A/N: I am trying very hard to get the historical facts right. I'm not sure how the school system was set up or how the girl/boy relationship worked. I will get stuff wrong but please forgive me and remember that it is fiction
Fifteen year old Edward Masen looked down at his father through watery eyes. The Spanish Influenza was running rampant in the area and his father had been one of the first to come down with symptoms. Now, a few weeks later, he was on his death bed taking his last breaths and taking a final look at his precious son and wife.
"Elizabeth," Edward Masen Sr. breathed barely above a whisper. "Just a moment…with my son…please?"
"Of course darling," she sniffled into her handkerchief and gave her son's arm a firm squeeze on her way out.
"Edward," he began, fighting for every word.
"I'm here, Papa. I'm right here." Edward knelt by his father's bed.
"Son…please promise me…you will be strong…take care of your mother," he forced his heavy eyes open to look at Edward Jr.
Edward nodded, unable to force any words out. A spirit of peace fell upon his father's face. He let out a breath and then grew very still.
The shock took a moment to pass through Edward's body. His father, the man who taught him everything he knew was gone. This fifteen year old kid was in charge of his house and caring for his mother.
He managed to stand on shaky legs and leave the room to find his mother a short way down the hallway.
Upon seeing her son's face, all Elizabeth Masen was able to do was collapse into his arms in a fit of sobs.
"He's gone, Mother," he said evenly. "But it's going to be alright. I promise we are going to be okay."
The next few days of his father's burial went by like a blur. His very last words he ever spoke were to insure that his wife and son would be okay after he passed on. Edward knew he was not ready to fill his father's shoes. He was still a boy in so many ways and was expected to grow up overnight.
"Mother," Edward walked into the room where his mother sat serenely in a rocking chair reading a book. "I'm going to school, is there anything you need?"
"No, son," she smiled and stood up. "You're a good boy, do you know that?" she smoothed out his collar. "You have a good long life ahead of you."
He kissed his mother on the cheek and headed out the door, books in hand.
The chilly Chicago air seemed to pierce right through him. It seemed as if everything in his life was going to be worse than it was before, that was until he saw the young girl with strawberry blonde hair mounting the school staircase in the distance.
Anna O'Malley had been in class with Edward for years. She was about as different from the other young ladies in school as Edward was from the boys. Her face was fair and flawless like Edwards but she never would approach a boy or even accept an offer to be courted by one. Still, her mysterious disposition intrigued Edward and he yearned for the will to approach her.
He walked into the noisy classroom and suddenly felt years older than his peers. He scanned the room for an empty seat and discovered, to his slight joy, that there was one by Anna.
Taking a deep breath, Edward walked through the doorway, ready to face the life that continues to go on as his is turned upside down.