((I wrote this for my English class and thought it'd be nice to share it. I don't own To Kill a Mockingbird.))
The Boo Radley Diaries.
Second Grade and the beginning of his first 'real' friendship.
Arthur Radley silently stuck to the back of the second grade classroom, carefully cutting out small snowflakes with a pair of child-scissors and an almost endless pile of newspaper. As usual, none of the other kids bothered him or his snowflakes and the teacher chose to give most of her attention to a rather unruly Ewell. Well…at first none of the other children bothered him, but that only lasted for the first twenty minutes or so; today, it seemed, Walter Cunningham was looking for a friend. The slightly taller boy wasn't obnoxiously loud when he approached, which Arthur was able to appreciate for the time being, until he decided it was 'okay' to talk.
"You're the Radley boy aren't ya?" Walter asked, his hands deep in his overall pockets as he stares down at the other boy. Silently, Arthur nods his head before turning his attention back to the snowflake he was working on. Thankfully, Walter didn't seem too bothered by Arthur's possibly rude silence.
"And you're a Cunningham." That was a statement, one that made Walter smile despite himself. Arthur glances back up at the other boy with a curious expression on his face, momentarily forgetting about his growing pile of snowflakes.
"So…what do you want?" Arthur asked, setting down the scissors to fiddle with the hem of his shirt when he notices a few other children were glancing his way; he never liked attention.
"Want? Just came to say hello…" Walter replied, removing his hands from his pockets to rub at a smudge of dirt on his cheek from playing outside earlier. Arthur does not pay Walter much mind, already working on the next snowflake in hopes of turning the other students' attention away. This did not deter the other boy as he had hoped though; Walter just sat down next to him instead.
"You just going to sit there?" Arthur finally asked, letting out a long sigh as he looks over at Walter's smiling face. The smile was not too bright or too happy, instead it was polite and honest; it was everything that made Walter a Cunningham.
"You gonna give me some scissors?" Walter replied, holding out his hand before Arthur handed him an extra pair of scissors to begin cutting out his own paper snowflakes. They sat like that until it was time to read, surrounded in a blanket of silent companionship.
Third grade and the beginning of his transition into the 'bad' crowd.
Walter kicks a small pebble absentmindedly, following closely behind Arthur as they wander down the side of the road. They get a few looks from various passing adults, but continue towards their destination without pause. Despite the silence between them, Arthur knew something was bothering his friend, even without looking at his face.
"Something's wrong, tell me." As always, Arthur did not give Walter much room for protest. Before he opened his mouth to reply, Walter jogged to catch up with the other boy, falling in step beside him. They don't look at each other, both looking straight ahead as they avoid getting spotted by Arthur's father.
"You've been going round my cousins," Walter said, his tone suggesting that it explained it all; the expression that crosses Arthur's face suggests that it does.
"So?"
"Just…don't want ya actin' like them…" Arthur glances over at Walter, wobbling slightly when his foot slips on the curb.
"They're your family," Arthur replied, his arm brushing briefly against Walter's when he steps back onto the sidewalk. The look that Walter gives Arthur was the probably the most emotional Arthur had ever seen him grow.
"Doesn't mean they're any good." They both grow silent after that, walking quietly beside each other before turning to walk into a nearby grocery store. Unfortunately, the moment they walked in the clerk was yelling at them to get out.
"I told you not to come near my store ya little thief!" The clerk's angry voice can be heard through the window, and Walter gives Arthur a look of disbelief.
"You stole from Mr. Dubose?" Arthur mumbled something quietly in response, avoiding Walter's gaze guiltily.
"It was a dare…" Walter just shakes his head with a small scowl.
"I can't believe you, Radley." Arthur winces slightly at the use of his last name; Walter was angry, really angry. "I going back home." Before Arthur could respond, Walter was already crossing the street.
Fourth Grade and Arthur had officially gone 'bad.'
Arthur ran quickly down the empty street, his feet making a loud slapping noise against the ground as he grew nearer to his house. Behind him, the sound of two other pairs of feet hitting the ground can be heard, urging Arthur to run even faster.
"Arthur, wait up!" A rather tall boy shouts, glancing back briefly to his younger brother as the two siblings follow after Arthur. They were running from the police, their pockets and bags full of stolen goods…they had decided Arthur's house was the best hiding place. Originally, Arthur hadn't agreed with that idea, but he really didn't want to show up at Walter's house followed by Walter's own cousins. Therefore, with no other option Arthur found himself leading the two Cunninghams into his home.
"Be quiet!" Arthur hisses, propping open the back door before leading the two other boys down the hall towards his bedroom. Thankfully, his father hadn't seemed to notice his arrival. Dutifully, the older boys stay quiet as they unload their stolen goods onto Arthur's bed much to Arthur's distress.
"I said you could hide here…not move in!" Arthur whispers, trying to keep his voice from rising in volume as he irritation grows. Maybe Walter had been right…
"Arthur, that you?" Nathan, Arthur's older brother, asked. All three boys freeze for a moment before surging into action, which meant that the Cunninghams frantically grabbed their stuff before jamming themselves into Arthur's tiny closet while Arthur was left to handle his brother.
"Uh…Yes…?" Arthur responded, knocking a candy bar off the bed when Nathan opened the door to look inside the room.
"You alright in here?" Nathan asked, pausing when he heard a series of noises from the younger boy's closet. He takes another step into the room, making the dread I Arthur's stomach grow. Silently, Arthur watches his brother walk over to the other boys' hiding places before throwing open the closet door. There's a long silence as they Radley brothers stare at the Cunningham siblings, as if neither pair wants to acknowledge the fact the other was there.
The Cunninghams had been sent away an hour ago, an hour full of his father's endless scolding and punishment.
"I don't want to you going near the Cunninghams." The finality in Mr. Radley's voice made Arthur want to scream, his hands clenching into fists against his thighs as he exercises all his self-control.
"What about Walter?" Arthur asked slowly, staring straight ahead at the cross nailed on the wall.
"Walter's a Cunningham…Cunninghams are off limits." Arthur did scream them, loud and angrily; it wouldn't be the last time he did either.
Fifth Grade and Arthur begins rebelling against his father.
"They're not real Cunninghams are they?" Arthur asked, walking quickly in front of Walter as the older boy hurries to keep up. Walter was hesitant to answer, mostly because he was confused by the question in the first place and because he didn't want to follow Arthur towards the 'other' side of town.
"Your cousins, I mean." At Arthur's elaboration, Walter feels he has to say something now, stopping as he does.
"We're related…if that's what you're talking 'bout…" Walter murmurs, watching warily as Arthur crossed the tracks onto the Negro's side of town. Arthur lets out a quiet hum in acknowledgement, a small frown on his face.
"I can't talk to you then…"
"You're still trying to convince Mr. Radley?" Walter asked, "…I mean…it's been four months Arthur…"
"You're still my best friend, and I'm gonna get my Father to see reason." Arthur looks away from Walter to look across the field, his hands deep in his pockets, shuffling his feet nervously.
"Arthur…what're thinking?" Walter asked, hesitantly taking a step towards the tracks.
"I'll make him choose who he'd rather see me with…a bunch of Cunninghams or a bunch of Negroes." Walter's eyes widen his shock, and he immediately hurries over the tracks towards Arthur.
"Are you crazy? You don't want to be seen with a bunch of ni-"
"Don't say that…" Walter looks startled for a moment.
"What…?"
"One day…you're going to regret looking down on a colored man," Arthur murmurs, looking entirely too old in his eyes. Surprisingly, Walter stays completely silent as he watches his best friend walk away from him and towards…'them.'
When Mr. Radley found out…well, Walter didn't see Arthur for a very long time.
Sixth Grade, months after Arthur's journey to the 'other' side of town.
"Walter!" The young Cunningham hears Arthur before he sees him, stumbling back a few steps when he finds himself with an arm full of Arthur Radley. The hug lasts a few seconds longer than normal, ending when the teacher calls the class back into order for reading.
"I thought you couldn't talk to me…?" Walter said; his voice suggesting it was more of a question than a statement. Arthur shrugs before taking a seat at his desk in the back of the classroom, motioning with one hand for Walter to takes a seat beside him. The taller boy does take a seat with a small grin, angling his chair to face Arthur.
"I'm not suppose to…but no one's gonna tell my father," Arthur said, glancing pointedly at a few other students sitting in the desks in front of them. A small smile works its way onto Walter's face at Arthur's sad attempt at intimidation, choosing not to comment.
"What was it like…talking to the n-negroes?" Walter whispered, lifting a book in front of his face so the teacher wouldn't know they were talking. Another shrug is Arthur's eloquent response, earning an eye roll from Walter.
"C'mon…tell me." Arthur sighs before raising his book farther in front of his face, motioning Walter to lean in closer with his index finger. At Arthur's urging, Walter moves in closer, trying to ignore the almost uncomfortable proximity of Arthur's face. Arthur, too, chooses to ignore the closeness along with the light blush that had made its way onto both boys' faces.
"They were a lot different than I'd expected…" Arthur admitted, lowering his voice when someone 'shushed' him. He gives the other student a narrow-eyed look before turning his attention back to Walter with an apologetic look on his face.
"Different, whatcha talking about?" Walter questioned, his eyebrows furrowing together slightly. Arthur shrugs again, nibbling his bottom lip absentmindedly as he thinks over his response. Patiently, Walter waits for Arthur's eagerly anticipated reply.
"They…they're like us…" Arthur murmurs, motioning between the two boys' chests with his free hand. Unexpectedly, a rather sour look crosses over Walter's features before he glances towards the teacher for a moment as if to avoid looking at Arthur.
"They're nothing like us." Walter's voice left no room for any sort of argument, his knuckles turning white as he grips tightly onto his book. It was incredibly shocking for Arthur to see Walter acting this way towards someone, let alone him.
"But they are!" Arthur's protest finally drew the attention of the teacher, and he didn't have time to react before she was hurrying towards their desk with a stern look on her face.
"Mr. Radley, I do believe your father told me specifically that you were not allowed to be anywhere near Mr. Cunningham," she said, arching one eyebrow before snatching Walter's book right out of his hands. He doesn't say anything though, politely waiting for whatever punishment he would be assigned for his 'rule breaking.'
"Anything to say for yourself?" Arthur looks uncharacteristically riled up, and before he could say anything that he would regret Walter was already speaking.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am…I made Arthur sit with me." Walter's 'confession' seemed to surprise both the teacher and Arthur, earning him two identical looks of surprise.
"…well then…I'll have to move you," the teacher said, nodding her head slightly before motioning Walter towards an empty seat near the front. Had this been any other time, Arthur would have been able to say, without a doubt, that Walter had lied for him…but right now, Arthur knew Walter had lied to get away from him. From his seat in the back, Arthur felt as if he couldn't see Walter anymore; could this be the end of the one and only friendship he had worked so hard on?
Seventh Grade and Walter was still avoiding Arthur with the help of Mr. Radley's strict curfew.
It had been months since Arthur had left the house outside of school, leaving his life dreadfully boring without Walter's near constant company. School, too, had become much like a prison, save for the rare moments when Walter would mutter a quiet 'hello' when he walked pass; moments like those made Arthur's heart beat fast, like the graceful strokes of a mockingbird's wings; school had ended a month ago, though.
"Arthur, go grab some bread from the store," Mr. Radley demanded, making Arthur snap out of his train of thought. He nods slowly, already slipping on his shoes before grabbing his coat off the coat rack.
"…Yes, sir..." Arthur said, having long given up on disobeying his father's orders. Mr. Radley nods in approval before returning his attention to the daily paper, not bothering to watch Arthur run down the street from the front window.
The feeling of the sun against his skin made Arthur realize how much he missed the outdoors; his extremely pale skin soaking up the ray of sun like a sponge would water. With the realization, also came an almost desperate need to never go indoors ever again, if he could help it. However, the sudden repulsion he felt when he spotted the people who lived around him made Arthur question if he really /needed/ the sun; was darkness so much worse than the darkness clouding these people's minds? The same people who had raised Walter in such a way that had caused him to turn away from Arthur. As he neared the grocery store, Arthur's mind began to fill with thoughts much like the first and that wasn't a good thing.
"Arthur?" He had been so absorbed in his own mind, that Arthur had hardly noticed when Walter had walked right up to him with a small frown on his face. When he realizes that Walter was standing right in front of him, Arthur simply blinks his eyes before giving him a very small smile.
"Where've you been?" Walter asked, worriedly reaching out to grasp Arthur's thin shoulder in his calloused hand. Now, Arthur had always been quiet ever since Walter had known him, but that didn't mean he had been practically unresponsive when it came to communicating.
"Home." The one word answer Walter got made his frown deepen, his other hand moving to grasp Arthur's hand gently; neither boy seems to mind the fact they were holding hands in the middle of the sidewalk.
"I haven't seen you anywhere…" Walter said, his concern for his friend growing by the second; his petty grudge towards Arthur had ended a few days after summer break started.
"Father didn't let me leave much." More like he didn't let him leave at all. Despite the look of concern on his face, inside Walter was simmering with anger towards Mr. Radley; how dare he lock Arthur up like that? Sure, Arthur didn't go outside much anyway, but to just keep him inside for months was wrong.
"I'm going to talk your father," Walter decided, despite the fact they he was still just a kid and probably wouldn't be able to convince Mr. Radley to stop. Arthur just nods his head mutely, forgetting to mention the bread he stilled needed to get. It was Arthur's silent response that made Walter even madder, wishing that the other boy would stop acting so weird and just speak to him. What Walter didn't realize was that inside his mind, Arthur's thoughts were going a mile a minute as he tries thinking of something to do. This was what he wanted, Walter was back…and yet, after so much solitude, Arthur found himself wondering if Walter's company was worth everyone else that followed with it.
"No…" Arthur murmurs, making Walter freeze and release his hand. It was when he felt the absence of Walter's finger's curling around his own that Arthur realized his heart had become a bird again, soaring in his chest as he gazes quietly at the other boy.
"What?"
"I like it inside." That was a giant lie and both of them knew it; Arthur loathed it inside and so did his body, unfortunately he loathed Maycomb even more. Walter looks understandably frustrated, his hands clenching into fists as he looks at Arthur with anger and disbelief in his eyes.
"Are you kidding? How am I supposed to see you?" Walter exclaimed, feeling tears of frustration filling his eyes as his helplessness in the situation finally reveals itself. Arthur frowns at the noticeable tears in the corners of Walter's eyes, wondering why he would be so upset when he had tons of friends he could hang out with instead of him.
"Just…play with your other friends…" Arthur said, shuffling his feet as Walter grows even more upset.
"You're my only friend, Arthur!" Walter admitted, surging forward to grasp Arthur in a desperate hug. Arthur hugs him back weakly, his slim fingers digging into the material of his shirt as he rests his chin lightly on Walter's shoulder. Sometimes, Arthur felt like he was older than he really was; maybe he'd been reincarnated for the hundredth time and finally something stuck, because Arthur knew that without a doubt that he had been born too early and maybe Walter had been born a little too late.
"I like you too," Arthur murmured, surprising Walter.
"I didn't say that…" Walter replied, his grip on Arthur never loosening. Gently, Arthur nods his head against Walter's neck, ignoring to glare he got from a woman crossing the street across from them.
"You didn't have to." Walter pulls back, stepping away from Arthur with tears tracks staining his cheeks. Of course, Arthur acts as if Walter hadn't cried at all.
"You're saying goodbye, aren't you?" Walter asked, reading Arthur just as Arthur had read him.
"Yeah…I probably won't be seeing you for awhile…"
"Goodbye then, Arthur."
"Goodbye, Walter."
Eighth grade and Arthur hasn't seen Walter for a year.
Arthur Radley silently stuck to the center of the empty living room, carefully cutting out clippings from the newspaper with a pair of scissors and an almost endless pile of old newspapers. As usual, his mother and brother were avoiding him and his father was giving most of his attention to the most current newspaper in the kitchen. It was when he had begun to cut out a rather out of place snowflake that he heard the sound of footsteps, and he noted that whoever it was wasn't obnoxiously loud like the rest of his family when they entered the living room. Like the wind against his ears, Arthur heard a soft voice echo in his head. 'You're the Radley boy, aren't ya?' Arthur turns around, expecting a sheepish grin and pair of dirty overall, instead he saw his Father's neatly polished shoes.
"Arthur…" Before Mr. Radley could say anything else, Arthur had already plunged the scissors right into his father's thigh. He cleans off the scissors before turning his attention back to the snowflake, letting his mind wander back into more pleasant memories; he didn't let his father's cries for pain drown out the quiet laughter of two boys making it snow with dull scissors and ripped up paper.