I have many years worth of scolding to give her since she never came to visit me.”
“Well…” Charlie trailed off. He knew how heartbroken she would be if she knew that something had happened to the only daughter she had left. “Um, she actually sent me alone to stay here with you for a few months since I have never seen my birthplace before.” “Oh, okay. It was a little expected, I guess. She never did have time to stop by anyways. Well honey, come on in.” “Phew, she believed it! I thought that it wasn’t going to work. I would rather have her be disappointed instead of in sorrow.”
As soon as he came in, he smelled chicken in the oven and pasta on the stove as Sally said, “You must be hungry after your journey, come, eat.” And so, he did. He had a hearty meal and went upstairs to sleep. When he woke up, Sally was holding a paper up and dangling it in front of his face. As the sleepy boy’s vision cleared up and he realized that the parchment was an already filled out and confirmed entry form into a school. “If you are going to be staying for a few months, you have to continue your education, don’t you think?” “Grandma, I don’t really think it is necessary, since I am not staying that long.” “Oh nonsense! A vacation is no reason to take a break from your studies.” Charlie groaned. He had never been to school, but Aunt Clara taught him at home, and he knew enough about it to hate it. “School starts tomorrow.”
“BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” the alarm sounded. Charlie jumped out of bed, startled. He was not prepared for it and completely forgot why it was there. “School! Get up and get ready!” “That’s why.” Charlie said. He quickly got ready and went downstairs to have his breakfast. After he finished eating, they were on their way. They drove for a short time, and as the car neared the gate, Charlie noticed the school’s name. “Green Forest Academy.” They parked their car and went to the principal’s office, where he was assigned a class to go to and a room to be in. “You will be in class 10A in room 221.” the principal said, unemotionally. “You may go, your class will start in 5 minutes. “Oh, okay.” Charlie said as he got up to leave. He waved goodbye to his grandmother and left.
He entered the classroom quietly, trying not to cause that much attention, but his plan failed. “You are Charlie, right?” the teacher said. He nodded his head politely. “Class, this is Charlie Fronton. Say hello.” “Hello Charlie.” the class repeated in unison. Charlie tried not to make eye contact with anybody as he went to the seat that the teacher, Mr. Grimond had pointed him to. “Please let school be over soon.” he thought.
The bell rang. Charlie didn’t know that it meant that school was out until the whole class had left and he was the last one there. He slowly pushed in his chair and left the class, so glad to be going home again. As he walked, he noticed that there was one boy who always stared at him, even during class. The boy neared him, now with two other boys, glaring as if Charlie had done something wrong.
“Do you smell that boys?” the kid questioned. “That’s the smell of a new kid.” The two others snickered. “I think that it is time that he knows, just like everyone else does, who’s the boss.” “Leave him alone, Ralph.” two other students said. Charlie recognized them as the people who sat next to him in class. “Why?” Ralph cried. The two pointed behind him to show him that Mr. Grimond was on his way. “This is not over.” he said and left, the two boys behind him. “Thanks.”, Charlie said gratefully. “No problem. You are Charlie, huh?” “Yep, that’s me.” he replied. “I’m Cole and this is Hannah. Nice to meet you.” “You too.”
Charlie endured it. For days and days, Ralph bullied him, and Charlie handled it, until one day. “You know boys, Charlie’s old grandma drops him at school everyday. I wonder what happened to his parents. Maybe they don’t care about as much as our parents do, so they ask an old lady to do what they are supposed to do.” The three of them laughed. Rage boiled up inside him as he shouted, “Don’t talk about my family that way!!!” He rose up in the air, encircled by a sphere of lightning. His eyes turned white as he crackled with electricity. The students gasped. Some turned away in fear. Ralph shouted as he ran away as fast as he could, his “assistants” behind him.
When it all died down, Cole and Hannah were the only ones left.
… To Be Continued