The Three Thorns (3 page)

Soon, the entire cafeteria was laughing. A room full of faces jeered at him and whispered to each other. Tommy simply shook his head and gave Benjamin a look of disappointment before gesturing to him to fight back.

Glaring back at his stew, Benjamin sensed something unfamiliar stir in him. His temper soared. He felt hot and flustered. His spoon rattled for a brief moment and at first glance, he thought it had just been the trick of his eyes. Slowly his unused spoon rose off the dinner table at a snail’s pace, too slow as for anyone to notice. Benjamin trembled with fear and excitement but he didn’t dare break his concentration, willing the spoon to scoop deep into the center of the bowl and fling a large lump of stew back at George. When the older boy noticed the dark brown mush coming at him he ducked fast, leaving Jimmy Donald to take the splat. The spoon bounced heavily off Jimmy’s forehead and flung back across the two tables, landing directly back into Benjamin’s bowl like magic. An uproar of laughter from the table next to the bullies boomed out of the dinner hall doors.

Jimmy, embarrassed that Tommy was laughing at him and surprised that the new boy had retaliated in such a bold move, rapidly hit back at Benjamin, throwing his entire bowl at him. Just then, Mr. Jennings strolled directly into the line of fire. Every set of eyes in the dinner hall widened as a half bowl of brown meat and mashed vegetables showered Mr. Jennings’s ragged suit.

“You filthy brat!” yelled Mr. Jennings.

It was too late for Jimmy Donald to begin blaming others, for he was the only one out of his chair in the dinner hall and the only boy who was missing his bowl.

Jimmy pointed at Benjamin. “It was him, Sir, he made me do it.”

“Poppycock!” yelled Mr. Jennings, eyeballing George and Tommy. “You two will go without food today too. You’re thick as thieves, the lot of you.”

Two older prefects took each bowl of stew away from Tommy and George as part of their punishment as Mr. Jennings led Jimmy Donald out of the dinner hall by his ear.

Once the rest of the boys in the dinner hall continued eating, Tommy and George walked over to another table to steal a bowl of stew from two smaller boys who were too intimidated to ask for their lunch back.

After they had finished the bowls of stew, George whispered something into Tommy’s ear before he showed him a cigarette. Both rebels immediately got up from the table and scrambled toward the exit doors of the dinner hall. Benjamin tried desperately to recreate what he had done with his spoon earlier when Tommy kicked his chair as he passed him. The sudden jolt broke Benjamin’s focus.

A few minutes later, Mr. Porter arrived at the dinner hall and requested that everybody go outside for sports activities, Benjamin’s most hated subject. Following in line from the dinner hall into the wide open space of the outside playground, Benjamin could feel his tormentors watching him from a distance, waiting for the right time to get him on his own again.

It was a warm day for the end of autumn. Everyone was outside in the playground, including Mr. Jennings who walked around the grounds keeping a close watch for any signs of misbehavior.

Mr. Porter sat in the shade eating a piece of his strawberry jam covered crumpet when Benjamin snuck past to make his way to the library beyond the back doors of Gatesville.

Benjamin had been to the library hall earlier that morning and smuggled his belongings amongst a shelf of dusty books. He planned to escape Gatesville that evening and was prepared to bide his time in the library until night time when he could make a subtle departure through the library window.

Benjamin entered the library with a smile on his face, for his excitement at the thought of escaping couldn’t be contained. There were cobwebs hanging everywhere, from the front doors, to the tables, to the shelves at the back of the room. The smell of mildew was enough to make him feel smothered. Still, Benjamin felt more at peace in this gloomy part of the building than anywhere else. The lofty library had the highest ceiling of any other room in Gatesville and had the tallest windows to light hundreds of old books on display. While reclaiming his hidden belongings from a shelf at the front row, Benjamin stumbled across a few suitable titles. He lifted out
The Complete works of William Shakespeare
from one shelf and a second book called
The Time Machine
from another. He then sat at one of the dusty tables to decide which he should read first.

Soon after he started reading
The Time Machine,
he felt extra warmth fill the room as if someone had entered the library. Putting it down to his imagination, he ignored his initial feeling and continued his reading.

Just then a loud sneeze came from the far corner of the room. Peering from behind the hardback book, he saw that it was the boy who caught his eye before in Mr. Porter’s class, staring right at him. Benjamin set the book down and stared back at his odd-looking peer. The boy’s hair was a blur of piercing white curls and his skin was very pale. His face was pointy and looked older than the other boys.

“You must be new,” muttered Benjamin finally. “I’m quite new to this place, too.

I’m Benjamin Brannon, what’s your name?”

“H. G. Welles,” the boy replied.

“That’s your name?”

“Whom you’re reading. It’s a great book,” the boy added, pointing at the copy of
The Time Machine
. “You can call me Peter.”

Benjamin placed the books back on the shelves and kept a watchful eye on the strange boy. “Why are you in here?”

“I saw you go in here, so I followed you,” Peter replied, unaware that his honest answer made Benjamin a little cautious of him.

“I don’t like to play outside,” Benjamin said, smiling bashfully at his own portly frame, “as you can probably tell.”

“Me neither,” Peter said confidently.

“Why do you have white hair?”

Peter studied Benjamin’s height and began to laugh. “Why are you so small?”

Benjamin was stuck for an answer and became distracted when he heard numerous footsteps approaching the library.

“Who is that?” asked Benjamin.

“Principal Jennings,” Peter whispered.

Fear struck Benjamin’s heart, causing his face to turn almost as white as Peter’s hair. Dashing from the front shelf to the back of the library, Benjamin motioned to grab the boy’s attention.

“Quick, hurry up.”

Peter took his time, coolly walking to the back of the long room. “What are you so afraid of?” he asked placidly.

Benjamin sunk into the darkest corner in order to easily hide amongst the shadows.

“Do you know how much trouble we could get into if we’re caught in here?” Benjamin mumbled nervously as he peeked between the books on the rear shelf.

“That didn’t stop you from sneaking in,” Peter said before Mr. Jennings walked into the library with two older boys.

“I would like you to clear out any dust or dirt you find,” ordered Mr. Jennings, rudely keeping his back to the pair of prefects. “For once, I would like to have a clean and orderly library to walk into. Understood?”

The two older boys rolled their eyes at each other. “Yes, Sir,” sighed one boy. The same moment, Benjamin accidentally lost his balance whilst crouching and fell against the back wall of books. A book fell to the ground with a loud thud, alerting the three orderlies. Benjamin cowered further into the shade of the bookcase when Mr. Jennings and the two boys peered directly at the back of the room where Benjamin and Peter were hiding.

“Who’s there?” rasped Mr. Jennings. “Get out here now!”

Benjamin was frozen to the spot. Peter knelt down beside him.

“Sometimes it’s better to face your enemy than to avoid confrontation,” Peter whispered assuredly.

“Be my guest,” Benjamin insisted.

Mr. Jennings strode up the aisle with his two trusty prefects at either side of him. “I only ask once. Now your life is going to be nothing short of hellish when I get through with you.”

Benjamin shut his eyes, wishing he would disappear, when Peter grabbed ahold of his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid of him, Benjamin. Face them,” he urged.

“I…can’t,” Benjamin sobbed.

Peter shook his head in disappointment and let go of him. “I’ll face them, then,” he sighed, shrugging like it was no big deal. Peter got up and confidently stepped into the aisle, leaving his friend to hide.

Mr. Jennings and his two companions stopped dead in their tracks once they saw Peter step into view.

“Well…well. I don’t think I’ve seen
you
before,” Mr. Jennings snickered.

“I was studying, Sir,” said Peter.

“Silence!” Mr. Jennings shouted. “Who do you think you are back talking me like that? You will speak only when spoken to.”

Peter remained silent whilst smiling in a sardonic manner, which baffled the prefects.

“Wipe that smirk off your face! How dare you come in here without permission, especially when the library is closed?” Mr. Jennings rambled on until they were face to face. “I don’t think I like the look of you, boy, which is going to make my choice of punishment rather delightful,” he sneered.

“For your disobedient behavior, you’ll get twenty lashes and extra duties for a week. And you will learn to respect my rules, or I will make your life not worth living.”

Mr. Jennings gave Peter another evil grin before he grabbed him by the ear and marched him toward the library doors. Mr. Jennings stopped once he had reached the doorway. His eyes were filled with suspicion. “Was there anyone else in here with you?”

Peter glanced at the end of the library where Benjamin hid behind a shelf of books, watching anxiously through a gap. Benjamin’s eyes remained fixed on Mr. Jennings while his fear turned into hatred for the man.

Mr. Jennings stared in anticipation, patiently awaiting Peter’s response. “Well?”

Benjamin was sweating even more, anticipating Peter’s answer. Hesitantly, Peter looked to the ground and lied, “No.”

“You’re lying!” he snapped, tugging Peter’s ear even harder while he marched him back down the aisle toward Benjamin, followed by his two trusting prefects.

Something stirred in Benjamin. Anger began to rid him of fear and this sudden feeling of power drove him to stand up to Mr. Jennings for the first time. The creepy old principal was only a few feet away from him when Benjamin got a dangerous idea.

Mr. Jennings and Peter reached the last row of shelves where they peeked around the corner to the back row. The principal fell silent. He could see nothing but shelves and books. Benjamin was gone.

Mr. Jennings yanked Peter’s ear again and handed him over to the two older boys. “Make that a month’s worth of duties for you.”

The prefects escorted Peter toward the library doors when a creaking sound caught the attention of the old man’s ears. A few seconds of silence followed the second creak. After a third creak came a loud smashing sound of several books piling onto the wooden floor. Another bang of shelves and flutter of books followed another.

Peter was the first to notice the sudden mess on the floor. Row upon row of tall shelves came hurtling toward them like towering dominos spewing out heavy hardback books. Peter broke free, knocking the two boys to the ground to reach the library’s exit.

Within a few seconds, the last standing shelf tilted directly above Mr. Jennings and his prefects.

Peter watched in amazement when the bookshelf finally collapsed on top of the three orderlies, burying them under a pile of dusty books. Mr. Jennings let out a high-pitched scream but was soon drowned out.

Peter stood in complete awe at the aftermath of destruction Benjamin had created. At the other side of the library Benjamin stood in shock. His spontaneous idea had worked.

“I didn’t hurt him. I-I didn’t mean to,” Benjamin stammered.

Peter smiled and walked over to greet his new friend. “A villain like Jennings never stays down for long,” Peter laughed.

“Get these books off me now!” screamed Mr. Jennings.

“See. I wouldn’t worry about him.”

Benjamin observed the mess of books and furniture around them. Luckily, he spotted the golden emblem on his birth blanket shining between two scattered books on the floor before carefully salvaging it.

“Wow. Did I do all this?” Benjamin asked timidly, stumbling back through the heap.

Peter quickly led the way toward the ground staircase beyond the library doors and ran up it with ease, taking three steps at a time. For a pale boy, Peter was noticeably agile and energetic. Meanwhile, Benjamin’s short and stocky legs struggled to keep up, his feet tripping on certain crooked steps.

Below, a large group of boys had approached the library to investigate the sudden racket.

“There’s little time left,” warned Peter.

“Time left for what? There’s nowhere we can hide now,” Benjamin whispered.

Peter hurriedly lifted Benjamin up after he had sat down to rest. “We won’t have to hide,” Peter smiled. “We’re leaving this place.”

The last flight of stairs led to a small, crammed tower space that had been kept locked for years. Peter gently opened the boxy door and invited Benjamin inside.

“What are we doing here?”

Peter didn’t answer him. Instead, he walked over to the far end of the roof and opened a set of wooden shutters. Light immediately filled the room.

“Who’s there?” a voice whispered.

At first Benjamin couldn’t make the figures out through the cloud of smoke that surrounded them, until Peter opened one last shutter.

With the room fully lit, Benjamin realized who the figures in the smoke were. By the edge of the window sat Tommy Joel along with his sidekicks George Johnston and Jimmy Donald.

“Why did you bring
him?
” snapped Tommy, glaring hard at Benjamin.

“You know each other?” Benjamin asked Peter.

“I’m not as new to this place as you thought, Benjamin,” Peter replied.

As Tommy offered his cigarette to Peter, the odd boy casually stubbed it out with his foot.