Chapter Five
by A.E. Albert
What if you discovered an amazing secret, a secret that led you on an adventure to save the world and perhaps...yourself?
Chapter 5
As Billy walked down Pine Street, he decided he was going to hide out in his room for the night and just read. The day had been a complete bust, and he just wanted to go in his room and forget that the last twenty-four hours had even happened.
His hands were in his pockets, and he was looking at the ground, deep in thought. All of a sudden, he was jarred from his internal meanderings.
“Hey, Billy,” a soft voice said.
Billy looked up and stopped in his tracks. It was Trish. He couldn’t believe it. Trish was actually going out of her way to talk to him. Maybe he hadn’t looked as stupid as he thought at Yuri’s.
Billy could feel his palms had begun to sweat. “Uh, hey,” he replied, trying to act casual.
Trish actually smiled at him. “I’m just out walking my dog.”
Billy looked down to see a little shih tzu pawing Trish’s legs, and he took a step back. He didn’t really like little dogs. He thought that they were loud and snappy.
“How’s your head?” she asked sweetly.
Billy’s hand instinctively touched the bump on his head. “My head? Um, it’s fine.”
“I was just telling everyone about your little accident.” She motioned to a group of kids standing in the park. Billy could see Scott standing in the middle of them.
Suddenly, everyone started laughing. He felt his face burn. Okay, ha ha, the book incident was funny, but not that funny, he thought angrily. That was when he felt something on his leg. He looked down to see Trish’s dog had lifted its leg and was peeing all over his pants.
She let out a laugh, but quickly covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry. Flipsy, bad dog!” she chastised her pet, but with no real anger in her voice.
Billy ran across the street and walked quickly toward his house, which was only a few doors up the road. He clenched his jaw as he heard the unmistakable voice of Scott yelling out, ‘What a loser!’ and, of course, everyone laughed.
Billy was in a rage as he jogged up the path leading to his front door. He entered the house and took off his shoes and coat, completely oblivious to the noise and chaos within.
A football game was blaring on the TV. Joe and Robbie were jumping up and down as their favorite football team made a touchdown. Toby was telling Sandy about his day with his mother. His already high voice reached glass-shattering pitches as he excitedly retold a story, something about a dog and cotton candy. Only Aaron was quiet as he sat at the dining room table, carefully mixing ingredients into a pink solution.
However, none of this pandemonium affected Billy in any way. He was so deep in thought, he didn’t even acknowledge Sandy when she said hello.
“Helllooo there! Hey, how was your day!” Sandy yelled, attempting to gain Billy’s attention. Yet, nothing could penetrate Billy’s thoughtful state. That is, until a football hit him in the side of the head.
“What the heck?” yelled Billy, as he held the side of his face. He turned to glare at Robbie, who in no way attempted to hide the fact that he was the assailant.
“Hey, bud, just trying to do my part to help out the adults in the house,” stated Robbie in his typical sarcastic manner. He then laughed and turned his attention back to the football game.
Later, Billy would contemplate his actions, but for now, he just saw red. After his confrontation with Scott, Jeanie, Trish, and the white-haired man, Billy just had it. Robbie was the perfect cherry on an already perfect few days.
“Hey, if you’re going to hit me, why don’t you do it over here, instead of over there beside Joe?”
Everyone stopped to stare at Billy. The Billy they knew never yelled or was aggressive toward anyone or anything. Even Robbie was momentarily taken aback by this sudden and unexpected outburst. Robbie did things like that all the time, and Billy had never gotten mad about it before. However, that didn’t stop Robbie from taking the few necessary steps to stand in front of him.
“You think I’m scared of you? You! Hey, bud, I’ll take you out any time!” he threatened in an uncharacteristically calm voice.
Before Billy could think of a reply, Joe was standing in between the boys. “Robbie, go watch the game. If that ball leaves your hands again, I’ll retire it! You get my meaning?” Joe firmly stated, as Robbie continued to glare at Billy. “Now!” said Joe in an unyielding voice he rarely had to use. Robbie slowly turned around and sat back down in front of the TV.
Joe returned his attention to Billy. “You, upstairs, now!” he said in a raised voice. Billy immediately turned around and quickly went up the stairs and into his bedroom.
As he sat on his bed, Joe entered and closed the door until only a crack remained. He took a deep breath and put his hand on his forehead. He then just shook his head as if at a loss for words. “Billy, what got into you down there?”
Joe didn’t raise his voice as Billy had expected him to. Billy looked down into his hands and remained silent.
“Hey, you need to talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me,” Joe said with sincerity.
For the first time in his life, Billy felt all of the words he could never say rush to the surface. He didn’t want to talk about the last few days; instead, he vented his feelings from all of his previous years. “You don’t get it, Joe! You can’t help me! What I need, what every kid here needs, is not something you can pull out of a hat and give us!” he yelled, as he looked up into Joe’s eyes.
Joe stood still, not saying a word. “You just don’t get it! You say you want to help me, but how can you, when you don’t have a clue what it’s like to be me! I have no family, no friends, no real home! All of this, it isn’t real, Joe! Okay, so we do stuff like celebrate Christmas, but come on, like you’re not wishing you were at home with your own family! This ‘family’ is fake, and our ‘parents’ are only here because they’re paid to be! I’m sick of it! All of you have a huge say in my life, but I could be gone in six months—you could be gone! This bogus family isn’t forever, and real families are forever!”
Joe straightened himself up, returning Billy’s gaze. Billy rarely looked anyone in the eye, much less raised his voice. This courage didn’t last, though, as he quickly put his head down and resumed staring at his hands.
Silence enveloped Billy’s small room. Finally, he said in a low voice, “Look, I know that you do your best and so does Sandy. But you get to go home, maybe visit your parents on the weekend. You enjoy Sunday night dinners together. Maybe talk about stuff you did as a kid or the first time you rode a bike.” Billy paused before continuing. “The fact that we can’t do that isn’t your fault, and I’m sorry I kinda took it out on Robbie. It just gets frustrating sometimes. I, I …” Billy tried to think of the words he wanted to say, but they refused to come.
Joe knelt down in front of Billy. “This is good. This is exactly what we’ve been trying to get you to do. Get it out, talk about it,” he said in soft and comforting voice.
Billy just shook his head. “That’s just it, Joe, I don’t want to talk about it with you. The people I want to talk to about it aren’t around. And I know I need to accept that and move on with life. Listen, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just leave me alone.”
Joe stayed where he was. “Please, Joe, you can’t help every kid you meet, and I’m one of those kids, okay?” he said in a quiet voice, his gaze pleading for Joe to understand.
“Billy, I can help you if you let me,” replied Joe, as he put his hand on Billy’s shoulder.
Billy didn’t want to build relationships; they always have an end, when that person goes away. He stood up and clenched his fists at his sides. “Get out of my room, Joe. Just please get out!”
Joe must have heard the frantic edge in Billy’s voice. He slowly got up and walked toward the door. He stopped and turned around to look at the angry boy before him. “Everyone has a different path, Billy. I know yours isn’t mine with Sunday night dinners. I just want to help you find yours.” His eyes were warm, and he wore a sad smile upon his face. He then quietly opened the door and left.
Great, thought Billy, as he flopped down onto his bed. He put his fist to his forehead, clenched his jaw, and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, even Robbie. He didn’t even really understand what had happened to him downstairs or in his room with Joe. Something was breaking open inside him, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control the volatile emotions fighting to spill out.
Billy continued to lie on his bed and stare up at the ceiling. He could see cracks in the plaster, cracks that had probably been there for years. Just like me, he thought. And these cracks can’t be fixed by just calling in some repairman. The truth was, he didn’t know how to fix them, and he didn’t know how to let Joe or Sandy help him.
Billy’s morose thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a ping on his bedroom window. He quickly sat up and stared out into the night. After the day he’d had, he didn’t want to deal with whatever that was. Another ping. His mind returned to the strange little man with white hair. Billy stood up and moved slowly against the wall toward the window and attempted to look out of it using his peripheral vision.
That was when he saw brilliant red gleaming in the moonlight. Jeanie. Billy walked to his window, looked down at his classmate, and vigorously shook his head.
In the clear and well-lit evening, he could easily see Jeanie clasping her hands under her chin while she sent him a pleading look. Billy didn’t want to risk getting into more trouble. But he thought if he could at least resolve one issue, maybe he could pull off some kind of decent sleep that night.
He quietly opened his window, jumped onto the big oak tree outside, and quickly climbed down. Jeanie was waiting eagerly at the base of the tree. Billy gave her a hard look that said to follow him, and he began walking toward the park across the street. When he reached a rusty old swing set, he folded his arms and gave her an impatient look.
“Okay, I know this is a little unusual, but I needed to talk to you!” said Jeanie in a little girl’s voice. “I don’t care where you live or who you live with, and I really don’t like you thinking I do care. Which brings to mind! How dare you imply that I’m that judgmental! I talk to whom I want, when I want. You got that, Townsend!” The little girl’s voice was being quickly replaced by a very irate and angry tone. “I mean, I just don’t see why we can’t be friends, even if you do end up moving from here next week. Furthermore—”
Jeanie’s heated tirade was suddenly drowned out by a loud boom. Actually, it sounded like a bomb had gone off. The blast sent him and Jeanie through the air, both landing painfully on their backs, knocking the air from their lungs. Billy scrambled to his feet, only to find himself staring into a gaping hole about ten feet across, carved deep into the landscape. Jeanie was still coughing when the swing set was blown right out of the ground and landed in the street.
Billy’s mind went blank. He grabbed Jeanie and began to run. He had to practically drag her since she was still disoriented and coughing from the debris in the air. They could hear more blasts behind them, but they didn’t dare stop to look back. All of a sudden, a bright green, glowing ball whizzed past them and uprooted a giant weeping willow tree. Large chunks of earth unmercifully pelted them both.
Billy had no thoughts other than to run. His mind couldn’t even begin to comprehend or analyze what was happening around them. His breath was becoming labored, and a stitch was developing in his side. Jeanie was slowing down as well, and he was having a hard time pulling her along with him.
Just when he thought he couldn’t go any farther, a vibrant blue door literally unfolded itself in front of him. Billy couldn’t stop himself, his momentum was too strong. All he had time to do was widen his eyes as an all-too familiar plaid arm reached through the light and pulled him and Jeanie through the door.
If you would like to continue reading The Time Sphere, find it at: Amazon
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