Also the ****'s mean the star of a new chapter.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROGER!" 4 year old Mark yelled. His clear blue eyes excited behind his glasses under a shock of blond messed up hair. Roger had just turned 5 and gotten a haircut and new clothes and a new guitar (to replace his old one which had broken) for his birthday. Mark had gotten him a package of guitar picks and more crayons. Roger's bright leaf-green eyes roamed around the few gifts he had received and right away picked up the guitar and picks. His now spiked dirty blond hair was catching and reflecting light.
"I like your gift Mawk." Roger said. "Wanna heaw me play my new guita?" Roger asked. His front teeth were missing so he couldn't speak speak very well at the moment.
"Thanks Rog. And alright, I'll listen to you play now." Mark told the taller boy. Roger picked up his new guitar and ran to his room with Mark close behind.
"Alright thith ith it Mawk." Roger said as he played the song Mark had heard many times before, but now it was complete!
"That is so cool!" Mark yelled as Roger bowed.
"Thankth. If I play it again could you film it?" Roger asked.
"Sure Rog." Mark said, getting his camera out. Roger began playing and Mark started filming Roger playing his song. Roger rocked out just like any musician should while playing his song. Mark held the camera. He moved around, trying to get Roger at different angles. Roger focused on his song but tried to get Mark to laugh. He was sticking his tounge out at Mark's camera. Mark started laughing silently. Roger played through to the end.
"THANK YOU NEW YORK CITY!" Roger yelled as he raised his arms and bowed. Mark caught it all on film. When they played it back Roger couldn't help but laugh. It was really cool how Mark had done it. "Thath awthome Mawk." Roger told the smaller blond. Mark blushed and nodded in thanks. Roger slapped the smaller boy on the back and Mark almost lost his camera.
"Careful!" Mark warned.
"Sowwy." Roger replied. Roget then put his guitar down gently and ran into the kitchen of his small apartment. "Mommy can Mawk and I have thome cake?" Roger asked eagerly.
"Sure. Here you go boys." Mrs. Davis said giving them both a piece of cake on a small paper plate.
"Thankth Mommy. Hewe ya go Mawk." Roger thanked his mom and handed Mark a plate with the cake on it.
"Thanks Rog." Mark replied.
"No pwoblem. I hope you like the cake." Roger told the smaller boy. Mark tasted the cake and nodded.
"I like it." Mark said.
"Cool. I wonder what would happen if I did thith." Roger wondered as he pulled the fork with cake backwards and let it go. The clear plastic fork flicked forward and the cake flew at Mark. It hit his glasses.
"Hey! Roger!" Mark yelled. He cleaned his glasses as best he could and chased Roger to a place with carpeting. Then he tackled the taller boy. "What did you do that for?!?!" Mark asked Roger.
"I wanted to thee what you would do." Roger explained. Then Roger pinned Mark down and picked up a small plastic bat.
"No Rog don't do that!" Mark pleaded. Roger started whacking Mark over the head with the bat. Mark managed to kick Roger off of him. After that Roger pinned Mark to the wall. "Rog, I can't breathe!" Mark cried.
"Roger Davis what are you doing to Mark!?!?" Mrs. Davis shrieked when she saw her son battling physically with Mark. Mark took advantage of this and pounced on Roger from behind. Roger was pinned now and Mark was holding the older boy down.
"Mawk, I can't bweathe!" Roger yelled.
"You did that to me." Mark said calmly.
"BOYS'!" Mrs. Davis yelled. "Roger, Mark stop. No more throwing cake at Mark, no more hitting him with plastic bats, no more pinning him so that he can't breathe. Just no more. Same to you Mark." Mrs. Davis told the two boys.
"Alwight Mommy. We'll thtop." Roger promised.
"Good. Now finish your cake, and no more throwing it at people." Mrs. Davis said. Roger nodded and went back to eating his cake. Mark finished cleaning his glasses and continued eating. Roger finished first and wiated for Mark. When Mark was done they went out onto the balcony.
"I wish Apwil could be hewe wight now." Roger said as he looked at the dog-tag necklace April had given him before she had moved away.
"Yeah. April was cool. The scarf she gave me is really useful. At least she'll be back when we get into High School." Mark commented. Roger nodded. Then he noticed something on the dog-tag, April had put her picture on it.
"Look She put her picture on it. I wonda why." Roger wondered aloud. Mark shrugged and played back the last film he had caught of April.
"'Last shot of April Ericcson as she leaves for Boston.'" Mark's voice said from the film. Roger was crying.
"Roger are you alright?" Mark asked.
"I mith her, she wath a good friend." Roger said. He wiped the tears away. Mark turned the film off. But before Mark did they saw April waving. Roger looked away. His leafy green eyes looked downcast as he turned away.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Mark asked.
"Yeah." Roger said.
*
The next morning Roger spiked his hair and ate a bowl of Cap 'n' Crunch. Roger pulled on a grey Fender shirt and picked up his guitar case.
"Hey Rog. You ready?" Mrs. Davis asked.
"Yeah." Roger said. Roger held his mother's hand as they walked down the street to the Alphabet City Elementary School. Mark was already there when Roger arrived.
"Hey Rog." Mark called.
"Hi Marky." Roger called back.
"Don't call me that." Mark told him.
"Thorry. Bye Mommy we have to go." Roger told him mom as the two boys walked into their school. Roger still looked a bit down.
"Rog what happened yesterday with my film?" Mark asked.
"Nothing. I jutht mith April." Roger said, sadly.
"I miss her too." Mark agreed. Roger pulled out the dog-tag necklace and looked at it again. The picture on the back showed April just as she had been when Roger had last seen her. Red-ish blond hair and dazzling hazel eyes that lit up with her smile. Her heart shaped face was lit up with the smile that could get both boys to laugh when they were upset.
"Rog? Earth to Roger Davis. Come in Roger. ROGER!" Mark shouted.
"AHHHHH! WHAT?!?!" Roger shouted back.
"Thank you. You need ta stop lookin' at April's picture she won't look the same as she did then the next time we see her." Mark told him.
"I know but that'th a long way away and she'll look almotht the thame when we thee her next time won't she?" Roger asked, suddenly worried that next time he saw April that he wouldn't recognize her.
"She'll have that hair forever." Mark pointed out. "It'll probably just get a shade or two darker or lighter."
"Yeah." Roger agreed, but he still had his doubts.
"C'mon let's go play on the swings." Mark suggested.
"Alwight." Roger agreed and the two ran off toward the swingset.
"I bet I can swing higher than you!" Mark shouted. Before they'd gotten to the swingset before school, the bell had rung so now at recess they played on the swingset.
"No you can't! I can swing highwer than you though!" Roger replied. The two were having a contest to see who could swing the highest without the teachers noticing, be cause the school rule was that they couldn't swing higher than the second post of the swingset. Roger had made up the contest in Pre School and they had played it ever since. As of right now Roger was winning.
"Aw Rog, no fair! You're taller!" Mark complained.
"I can't help that I'm talle, Mawk." Roger responded but slowed down a bit anyway. That's when they heard the shout.
"MARK, ROGER! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING THIS SECOND!" Ms. Quincy was running toward them. The two stopped their swings but stayed seated.
"What'd we do, Ms. Q?" Roger asked.
"You know you're not supposed to swing that high! School Rule boys." Ms. Quincy told them.
"Well it'th a thupid wule."
"We don't say 'stupid' here Mr. Davis."
"Why not?"
"It isn't a nice word."
"Why not?"
"It's not a nice word and it's a School Rule Mr. Davis."
"Oh."
"Boys how about you get off the swings now?"
"Why?" Mark asked.
"I told you to." Ms. Quincy said.
"It sounded more like a question to me."
"Mr. Cohen I stirctly asked you to get off the swings."
"What does 'strictly' mean?"
"WHY ARE YOU BOTH SO DIFFICULT! JUST GET OFF THE SWINGS!"
"We will when you tell me what it means." Mark said calmly.
"WHAT WHAT MEANS!?"
"'Strictly.'"
"It means I asked you to do what I asked you right away."
"Oh. Well bye Ms. Quincy." The two boys hopped off the swings and ran to the jungle gym. They sat down and Roger pulled out a tiny notebook and pencil and began to write. Mark took out his camera from the small camera bag he carried with him. "August 23. 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Roger and Mark are out on the playground just before lunch. Roger is trying to write a song. Mark is filming." Mark continued to narrate while Roger tried to think up a good song. Then the bell rang. Everyone made their way to the lunch room to eat. Roger and Mark ended up last inside because so many older kids thought they were wierd and tried to stay away from them.
"Why does everyone hate us?" Roger asked Mark.
"Just cuz we like art and they don't." Mark said.
"Well that'th THTUPID!" Roger yelled, loudly enough for Ms. Quincy to hear. "Run." he hissed to Mark and the two boys melted into the crowd of Kindergartners. Mark was laughing and both boys managed to get inside without being seen.
"I can't beleive you did that Rog!" Mark yelled through his giggles.
"You know I'll bet we'll always be twouble-makerth. Math chaoth for evewyone." Roger remarked.
"Yep. People will hide in fear from us." Mark agreed. Roger nodded and took out a lunch box out of his backpack. "Aw my Mommy forgot to pack me lunch."
"Hewe you can have half of my thandwich."
"Thanks Rog." Mark took the half and ate it slowly.
"Why are you eating tho thlow?" Roger asked.
"Your stomach holds food longer if you eat slower cuz it makes it think that you don't have much food." Mark told him.
"Oh." Roger took out a water and took a quick drink. Mark grabbed Roger's lunch and pulled out a juice. Roger nodded and Mark kept the juice. Lunch ended far to quickly for both boys and they hurried off to their classroom.
As they walked in Ms. Quincy greeted them and the two slipped into their seats without getting into any more trouble.
"I'm surprised she didn't mention when you yelled stupid befo lunch." Mark remarked.
"Yeah tho am I. Well it meanth she didn't notithe." Roger said. Mark nodded and the two of them took their seats and began working on a letter writing worksheet that Ms. Quincy had given them.
As they worked Roger doodled on the egdes of his paper. He was drawing things that related to music such as notes and clef's. Mark on the other hand was working without fail or distraction.
"Mawk, how do you write the letter 'r'?" Roger asked. Mark grabbed the pencil from Roger's hand and showed him, Roger then took the pencil back and tried it for himself. "Thankth Mawky."
"Don't call me that and you're welcome." Mark replied. He'd finished the worksheet a long time ago and was coloring a 'Wizard of Oz' coloring sheet. Roger was trying to finish quickly so that he could color too, but without luck. A few moments later he put the pencil down and turned in his work for a coloring sheet.
"Well that wath fun." Roger had colored the whole sheet in under a minute.
"Rog all you did was scribble across the thing so you could get done." Mark grinned. An hour later the bell rang and the students went to get picked up.
As the year went on the boys continued with trouble and chaos. At the end of the year party Ms. Quincy seemed truly happy to see them go. On the last day of school Roger had made a game of throwing snacks and water at peoples faces. Ms. Quincy was first to get the water splashed at her.
"ROGER DAVIS!" She yelled after getting her face wet.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to." Roger replied, smirking. Mark broke out giggling.
*
"Good-bye school. Hello Summer!" Roger and Mark yelled as they ran toward the swimming pool. Roger didn't own a swimsuit so he wore baggy shorts that reached his knees. Mark did the same. Both boys jumped into the water and began swimming.
"Let's make chaoth all thummer until school starts again." Roger suggested when they were drying off from their swim.
"Alright. I wonder what April would say to that?" Mark wondered aloud.