The Secrets of Hawthorne House

Chapter 4: Rescuing Gareth

The next morning, Matt rushed through breakfast and went out early to wait for Gerallt at the bus stop. Curious about how Gerallt's mother and great-aunt had taken the news regarding Clayton, Matt was more than willing to put in a few good words if Gerallt thought it might help. The more Matt thought about yesterday's events, the more he admired Gerallt's self-confidence in spite of Clayton's taunting and Gerallt's refusal to let the rampant rumors of witchcraft get to him.

The minutes passed slowly while Matt waited for the school bus. Tina joined him by the curb, and Matt was beginning to think that the Hawthorne kids were not going to come out in time. It wasn't until he heard the bus in the distance that the front door to the Hawthorne House opened and the three Hawthorne children silently filed out.

"Morning," Matt said, as Gwyneth, Gerallt, and Gareth walked up to the now waiting bus. "Gerallt, how did it go with your mom and great-aunt? Did you really get in trouble?"

Wearing a somewhat embarrassed expression, Gerallt solemnly nodded his head but said nothing as he turned and followed his sister and little brother onto the bus. Matt climbed the steps, hoping to sit next to him and find out what had happened. However, the bus was crowded, and Gerallt ended up sitting several seats away.

Upon arriving at school, Matt and Gerallt went to their lockers to drop off their coats and afternoon books. It seemed as though everyone in the hallways stopped and stared at Gerallt. They whispered behind his back, and a few of them even made a point of walking out of their way to avoid getting too close to him as he and Matt headed to their first-period class.

As the boys entered, the history classroom suddenly grew silent as all eyes turned on Gerallt. Even the teacher seemed somewhat at a loss as to how to react. Matt glanced around the room, noticing that all signs of yesterday's accident had been removed. Clayton's broken school desk had been replaced with a new one, and the entire floor had been mopped.

"Okay, everyone, let's all take our seats," Mr. Thompson said, even though it was still several minutes before the first bell would ring. "Take out your books and open them to where we stopped yesterday."

Gerallt and Matt sat down and opened their books as Mr. Thompson began speaking about drafting of the United States Constitution. The first time the teacher had his back to the class, Matt leaned over to Gerallt and whispered, "Well, how'd it go at home?"

Gerallt looked over and put his index finger to his lips, signaling Matt to be quiet.

Matt was silent for a while, before leaning over again and whispering, "Do you want me to talk to your mom and great-aunt for you?"

Gerallt glanced over at the teacher, who was still busily writing on the blackboard. "I appreciate what you're tryin' tah do," he whispered back to Matt, "but it won't help." He paused to look around the room. Several of the students were eying them suspiciously. "I'll talk tah you later, but not durin' class. I have tah be on my best behavior. If I get in a gaum, Mothah's sure tah ground me 'til Yuletide."

"In a gaum?"

"In trouble." Gerallt turned away and refused to even look at Matt for the rest of the class.

Matt was curious about why Gerallt said Yuletide instead of Christmas but decided it must just be another aspect of the culture in which Gerallt was raised. Mr. Thompson finished and turned around to face the class, forcing Matt to stop asking questions.

The rest of the morning went much the same. Matt tried a couple of times to talk to Gerallt between classes, but he remained silent and merely shook his head. Gerallt seemed to be doing everything in his power to keep a low profile, but it didn't seem to help. Everywhere they went, the other students stopped and either turned to stare at him or turned their backs as if hoping he would disappear.

When the lunch bell finally rang, Matt went to his locker to drop off his morning books. He picked up the lunch bag he'd been bringing ever since that first day of school when he'd ended up wearing meatloaf, potatoes, and gravy. By the time he got back to the cafeteria, Gwyneth had already found Gerallt, and the two of them were sitting all by themselves at a table in a corner of the room. Matt was about to join them, but the stern glance Gwyneth gave him made it very clear that she didn't want them to be disturbed. Matt sighed and headed outside with his lunch bag.

Hawthorne High School and Hawthorne Middle School were built next to each other, with the high school football fields and the middle school playgrounds lying between them. During good weather, some of the high school students would eat their lunches on the football bleachers so that they could avoid the crowded cafeteria. Matt found that it was also an excellent way to avoid Colin, Clayton, and Dylan, who usually ate hot lunches and were too lazy to walk outside with their trays. Sometimes, Matt liked to gaze over at the middle school children playing outside and remember the fun he'd had playing touch football after school the year before his mother had died.

It was a crisp fall day, and the sun was shining brightly as Matt climbed up on the bleachers. He took a seat with his back to the breeze and unwrapped his tuna fish sandwich. Because he was wondering how to get Gerallt to open up and answer a few questions, several minutes passed before Matt noticed the unmistakable sounds of seagulls coming from overhead. It was the cry of his favorite birds, driven down from Lake Michigan by an advancing autumn storm. He smiled, remembering all the times he had lain with his back on the dunes, listening to the surf thundering on the sand and watching the gulls floating motionlessly, suspended like kites in the wind.

However, the plaintive calls of the seagulls were interrupted by the cruel sounds of teasing coming from the nearby middle school playground. Matt looked over the low chain-link fence separating the schools and saw four boys standing in front of a smaller boy wearing nothing but black. He heard the name "Hawthorne" and realized they were picking on Gareth.

Ordinarily, Matt avoided confrontation whenever possible, but remembering how Gerallt had stood up to Clayton Cartwright, he wasn't about to let a bunch of middle-school bullies-in-training pick on Gareth. He had jumped down from the bleachers, climbed over the fence, and marched toward the group. Scavengers that they were, several seagulls swooped down to bicker noisily over what remained of Matt's forgotten sandwich.

"What's the matter, witch boy?" the biggest boy asked, pushing Gareth in the chest. "Where's your broom? We want to see you fly." The other boys started chanting, "Fly! Fly! Fly!"

Matt jogged over, placing himself between Gareth and the other kids. "Back off!"

The young bullies stepped back in surprise at being confronted by an angry high-school student who had rushed to Gareth's defense.

"Who are you?" the biggest boy demanded, still feeling powerful with his three buddies backing him.

"I'm someone who's fed up with bullies ganging up on people," Matt countered, putting his fists on his hips.

"We're not bullies," the boy retorted indignantly. "Besides he's a Hawthorne," the boy continued as though that were the only explanation required. "We just wanted to see the little witch do some magic."

"Aren't you kids too old to believe in witches?" Matt asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "If you want to see magic, go watch a magician on TV. There're no such things as real magic or witches."

"But we heard how his brother hexed some kid and put him in the hospital," the boy argued.

Matt was about to say he'd been there when he heard the sound of someone climbing the fence behind him. He turned around to see Colin O'Connell and Dylan Jones strutting up.

"What's the matter, new kid?" Colin taunted, looking amused at the younger boys standing around Matt. "Decided high school's too tough, huh? So, who are your little friends? Can we play too?"

"He's no friend of ours!" the leader of the middle school kids said indignantly. "We were just asking the new Hawthorne kid here to show us some magic when he comes over and starts butting in," the boy continued, pointing his finger at Matt.

"Is that so," Colin sneered. "Sticking up for a Hawthorne? That's not very smart in this town, especially after yesterday. Seems to me like someone needs to teach you how to mind your own business. Seems like maybe that someone should be me." He stepped forward, stopping with his nose a few inches from Matt's face. "Why don't you little kids go somewhere else for your magic lesson while I give the new kid here a lesson of my own," Colin continued, never looking away from Matt's eyes.

"I don't think so," Gerallt's voice said from the far side of the fence. He quickly climbed over and jogged up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Matt. "No one is givin' anyone lessons in anythin' unless perhaps you wish me tah give you a lesson in courtesy."

Colin was momentarily stunned, and Dylan actually seemed a little afraid as he looked into Gerallt's resolute face. "You were lucky yesterday, Hawthorne," Colin said. "Clayton would have pulverized you if he hadn't been such a klutz and fallen off his chair. You want to teach me something? Then go right ahead. I'm not afraid of you or any Hawthorne!"

Gerallt gazed steadily back into Colin's eyes. "Well, you should be." Gerallt paused, glancing up at the top of Colin's head. "What's that on yoah hair?" he asked, with the hint of a smile.

"I'm not falling for that old trick," Colin answered, raising his fists in case Gerallt was planning to sucker-punch him if he were to feel the top of his head for some imaginary bug.

"Really?" Gerallt asked, carefully taking a step backward while raising his right hand to his shirt. "I'm sure I see somethin'." Gerallt slipped his fingers between the buttons and began muttering something barely audible.

"What's that, witch boy?" Colin demanded, glancing down from Gerallt's face to his hand. "Got yourself a cross and think praying's going to protect you? Or am I supposed to believe you're casting some kind of spell? Well, neither is going to save you now."

Colin drew back his right fist and was about to step up to Gerallt when a large wet blob fell from the sky to splat loudly on top of his head. The bully gingerly reached his hand to his hair. When he brought it back down, it was dripping with white and green bird poop. Colin looked up to see several seagulls hovering like avenging angels in the autumn breeze. Dylan, who had not yet looked up, started to laugh at Colin just as another gull unleashed its smelly payload over Dylan's head and shoulders. Soon, other seagulls began to dive-bomb the middle school bullies, who ran screaming for the distant doors. More gulls dove on Colin and Dylan who cursed and sprinted for the fence and the safety of their own school building. None of them made it inside without several more hits by the squadron of angry seagulls.

Gerallt started to chuckle, followed by Gareth. The Hawthorne boys looked over at Matt, who was initially too surprised to say anything.

"What the heck just happened?" Matt asked, stunned by the bizarre behavior of the birds.

"I guess it's like the bumpah stickah," Gerallt answered, looking innocently from Matt to Gareth and then back again. "You know ... s**t happens."

Matt couldn't help himself. Despite his shocked surprise at the improbable bird bombardment that blasted the bullies while leaving the Hawthorne brothers and him untouched, Matt started chuckling. Soon, the three boys were all laughing so hard that they could hardly stand.

Just then, the bells rang, signaling the end of both the middle school recess and the high school lunch period. Gareth thanked Matt and Gerallt and headed back inside, while the older boys climbed back over the fence toward the high school.

"Matt, I want tah thank you foah helpin' Gareth," Gerallt said, briefly resting his hand on Matt's shoulder. "I really appreciate it. Once I saw Colin and Dylan stickin' their dirty noses in, I was afraid things would get serious befoah I could reach you."

"You're welcome," Matt said. "And thanks for backing me up when you did. I thought for sure Colin was going to beat me up." The two walked on for several moments in silence. "Gerallt, what just happened? Clayton getting hurt I can chalk up to klutziness and luck. But I have no idea what just happened with those birds."

Gerallt continued walking for a few seconds before replying, "Hard tellin'. Maybe I'm just very lucky. And then again, maybe the seagulls just had tah go." He stopped to look into Matt's eyes as if wondering whether he would buy the explanation.

"Maybe," Matt replied skeptically as they turned and continued back across the football fields, "but it sure was one heck of a coincidence." He paused for a second before continuing. "So, what are you doing after school?"

"Just my homework," Gerallt replied.

"Do you want to come over to my house?" Matt asked. "I can show you some of my stuff, and we can play video games. That is if you're not grounded."

"Mothah got ugly on me, but Ahnt Vivianne told her about catchin' Colin and his g**g paintin' 'wicked witch' on the sidewalk in front of the house."

"What? Ugly on you?"

"You know. Mad. Angry. Anyway, I was able tah convince them that Clayton was merely bein' gommy and did it tah himself. Mothah only sent me tah my room without dinner, so I got off easy. Anyway, I'll ask her once I finish my homework. Who knows? Ahnt Vivianne likes you, so maybe Mothah will let me come, especially if I don't stay too long."

The second bell rang as they entered the building, making them both tardy for their next class. Neither of them seemed to mind.