A Tale from the Hills (11 page)

Angie was born and raised up to that point as a city girl. She went shopping and to the movies, and she knew all of the latest styles of clothing and hair and girly things. Even though she was only fourteen, she was sophisticated in many of the ways of the world. From the time that she was old enough to know that she was pretty, she had a way of getting anything that she wanted from males of all ages.

Angie thought that the local girls looked just like boys, except with longer hair. They were not feminine acting or cultured at all to her way of thinking. She knew that she would be the absolute Queen of Mountain School in no time at all. Without competition to hinder her, she thought that she might not be in such a bad place after all. In New York she was one in a crowd, here she was the one and only Angie Sims. The other girls in her class did not like her at all.

The boys on the other hand fell all over each other to do things for her. If she dropped her pencil, they would scamper to pick it up for her. She knew that for a fact because she did it several times a day. The boys were available at her beckoning call.

The boys in William’s lunch group were as infatuated with Angie as the rest of the males in the school. They talked about her as if she was a celebrity. One day when she walked passed them going to the privy, she turned her head and gave them a curious smile. Each of the boys were instantly helplessly and hopelessly in love. The next day they anxiously waited for her to go passed them again, and she did just like clockwork. The boys learned her routine. One of the boys, probably Bobby, suggested that it would be very exciting to watch her in the toilet. The other boys looked at him with disgust until they realized exactly what he was saying. She would have to expose at least part of her naked body while she was in there. The boys’ eyes lit up at the possibility of that.

Over the course of the next week or so, the boys hatched a plan. Each day one of the boys would stay afterschool and tamper with the back wall of the girl’s toilet. The object of the tampering was to cut out a peephole. The boys took turnabout so as not to arouse suspicion. Hopefully it would not take but a few days to make the peephole, but it would have to be in a spot where the girls and the teachers would not notice it. The plan and the scheme worked like a charm. William was the last boy to work on the project, and he made the final cut to create the hole. He peeped through and there was a perfect view of the entire seating area. No matter which of the three seats that she used, she would be in view. The hole was in an inconspicuous place too. No one would ever suspect a thing.

There would have to be a test run and the boys tossed a coin to determine who got to look first. William won the toss and he assumed the position behind the girl’s Johnny house. The first girl to use the toilet was a chubby farm girl named Charlene. He did not really want to see her undress, but his eyes were glued to the peephole. She undressed enough to use the toilet seat and he got a clear shot of the entire process. He was pleased and ashamed to report a perfect view.

The boys decided that they would watch Angie the next day. To avoid suspicion only two of the boys would peep at her at a time. Mr. Rosenbaum had been somewhat easier on them since he was their teacher, but they did not want him to think that they were up to something. William especially could not afford to have any run ins with him. He walked a thin line already with his teacher. The boys tossed a coin and Bobby and William were the winners. The other two boys were envious but they went along with the results of the toss.

The next day Bobby and William took up positions behind the toilet. They were careful to make sure that no one saw them. Angie showed up on schedule and gave the boys a view that they would never forget. William gasped when he saw her and almost gave them away. Both of the boys felt stirrings in places that caused their breathing tobecome strained. If the show had lasted much longer, the boys would have been embarrassed at the results.

The next day Bobby and William wanted to go again, but they knew that they had to wait. It was the other boys turn to see. They also had a good showing to report. Their faces were bright red and both of them had their hands in their pockets when they returned to the classroom. As a precaution the boys skipped the next day, and William and Bobby would have the following turn. The routine continued for several days until one day when the boys gave themselves away.

Mr. Rosenbaum began to notice that two of the boys would leave their otherwise loyal group each day. He did not get suspicious until he began noticing that the two boys would always leave the group only minutes before Angie went to the privy. He decided to create a hiding place for himself to get to the bottom of the mystery. He found a perfect spot to watch the entire backside of the girl’s toilet. He was in that perfect spot when William and Bobby showed up the next day. In a few moments Angie entered the toilet and Mr. Rosenbaum figured out exactly what was going on. He slowly walked up behind the two boys and laid his hands on their shoulders. The boys almost dropped in their tracks. They were caught and they were in serious trouble. Angie was not even aware that anything was going on outside.

Mr. Rosenbaum took all four boys into his office and confronted them with his plans for their punishment.

“You boys are in serious trouble. Even more serious than you realize. When I tell Angie’s parents, they will probably call the Sheriff. I look for you four boys to go to jail. You have committed the serious offense of invasion of privacy. There is no difference between what you did and a peeping Tom who looks in people’s windows. You boys have headed down the wrong path. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

He looked directly at William as if it was entirely his fault, or at least his idea to do this scandalous deed. William was no more guilty or innocent than any of the other boys.

They were all in trouble together. He looked up at Mr. Rosenbaum with no expression on his face.

“No sir.” he stated.

“In that case,” Mr. Rosenbaum stated matter of factually, “You are all suspended until further notice. I need time to decide what to do about all of this. In the meantime you are not to say anything to anyone except your parents about this situation. I am going to keep Angie out of this until I figure out whether or not to tell her parents. She is innocent in all of this and I want to keep it that way. I want you four off of school property immediately until further notice.”

The boys got up and filed out of the Principal’s office. Their heads were bowed and the only sound that they made was the shuffle of their feet. They walked down the hallway and out the front door of the old schoolhouse. They looked like four doomed souls on their way to the hangman’s gallows. Once they stepped outside the door, they hurried off in different directions.

Once he was out of sight of the school, William slowed his pace almost to a crawl. He knew that he had some big decisions to make. One thing for certain, he was not going to tell his daddy what had just happened. He felt bad enough already without seeing the look of disappointment on his daddy’s face. He was not going to humiliate his family because of his mistakes. In that split second he made a life changing decision. He was going to leave home.

William timed himself to be home at the usual time. His daddy would think that it was a typical school day. He had several hours before bedtime, and that would give him plenty of time to plan his departure. He knew that if he left at night, that he could be miles away by morning. He would leave a goodbye note, but he would never tell his daddy why he was leaving. As much as he hated to be outdoors at night, he would just have to be strong.

Meanwhile back at Mountain School Mr. Rosenbaum was beaming at his discovery. He would play it cool for the time being. The boys were suspended from school property,

Angie was completely unaware of the peephole, and he might as well enjoy the show for a while.

**********

William packed a few supplies and hid them under the old bed next to the silver colored box that contained the family’s Bible. He suddenly felt sentimental about his family and he knew that he was going to miss them. He could not think of any alternatives except to leave under a cloud of shame. He hoped that his daddy would never find out about the incident at school because William knew that he would never understand. As soon as Josh and his daddy were asleep, he planned on being on his way. North or South, East or West, he had no idea which way to go, or where he might end up on his journey. He wanted to start over and make something of himself like his brothers. He was not going to be a disappointment to anyone, anymore. He would follow the railroad tracks as far as he could, and then hitch a ride, or walk, or run, or crawl to destinations unknown. He just wanted to get away.

He wrote a short note for his daddy to find in the morning. He explained that it was time for him to make something of himself in another place. He said that he was tired of going to school and that as soon as he got settled and found a job, that he would write to them. He told them not to worry and that he would be fine. He did not tell his daddy that he was terrified of the dark, or how miserable he felt down deep in his soul. He would keep that secret between himself and the old man from his dreams.

The other boys who were caught by Mr. Rosenbaum thought that their suspensions from school was an unexpected vacation. Bobby’s daddy laughed after Bobby explained the peephole story to him. The other two boys got off with a mild scolding, and a ‘You should be ashamed of yourselves’ lecture. Everyone was sure that the whole issue would blow over in a day or two. The boys were convinced that old man Rosenbaum would eventually let them come back to school.

The Hills went to bed early as usual. It was no timebefore Josh was snoring and Tom was sound asleep. William got out of the old bad and gathered his meager supplies together. It was cool outside so he dressed warmly, even bothering to take his heavy coat. He was not sure whether he was going to a warmer place or a cooler place, so he was going to be prepared for either. A tear formed in the corner of his eye as he closed the door behind him. It could be a long time before he saw his family again, and it was altogether possible that he might not ever see them again. For a boy who had barely turned twelve years old, his life had been filled with tragedy and turmoil. He desperately wanted his condition to change.

William was undecided whether to go down the track in one direction, or go up the track in the other. He had been as far as Abingdon one time to see his brother’s home, but he had never been any further than the schoolhouse in the other direction. He made up his mind quickly and headed toward the school.

When he reached the trestle, a cool breeze was blowing. He pulled the coat’s collar up around his ears and put his hands inside his pockets. He was so sure of his step that he could cross the open ties of the trestle practically with his eyes closed. After he rounded the next turn in the tracks, the elevation climbed and the extra effort warmed him back up again. He unbuttoned his coat and let the front of it swing open. The moonlight was bright enough to see the tracks far ahead, and the only sounds were the shuffle of his feet in the gravel that almost covered the track.

Hours passed as he walked in the cool night air. It seemed to William that his family was already a great distance away. He never realized that they lived so close to North Carolina until he reached the small sign designating that he had just entered the Tarheel State. He felt like patting himself on the back because he had already achieved his first major accomplishment. Instead he marked the spot and the occasion another way. After he finished, he zipped up and continued on his journey.

All of a sudden he became overwhelmed with therealization that he was all alone and what seemed like a long, long ways from home. He wanted to stop and rest for a little while but he could not find a spot that looked hospitable. He knew that he could not rest unless he felt safe. It was hard enough to sleep in a secure place like his own bed without the dreaded nightmares. Right then he wished that he was in his own bed, but he knew that he had gone to far to turn back. He walked on in the darkness, not daring to stop or to even look back. He had no idea that the railroad line continued for such a long distance.

Finally a barn appeared in the distance. The closer that William got to it, the more inviting that it looked. He had never seen a bigger or better built barn in his life. He decided that it would be a good place to rest for a little while. He climbed across the wire fence and looked for a way to get inside. A large door was on the opposite end of the huge structure, and William opened it just far enough to squeeze inside. Once inside he climbed the ladder up to the loft and settled into the soft sweet smelling hay. He was asleep before his head had made an impression in his makeshift bed.

A loud creaking sound woke him from a sound sleep. He did not know how long he had been asleep, but he was disoriented and confused. He finally realized exactly where he was, and he shuffled the hay around himself to blend into the darkness. From the bottom of the ladder came a sound that chilled him to the bone. Someone was obviously climbing up to the loft. William uncovered himself just enough for one eye to peer out. The yellow glow from a lantern cast the shadowy outline of a man’s face on the bales of hay just above William’s bed.

“Is there anybody up here?” spoke a man’s voice. “I thought I saw someone sneak in here a while ago. I don’t take kindly to hobos. I’ve already lost two barns to hobo’s fires, and I’ll shoot anybody that I catch in here.”

Poor William was afraid to breathe. He thought that surely the man would hear his heart pounding, or see the hay moving up and down. But nothing happened. Thehateful man moved back down the ladder and quickly left the barn. William was afraid to get up. He lay there trembling in fear until he finally fell back to sleep. This time he dreamed of running from dark shadows and creaking sounds, but he was warm and dry and relatively safe when he woke up to a bright and sunny day.