He's Seven
He's seven when it happens for the first time. An honest to God fight. For the whole last year and the first two months of this year, Edmund and mean old Matthew Greene had gone head to head several times, spewing insults at each other across the blacktop. Scrawny Tommy had Edmund's back and Roger had Matt's, but as much as they had gotten under each other's skin, not one punch had been thrown, and it's not like Tommy could handle himself in a fight anyway.
Until mean old Matthew Greene does the unforgivable. Somehow, he insults Peter, Susan, and Lucy all in one breath, and Edmund realizes he's sick and tired of people telling him that the whole lot of the Pevensies were kiss-ups and stupid.
He knows it's not true. Honest, he tells his mother. We've just been fighting! His father doesn't mind. A boy needs to fight. But he reminds Edmund to only fight if you need to.
"Yes, sir," says Edmund.
The year when he's seven is the year that Edmund starts to have trouble. Trouble with the other boys, trouble with schoolwork, trouble at home, and there's not a person who doesn't notice. It doesn't start with the fight with Matt, but that's when his parents take notice. If it had been an isolated incident, they tell him, they would let it slide, but it's everything, Ed. You're butting heads with everyone.
He only understands about half of it, and Peter tells him it means they want him to cool off. But he says that little boys get into fights sometimes. It's no big deal.
It's the second fight that clues Peter into the trouble, too. That Matt kid hits hard, and he slugs Edmund, so Edmund tackles him in the dirt. Matt kicks him off and hits him again. In a huff, Edmund stomps on Matt's fingers –and by now it's gone beyond a couple of schoolboys settling an argument and moved on to real meanness –and stomps off.
He doesn't go back inside with the rest of his class, but he hides in the bathroom instead. He's not ashamed or hurt, but he's angry. Edmund is so angry that he might try to bash Matt's face in.
But when you hide in the bathroom, you don't know when the school day ends, and Edmund realizes he doesn't care. Some older boys come in and out, but they don't pay attention to him. They leave the stupid kid alone.
On the other side of the school, Peter heard about a fight in Edmund's class. Really nasty they say. Both kids have broken bones. Peter has an inkling who those kids might be. He hopes he's wrong.
But he knows he's right when Susan and Lucy join him for the walk home and Edmund is nowhere in sight. "Where's Ed?" asks Peter. He looks around but there's no sight of him. He's not sulking or playing. He's just not around.
"I haven't seen him," says Susan.
"Peter," says Lucy. She's holding Susan's hand and pulling on Peter's sleeve. "He fought with Matt. He didn't go back to class."
"What?" asks Susan.
"Margie said he's dead," she adds.
"How would Margie know?" scolded Susan.
Lucy ignored her. "He's not. Right, Peter? I told Margie, 'Edmund's not dead!' but she didn't listen. He's not dead, right?"
"Of course he's not dead, Lu," Peter tells her. He pulls his sleeve out of her hand. "Su, you and Lucy stay here. I'm going to find Ed."
Peter takes off. He doesn't know where to start, but he heads towards Edmund's classroom. Some boys stop Peter to tell him his brother's crying in the bathroom.
He is crying in the bathroom. Peter assumes he's been here for forty-five minutes, and he hasn't calmed down. His eyes are red and he's sniffling, but Peter knows his brother and he knows that Edmund is angry.
"Ed?" asks Peter. Edmund looks up at him.
"Go away, Peter," he says. "Don't be here."
"Ed, we have to go home now," Peter says. "You can tell me what happened on the way home."
"I don't want to," he says.
"Then don't," snaps Peter. "Come on. We have to go." He holds out his hand for Edmund to take. Edmund groans and pushes to his feet. He latches onto Peter's hand and he drags his feet, muttering something about Matt and school, both apparently being stupid.
When they get to where Susan and Lucy are standing, the tears have dried on Edmund's face. He's still holding Peter's hand. Susan doesn't say anything. Lucy hugs Edmund around the waist. She looks up at him and says, "Margie said that you were dead." Edmund grumbles something no one else can hear. "I'm glad you're not, Ed," says Lucy, finally letting go of Edmund. Edmund doesn't say a word.
As they walk, Susan and Lucy fall behind Peter's long legs and Edmund's drive to be as good as Peter. They're far enough ahead that Edmund finally confesses, "Matt's stupid and I hate him."
Peter knows what Susan would say. She would tell him that he doesn't hate Matt. But Peter doesn't say that. "Did he hurt you?" asks Peter instead. He looks down at Edmund. He doesn't look hurt. He just looks angry.
"No," says Edmund.
"Why do you hate him?"asks Peter.
"He's got a big mouth," supplies Edmund after some deliberation, and Peter isn't sure if Edmund really understands what he's saying.
"Yeah?" says Peter. "What did he say?"
Edmund shrugs. He sighs and looks up at Peter. "Don't tell Mum and Dad, okay, Peter," he pleads. "I don't want them to know."
"You're not hurt?" Peter asks one more time.
"I'm not, I promise," he says.
Peter says he won't tell Mum and Dad. "Your secret's safe with me, Ed," Peter promises. But today is the day that Peter knows it's started. It's today when Peter notices that Edmund's starting to slip. It's today. He's seven.
He's seven when it starts.