In the Orient (13 page)

“Even though I haven’t been there, you seem to live in a great neighborhood, and you go to a really good school,” she said. “I thought Sub-Station Zero was the be-all and end-all until I went topside and started to see the world. I can’t complain about being homeschooled, but my guess is that I’ll also find out what I missed when I get to Emma Willard next month.

“Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change a thing about my life, but I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about you two. Just think of all the adventures you’ve had over the past several years. Like I told you before, I’m a little surprised you’re sitting here right now because normal people wouldn’t have survived most of what you’ve been through. Then again, you two are anything but normal, and I say that as a compliment.

“You know something else? I haven’t even mentioned the most important thing you two have.”

“What’s that?” Jockabeb asked quickly, knowing that he ran the risk of being cut off just like his brother had been moments before.

“Each other,” she answered. “You have each other. I never had a brother or a sister, let alone one that was about my age. You take care of one another, you hang out together, you joke around, and most of all, you’re
best friends. Like I just said, I hope you guys know how lucky you are.”

Looking at Willow, then at Jockabeb, and then back at Willow, Archibald nodded his head, saying, “You’re right. Yeah, Willow, you’re really right, and thanks for saying it.”

Several hours after they took off from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, Willow dozed off. Jockabeb was about to get some sleep when he pulled the piece of old rice paper out of his pocket and looked at what Confucius had said a few thousand years ago.

Gently nudging his brother, he whispered, “Hey, Archibald, I know we’ll never get all the answers right, but do think the time will come when we’ll no longer be asked the tough questions?”

Archibald had never been more certain of anything when he answered, “Never, Jockabeb. Never in a million years.”

The school year started just two weeks after the boys returned home from Hong Kong. Archibald was a junior, and while he was beginning to think about college, his major focus during the autumn was quarterbacking his high school football team. Jockabeb couldn’t wait to start the school year, especially since he’d made the varsity football team as a sophomore.

During the first week of October, two large envelopes arrived in the mail. One was addressed to Archibald, the other to Jockabeb.

The envelope addressed to Archibald was from Troy, New York. Opening his at the kitchen table, Archibald found a letter and a copy of The Record, Troy’s local newspaper.

In her letter, Willow said that even though she loved her new school, she missed her friends at Sub-Station Zero. She went on to say that Koro had accompanied
her to Troy for orientation at Emma Willard. On the way there, he’d told her how proud the Moonlight Clan was of her, even if she was becoming a topsider. Koro had really liked the Emma Willard campus, and he’d told her that he couldn’t wait to come back up to Troy in mid-October for Parents Weekend.

She asked how Archibald liked his classes and if Jockabeb had heard anything from May, saying, “I really liked her a lot. If I had a sister, I’d want her to be like May.”

At the end of her letter, Willow said that Archibald had to read the lead article on the top of page three in the Sports section. When he opened The Record to that page, he immediately smiled.

The article’s headline read, “Emma Willard Archer Posts Perfect Score.” The article went on to say how a transfer student from New York City had posted the first perfect score ever recorded in New York State high school archery competition. Willow was quoted as saying that she owed all her success to her unique training regimen.

Archibald laughed out loud when he read the next quote where Willow described the most important aspect of her training. He could picture her smiling when he read the words, “I like to practice shooting at moving objects in almost total darkness, rather than at stationary targets in bright light.”

Archibald was still laughing when Jockabeb walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, grabbed a carton of milk, and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Archibald answered, “but first I bet you might want to open this envelope from Hong Kong.”

“I think I’ll read this in our room,” Jockabeb said as he poured a glass of milk, snatched the envelope out of his brother’s hand, and walked out of the kitchen.

After Jockabeb closed his bedroom door and sat down on his bed, he stared at May’s beautiful handwriting on the front of the envelope. It was the first letter he’d received from her, and he was nervous to open it. When he did, he was surprised to find that there weren’t just one, but three sheets of paper.

As he read one page after another, he learned that May was enjoying her classes at St. Paul’s. Even more, she said that she was so happy that Wu Feng had taken her to a whole new level of Wing Chun. Surprisingly, she said that making the transition to the next level was much more of a cerebral adjustment than a physical advancement.

As Willow had done in her letter, May asked Jockabeb how his classes were going and what else was happening in his life. As Jockabeb read more of what she had written, he realized that she was expressing a real interest in his life rather than the perfunctory questions that were oftentimes included in many pen pal letters.

After she said how much her mother enjoyed having Jockabeb, Archibald, and Willow as guests in her home, May made a point of saying that her father was very impressed with Archibald and his younger brother. She also said how her father hoped that someday he’d
have the opportunity to welcome both brothers back to Jade Place.

Then she ended the letter with her final line that read, “Jockabeb, we come from different sides of the world, we are different races, we have different customs, but we have a bond. I’m going out on the edge of a cliff when I say that I think this bond is strong, and it can become stronger over time if we both want it to be.”

Setting down the last page of the letter, Jockabeb pumped his arm and said one word—“Yes!”

Jockabeb’s sixteenth birthday was the fifth of December. Early that morning, Aunt Claire called from New York City. After a brief exchange with her brother, she asked if the birthday boy was available. When Jockabeb took the receiver from his father and listened to what his aunt had to say, he let out a whoop and yelled, “Aunt Claire said that if I get accepted to SLAP, she’d pay for it, just like she did for Archibald!”

After his father took back the receiver and asked his sister if she had really meant what his son had just shouted, she said, “I don’t have kids, but I do have two nephews and a niece, and I intend to be the aunt who spoils them rotten.”

After briefly conferring with his wife, he thanked his sister and said that they would accept her kind gift. Before hanging up the phone, he told his sister, “Claire,
you’re an angel—a very eccentric angel, but an angel just the same.”

Three weeks later, Jockabeb had the SLAP enrollment application in front of him. He’d done his research, and he wanted his brother next to him when he filled it out and made his final decision about his top choices.

“So,” Archibald asked, “where do you want to go?”

“I’ve studied all the choices, and I’ve finally narrowed it down to the required three,” Jockabeb replied, wondering what his brother would say when he heard his decision.

“And?” Archibald asked expectantly.

“My first choice is Sydney, Australia. Then London, England, and then Auckland, New Zealand, in that order,” Jockabeb answered. “They speak English in all three cities, and I think they’d be neat places to live.”

Already knowing the answer to his question, Archibald asked, “May’s brother is in school just north of London, and I know that Mr. Chen does a boatload of business in Australia and New Zealand. Those facts wouldn’t have anything to do with your choices, would they?”

“No way,” Jockabeb snapped. “I’m not being influenced by May, not at all.”

“Right,” Archibald replied, laughing and slapping his brother on the shoulder.

Later that night, Jockabeb had a brief, hazy dream. In it, he was by himself out on a barren stretch of land
dotted by scraggly trees. It wasn’t all that hot, but he had to shade his eyes from the blinding sun to see the court of kangaroos that was hopping off in the distance. The only words he heard before everything went black were, “G’day mate!”

When
Art Collins
retired as a highly successful chairman and CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he didn’t write the book on leadership that many had expected. Instead, he decided that penning children’s stories would be far more interesting, not to mention much more fun. Borrowing two characters, Archibald and Jockabeb, from tales told by his father many years before, and drawing upon his own rich imagination, Art introduces the two young brothers to an incredible cast of characters—some human, some otherworldly—in locations that range from the mysterious forest behind the boys’ house to the lush and exotic Amazon. The nine books in the series reflect his love of the mountains and ocean, as well as his extensive travels—he’s visited every continent except Antarctica and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Art currently divides his time between Chicago and the Vail Valley in Colorado.
www.TheAJAdventures.com

Award-winning artist
KC Collins
didn’t hesitate when her Uncle Art asked her to illustrate the Archibald and Jockabeb series. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, KC began creating art at a very young age and pursued her passion at college, where she eventually fell in love with oils and watercolors. Her ethereal landscapes and portraits have won numerous prizes—including several at the Piccolo Spoleto Art Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, where she now resides—and she continues to show her work at art festivals and exhibitions around the country.
www.kccollinsart.com