Episode #1- Unknown Connection
Part 1
Laura Jane walked to school like it was any other day, but it wasn't. Today was her birthday, but she didn't really care. To her, it was like any other school day. She had no friends, so she had no-one to celebrate with anyway. Her parents would take her out for dinner, but she wanted to have fun with kids her own age.
Laura began to cross the road, almost tripping over her long, daggy green pants. She didn't have much pride in her appearance, so she just wore comfortable clothes. Today, her attire consisted of a faded grey T-shirt that was at least three sizes to lage, a blue jacket that looked as if it had been run over a few dozen times, daggy green pants, held up by a belt, and her favourite pair of joggers, that were literary falling apart.
She arrived at the school seconds before the bell rang. She watched as the groups of kids headed for their classes, and sighed. She wished more than anything that she could be in a group. Not any of the ones she had seen outside though. She didn't want to be like swinger boy or upside-down guy, or the Month's, who were a group of the most popular girls in the school. Any girl who was named after a day of the month was in the group. There was June, April, July and August. She didn't want to be like any of them. She wanted to have her own group of friends, be her own person. But for now, she was just nobody.
"Get to class," Mrs. Finster yelled. Mrs. Finster had with the school for decades. He dad had told her that she was bossing kids around when he was in school. It was a scary thought, so Laura didn't like to dwell on it too long. She hurried inside and went to class.
She entered the classroom just in time, and Mrs. Hertz smiled at her, and continued calling the role.
Laura plonked herself at a desk at the back of the room. She always sat there, at the back, right hand corner, next to the forever empty desk. It wasn't like she wasn't allowed to sit anywhere else; it was just that she didn't want to sit anywhere else. She had no-one to sit next to anyway. She didn't even know the names of halt the people in her class.
"Now, class, we have a new student joining us today." Mrs. Hertz beckoned to someone standing in the doorway, and a short, geeky looking boy with square glasses stepped into the classroom. "Class, this is Louis." She waited for a reaction. There wasn't one. "Well, Louis, you can sit at the back there, next to Laura."
The boy sat down next to her, looking straight ahead, like he was in the army or something like that. What a freak, Laura thought. I hope she doesn't dump him with me.
"Laura, do you mind showing Louis around?" It was as though she had read her mind. She wanted to say no, but she could do that. She forced a smile.
"Sure. I'd be happy to," she said through gritted teeth.
"Good. Now, today we will…" At this point, Laura zoned out. She knew they were doing maths, and since she didn't understand any of it, she didn't see the point of trying. But she knew that there was one girl who loved maths and science. Her name was Gertrude. She was a nerd all over. Big, round, thick glasses, freckles, big, clumpy shoes, and untidy hair always in plaits. And she was a genius.
Laura stared blankly at the wall beside her until the bell finally rang for recess. Everyone ran out of the room as quick as lighting. Laura hang back a bit, packing her things into the book bag she carried everywhere with her. She was very attached to the bag, and it was mended in many places, had words that had been written on it that had faded long ago, stains that never seemed to come out. The bag was originally red, but you couldn't have guessed from the state it was in today.
When she finally stood up to leave, she was startled to see Louis, the geeky kid, waiting for her. And then she had remembered that she was looking after him for the day. She sighed. "Come on then. I'll show you around."
As Laura walked casually across the schoolyard, Louis marched behind her, and it was getting quite annoying for her. But she tried to ignore it. She showed him the toilets, the drink fountains, the playground, or 'Old Rusty'. She could have told him that it was made while her dad was at school, but she wasn't all that enthusiastic about showing the guy around.
"And this is the kickball field. Any questions?" She asked with a mocking tone.
"No," he said very loudly. Laura put her hands over her ears.
"Gees, could you be a bit quieter?" She said meanly.
"Sorry," he said, in a normal-ish voice. "My father is in the principal at a military academy, and I use to go there. Until my mum thought I should go to a proper school," he added.
"Hey, my father knows a military principal," Laura blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Really? What's his name?" Louis asked, suddenly interested.
"Gus," Laura said, trying to sound more casual.
"That's my father's name! You must be TJ's daughter."
"How do you know?" Laura demanded.
"Well, a few weeks ago, I dug up a picture of my dad and his old school friends. Can I just say, you resemble your father a lot?"
"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically. "Who else was in the photo?"
"A girl with large glasses, a dark skinned boy wearing a basketball shirt, a very overweight boy, and a menacing looking tom-boy. So far I've only pick out you and the girl sitting up front. She would be Gretchen's daughter."
"Gertrude? Her mother and my father were friends? Get real," she said, chuckling.
"It's true. I wonder if any of the others are here."
"Others? What'd you mean, 'Others'?" She demanded.
"The other kids my father use to hang out with, they would all have children around our age."
"Are you mad? What are the chances of all our parents' friends having children the same age? Very unlikely."
"But not impossible." Laura snickered.
"I bet you 5 that they don't," she said.
"Deal. I'll show you." And with that, Louis walked off, muttering.
What a weirdo. Laura thought as she walked over to the old, rusty playground that they called 'Old Rusty'. She leaned her back against the cold, metal bars of the ladder and closed her eyes. No sooner had she done this that something hit her right in the face. She opened her eyes, dazed and shocked.
"Hey, pip-squeak!" Someone called. "Throw us the ball!" She looked around her, seeing a red ball that was obviously the one that had hit her in the face. She picked it up and threw it back to the crowd of people who were playing some ball game. She didn't really care what they were playing, she wasn't interested.
She turned back to Old Rusty, only to find that someone had taken her place. A tall boy, who must have been in the year above her, was leaning against the ladder, staring back at her. He wore jeans and a blue and white T-shirt, and he was very skinny. His brown hair was covered with a blue cap, and his face was sprinkled with freckles. Her surprise must have shown on her face, because his grin became wider.
"Hey," he said.
"Hello," Laura said, unsure of why he was talking to her.
"Are you okay? That looked like it hurt a lot."
"Huh?" Laura asked, before remembering that she had just been hit in the head by a ball. "Oh, I'm fine."
"That's good," he grinned. "I'm Pete Lawson, by the way." He held out his hand.
"Laura Jane Detwiller," Laura said, taking his hand and shaking it.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, two boys in suits and black sunglasses walked up to them. "King Sam wants to see you," he said to Pete. He then turned to Laura. "You better come too."
She gave Pete a questioning look, but he didn't even glance at her. They climbed the long ladder to King Sam's throne. Laura always found it a bit strange that the playground needed a king, but this one was so out of it that it probably needed one to keep order. She just hoped they wouldn't rebel and over-throw their chosen leader.
"Do you know why you have been brought here?" King Sam asked Pete.
"Yes," he replied. King Sam gave his Black suited boys a demanding look.
"You will call him King Sam or Your Majesty. Address him with his title and with respect," one of them said.
"I will not call you 'King'" Pete said mockingly. "Just because you are two years older than me, it doesn't make you my king."
"I am the king of this playground," King Sam said as he admired his subjects. "And while you are in my playground, you will play by my rules, little brother." Laura looked at Pete, and then at King Sam, immediately seeing the resemblance.
"Tell me," King Sam continued. "Why are you here?"
"I am here because I was mingling with the commoners, King Sam." He added the last words mockingly.
"And, as a member of the royal family, you must stay within the borders."
"I don't see what the problem is! It's not like I was telling her anything! I don't even know anything!"
"But you know how gossip works, little brother. And I'm sure you know how girls love to gossip."
Laura finally put two and two together, and it clicked that they were talking about her.
"What do you mean commoner? I'm not a commoner! How dare you. How dare you!" She was so furious she was yelling in his face.
"Don't speak to King Sam without manners!" The black suited boy warned.
"I will talk to him however I like!" Laura yelled. King Sam turned to look at her. His glare was deadly, but her blood was boiling and her stare was just as threatening.
"Take her to the jail." The black suited boys went to grab her arms.
"Don't touch me," she warned. She walked to the jail by herself, and the black suited boys were too scared to do anything but follow in the background, or 'escorting' her.
As she sat in jail, many people passed her. One stopped, and she looked up, only to see Pete standing over her.
"What do you want?" She asked, annoyed.
"I wanted to say sorry," he said. Laura stood up.
"You said it, now leave." She glared at him, warning him that she didn't want any more to do with him.
"Laura," He said, helplessly.
"What? You wanted to say sorry, you said it. There's nothing you can say that will make me forgive you."
"Laura, I just want you to understand! I didn't mean for you to get into trouble!"
"Then why did you talk to me? I'm just a commoner!"
"I don't want to be royalty! I don't want to be like my brother!"
"You can't choose your relatives," Laura said quietly and she sat down again. Pete wanted to say more, but he didn't have anything left to say. So he left.
She sat there for the rest of recess, and then the bell went, after what seemed like forever. She got up and waited to be released, but nobody came to let her out. She watched as the kids rushed back into class, leaving the playground deserted. And she was left out there, with no way back in. She sat back down, out her head on her knees, and cried. Eventually, she fell asleep.
Half way through the class between recess and lunch, the fifth graders came out for PE. Most of them noticed the small fourth grader sleeping in the cage they used as a jail, and if they hadn't noticed, they were soon told, as the whispering was rapid growing. Only one student recognised her; Pete Lawson. He rushed over to her, despite the teacher calling after him.
"Laura?" He said when he had reached the cage. Laura raised her head, shocked. It was obvious that she had been crying, her red eyes and puffy cheeks gave her away instantly. She looked small and helpless. "Laura, what are you doing in there?"
"The bell rang, and everybody left. And I couldn't get out and…" She put her head on her knees again. Her body shook.
"Just wait a second, and we'll get you out," Pete said before running back to his class. He went up to his teacher. "Mr. Lut?"
"Pete, you just can't run off like that-" Pete cut him off.
"Mr. Lut, there's a fourth grader over there, and she's been stuck in there since recess."
"Oh," Mr. Lut said, turning pale. "Oh my. Err, Philip, Brad, come and help. There's a fourth grade girl stuck in that cage, and we need to get her out. Lily," He said as the two boys ran off, accompanied by Pete. "Get the principal. Tell him that there is a fourth grade girl stuck on the playground. Hurry."
And so Lily hurried off to get Principal Prickly, who was still the principal after all these years. When he heard what was happening, he rushed out into the playground. At this time, half the school, including the kindergarteners, were outside, wondering what all the fuss was about. They all learnt quickly; a girl got stuck in jail. They all thought she must have done something awfully bad to be kept in there for so long.
Meanwhile, while everyone was gathering around, making a bad situation worse, the boys were making progress getting through the bars. It might have been easier to ask King Sam the combination to the lock, but his class was doing an exam, and the teachers were almost completely ignorant of what happened on the playground.
They eventually got her out. When they first opened it, she didn't realize until Pete entered, knelt down, and tapped her gently on the shoulder. She looked up, stood up, and walked out. She clutched onto Pete's arm tightly, like she was afraid to let go. She was sent to go and sit in the waiting room of the principal's office, to wait for her parents to come. Pete waited with her, because she was still clutching onto his arm. When her parents finally came, she had to let go of him to go home.
"Goodbye," she said to him, standing up. He stood up too.
"As much as I'd like to stay, I have to go back to class, and I need to take my arm with me."
"Sorry," she said, letting go. He smiled at her before leaving.
Laura's parents were concerned, but only her father knew anything about what she had been through. Her mother had attended an all girls private school, so knew nothing of the torment of the king of the playground. Both parents were concerned about the boy she was with, though.
They drove home in silence. Laura was looking out the window. Clouds were beginning to cover the sky, making the day seem gloomy.
"Who was that boy?" TJ finally asked.
"What boy?" Laura asked, not really listening to him, lost in her own little world.
"The boy who you were holding onto," TJ explained. "Who was he?"
"Oh, him." Laura looked at her father through the rear-view mirror. She turned back to the window. "He's Pete."
"Pete who?"
"Pete Lawson," Laura answered. At first, TJ thought he had heard wrong.
"Pete who?" He repeated dumbly.
"Pete Lawson, dad!" Laura was getting annoyed.
"I don't want you having anything to do with the Lawson's. They're bad news," TJ said firmly.
"Tell me about it. His brother is king of the playground." Laura's mother, Libby, laughed at her daughter.
"King of the playground! Isn't that cute, Theo?"
"Yeah, 'cute'," TJ replied, knowing it was far from cute.
Pete spent less than ten minutes in class before the bell went for lunch. He had been waiting for lunch, so he could confront his brother. He walked up to the table that seated King Sam and his closest subjects.
"You have a serious problem."
"What have I told you about the way you address me here?" King Sam asked him, though it wasn't a real question.
"How could you just forget like that? You just left her there! You just forgot about her!" Pete was very angry.
"Forget about whom?" King Sam asked casually.
"Laura! For crying out loud, Sam, you put her in jail and forgot about her!"
"You will address me as King Sam, and I will not ask you again."
"You better get off your high horse, Sam. They are looking for the person who left her in that cage, and you'll be expelled when they find you. They don't care if you're the king of the playground, Sam! They wouldn't care if you were the king of the country. What you did was wrong, Sam, and you know it. You can't except to keep a kingdom if you don't look after your people."
And Pete left his brother, the king of the playground, lost for words.
Oooo, looks like sibling rivalery!
Please review and tell me what you think
OcyTaviAh