Chapter Twenty-Nine - One of the Kindies

The sun had finally fallen and with the storm clouds even the moonlight wasn’t around to shine. It was eerily dark on the porch. Zach was sitting on the deck supporting himself against the wall of the workshop, just below the dirty window. He’d managed to stop crying, but he was still hyperventilating, shoulders rising quickly up and down and haggard wheezes escaping from his lips.

“Zach?” I asked him and approached, my exposed toes curling from the cold as I stepped carefully onto the slippery porch. “You okay?”

“No.” He croaked. It sounded like his nose was all stuffed up. It probably was. His hair was still damp from the cold rain, and he’d been crying. “They.” He tried to start and used his cub polo sleeve to try and wipe away his tears, smearing mud across his face. “They aren’t going to let me near you guys after this.” He sobbed. “I got us lost and no one knows where we are! You’re all so little.”

I sat down beside him and took hold of his hand. I wanted to tell him that I was actually the oldest and most likely one to get in trouble. At the very least, us getting lost was both of our fault. Still however, I couldn’t quite bring myself to tell him the whole truth. He wouldn’t believe me anyway. I gave his hand a squeeze and managed to muster a tiny whisper. “I’m in Grade Five too.”

Zach squeezed back, his breathing seeming to calm a little. “I know.” He told me, but he was shivering with fear. “You’re my only friend Cooper.” His fingers squeezed tighter to mine as lightning flashed through the dark rolling clouds above us - illuminating our faces for a brief moment.

“That’s not true.” I tried to comfort him, though I really had no way of proving it.

“Nate hates me.” Zach snapped back. “So do Brad and Val and the rest of the class!”

I wanted to refute him, but he wouldn’t let me get a word in edgeways. He was venting for what seemed like the very first time, his green eyes brimming with bitter tears as he released all of his bottled up anguish. “No one likes me! No one wants to be friends with me!” He went on, working himself up until he couldn’t hold back the tears anymore and he was crying again. “The only people who hang out with me are Laurie’s Beaver friends!” He concluded with an ashamed wince.

“Zach, I’m your friend! We have class together!” I offered helplessly, though I felt like I was only making things worse. If only Zach knew the truth. I could look after him. I could take care of him. I was a year older after all. But I’d dug in too deep. He’d never believe me, and if he did, it would only make him feel more ashamed.

Zach reached over and pulled me into a hug, at this point it was getting hard to tell which one of us had fallen into the mud. “They will pick a new Keeo!” He sobbed.

I squeezed him back with all the strength I had left. Indulgently his strong reassuring embrace felt nice after everything that had happened, though the thought of taking pleasure in it made me feel a little guilty. He was the one who needed reassurance now, not me. I couldn’t keep collapsing under the slightest pressure like a frightened little boy. I needed to be a big kid. “We’ll still be friends.” I told him confidently. “No matter what.”

He didn’t say anything, but just kept squeezing me tight. We sat there in silence for a long time, listening to the sound of the rain pelting on the workshop’s metal roof.

After a while, I felt the gentle vibrations of footsteps walking onto the porch. I wiggled out of Zach’s grip, looking up to see Alex leaning against the wall beside us. I wondered how long she had been standing there. I hadn’t heard the door open. Zach looked just as surprised as I was, breathing in sharply at the sight of her. “D..did you hear?” he asked in a quivering voice, cringing from embarrassment.

Alex didn’t answer but gave a gruff grunt, shaking the rain out of her shaggy orange hair like a disgruntled dog. “You’re the only Keeo for the Kindies, even if you did smash my Dad’s workbench.” she finally spat out, though she was still wearing a cryptic frown.

A loud crack of lightning filled the parking lot with light and a growling grumble of thunder boomed all around us, illuminating Charlie also standing by the doorway. Laurie scampered around the older Kindies and went to the other side of Zach, snuggling up beside him. Though Zach was afraid of the dark, it seemed like the unpredictable ear-splitting cracks of thunder and accompanying flashes of light were what was frightening Laurie. I couldn’t blame either of them. It was well past dinner and the time we said we would be back. Our parents must have been worried.

Zach sat up awkwardly, trying to shrug off all evidence of his emotional outburst as he addressed Alex and Charlie - though his eyes were still red and puffy.. “You know…” he began, clearly not knowing where to even begin. “All that stuff I said about not having friends…”

“Of course we are friends.” Charlie interrupted, sounding more mature than any of us. “We were in Beavers together, remember?”

Zach took in a breath trying to calm down but his fear of the dark seemed to keep him constantly on edge. “Right…” he agreed reluctantly, nestling his chin into his polo and squeezing me and Laurie tight against his torso like two comforting teddy bears.

“Hmph.” Alex observed, reaching casually up above her head. There was a clicking sound, a dim yellow light flickering on to light up the porch ceiling above our heads. I could see now that Alex had flipped a small gray switch located just above the door on the outside of the workshop. Previously shrouded in darkness, a black cable snaked up the wall to connect it to a dusty birdcage lantern perched atop the window frame. The light was weak but in the gloomy dark it was like an inviting campfire warming the porch with its cozy aura. “It’s battery powered.” Alex explained, and walked across to sit cross-legged in front of Zach, me, and Laurie. Charlie stepped forward into the homely glow as well, sitting down to complete our little circle.

Zach stared reverently up at the light as if it were a redeeming angel, his haggard panicked breathing finally starting to calm down. Even with the rain spitting in, the damp floorboards on which we were sitting, and his recent breakdown, the introduction of the light seemed to stop his shivers. “Sorry about the workbench.” He told Alex, blushing in embarrassment.

Alex accepted his apology with a serious nod. “It’s my Dad’s, but I’ll cover for you.” She told him. “Since we’re friends.”

“Thanks.” Zach growled, looking away again. “But they won’t let me hang out with you after this.”

Alex refused to let him retreat into his shell again. She went up on her knees and took Zach’s right hand, rummaging through her pocket until she pulled out a friendship bracelet kit - the same one I had given her for her birthday. She opened the box and pulled out a completed bracelet. It was made of green and silver square beads, each featuring an individual letter in a playful brown font. Together they spelled out a name - ‘KEEO’. Alex tied the bracelet to Zach’s wrist using a square knot and leaned back. “See, I told you we were friends.” She told him, the grumpy glower she had been wearing ever since Zach’s fit breaking suddenly into her characteristic cheeky grin.

Zach held up the bracelet to the dim light, looking completely enamored by the sight of it - like he couldn’t believe it was there. “Thank you.” He said softly, the fearful tremble he’d been speaking with before completely gone from his voice.

Encouraged, Alex pulled out another bracelet for Laurie. This one was green and gold with letters that read ‘TIC TAC’. “I got one too!” The little boy exclaimed in excitement, seeming to completely forget his fear of the ongoing storm.

“I made one for all the Kindies. She held her gaze on Zach for a moment. “You guys are my only friends…” she added. The Keeo opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just nodded - as if acknowledging some deeper understanding between them. Alex looked quickly away, summoning a happy smile. “Next is Cooper!” she announced.

My bracelet was brown and pink and read ‘RASCAL’. “Thanks Alex.” I told her as she tied it to my wrist.

She pulled out a white and gold bracelet for Charlie with the letters ‘HAWKEYE’. He nodded to her and she nodded back.

The last bracelet she produced was pink and purple with letters that spelt out ‘RINGTAIL’. She gave it to Zach, holding out her own wrist. He gladly tied it on, still wearing a sober understanding frown. We all held them up to the light and exchanged a mutual smile, even Zach. All of our fears and worries seemed to disappear for that singular moment, even as the wind started to blow even stronger through the porch.

I stared up at my bracelet. I had never gotten anything like it before. It made me feel special, but at the same time a little sad. Like until that moment I had been being ungrateful. No one had ever cared about me like the Kindies did. I looked around, thinking for the first time that I had actually made a pretty cool group of friends - even if they had managed to get me lost on what was supposed to be a lazy Saturday afternoon.

“Let’s play a game.” Alex decided, jumping to her feet.

“What kind of game?” Charlie harrumphed, showing a skeptical grimace. He gestured grumpily to the muddy waste land out in front of them. “We haven’t got any toys, and it’s raining.”

“We don’t need toys.” Alex countered in a playful sarcastic tone, sticking out her tongue at her tetchy best friend. “We’ve got our imagination.”

Charlie wrinkled his nose. “I don’t wanna play a pretend game.” he protested, shaking his head. “I mean like…I’m too old for that.” He looked around the circle for support. “Zach’s too old too.” he decided. “Can’t we do something else?”

Alex shook her head. “You’ll like this.” she dismissed definitively, starting to pace energetically around the group of us still sitting in a circle on the porch floor. “Who would win in a fight, a raccoon or a hawk?”

Charlie snorted, easily drawn into Alex’s game. “A hawk, obviously.” he claimed brazenly. “Hawks have got talons! And against some little racoon? It’d be easy-peasy.”

“Hmm, maybe.” Alex nodded, suddenly stopping pacing directly opposite Charlie. “Let’s find out!” she announced.

“Bwuh-?” Charlie babbled dumbly, opening his mouth to respond, but before he could articulate anything Alex pounced on top of him like a hungry wolf - pinning him to the porch and starting to tickle him relentlessly. Charlie was giggling madly, the usually serious grown-up eight year old letting out high-pitched yelps and yips that made him sound like a boy half his age. “Stoh…stoh…stop!” He cackled, but was powerless to do anything, entirely at Alex’s mercy.

Me and Laurie couldn’t help but laugh along too, the silly incident helping us forget our miserable predicament. We got up on our knees, watching the impromptu tickle-wrestling match as if we had front-line tickets to a headline fight.

Zach was laughing too, kneeling down beside the two wrestlers and slapping down on the moist mossy floor boards to count Charlie out. “Eight…nine…ten. The Racoon wins!” he declared in a booming over-dramatic voice, finally pulling Alex off her breathless victim and holding her arms up high in the air. She jumped up and down in excitement, her face flushed red from the effort.

“No fair!” Charlie protested, finally recovering from his giggle fits and managing to sit up - pointing an accusatory finger at the victor. “I wasn’t ready!”

Alex shook her head. “Don’t be a sore loser.” she countered. “Face it. Racoons are just better than hawks. We’re scrappy. Not all dainty and delicate.” She stuck out her tongue and flapped her hands ridiculously at her side, mocking her opponent’s eponymous creature.

Charlie jumped to his feet, striding up and prodding Alex in the chest. “I want a re-match!” he grinned.

“Hold on, hold on.” Zach intervened, still playing the role of the referee. “That’s not how this tournament works. We can’t have any rematches until someone else gets a turn.”

Alex yelped in excitement. “Oh yeah! Tic-tac and Rascal should wrestle!” she suggested.

Laurie looked elated by the idea. “Yes!” he agreed at once.

I was more hesitant. I didn’t want to accidentally hurt the five-year-old. I bit my lip, trying to think up an excuse. “I dunno…”

Before I could say anything else however, Laurie took me by surprise. I crumpled like a wet rag as he jumped on me, squealing in delight as he danced his fingers across my neck and down to my tummy. I was already a wreck, laughing so hard my chest hurt, when he reached down and yanked off my mud-caked blue socks - holding my ankle to stop me from kicking as he made attack after merciless attack against the soft pink soles of my feet. I felt like a helpless infant, so breathless I could hardly string together a syllable of protest, just letting out a meaningless string of happy gurgles, giggles and snorts.

Zach was soon counting me out too. “Four…Five…Six…”

I had completely given up resistance, just begging that Zach would reach ten before I peed my pants. I hadn’t gone since I was at the house, and I could feel just a little pressure, but it wasn’t that bad. I was certain I could last another measly four seconds. Before he could get beyond eight however, I noticed a loud rumbling noise. It was persistent, and growing ever louder. Zach stopped counting, instead staring out curiously into the opaque black night - though Laurie, seemingly oblivious, kept on tickling as hard as ever. What was going on? I let out a high pitched squeak, feeling a threatening twitch in my bladder. I tried to scream for mercy, but the rumbling had now grown to a deafening thunderous growl! As Laurie finally dropped my ankle, the porch was bathed in a blinding white light.