Chapter One: Adventures With Padraic

"WAKE UP!"

I turned over. "Cliff, I am giving you approximately fifteen seconds to remove yourself from my room before I am forced to commit justifiable muricide."

"Huh?"

"Leave before I strangle you!"

Cliff sat on my bed. "But Mum says you'll be late for school!"

"Hardly credible!" I argued. "I might be duped more easily if it weren't Saturday."

My brother frowned. "Why do you talk that way?"

"I read the thesaurus to improve my vocabulary, that I may prove myself to be a proper gentleman upon reaching adulthood. Now get out!" I threw a pillow his direction.

"For someone who wants to be a sleuth, you're pretty forgetful. Don't you remember what you've been begging Mum to let you do this Saturday?"

Having a sudden burst of realization, I sprang from the bed, rushing through my preparations for the morning. Mother laughed as I hurried to the table for breakfast.

"Where's the crime?" Bryna teased. "You in a hurry to prevent a robbery or something?"

"I have much to do," I responded. "I'm afraid I have procrastinated gathering my meager belongings…"

"What?"

I sighed. "I haven't packed yet!"

"Why didn't you just say so?"

I covered my face with a hand, lightly resting my fingers on my forehead. "How have I failed to make myself perfectly clear?"

"He wants to be a gentleman!" Cliff put in. "That's why he talks all fancy."

"Have you no desire to become eloquent and sophisticated?" I queried.

He cringed. "Be a gentleman? What for?"

"That will be enough of that," Mother stated. "We're a family. We all support each other's dreams. If he wants to improve his vocabulary, we're not going to mock him."

After breakfast, I continued to rush, gathering all I would need.

"Where did I leave my toothbrush?!" I muttered rhetorically.

"You're the future detective," Cliff answered.

"You tell us which one of us hid it," concluded Bryna.

Father ended the frustration. "Give your brother back his toothbrush!"

"Insufferable vermin," I whispered under my breath, blushing with shame as I recalled the consequence my parents had threatened to enforce if they ever again heard me refer to my siblings as vermin.

I finished packing just as I heard a knock at the door, which Mother answered.

"Hello, Padraic," she greeted. "Have you come to take your hostage?"

A look of horror swept over his face. "Oh no, ma'am! I would never do such a thing!"

"I was only teasing," Mother explained. "I know you're a good boy, Padraic. There's not the slightest trace of felon in you."

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm going to grow up and change society."

"No doubt a most welcome change!"

Bryna stared. "That's a BIG rat!"

"Actually, I'm a mouse," Padraic answered.

"You're not fooling anyone!" remarked Cliff. "You're definitely a rat!"

"I'm a mouse! I'm just tall for my age!"

My brother turned to me. "What is he?"

"He's my best friend," I rejoined. "What else matters?"

Padraic hugged me. "Great to see you! This is going to be so fun! I've been waiting all week for this!"

I lightly tapped his back as I returned the embrace. "Indeed! I've found it nearly impossible to concentrate on my studies due to my excitement!"

Before I took my leave, my parents had a bit of a homily for me.

"While you are Padraic's guest, you are under the authority of his parents," Mother began. "We expect you to obey them and follow the rules of their home. It's a poor investigator who will ask others to submit to laws while he rebels against authority."

"Gracious hosts deserve gracious guests," added Father. "See if you can be of help around the house. Don't be irresponsible like your cousin Anatole was when he came to visit us last summer."

Finally, I was allowed to depart. To pass the time as we walked to Padraic's domicile, I decided to make conversation.

"Is this the first time you have invited a classmate to your home for the evening?" I queried.

"Certainly!" Padraic replied. "You're my only friend, you know."

Commiserating with him, I attempted to change the subject. "How are your studies?"

"I'm still doing well academically, but that idiot Bill keeps robbing me! He steals anything! Books, my allowance, my backpack, whatever he wants!"

"Bill fears you."

"Why? I'm not dangerous. I've never harmed anyone or destroyed anything." My friend sighed. "Is it my size?"

"Hardly," I answered. "I believe it to be your intelligence." As I was not tall enough to place a hand on his shoulder, I laid a hand on his wrist. "Nearly every genius in the history of the world suffered some form of rejection by society, yet they proved themselves, as you shall someday. Bill is fully aware of this fact. He knows your brain is that of a mastermind while his own is far below average intelligence."

"I vow that nothing, not even Bill, will stand in my way!"

"That's the spirit, Padraic!" I nearly chuckled.

"Why the smug grin?"

"I was merely imagining you as an adult, a brilliant mind that has changed Mousedom forever, and all those who have bullied you can find no jobs other than custodial positions under your authority."

He beamed, raising his arms in a gesture of triumph. "All will bow before me!" Padraic suddenly blushed, quickly dropping his arms and clutching his hands behind his back in shame.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not that kind of rodent," he explicated. "I just made it sound like I was going to have them all kiss my feet as revenge. Being smart doesn't mean you have to be vengeful, you know."

"I know. It's alright, Padraic. We're both aware that you meant no harm by your statement. It was a mere jocosity."

When we arrived at Padraic's home, his mother informed us that lunch would be ready shortly.

"Why don't we play outside until it's finished?" my friend suggested.

I agreed, but I was agape when he climbed the nearest tree.

"Come on up!" he coaxed.

I frowned. "Have you no fear of broken limbs?"

"The limbs are sturdy enough," Padraic replied.

"I meant your own bones rather than the structure of the tree," I clarified.

"Scared of heights?"

"I do indeed tend to be a bit apprehensive about situations that could potentially cause my demise."

"I won't let you fall," he promised. "Don't you trust me?"

"Without a doubt," I replied. "It's this tree I distrust. As for you, I would trust you with my life."

"I would never betray that trust or make you regret placing your life in my hands. You do believe me, don't you?"

Against my better judgment, I allowed him to assist me onto the lowest bough.

"Isn't this fantastic?! The views from high places are always incredible!" Padraic sighed happily. "I've always wanted to sit on one of the hands of the clock tower and see the entire city."

"Sounds like a good way to get yourself killed," I commented.

"Did you know Big Ben isn't really the name of the clock? It's actually the name of the bell that tolls when the hour changes."

"I should've suspected you'd know as much," I answered. "You do have a fascination with tintinnabulation."

I hoped I wouldn't fall. I had no desire to spend time with the family doctor. All physicians I have had the displeasure of meeting have hearts filled with avarice rather than compassion for patients. These charlatans rob the ill and injured of their money, caring not a whit whether their victims recover. Many times, I declared how foolish it was to entrust a doctor with one's health. Padraic always replied that I mustn't sneer at medical practitioners, for the day may come when I owe my life to a physician.

I was only too elated when my friend suggested we leave the tree and go inside. The rest of the day passed quickly. After lunch, we amused ourselves with board games as we recited anecdotes and discussed future adventures we desired, such as our plans for the following summer.

Before we fell asleep that evening, we thrashed each other with pillows. Padraic had to swing carefully and gently, lest he inflict actual damage due to the differences in our height and weight. I, on the other hand, could use full force against him.

After I had yielded to slumber, I had a most disturbing nightmare. In my dream, I stood before a formidable adversary, a wroth beast driven insane by his own hatred. Blood dripped from the monster's claws, and vengeance burned in his eyes. Who was this creature, and what had I done to infuriate him so?

Then I felt myself falling. It seemed as if I would plummet to my death. Where was I, and how had I managed to reach such a great height?

The monster looked down at me as I fell. "Are you alright?" He began shaking me.

At that moment, I opened my eyes, finally awakened from the horrible dream.

Padraic was staring at me. "Are you alright? You were thrashing around in your sleep."

"A mere nightmare," I responded. "My thanks to you for waking me."

He smiled sympathetically. "Would you like to hear the harp? Sometimes playing the harp calms me when I'm upset. Maybe it will help you."

Unwilling to admit my own feelings of terror but desperate for any form of relief, I nodded. As Padraic deftly produced soothing music, I drifted back into a state of relaxation. The last sound I heard that night was the tenth toll of Big Ben as the hour changed.