Author: Linda Loegel

Chapter One

  
_S
eptember 30, 1961. Gary ran. Fast.  Faster than the cars driving up and down Maple Street. He turned the corner and ran down Elm, crossed over to Pine and kept going. Fast. He had to get away. Away from his parents who didn’t understand him. Didn’t have a clue how miserable he was. He hated living in that house with them. They didn’t seem to like him; they sure didn’t care about him or the things that were important to him. All they did was yell at him. He couldn’t do anything to their satisfaction except bring his dad another bottle of beer from the fridge and his dad even found reason to yell about that; said he didn’t fetch it fast enough.
  
Well, he’d show them. See how they liked his not being there to wash the dishes and lug the clothes to the laundromat and take out the trash and get hollered at if he was too slow or too fast or too anything. Without him there to be yelled at, the house should be more peaceful because like his dad said, he was the cause of all the problems in the house.
  
Gary ran past Miller’s Grocery, past Blake’s Liquor Shop, until he found himself on a street he’d never seen before. He slowed down, had to catch his breath.  With every car that drove past, he tensed, thinking it was someone looking for a thirteen-year-old runaway. That’s a laugh, thinking anyone cared enough to look for him. His parents, if they even noticed he was missing, probably went to the bar to party. They didn’t need a reason to go out drinking, but being free of their lazy, trouble-making son would certainly be cause to celebrate. 
  
Gary stopped at a bench. He needed to rest a moment. It would be dark soon and it occurred to him that he hadn’t planned anything beyond running away. Where will I spend the night? And what am I gonna do for supper? I should have brought food with me, but if Dad notices food missing, I’ll be in big, big trouble. One thing’s for sure, I’m never going back to that house on Maple Street. If I die from cold or hunger, it would be better than living with those mean drunks.
  
Gary rose to his feet and started walking, his mind focused on what he might do for food. A truck drove past him and stopped. A man got out. Gary looked up just as his father grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the truck. His father’s face was red and contorted, his eyes blazed with anger.
 
“So this is how you repay us for all we’ve done for you?” shouted his father. “You run away like the no good worthless thing you are? I don’t care if you never come back, but your mother’s worried, made me come look for you. I have better things to do, you know, than run after the likes of you.”
  
The truck stopped in front of their house and Gary stepped out. His father sped away. The boy walked in the house, his head lowered so his tears wouldn’t show. His mother came over to him and patted his shoulder, but he yanked himself away and went to his room. Before he closed his bedroom door, he heard her sigh.  Gary lay on his bed and cried himself to sleep. 
  
In the morning, he awoke with a smile. He had a new plan.