Chapter 3: A Friend in the Window
At twilight, Sponge and Spiker were dressed in their best clothes as if they were very wealthy, sitting at their table and eating their dinner with golden lit-up candles and the women were sipping their wine. A man on a radio was singing, as the sisters ate, Spiker wore a black dress with a black hat and a black coat. Sponge is dressed in a black dress with a gold coat, black earrings, a black necklace, and a black hat with a white flower and a white feather.
"Careful Spongie!" Spiker teased her sister, "Wouldn't want to ruin that girlish figure!"
"Oh, shut up!" Sponge snapped at a giggling Spiker as she shoved a fork of food into her mouth.
Just then, James, Penelope, and Jaelle walked into the kitchen. They finished their chores and were very exhausted. They walked up to the women nervously, hoping to receive a meal.
"Yes?" Spiker asked in an uninterested tone.
"We finished all the chores," said James.
"We were hoping if you have…" said Penelope.
"What a coincidence!" laughed the fat woman. "We finished all of the dinner!"
"Oh Sponge! You're such a tease!" Spiker grinned and turned to the children. "There's something special waiting for both of you in the oven."
James and Penelope grinned at Spiker as a sign of thanks. They walked over to the oven, and they hoped the food would be better. The gypsy girl opened the oven and pulled out a plate of two rotten fish heads with a fly circling around them. James grunted in disgust, "Ick!"
"Oh gross!" muttered Penelope.
"Oh, do let me guess," Sponge smirked as she sipped her wine. "They're not good enough for them!"
"What do you think this is?" Spiker asked the kids with a frown. "Buckingham Palace?"
"Yuck!" James groaned before he noticed a nearly empty bag of potato chips in the trash can.
"Get out of our sight!" yelled Sponge. James grabbed the chips and hid them behind his back. When he, Penelope, and Jaelle stopped at the front of the stairs and Sponge snapped at them, "Go on, GO ON!"
James, Penelope, and Jaelle ran up the stairs. Sponge looked at them and let out a burp and continued her meal.
The two siblings and the goat reached the attic, and it was their bedroom. The bedroom is always freezing, despite the firewood trying to keep them warm. They wished for a better bedroom. They had no choice but to accept it. James and Penelope sat on the girl's bed and ate the remaining chips, splitting evenly. The gypsy picked up some fresh grass from the field when her aunts weren't looking and she fed them to Jaelle, hoping to make milk and cheese for them. As they were eating, Penelope trembled and broke down in tears. The boy noticed her distress and sat closer to her.
"Penelope, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not," she looked at her dear brother. "Our life is awful, and everything here is awful! I don't know if I can hold on to it any longer James. I keep praying to God for a miracle to happen, but for some reason nothing happens."
"It's okay Penelope." James took her hand, her tan skin mixed with his pale skin. "I know things are hard on us now. You've done the best you could to keep me safe. After all, I'm lucky to have a friend like you."
Jaelle, who was lying next to the fire, shot her head up and bleated in irritation. This made James and Penelope giggle at the goat's reaction. "Don't worry Jaelle, we didn't forget about you," Penelope added.
The goat gave a contented nod and laid back down. The raven-haired girl turned back to the boy and pulled him into a hug. She promised herself that she would never give up hope and that she, James, and Jaelle will get out of this home to be free.
After finishing the chips, James tore it apart and licked the inside. Then he noticed a spider web in the window. He placed down the paper and climbed up the chair for a closer look. To his surprise, he saw a spider with black and white stripes came climbing down on a string of silk. Penelope came over to James's direction and got surprised to see the little spider.
"Oh my," she said, amazed. "It's a spider."
"Hello there!" the boy said, holding out his hand for the spider to crawl on. "Where did you come from? You know, you probably shouldn't build your web up here in the window. Spiker and Sponge might see you, and they hate spiders."
"As long as we're here, we'll protect you from Spiker and Sponge," the gypsy added.
"We'll be your friends though," he said, laying his hand on the chair to let the spider crawl onto. He began to sing;
(James):
My name is James
That's what Mother called me
My name is James
So, it's always been
He removed a loose wooden board, and it contained a rubber band ball, a basket, and a ball. James pulled out a tin box containing old crayons, some rocks, a green toy car and the boy and grasshopper candle from his birthday. Penelope went to her old bed and pulled out a brown cloth bag and emptied it. It contained a tambourine, a deck of cards, candles, a box of matches, teal sashes, a small crystal ball, magic tricks, and a dagger within a leather sheath.
James poured out the crayons and started to draw on the paper bag, he continued to sing as started to color.
(James):
Sometimes I forget,
When I'm lonely or afraid,
Then I'll go inside my head,
And look for James.
"Here's something I've never shown anyone," James said, he placed his birthday candle on the chair for the spider to look at.
Penelope removed the dagger from her sheath and examined it. The metal blade was straight, the handle was covered with leather, the pommel was silver, and the sides of the tang had emeralds.
"This here is my dagger," she said showing to the spider. "It belonged to my late father, and he told me to only use it when in danger."
Jaelle got her nose near the spider and sniffed it, when the spider moved the goat jumped back. Penelope leaned next to her little brother and watched him draw buildings on the empty bag as he sang;
(James)
There's a city that I've dreamed of,
Very far from here,
Very, very, far away from here,
Very, far away.
There are people in the city
And they're kind to me,
But it's very, very far away you know,
Very far."
Penelope looked at the finished drawing that showed herself, James, the spider, and Jaelle with wings on their backs and flying over to New York City, escaping from Sponge and Spiker's abuse for good. Penelope helped the boy fold the picture into a lantern, remembering how James's father taught them how to do it. They stood up together as the boy sang out loud:
(James):
They'll say James, James, James
How are ya?
Isn't it a lovely day?
James blew into the folded picture, blowing it into a ball, and his birthday candle onto it so it resembled a hot air balloon.
(James):
James, James, James,
We're so glad you came here,
Where we are,
From so very, very, very far!
James allowed the spider to crawl onto his hands and placed it back on the web. Penelope lit the candle attached to the lantern and with James released it and watched it fly away in the sky. The gypsy girl lifted Jaelle up to the window so the goat could watch it.
(James):
"My name is James, James, James..."
The children watched the lantern fly away and grew hopeful that one day, someone would find it and set them free. They looked at the spider and watched it get settled in the web.
"Good night," James said to it, "Pleasant dreams."
James closed the window and climbed down from the chair with Penelope. The children changed into their pajamas and before climbing into their beds, they bid each other good night.
"Good night, Penelope," James said, hugging his adopted sister.
"Good night, James," she said, kissing him on the cheek. After bidding good night to Jalle, the goat curled up on her bed made from old blankets. The children got into their beds, and they all drifted off to sleep.