Six-year-old Jack Overland was not used to sitting still. He was small for his age, but even at such a young age he was constantly running around and getting into some mischief or another. There were very few children his age—most of the young people in Burgess were either toddlers or past the age of ten—yet he always managed to find a way to entertain himself.
He played games. He ran around pretending he was a soldier, or a knight, or something along those lines. The few boys and girls who were his age joined him more often than not, and it seemed that little Jack never stopped moving. But there comes a time when even the most energetic of spirits runs low on creativity, and it had just happened to Jack. The little boy was wandering around aimlessly, looking a bit lost, before his mother found him.
"Jack?" Mrs. Overland asked her son, shielding her eyes against the bright summer sun. "Is something the matter?"
Jack flopped down onto the grass and began absently tugging up the blades. "'M bored," he mumbled, brown bangs falling into his eyes. "There's nothing to do."
"What about your friends? What are they all doing?"
"They're busy or can't come out." Jack huffed. "And Papa's out with the sheep. I wanted to go with him but he said I couldn't till I was bigger."
His mother laughed. "Well, of course! You're so small that the sheep would drag you away."
He looked up at her with a very clear 'You aren't helping' look and she giggled again, ruffling his hair. "Why don't you play by yourself?" she asked.
"It's no fun that way," Jack replied morosely. "I can't come up with fun things to do on my own. I need other people."
Mrs. Overland smiled. "No, you don't. You're very creative, I'm sure you can come up with something if you try hard enough."
Jack's response was to fall limply back on the grass and stare up at the sky. His mother sighed with a small chuckle and shook her head. Her boy was usually so energetic, it felt strange to see him so put out. And when it came to entertaining him, he usually had his father around to help. Mrs. Overland was of small stature herself (a trait Jack had clearly inherited) and had never been very active or energetic, unlike her husband and son. She was fairly introverted and like many other young women her age she spent a good deal of her time taking care of the house, doing needlework and reading in her spare time.
The last thought sparked the beginnings of an idea, and a slow smile spread across the woman's face. She stood and brushed off her skirt, then held out a hand and pulled her son to his feet.
"Come with me into the house," she said.
Jack blinked. "Why? What are we doing?"
"Something fun," Mrs. Overland replied simply. She led the little boy inside and sat him down at the table, and walked away to get something. Upon returning, she dropped a small stack of books on the table and pulled up a chair next to him. "You're going to learn to read."
"…Why?"
"Why not?" She smiled broadly at him. "You're going to be able to do something no one else your age can, and you'll be able to go anywhere you want without having to move. I promise, you'll never be bored again."
Jack frowned, thinking it over, then his face lit up as well. He nodded eagerly, "Okay."
Mrs. Overland moved her chair back and held her arms out, and Jack clambered into her lap. After settling in, the woman picked up a book and opened it.
"Alright then, let's get started…"
xXx
Rosie walked slowly over to where her older brother sat, leaning against a tree with a book propped up on his knees. What was he doing sitting still like that? It was such a nice day; didn't he want to be out playing with her or the other children? Only five years old, Rosie didn't understand much about Jack. Some days he would have endless amounts of energy, and others he would suddenly want to just sit around and do nothing but read. It didn't make any sense to her.
He barely even glanced up as she nestled in beside him, and instead said in a distant tone, "What's going on, Rosie?"
"I'm bored," she answered flatly. "There's nothing to do."
The fourteen-year-old looked at her fully then with an amused look. "Oh really?"
Rosie nodded. "Can you play with me?" she whined. "Both Anne and Mary Katherine are sick today. It's not fair."
Jack chuckled quietly. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"Can we do something?"
He pretended to think about, frowning with faux seriousness. "I dunno little lady, I'm kind of busy at the moment." He tapped his open book for emphasis.
"Jaaack," Rosie pleaded. He laughed.
"I'm just kidding. I already have a good idea for what we could do." Jack held an arm out and Rosie scooted over underneath it, leaning against his shoulder.
Her wide brown eyes looked up at him with excitement, "What are we going to do?"
Jack just grinned and opened up his book again.
"Watch and listen. We're going to do something fun."
