Chapter 10: Look Towards The Future
As life went on for the people of Walnut Grove, the time had finally come for the school to take its yearly break. The children were free to do as much or as little as they wanted without the threat of tests and papers. For the older students, however, there were always other tasks to do. Some worked on their families' farms, while others found temporary jobs in town to save up money.
For Jonathan, it was the perfect time to take his son along with him on a freighting trip to see if it was a job Andy was willing to do full time. Alice had finally agreed that Andy could be done with school, so long as he found a stable job that summer to give him something to do with his new freedom.
Riding into Sleepy Eye, the streets were unusually quiet for the normally bustling town. Jonathan brought his team up to the freighting post, locked the breaks and stepped off the wagon. "I'm gonna let Sven know we're here. Why don't you start unloading the crates?"
"Sure thing, pa." Andy jumped down from the rig, walked around to the back of the wagon and was quick to start unloading the boxes.
Just then, someone came walking up to him. "Andrew?"
Andy turned around at the familiar voice and his stomach dropped when he saw who it was. "Sarah?"
The girl stood beside him with that same old smile she always gave him. "Well, it's different seeing you out in the real world and not in the saloon."
In that moment, Andy begged to God that his pa was not standing right behind him and overheard that comment. Lucky for him, Jonathan was long gone and Sarah was dressed like a normal woman, not a saloon girl. "Yeah, sure. I didn't know you lived in Sleep Eye."
"Yup. Working some here too." Sarah responded. "Although I do enjoy being at the Silver Coin a lot more than the rundown places they have here. So, what brings you into town?"
"I was just dropping off a delivery with my pa." Andy glanced over his shoulder just in case Jonathan was to come back.
Sarah then realized why Andy was acting off. "Oh. I understand. Well, I better get going."
Just as she tried to walk away from the situation, Andy stopped her with a question. "When are you going to the Silver Coin again?"
She turned back to him, her suspicion confirmed that the boy was mostly hooked on her, which was good or bad depending on who you asked. "This weekend most likely."
"Maybe I'll see you then." He smiled back at her, but kept his voice low.
"Alright." Sarah smirked and went on her way, leaving Andy to his own work.
Miles away in Minneapolis, another boy from Walnut Grove was taking the next step in his life as well. Today was the day Albert was to take the university scholarship exam. Charles and Albert had taken the stage into the city and were already waiting in the town hall for the exam to begin. A handful of other students were there as well, all nervously pacing and rereading textbooks for some last bit of knowledge.
Albert and Charles waited outside in the hallways for test time to arrive. The boy's mind was racing more and more with each second passing. He had not been doing his best in school ever since he started spending nights at the Silver Coin. Now that he was adding morphine to the mix, school was being moved further down on the list of things that he cared about. Nevertheless, he still wanted to become a doctor in the future, even if other things were taking more priority for him right now.
"Albert." Charles knocked his son out of his trance. "I know you'll do your best."
"I'll try, pa." An immense wave of guilt came over Albert. If only Charles knew who his son really was, a proud gambler and frequent drug user, maybe he would not be so proud of him. "I'm gonna use the washroom before I go in."
"Alright."
Albert walked away from his father and retreated into the washroom of the town hall, locking the door behind him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet of morphine. With his nerves acting up as much as they were, he figured a small hit would help him settle down enough to take the test. He dipped one of his fingers to the white powder and brought it up to his mouth, smearing it over his gums and swallowing hard.
After leaving the washroom, Albert noticed the doors to the testing room were finally open and he went inside to take his seat. The exam was already on the desk flipped face down. His fingers tapped against his thighs in anticipation to start, thinking he probably should have taken a bit more morphine.
"Alright, everyone." The test monitors, an elderly man and another in his middle ages, stood at the front of the room. "You all have two hours to complete the exam. Please keep your eyes on your own papers, as my assistant and I will be walking around the room to monitor you. If you have any questions, raise your hand and we will come to you. Now, you may begin."
Albert quickly flipped over the paper and saw arithmetic problems on the first page. He skipped them, knowing he needed more time on the history and writing sections. There turned out to be lots of questions about the revolutionary war and the United States presidents. Time moved fast as he answered the questions as best he could.
"One hour left."
He quickly flipped back to the arithmetic to solve those problems.
"Half an hour left."
He went back to the writing section to double check his punctuation and spelling.
"Fifteen minutes left."
He looked through the history questions again, putting down random answers for the few questions he did not know.
"Five minutes left."
Albert sighed. He felt like he had done the best that he could in the time allowed and in the mental state he was in. All he wanted to do now was go back to the Silver Coin and finish up the last of his morphine.
"Time is up! Pencils down! My assistant will come around to collect your exams, then you are free to leave. You should have your results mailed to you within the next two weeks."
After the older man took Albert's exam from him, he was quick to get up and leave the testing room to find his father.
"Albert." Charles called to his son just as he stepped into the hallway. "How'd it go?"
Albert nodded his head. "Fine. There was a lot of history on it."
"I'm sure you did your best." Charles, with a big grin on his face, put his hand on Albert's shoulder. "How about we have a nice dinner at a restaurant here, then head on home?"
"No." He was quick to interject. "I mean, let's just go back to Walnut Grove. I know Ma and Laura want to hear all about the exam."
"If that's what you want, son."
"Yeah, pa." The two began to leave the building, with Charles as happy as could be and Albert itching to get some cards and more morphine in his hands.
Back in Walnut Grove, Willie was running over to his sister's hotel to drop off a package that had come in the mail for her. Nellie was working in the main room of the restaurant, setting up the tables for the dinner rush soon to come.
"Nellie! Pa asked me to drop this off for you." Willie said, setting the box down on the nearest table he could find.
Nellie walked over to him and looked at the package. "Thanks, Willie."
"You're welcome. I better be getting back." He responded, already turning away to leave.
"Willie, can I talk to you about something?" Nellie stopped her brother before he could take a single step.
"Sure. What is it?"
Nellie's tone and posture changed, as if trying to assert some sort of dominance. "Willie, I'm going to be completely honest with you. I know that you have been going to the Silver Coin saloon."
"What?" Immediate panic set in. A million questions ran through Willie's mind. The worst part was that he did not even try to deny the statement. "How did you find out?"
Nellie sighed. "I overheard a group of men crying about how some kid beat them in a game of poker. I didn't think anything of it at first, until I saw you one night."
"You saw me?" He asked for clarification.
"I saw you leaving home and running over to the saloon." Nellie explained. "I never thought your silly little bets against Laura Ingalls for marbles would turn you into the gambling type."
He swallowed hard. That kid she was talking about was Albert, but Willie would not bring his friend into the conversation. Lord knows so much more would be uncovered if he let his mouth run about what really went on in the Silver Coin. "You gonna tell ma and pa?"
"I should. They hate that place and told us to stay away from it, but I'm not going to tell them."
"Really? Why not?" Knowing his sister, Willie figured Nellie might be trying to hold this over his head. She had done it to him many times before when they were kids.
"Because I know how they are." Nellie looked over to the restaurant windows, where she could see across the street that their father was outside the mercantile sweeping the steps and their mother was nagging at him from behind. "Look, just promise me that you won't ever go near the Silver Coin ever again and I won't say a word to them."
"Fine." It was an agreement Willie was not sure if he could keep, not with the routine he, Albert and Andy had. He would just need to be more careful. They would all need to be a whole lot more careful, now that the risk they had taken was finally starting to catch up with them. Willie watched as Nellie picked the package and began to walk away, but then he stopped her. "Nellie...thank you."
Nellie smiled back at him. "Don't mention it, Willie. Just remember, if ma and pa ever find out, they're going to do worse than just put you in the corner."
