Hey everybody! Well as you know, this is a future fic and the characters
you know about all belong to Harper Lee.
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"Scout! Scout.........Jean Louise Finch, you wake up right now or I'll tan yer hide!" I rolled my eyes under the covers and threw the sheets over my head, revealing an entanglement of choppy dark brown hairs. I glanced up to see Cal looking down at me, a frown marking her tired old face. She sighed and closed the door, off to make breakfast no doubt. She always seemed to make more food, now that Jem was older and eating like a horse with three times a day at the very minimum. Speak of the devil; my older brother came through the adjoining doors, barefoot and in trousers buttoning up his shirt as he walked in.
"Jem! I ain't properly dressed yet!" I took my privacy as something slightly more valuable now that I had reached the stage of what Aunty called "young womanhood" I didn't much care for it all that much, but I figured I might as well get it over, as if it were something I could actually control.
"Aww, your just in pajamas Scout, I've seen ya in less than that," he said referring to my swimsuit. He tossed me a dress from the wooden chest in the corner. He grabbed a brush off the shelf, ran it through his hair and made his way downstairs. Lord, did he ever make such a clamor! I heard Aunt Alexandra tell him to act more gentlemanlike and I snickered. As if she knew what I was thinking, she entered the room, and we began our famous battles. Atticus always said we sounded like squawking chickens. This occurred every morning at promptly 7 o'clock when the two of us would bicker and argue over which dress I would wear that day. Today, a white cotton shirt with a yellow skirt vs. a peppermint pink dress...can you guess which one I was voting for? And so it began:
"Jean Louise, you'll be eleven years old, come May."
"Then why can't I act like I'm ten 'til then?"
"Because, you're father has already been generous enough in dealing with matters concerning your upbringing prior to my move." I waited until her back was turned to make a face at her....I wasn't that stupid as to do so when she could hear me.
"But Atticus doesn't mind what I wear, as long as I wear something."
"Child, thank the Lord Almighty for that!" For some reason I stopped, not wanting to go on...besides, if she brought God into the subject, she knew I wasn't likely to follow. I snatched the outfit of my choice and ran into the bathroom to change. Aunty mumbled something incoherent which I took to be of very little importance. I emerged from the room a moment later, and took out my brush.
"100 strokes," I heard my Aunt call from outside the door. I simply rolled my eyes and kept focus on my hair. As soon as I was done, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. Jem and Atticus were already seated at the table, my father reading the paper and calmly sipping his coffee while Jem stuffed his mouth with eggs and bacon, every so often taking a sip of his own coffee, and immediately following that came a face of disgust. Jem had never really developed the taste for the dark brown liquid, but if it made him seem more grown up, then by Jove, coffee he would drink.
Honestly, he didn't have to act that way; he already looked grown up enough. He was no longer the scrawny little boy who, at one point in his life, was not permitted to play football. At fifteen years old, he reached 5'11, had an athletic build, and possessed a sense of overwhelming confidence in his air.... and not to mention a nice head of hair. The thing that surprised me most was that he was never vain of himself. I was though, proud to call him my brother. I also immensely enjoyed the fact that Cecil Jacobs and a few other boys I didn't much care for were all extremely jealous. Letting out a smile at this, I looked to see Cal entering from the kitchen with a plate of bacon and waffles freshly made. A glass of cold milk was also placed before me, and I eagerly sipped some of it, making my sip extra noisy and dragging it along. Jem growled with envy at my satisfaction. Atticus just cleared his throat and I felt a foot softly kick me under the table. I grunted in response. Our childish fun was to end however, as Aunt Alexandra gracefully came down the stairs in a lavender bathrobe. She was hardly ever late for a meal, which made me raise an eyebrow...perhaps I was just early this morning.
Soon as it had started breakfast came to end, and I left my place at the table to collect my books. Jem did the same, although he did have more books to carry. That's what happened when you reached the tenth grade, and even though it came with a lot of work, I was all the more eager to join my brother. I found the fifth grade of little interest and of knowledge that has previously been planted in my head. There was some talk of moving me up a level or two, however my skills in Math sorely needed help. Up until the following year, I had no struggles concerning that subject when it suddenly presented itself to be quiet an obstacle. I desperately need to leave my current class; the teacher was just down right awful. Jem had barely suffered through that year, so any sympathy he had was kindly bestowed on me; something I gratefully accepted when he happened to be in a sour mood.
We were now outside the door on the porch, and just in time too. Miss Maudie came out of her house to water some azaleas at exactly a half hour past seven every morning. She said her hellos and we returned ours. I looked over at the neighborhood just to see if anything was out of place....it never was. I struck up a conversation with Jem as I tried my best to keep up with his long strides.
"Jem, you outta stay at school extra late today if you're smart." He gave me a quizzical look, but kept silent knowing I'd soon go on to tell him. I did:
"A few of the girls are coming over today, and I don't wanna hafta sacrifice my own fun for yours."
"Aww, Scout do they have to?" He sighed. "The last thing we need is more ten year old girls in the house, especially for dinner." I grinned, knowing how much he hated it.
"They ain't all ten year olds, one of them is thirteen!" Now, to me that age sounded old and rather exciting. Of course, they were as dumb as ten year olds, which is the reason I knew them in the first place. In our group at school, there were six girls; Rosie was thirteen, Agnes and Samantha were twelve, Mary was eleven and I would be too, in a month. We were all "privileged" to be in the company of Ms. Gray, whose mood seemed never to contradict her name, though it did define the color of her hair.
"Fine," he muttered, "but don't be long, I don't wanna hafta stay outside in dark." He didn't have to stay outside, which I told him, but he just shook his head, telling me we both know why he chose not to. Rosie, the thirteen year old, had it in good for Jem. When it was just us girls, a few of 'em would talk about what the future had in store for them....let me tell you, it all involved marriage and babies. Sure, I'd probably want a husband to love me an kids to play with in my later years..but I was only ten going eleven still waiting for normal body parts to arrive, and these girls were already debating on which types of flowers they would walk down the aisle with. Whatever was fresh in Miss Maudie's garden would work fine with me. Besides...I already was engaged. I pulled out of my trance when I suddenly bumped into a curly head in front of me. The person turned to reveal a freckled faced, green-eyed girl named...Rosie.
"Hi Scout, hey Jem." She said the last name a bit more coaxingly than necessary. Jem muttered his greetings and said he'd be off now that I had some company. He crossed the street and walked along side some of his other friends who apparently found the situation quiet amusing. Rosie frowned.
"Ever wonder what boys talk about, Scout?"
"I know what they talk about and it all involves football and food."
"Is Jem any different? When he ain't with his friends I mean." I simply shrugged. I didn't want Rosie to hear anything about Jem's private life. He didn't much care for her; an he had a good reason too, as did the rest of the boys in Maycomb. To begin with, she was obnoxious at times, never leaving you alone, she had a passion for telling lies, I suppose all that could be ignored if it weren't for the situation with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor had a very prosperous start at the begging of their marriage, until Mr. Taylor's company went bankrupt. He and the family (including nine year old Rosie) came to move her four years ago. They were known for being intent on gaining back their fortune, which made it key for all their children to marry well off. Well, we certainly weren't well off, but I could guess that if Rosie and Jem married, Mr. Taylor would use a few old connections to get Jem into Wall Street. It was great relief to know this would never occur. Besides that, it was old news to know a girl was sweet on Jem, many were. Of course, in my knowledge of things, there was only one girl whose opinion mattered to Jem.....only he didn't even know if she liked him.
Her name was Kate.
She was the daughter of a good friend of both Atticus and Aunt Alexandra. Both my father and my Aunt invited her and her mother for a short stay of two weeks during the summertime. I remember the day we met vividly.
~Flashback~
"Jem, Scout get ready they'll be here any minuet now...Scout, I told you a hundred times to wash your face girl, now go scrub!" Jem quickly told Cal there was no time for that, and our company had just arrived. I smiled at my unexpected victory while pretending I'd planned it all along. Cal then found it necessary to leave the room in search of Aunty. It wouldn't do for her to be absent when her guests came through the door. My aunt soon came down the stairs gracefully as ever wearing a new blue sundress. I pretended to gag, thinking she looked exceedingly similar to a lampshade that could be located on my desk. Jem pinched my arm as a warning and told me to just shut up, or I'd be scolded in front of everybody. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"You ain't got the authority to scold me!"
"What's this about scolding children?" I looked up to see Aunty attaching rather long and dangly earrings on. It took my entire will power not to try and pull on of them down to see if she lit up or not. Jem must have known what I was pondering for he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
"Aww, nothing Aunty. We're just playing." She nodded her head, not really caring what we were up to. I didn't find that part odd. The opening of the front door called our attention to foyer with anticipation. In stepped Atticus, a middle-aged woman, and a young girl I took to be about Jem's age. Aunt Alexandra was all smiles as well as a few hugs and kisses. Mother and daughter looked extremely alike with the same honey-colored hair, sparkling blue eyes, and rosy cheeks, though the daughter's was sprinkled with a few faint freckles. Jem loosened his tie and tried to regain a normal breathing composure. I would have giggled had I found a way to manage it without embarrassing anybody. I couldn't think of one. When the joyous celebration took a moment to pause, Atticus began the introductions.
"Margaret, Kate, these are my children, Jem and Jean-Louise." I stuck out my hand to each, which both took.
"You can call me Scout," I told them. Jem went next followed by Calpurnia. Within a few moments we were all seated in the living room, the grown ups discussing their view on the latest events in politics and what not. While I did occasionally enjoy a conversation of that nature with my father present, I found Kate to be a much more interesting subject than what they could be talking about. It soon turned out to be that I was equally mesmerized with her as Jem was..though not in the same way as I later came to observe. She had a certain air about her, which fascinated you. In fact, I discovered as the day progressed that she was much the female form of Dill, though all her claims we took to be true. The three of us found ourselves in fanciful conversations of literature, life, and everything else worth talking about under the sun. Kate was impressed at the amount of knowledge I possessed for such a young age. Of course, she did know Atticus, so it wasn't too surprising once you thought about it. We sat down to dinner at promptly six thirty to a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade bread and cider. Our table conversation consisted of what had recently happened to both the guests and the hosts, talking of vacations, holidays, and of course, town gossip. Aunty was never very crude, though it might have been mistaken for other things she gave off, but when she was with Mrs. Harrison, she became very much a schoolgirl herself, a transformation that shocked not so much my father, but Jem and myself. I couldn't wait until after dinner, when we could talk just us kids....though I was the only kid present. Every once in a while, Kate and Jem would find a subject only they themselves could have an opinion on, but would always include me in it for good measure, which I was grateful for.
Days passed by quickly, Dill arrived and was most intrigued with as we were. I saw little of her mother, but from my observations I took her be the exact opposite of Aunt Alexandra and wondered why on earth the two could form a friendship. I decided Miss Maudie would answer my question, and that she did. She said it took all sorts of people to make friendships, based on anything you could imagine. I wasn't too satisfied with that, having wanted a direct definition for the reason in question, but did not receive one and left it at that. As the week came to pass and the days of summer came to end as swiftly as snapping of a finger, it soon came time to bid farewell to our company, both the Harrison's and Dill. Our spirits were lifted, however, as they promised to come back next year, roughly around the same time as Dill. And with that they were gone, as if they had never come....
~End Flashback~
Rosie tugged viciously on my arm.
"Scout? Scout? Girl, are you sleep-walking or something?" I pulled out of my trance, and placed a weary smile on my face.
"Yea, I just...Oh! We're gonna be late! That damn lady's gonna kill us!" We rushed across the street, a safe thing to do in Maycomb, considering only half the town owned cars, and even the most preferred to walk. Finally inside my classroom I took my seat situated by the window. I briefly thought I saw a familiar auburn-head walking down the block, but decided it could be so and put my attention on the teacher...but I still couldn't dismiss the curiosity in my head.
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"Scout! Scout.........Jean Louise Finch, you wake up right now or I'll tan yer hide!" I rolled my eyes under the covers and threw the sheets over my head, revealing an entanglement of choppy dark brown hairs. I glanced up to see Cal looking down at me, a frown marking her tired old face. She sighed and closed the door, off to make breakfast no doubt. She always seemed to make more food, now that Jem was older and eating like a horse with three times a day at the very minimum. Speak of the devil; my older brother came through the adjoining doors, barefoot and in trousers buttoning up his shirt as he walked in.
"Jem! I ain't properly dressed yet!" I took my privacy as something slightly more valuable now that I had reached the stage of what Aunty called "young womanhood" I didn't much care for it all that much, but I figured I might as well get it over, as if it were something I could actually control.
"Aww, your just in pajamas Scout, I've seen ya in less than that," he said referring to my swimsuit. He tossed me a dress from the wooden chest in the corner. He grabbed a brush off the shelf, ran it through his hair and made his way downstairs. Lord, did he ever make such a clamor! I heard Aunt Alexandra tell him to act more gentlemanlike and I snickered. As if she knew what I was thinking, she entered the room, and we began our famous battles. Atticus always said we sounded like squawking chickens. This occurred every morning at promptly 7 o'clock when the two of us would bicker and argue over which dress I would wear that day. Today, a white cotton shirt with a yellow skirt vs. a peppermint pink dress...can you guess which one I was voting for? And so it began:
"Jean Louise, you'll be eleven years old, come May."
"Then why can't I act like I'm ten 'til then?"
"Because, you're father has already been generous enough in dealing with matters concerning your upbringing prior to my move." I waited until her back was turned to make a face at her....I wasn't that stupid as to do so when she could hear me.
"But Atticus doesn't mind what I wear, as long as I wear something."
"Child, thank the Lord Almighty for that!" For some reason I stopped, not wanting to go on...besides, if she brought God into the subject, she knew I wasn't likely to follow. I snatched the outfit of my choice and ran into the bathroom to change. Aunty mumbled something incoherent which I took to be of very little importance. I emerged from the room a moment later, and took out my brush.
"100 strokes," I heard my Aunt call from outside the door. I simply rolled my eyes and kept focus on my hair. As soon as I was done, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. Jem and Atticus were already seated at the table, my father reading the paper and calmly sipping his coffee while Jem stuffed his mouth with eggs and bacon, every so often taking a sip of his own coffee, and immediately following that came a face of disgust. Jem had never really developed the taste for the dark brown liquid, but if it made him seem more grown up, then by Jove, coffee he would drink.
Honestly, he didn't have to act that way; he already looked grown up enough. He was no longer the scrawny little boy who, at one point in his life, was not permitted to play football. At fifteen years old, he reached 5'11, had an athletic build, and possessed a sense of overwhelming confidence in his air.... and not to mention a nice head of hair. The thing that surprised me most was that he was never vain of himself. I was though, proud to call him my brother. I also immensely enjoyed the fact that Cecil Jacobs and a few other boys I didn't much care for were all extremely jealous. Letting out a smile at this, I looked to see Cal entering from the kitchen with a plate of bacon and waffles freshly made. A glass of cold milk was also placed before me, and I eagerly sipped some of it, making my sip extra noisy and dragging it along. Jem growled with envy at my satisfaction. Atticus just cleared his throat and I felt a foot softly kick me under the table. I grunted in response. Our childish fun was to end however, as Aunt Alexandra gracefully came down the stairs in a lavender bathrobe. She was hardly ever late for a meal, which made me raise an eyebrow...perhaps I was just early this morning.
Soon as it had started breakfast came to end, and I left my place at the table to collect my books. Jem did the same, although he did have more books to carry. That's what happened when you reached the tenth grade, and even though it came with a lot of work, I was all the more eager to join my brother. I found the fifth grade of little interest and of knowledge that has previously been planted in my head. There was some talk of moving me up a level or two, however my skills in Math sorely needed help. Up until the following year, I had no struggles concerning that subject when it suddenly presented itself to be quiet an obstacle. I desperately need to leave my current class; the teacher was just down right awful. Jem had barely suffered through that year, so any sympathy he had was kindly bestowed on me; something I gratefully accepted when he happened to be in a sour mood.
We were now outside the door on the porch, and just in time too. Miss Maudie came out of her house to water some azaleas at exactly a half hour past seven every morning. She said her hellos and we returned ours. I looked over at the neighborhood just to see if anything was out of place....it never was. I struck up a conversation with Jem as I tried my best to keep up with his long strides.
"Jem, you outta stay at school extra late today if you're smart." He gave me a quizzical look, but kept silent knowing I'd soon go on to tell him. I did:
"A few of the girls are coming over today, and I don't wanna hafta sacrifice my own fun for yours."
"Aww, Scout do they have to?" He sighed. "The last thing we need is more ten year old girls in the house, especially for dinner." I grinned, knowing how much he hated it.
"They ain't all ten year olds, one of them is thirteen!" Now, to me that age sounded old and rather exciting. Of course, they were as dumb as ten year olds, which is the reason I knew them in the first place. In our group at school, there were six girls; Rosie was thirteen, Agnes and Samantha were twelve, Mary was eleven and I would be too, in a month. We were all "privileged" to be in the company of Ms. Gray, whose mood seemed never to contradict her name, though it did define the color of her hair.
"Fine," he muttered, "but don't be long, I don't wanna hafta stay outside in dark." He didn't have to stay outside, which I told him, but he just shook his head, telling me we both know why he chose not to. Rosie, the thirteen year old, had it in good for Jem. When it was just us girls, a few of 'em would talk about what the future had in store for them....let me tell you, it all involved marriage and babies. Sure, I'd probably want a husband to love me an kids to play with in my later years..but I was only ten going eleven still waiting for normal body parts to arrive, and these girls were already debating on which types of flowers they would walk down the aisle with. Whatever was fresh in Miss Maudie's garden would work fine with me. Besides...I already was engaged. I pulled out of my trance when I suddenly bumped into a curly head in front of me. The person turned to reveal a freckled faced, green-eyed girl named...Rosie.
"Hi Scout, hey Jem." She said the last name a bit more coaxingly than necessary. Jem muttered his greetings and said he'd be off now that I had some company. He crossed the street and walked along side some of his other friends who apparently found the situation quiet amusing. Rosie frowned.
"Ever wonder what boys talk about, Scout?"
"I know what they talk about and it all involves football and food."
"Is Jem any different? When he ain't with his friends I mean." I simply shrugged. I didn't want Rosie to hear anything about Jem's private life. He didn't much care for her; an he had a good reason too, as did the rest of the boys in Maycomb. To begin with, she was obnoxious at times, never leaving you alone, she had a passion for telling lies, I suppose all that could be ignored if it weren't for the situation with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor had a very prosperous start at the begging of their marriage, until Mr. Taylor's company went bankrupt. He and the family (including nine year old Rosie) came to move her four years ago. They were known for being intent on gaining back their fortune, which made it key for all their children to marry well off. Well, we certainly weren't well off, but I could guess that if Rosie and Jem married, Mr. Taylor would use a few old connections to get Jem into Wall Street. It was great relief to know this would never occur. Besides that, it was old news to know a girl was sweet on Jem, many were. Of course, in my knowledge of things, there was only one girl whose opinion mattered to Jem.....only he didn't even know if she liked him.
Her name was Kate.
She was the daughter of a good friend of both Atticus and Aunt Alexandra. Both my father and my Aunt invited her and her mother for a short stay of two weeks during the summertime. I remember the day we met vividly.
~Flashback~
"Jem, Scout get ready they'll be here any minuet now...Scout, I told you a hundred times to wash your face girl, now go scrub!" Jem quickly told Cal there was no time for that, and our company had just arrived. I smiled at my unexpected victory while pretending I'd planned it all along. Cal then found it necessary to leave the room in search of Aunty. It wouldn't do for her to be absent when her guests came through the door. My aunt soon came down the stairs gracefully as ever wearing a new blue sundress. I pretended to gag, thinking she looked exceedingly similar to a lampshade that could be located on my desk. Jem pinched my arm as a warning and told me to just shut up, or I'd be scolded in front of everybody. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"You ain't got the authority to scold me!"
"What's this about scolding children?" I looked up to see Aunty attaching rather long and dangly earrings on. It took my entire will power not to try and pull on of them down to see if she lit up or not. Jem must have known what I was pondering for he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
"Aww, nothing Aunty. We're just playing." She nodded her head, not really caring what we were up to. I didn't find that part odd. The opening of the front door called our attention to foyer with anticipation. In stepped Atticus, a middle-aged woman, and a young girl I took to be about Jem's age. Aunt Alexandra was all smiles as well as a few hugs and kisses. Mother and daughter looked extremely alike with the same honey-colored hair, sparkling blue eyes, and rosy cheeks, though the daughter's was sprinkled with a few faint freckles. Jem loosened his tie and tried to regain a normal breathing composure. I would have giggled had I found a way to manage it without embarrassing anybody. I couldn't think of one. When the joyous celebration took a moment to pause, Atticus began the introductions.
"Margaret, Kate, these are my children, Jem and Jean-Louise." I stuck out my hand to each, which both took.
"You can call me Scout," I told them. Jem went next followed by Calpurnia. Within a few moments we were all seated in the living room, the grown ups discussing their view on the latest events in politics and what not. While I did occasionally enjoy a conversation of that nature with my father present, I found Kate to be a much more interesting subject than what they could be talking about. It soon turned out to be that I was equally mesmerized with her as Jem was..though not in the same way as I later came to observe. She had a certain air about her, which fascinated you. In fact, I discovered as the day progressed that she was much the female form of Dill, though all her claims we took to be true. The three of us found ourselves in fanciful conversations of literature, life, and everything else worth talking about under the sun. Kate was impressed at the amount of knowledge I possessed for such a young age. Of course, she did know Atticus, so it wasn't too surprising once you thought about it. We sat down to dinner at promptly six thirty to a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade bread and cider. Our table conversation consisted of what had recently happened to both the guests and the hosts, talking of vacations, holidays, and of course, town gossip. Aunty was never very crude, though it might have been mistaken for other things she gave off, but when she was with Mrs. Harrison, she became very much a schoolgirl herself, a transformation that shocked not so much my father, but Jem and myself. I couldn't wait until after dinner, when we could talk just us kids....though I was the only kid present. Every once in a while, Kate and Jem would find a subject only they themselves could have an opinion on, but would always include me in it for good measure, which I was grateful for.
Days passed by quickly, Dill arrived and was most intrigued with as we were. I saw little of her mother, but from my observations I took her be the exact opposite of Aunt Alexandra and wondered why on earth the two could form a friendship. I decided Miss Maudie would answer my question, and that she did. She said it took all sorts of people to make friendships, based on anything you could imagine. I wasn't too satisfied with that, having wanted a direct definition for the reason in question, but did not receive one and left it at that. As the week came to pass and the days of summer came to end as swiftly as snapping of a finger, it soon came time to bid farewell to our company, both the Harrison's and Dill. Our spirits were lifted, however, as they promised to come back next year, roughly around the same time as Dill. And with that they were gone, as if they had never come....
~End Flashback~
Rosie tugged viciously on my arm.
"Scout? Scout? Girl, are you sleep-walking or something?" I pulled out of my trance, and placed a weary smile on my face.
"Yea, I just...Oh! We're gonna be late! That damn lady's gonna kill us!" We rushed across the street, a safe thing to do in Maycomb, considering only half the town owned cars, and even the most preferred to walk. Finally inside my classroom I took my seat situated by the window. I briefly thought I saw a familiar auburn-head walking down the block, but decided it could be so and put my attention on the teacher...but I still couldn't dismiss the curiosity in my head.