Chapter One
Eugene Fitzherbert stared out of the window in the small one room school house. He kicked his leg with great anticipation. Recess was going to start soon, and he desperately wanted to play. The rain had stopped a few hours ago, and since then the only thing that had been on his mind was playing.
A few minutes later, the teacher stopped talking. She turned and faced the class. "All right, children, copy down your homework; and then you can go play."
The student yelled for joy and quickly wrote down their assignments.
Once they were outside, the girls went to go play kick ball and the boys went to race. The younger boys lined up. They were waiting for the signal from the older boys to run.
Eugene stood with the boys. He got into a running position. Two older boys were beside him. They were about ten years old and they were twins. They both had red hair and brown eyes. They smiled at the young boy beside them. "You gonna run against us kid?" They asked simultaneously.
The brown haired boy grinned. He nodded at them. His mom had always said he was a fast runner.
"All right, prepare t-" one of the twins began.
A young brunet girl came in between them and Eugene. She was two or three years older than Eugene. She grinned at them.
The boys looked at each other in shock. A girl had never come to race with them before. The boys protested.
Eugene rolled his eyes as he heard the boys complaining. His mother had taught him to always be nice to girls. His dad had told him the same thing when he was alive. "Let her race," he said. "She can't beat us any way."
The girl smiled at him. He grinned back.
"On your mark. Get set. Go!" One of the older boys yelled.
The runners took off. The twins were ahead with Eugene close behind them. Eugene ran faster until he ran passed them. He was two feet from the finish line, when he saw a flash of movement to his right that ran passed him. His jaw dropped as he saw who had passed him.
All the boys stared at the winner in shock. They could not believe it. A girl had beaten the boys, not just one boy, but all of the boys.
The young girl grinned triumphantly. The boys just glared at her. She smiled at them again, and went to go play with her friends.
Once school was over, Eugene sat on the steps. He was for his mother to get him. She had told him that morning she would. He sighed. He had been waiting for a while. He went back inside the school house.
His teacher looked up from her desk when she heard the door close. "Eugene, what are you still doing here?" She asked.
The boy ran his hands through his brown hair. "M-m-my mom hasn't come yet, Mrs. Ella," he replied quietly. He put his hands down.
Mrs. Ella frowned. She had gone to school with Eugene's mother when she was younger, and she knew that she would never leave her child. Something must have happened. She scooted her chair back, and got up. "I'll walk you home," she said.
Eugene smiled. "Thank you."
Thirty minutes later, Mrs. Ella and Eugene arrived at their destination. Eugene ran toward the small house. Mrs. Ella shook her head as he ran inside. She was about to leave, when she heard him scream.
She ran to the house, and began to look for Eugene once she was inside. There were three rooms: the kitchen and two bedrooms. She heard crying in one of the bedrooms. She walked inside the bedroom. She gasped at what she saw.
Eugene's mother was in her bed shaking and coughing up blood. She had the plague!