Chapter 23

Kidnapped

Jonathan felt his body freeze in fear when he heard his bedroom door open. He didn't know how long he'd sat there, but it must've been quite a long time.

"Jonathan!" Angela called, voice seemingly kind.

Jonathan stuffed the papers back into the box and ran out the closet.

"There you are, ready for lunch?" she asked. Her smile was pleasant, and her eyes were shining.

Jonathan nodded. "Before lunch, could I call my best friend? I haven't spoke to him since I left the hospital - I want him to know I'm okay."

She nodded happily.

Jonathan ran to his bedroom phone and waited for Angela to leave. Quickly, he dialed Norman's grandma's number.

"Hello?" Norman greeted.

"Hey Norm, it's Jonathan. I----I need to talk to you real bad," he stuttered, the flow of tears coming.

"Jonathan, what's wrong?" he demanded, voice full of worry. "Is everything alright?"

"No, no it's not!" he bawled. "Norman, Angela, my foster mom, is a child murderer. I found the papers hidden away in a box in my closet. I'm scared - real scared."

Norman grew quiet. His friend was in deep trouble and had no where to turn.

"Norman, you there?" Jonathan wondered, worried his friend had hung up.

"Yeah, I'm here. Jonathan, you need to call the police. You can't get murdered!" he cried.

"Norman, I'll have nowhere to go! I'm afraid, but there's nothing I can do. Angela's likely to kill me real soon."

Norman sighed. Suddenly, he heard a terrified scream, then the sound of kicking and moaning. "Jonathan!" he screamed, the tears streaming down his face. "Jonathan answer me!"

"The hell with you, Jonathan Peachy!" he heard a woman holler before hanging up the phone. "The fuckin' hell with you."

Kim snuck by the window at Angela's mansion to check on Jonathan. She knew she wasn't allowed inside, but taking a peak wouldn't hurt anything.

She didn't notice anything downstairs, so she climbed the ladder up to a balcony, then peered in the window. Flashbacks filled her mind when she saw her little boy laying on the floor, bruises and blood everywhere. "Jonnythan?" she breathed, getting choked up.

Kim knew she loved her son, she just hadn't realized how much until she'd seen him laying there. Worriedly, she entered through the door and knelt down to her son. Gently, she lifted him and took him to the balcony.

Somehow, she managed to climb down the ladder safely with him. Once she hit the ground, she ran with all her might. She couldn't let that woman kill her child!

Jonathan woke to the sound of his father cursing at his mother. He thought he must be dreaming, but realized it was no dream when he opened his eyes.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kim, taking Jonathan away like that? The assholes are gonna find him and arrest us! What in the fuckin' world were you thinking?"

Jonathan shuddered. The sound of swearing and the presence of his mother made him afraid. What was he doing here?

"Brent, you should've saw how he was laying on the floor with all those bruises!" Kim cried, pointing to her hurting child. "Mommy couldn't leave him there."

"That never stopped you before." Brent was obviously very angry.

"Would you guys just shut up?" Jonathan shouted, although it hurt him.

Kim and Brent stared at him with suspicious eyes.

"You guys are driving me nuts! Dad, who cares if Mom kidnapped me? She's already going to prison for child abuse! And Mom, why don't you just kill me already? Don't save me from being murdered by Angela when you've done worse!" He was now out of breath and trying to keep his bruises from hurting.

Kim could've slapped him like crazy, but she surprisingly didn't feel like it. Right now, she wanted to leave her child be and go about her daily life as "Mommy."

Jonathan looked up at his father. "Dad, can you hand me the remote? I wanna see if Spongebob's on."

Brent handed his son the remote, then gave him a gentle hug.

Jonathan didn't find Spongebob, so he was content to watch Full House. His eyes grew wide when he saw DJ Tanner. She was so gorgeous - shapely too!

Brent smiled when he noticed how Jonathan watched the females on television. He reminded him of himself at that age - only he was more curious than Jonathan.

Jonathan fell asleep in the middle of the show. He looked so peaceful and happy sleeping, yet Brent knew that was not true. Jonathan wasn't happy or peaceful. His child was a bruised little boy, sleeping from exhaustion.

I wonder if Jonathan will sometime fall asleep and never wake up. . .

Chapter 24

Outdoor Ed

Jonathan stepped into the school with a small backpack, water bottle, and bug spray in his backpack. He sat down beside Norman in the line, a smile on his face.

"Hey man, how are you doing?" he asked, face serious.

"Fine. Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Jonathan was lying through his teeth, but he couldn't help it.

"How are you liking your new foster family?" he wondered.

Jonathan hadn't told Norman that Kim had kidnapped him and that he had been beaten by Angela. He thought it'd be best to keep it a secret. "They're real nice," he lied, smiling broadly.

"Good. I'm glad you're away from abusive people." He patted Jonathan's shoulder in a friendly manner.

Jonathan sighed deeply. "Yeah, me too."

"Does anybody need to go to the bathroom before we get on the bus?" Mrs. Hackenberg asked her students.

No one raised their hands, so she lead the class out to the bus waiting for them. They were going to Wesley Forest to learn about nature for a week.

Jonathan sat down in the back. He didn't have anyone to sit with, so he sat alone. Lonely and depressed, he watched out the window as they headed to Wesley Forest.

Mrs. Hackenberg looked back occasionally to check on the children. She glanced at Jonathan, then forward. Quickly, she turned to look again at him. Why is he alone? she wondered. He's not a bad kid, why don't people spend time with him?

Katie stared longingly at Jonathan. She pitied him that he was alone and wished she were sitting with him. He just needs a friend, besides Norman.

Jonathan got bored and decided to try and entertain himself. He started dancing like a maniac in his seat while singing, "Peanut Butter Jelly Time."

"Peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time. Peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly!" he sang.

Katie laughed. "What in the world, Jonathan?"

"Peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat." He was moving his head toward her in a dancing fashion, making him look real silly.

"Jonathan!" she squealed, thinking he was extremely funny.

Mrs. Hackenberg jerked herself around, but relaxed when she saw Jonathan singing and laughing.

After singing, he gave her the naughtiest grin and said, "What should I sing next?"

"I don't know," she giggled, blushing.

Jonathan shrugged. "Okay, 'I'm Too Sexy' it is! I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, too sex---------y!" He was lifting up his shirt as he did this, making Katie really giggle.

"Jonathan, what for silly songs!" she exclaimed, eyes bright.

"My brother Casey always sings 'em around the house. He's such a nut, but I guess that makes me one too!"

"You aren't a nut, just very weird." She loved being able to talk like this to her crush.

"Stay my baby!" he sang out of nowhere. He glanced at her for approval.

"Jonathan Peachy, what on earth!" she cried, gently smacking his arm.

"Ow!" he winced, grabbing his arm. "That actually hurt."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think I hit that hard." Her face flushed red, and she felt like an idiot.

"No, it's nothing. I just have a bruise there, 's'all." He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the purple mark on his arm. It was from when Kim had gripped his arm tightly this morning, telling him to lie to people about foster parents.

"Ooh, that looks like it'd hurt," she said, looking concerned. "Maybe you should tell Mrs. Hackenberg."

"Nah, it's nothing. It barely even hurts." He made his eyes real big, and moved his head closer to her. "Unless someone slaps it!" he growled.

Katie laughed. "Well, then!" she sneered, turning her back on him in a snobby fashion.

"You make the perfect snob, Katie," Jonathan said sarcastically.

"Don't I though?" The both laughed as though they'd been friends since they were born.

"Bad boys, whatcha gonna-whatcha gonna-whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" Jonathan blurted out suddenly.

"You are the silliest boy I've ever known." She shook her head at him. "Where did you get so funny?"

"I'm usually not very funny. I donno, I guess my older brother has a big influence on me. He is the funny one of the family. I can't say he's the odd one, my entire family's odd!" He laughed. "Mom refers to herself as 'Mommy.'"

"O-k-a-y," Katie said slowly. "That's a little odd."

"You're telling me. You know what she said to Norman the first time she met him? Well, he said, 'Hello Mrs. Peachy.' Then she said, 'Hello honey, just call me Mommy.' I mean, can you believe her?" He smacked his knee as if very confused.

Katie shook her head. "Does she use the voice you were making, Jonathan?"

He bobbed his head up and down. "The very one. Guess what she calls me?"

"Sweetheart, baby, pumpkin, honey buns?" she guessed, thinking of embarrassing names parents call their children.

Jonathan made large eyes and shook his head. "No, she calls me Jonnythan!" he cried, making the funniest face.

Katie burst into laughter. "Jonnythan?" she repeated, face getting red from all the laughter.

Jonathan's chin quivered to keep from laughing as he nodded.

The bus suddenly stopped and Jonathan realized they were at Wesley Forest. All the students filed into the main building to get instructions from the teachers.

"Everyone will have a group, so pick five people for your group, then name it," Mrs. Hackenberg announced.

Jonathan stood like a dumbbell while other kids ran off to find their friends. He had no clue who to have in his group!

Zack Tallman came up to him and waved as if he were waving to his girlfriend. "I'll be in your group!" he told Jonathan, big eyes very expectant.

Jonathan stepped back. He was used to nerds, just not ones like Zack. "Okay," he said timidly, feeling embarrassed.

Katie ran up to Jonathan. "Hi, may I join your group?" she asked sweetly.

Jonathan stepped up to her and whispered in her ear, "You may not wanna, Fruitcake over there just joined."

Katie giggled at Jonathan's nickname for Zack. "Doesn't matter. I want to be in a group with you."

Jonathan blushed. "Uh, okay then. Fruit-I mean Zack, Katie's in our group."

Zack looked at Jonathan as if he were an alien. "Huh?" he asked, looking up at Jonathan with Google eyes and a cocked head.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Katie, she is in our group!" he repeated with an attitude.

Zack started laughing out of nowhere as if Jonathan had just told him the funniest joke.

"Uh, you okay?" Jonathan questioned, very unsure.

Zack gave him the most serious look and nodded. "Yeah, you don't have to be mean about it though," he said, looking angry.

Jonathan looked at Katie in disbelief. "What, was I mean to him?" he demanded, almost laughing at how stupid Zack was acting.

"N-o," she replied slowly. She eyed Zack curiously, acting as though he were some odd animal - which he was!

"Whatever," Zack sighed, walking away.

"What should we name our group?" Jonathan wondered, not caring that they weren't including Zack.

"Crazy Coyotes?" Katie suggested, thinking about how wacky Jonathan was.

"Hey, I like it!" he exclaimed, face brightening. He patted her shoulder. "Good thinking."

Katie could've fainted. Jonathan touching her was like a dream come true! He's so cute. . .

Jonathan saw an odd object from the corner of his eye, and jumped when he saw it was Zack. "Jeez, you scared me!" he cried, voice annoyed.

Katie giggled. "Don't you like Fruitcake?" she asked him. She knew Zack wouldn't have a clue what they were talking about - he never did.

Jonathan let out a small laugh. "Tst, yeah right. He's a creeper."

"Alright kids, get to a table with your group and be quiet. Mr. Modo would like to explain some things." Mrs. Hackenberg had a nice, strong voice, so it wasn't hard to hear her.

Jonathan sat down with his small group. Fruitcake plopped down beside him, making him give Katie these big, annoyed eyes. "Must he?" he mouthed, before Mr. Modo began speaking.

Mr. Modo went over the rules and schedules. Afterwards, they had to go outside and get to their practice for the mountain hike on the last day.

The Crazy Coyotes went with Mrs. Fulum to the Bermuda Triangle. She explained what to do, then got the kids on the rope, walking across it.

"Try not to fall," she reminded, seeing Fruitcake was on the verge of falling.

Jonathan nearly threw the magic stick at Fruitcake so he could regain his balance.

"Nice teamwork, Jonathan," Mrs. Hackenberg praised, giving him one of her flashing smiles.

Jonathan smiled back, then resumed focusing on going around the triangle rope without falling. He was relieved when he got to the rope that had another one above to hang on to.

Out of nowhere, a stick came flying towards Jonathan. It hit him square in the head, making him fall. "Ow!" he hollered, rubbing his forehead. "What in the world, Fruitca-Zack?"

Mrs. Hackenberg ran up to Jonathan. "Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.

"I think so," he whined. "I landed really hard on my rump."

She laughed. "Alright. You may rest a bit until you're feeling better."

(This Chapter is not yet finished, but this is what I have so far.)