School was serious stuff.
At least to Candlewick.
His father had always made a big deal about how education shaped the youth. You'd think that it would've shaped that man into being a better person. A better soul.
But now his father was six feet under... education never saved him.
Candlewick knew in his heart, he was the reason for that man's death. No matter how many people tried to reassure him otherwise. But no one knew the truth of what happened that night in that military camp when he had shot his father in the face with the yellow paint... it was really Candlewick who had doomed that man... and that boy knew it in his heart.
He didn't think he'd ever move on from that memory of that missile colliding into his father-
But that was the past. The recent past to be sure... but gone. It had happened and it wouldn't happen again.
Because the only family Candlewick had left was his mother and... and...
Pinocchio... and that was really all he had.
And a deep sense came over him that day as he and the puppet arrived at the boys' school, the boys looking with fear and also wonder at the walking, talking puppet.
"So THIS is school!" Pinocchio cheered as he stepped foot into the building, Candlewick only a few steps behind, "Where we learn to read and write!"
"Heh heh," Candlewick only chuckled, nodding his head as the two headed for their class, "Where YOU learn to read and write, Pinocchio. I already can."
He grinned a big gleam as he said this with good cheer and Pinocchio just nodded his wooden head, smiling but not completely sure about what Candlewick really meant.
The two entered their class and the desks were for one boy each. They took the front empty ones, and Pinocchio plopped his rear onto the wooden chair, finding it a little uncomfortable as it was his wood on its wood.
The teacher didn't seem too unfazed with having a puppet in the class with the other boys but when it came to the teaching part, Pinocchio was almost a lost cause.
"And so you see, boys," The strong tall man said as he pointed to the writing on the board, "Cursive is the more respectable writing style. So everyone, write down the letters of the alphabet onto your worksheets."
"What's the alphabet?"
The man glared over at Pinocchio when the wooden puppet asked this quite innocently.
"Clearly this puppet should be in kindergarten with the four-year-olds, not taking grade five electives."
The other boys in the room all giggled at this, but Pinocchio just stared at the man, open-jawed, and Candlewick felt his anxiety and fear of the man.
"I'll teach him."
Everyone became silent when Candlewick said this out loud, looking at the teacher and the man just scoffed.
"Till he catches up, sir... is all I meant."
The teacher, Mr Liguiny, just looked back at the uncertain scared boy... really looking into his eyes, sensing the fear of him but also the bravery and Mr Liguiny only smirked, shrugging his shoulders as he finally replied.
"Okay. No skin off my back."
Pinocchio looked over to Candlewick, who was almost trembling from the aftermath of that whole scene. The puppet smiled at him, relief in his wooden eyes and he felt his heart beat a hard thud.
It was always beating now... but new emotions seemed to be entering the wooden puppet now... his wood not as fimble, but getting more strength in it as he was slowly transforming without even the slightest hint in his head.
At lunchtime, the two entered the yard with the other boys from their class and the classes below and above them.
Candlewick watched as the young boys kicked a ball around, and he nudged Pinocchio, pointing his finger their direction as he asked his friend.
"Wanna take some shots?"
"You mean... with the ball?"
Candlewick only chuckled and nodded his head.
"Yeah,"
"I've never kicked a ball before," Pinocchio only replied, feeling the awe of the idea in his soul and nodded his head quickly saying, "Oh YES! That would be most fun!"
Candlewick only laughed a little bit more as the two of them waved at the boys so that they could enter the game, but the lead boy of the group only glared at Pinocchio, shaking his head sternly.
"You really want us to play with that TOY?"
Pinocchio and Candlewick froze in their steps, looking back at the boy with the curly black hair and Pinocchio only said back in disbelief.
"I'm not a toy! I'm a boy! A REAL BOY!"
The group of boys all laughed at this, the lead boy being thrown the white muddy ball and suddenly slamming it into Pinocchio's chest.
The puppet caught it and actually felt pain from the impact. He looked down to the round ball and began to feel his heart thud hard as he glared back up at the leader and rammed the ball so hard through the air that it whacked off the boy's head, the leader suddenly tumbling back from the strike and nearly tripping to the ground.
"You're insane!" He suddenly yelled at Pinocchio as he got his bearings and when he got his stance back in order, he nudged his head Pinocchio's way, indicating for the other boys to get him.
"Run!" Candlewick hissed panicked to Pinocchio, and the puppet looked his way instantly before glancing back at the approaching boys and he did what Candlewick told him to.
He sprinted right on out of there.
The boys chased after him, and Candlewick watched on from the outskirts before he saw they were gaining on his friend, his BEST friend, and he quickly picked up the ball that was laying on the ground, out of use.
"HEY!" He yelled at them, Pinocchio running into the safety of the school building, watching as he panted there from the side, "I'VE GOT YOUR BALL!"
The boys all glared Candlewick's way, as he picked up a sharp nail broken from the wall and held its point to the ball's thick skin, "You ever TOUCH him and I'll burst every ball in this SCHOOl!"
"Why do you even care for THAT THING?" Augustin, the leader, asked in complete utter confusion and contempt for Candlewick, "He's just a piece of wooden trash!"
"He's worth more than YOU would be ANY day!"
Augustin only smirked, huffing a cold laugh out and his gang of boys all laughed back at Candlewick too, making him so angry he suddenly rammed the nail right into the ball and everyone suddenly went completely silent as the air could be heard blowing out of the precious ball.
"Oh, you are SO DUMB!" Augustin yelled at him and clicked his thumb, pointing his finger at him now as he commanded his gang, "GET HIM!"
Candlewick's eyes blew wide open, as he suddenly turned and sprinted it back inside where Pinocchio was waiting. The puppet joined him as they ran to the first open door, and slammed it shut behind them, panting there as the boys glared through the glass opening of the door... before they hesitated back, and left. They just left.
The two boys, the puppet and Candlewick, took some heavy breaths in and out till they heard the sound of something grating, and they spun around to see where they were.
The room was full of wooden planks, saws and hammers. But the scariest thing of all wasn't all the left behind tools and dangerous material... but the tall broad older man who was scraping away the wood top off a board on a metal table.
"So you're him..."
Pinocchio gulped and nodded his head to the burly man, Candlewick taking a tepid step back from him, fear in his heart.
He knew who this man was... the wood shop teacher... the one who had lost his wife and son in a fire. A fire that was rumoured was started by the man himself.
"You're mister..."
"Just call me Angelo," He only said back and Pinocchio began to approach him but Candlewick grabbed the puppet's shoulder, Pinocchio looking back at him and seeing the boy shake his head in a warning of the man.
"I'm not gonna bite," Angelo only said back in a gruff voice and Pinocchio only watched what he was doing to the wood, how the man scraped and shaped it into something else, something new.
"I-I know," Candlewick answered him back, but it was full of hesitancy, "But we really shouldn't be here, Pinocchio,"
"It's safer in here than out there," Angelo told them, looking up now and his brown eyes stared the two of them right down, "If that puppet goes out there to that group of boys, he won't be protected and he won't be coming back."
"What are you trying to say?" Candlewick nearly whispered back, fear thudding in his heart.
"Can we stay here then?!" Pinocchio suddenly said, falling on his knees and begging with his two hands clasped together to the burly dark man, "Please! Oh please, oh please!"
"Can... can we even?" Candlewick asked with shaky worried words and looked back up at Angelo, the man shrugging his shoulder before smiling weakly and giving the two of them an affirmative nod.
"Better here than out there,"
"Well then," Candlewick said, and opened the door to see if the coast was clear, "I'll be back in a second,"
He left the room then, and Pinocchio blinked his eyes surprised, before walking in a toddle over to the wood shop teacher and looking down at his creation, "What are you making, sir?"
"A table,"
"And the wood you are using?"
"Chestnut,"
"Oooo!" Pinocchio said in awe as he slipped the tip of his wooden finger against the smooth scraped wood, "Chestnut!" He whispered in glee.
After three minutes passed, Candlewick came back in with his bag of school books and laid it on one of the empty tables.
"Pinocchio," He said to his friend and pulled out two copybooks full of empty pages as he continued, "You have five years of education to catch up on, and this may be the only time we have to teach you... so...?"
"So...?" Pinocchio said back awed before the light switched on in his mind and he suddenly knew where Candlewick was going with this, "YOU CAN TEACH ME!"
Candlewick only chuckled back, nodding his head as he pulled out two inky pens and replied, "Heh heh, I can try anyway,"
"Is that okay with you, Mr Angelo?" Pinocchio then asked the burly silent man and he only smiled warmly back, giving such a weak agreeing nod that it was almost barely a nod at all.
"Every boy should be entitled to learning,"
"And I'm a boy!" Pinocchio repeated back to him, to Candlewick, and Angelo just chuckled, nodding his head.
"A boy you are... a boy, you are..."
Candlewick nodded softly back at the puppet too. Because he knew it was the truth... it was the truth, whether anyone really believed it or not.
Because every day Pinocchio was becoming more human... and every day the two of them were growing up and changing, physically and mentally.
When the school day was over and the two were walking back towards their homes, Pinocchio asked his friend, weakly.
"Why did the other boys not like me? Why did they tease me and hate me?"
Candlewick didn't say anything back straight away, before sighing and closing his eyes in inner pain as he responded.
"Because you are different, Pinocchio... and people don't like what is not like them."
"But you like me?"
"Yes," Candlewick reaffirmed him quickly but opened up his sad eyes once again and looked at Pinocchio as he continued, "Because I got to know you... but when we first had met... well, I didn't like you then that time for the same reason as those boys today."
The puppet remained very silent for a moment before he suddenly got an idea. The best idea he had ever got.
"Then I'll let them get to know me! Then they will be my friends!"
Candlewick didn't say anything back at that moment. He only let out another sad sigh, and said to his friend, being honest, "You can try... but only time will tell."
The two saw their homes and waved goodbye as they split ways.
"Only time will tell..."