“Alfred, it’s been more than three days since you’ve had any food” the matron. Ms. Hutch said. August glared at her from the seat at the window. He looked sunken, the boyish roundness of his face dissolved into sharp cheek bones. Without his usual wooden dagger I hand, he had resorted to a butter knife from the kitchen drawers with which he had picked at the window frame so much so that deep cuts ran through it ruthlessly.
“Its August” he growled. Everyone else had settled into stationary life easily, blinded by the luxury of rounded feathered pillows and all you could eat buffets for every meal. The toys, the warm fires- it had all turned them soft. August wondered whether any of them ever actually cared. Maybe they were always too distracted by their own thing to ever notice how much the Captain had risked his life for them. Maybe they were too young to have realized or spent too less time away from the Captain to ever feel any attachment. Captain Keggard- that awful, dumb, arrogant- August’s breath caught, tears started forming at the corners of his eyes.
“Now, dear” Ms. Hutch hushed, slowly shuffling close to him, “Your past life is over, no more tears now. Soon, a loving family will come take you home, dear one”
“Get your hands off me!” August hissed, getting up on the bench and stomping like a wild animal in hopes to intimidate his ‘captor’, “Never! I’ll never forget! I’ll always be a pira-“
“Alfred, I’m tired of hearing your pirate tales” Ms. Hutch warned firmly. She huffed in defeat, “If you want to eat, dinner is downstairs”. Finally, the door shut with a frustrated thud behind him. With the room being completely silent, August could hear the noise of close to a hundred children on the floor beneath him. He screamed and banged on the doors to drain it down- he hated how everyone was so happy. Why did he have to leave? Why doesn’t it matter to them anymore that he is gone? Out of breath, August plopped onto the floor and contemplated: the windows were barred, the fence was too far away to run and jump over before getting caught and he had no one to count on ; not a friend- no June- to be there for him in case he got in heavy trouble. The only other person August felt remotely close to was Sylvester. He thought. It was time he recruited a new member to his little ‘Disaster Club’. Curfew would hit soon. Once the lights were out he and Sylvester could lead an escape party of all those who wanted to head back home (although he doubted anyone will show up) down the lamp-less backyard and slowly towards the humming horizons of the sea.
The candles had been out for two hours, plenty of time for overstuffed, tired children to easily fall asleep. With the stealth and silence second only to his Captain before him, August hopped to the floor from his bunk bed, eyeing everyone carefully. Sylvester was four beds across, sleeping beneath Theodore who proved to be kind of a challenge. The little boy was terribly afraid of the dark, without the light of the candle he had aboard the ship and the strange absence of the moon, he’d toss and turn, whimpering for hours on end until his own fear lulled him to sleep. August decided that the best way to get to his destination was on all fours, crawling underneath the beds as if they lead down a secret tunnel.
“Sylvester” he whispered. Nothing. Not ever a twitch.
“Sylvester!!” he whispered louder, then darted a look here and there to see if any unwanted guests had risen. He watched hopefully as the other boy propped himself on his elbows sleepily and yawned.
“Who’s there?”
“Down here” August directed.
With all the strength his half-drowsing body could muster, Sylvester managed a confused look of annoyance, “What are you doing under Amelia’s bed?”
“I’m hiding” August said, “I’m running away today. You wanna come?” In his heart, August pleaded for his request to be accepted. Sylvester tilted his head in thought, sending his overgrown black waves tumbling down his face. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something- something that made a smile light his entire face.
“Sorry, August” he shrugged, “Can’t do it!”
August pouted, “Why not?”
The other boy swayed and fumbled in shyness, “You see-hehe- I’m getting a mummy and daddy tomorrow”, although August rolled his eyes rudely, Sylvester kept on, “and a very pretty big sister too! They’re French! And very nice! They said I fit right in and that I can go to school and have my own room and-“
“Yeah, Sylvester I get it” August replied. Sylvester saw the disappointment in August’s face
“You know”, he offered, “You can always come with me. They would love a sporty chap like you”
“No!” August snapped a little too loudly, “I can’t. I want to be with the Captain. Why don’t you want to go back?”
“I don’t know” Sylvester sighed and pulled his knees close to him, “I always had a feeling he would leave us someday. Don’t you remember what he always said? ‘I will help you become fine, healthy grownups….In a way,..he did! If we were still out on the streets looking like dirty rat-children no one would look at us at all! I guess…the day he left us came a bit too soon.” The shaggy-haired boy turned on his side, thinking what else to say. August decided that his ‘sibling’ was much wiser than he seemed. He felt Sylvester’s grey eyes on him and stared back up. He smiled, “I’ll tell you one thing I know for certain, August. You were born for the sea, for Captain Keggard!”
Then, they both hushed as something rustled above Sylvester’s head.
“August” Theodore yawned, “Can you take me with you?”
The two older boys side-eyed each other, realizing that the younger one had been listening carefully all along. "Well, August", Sylvester chuckled, "There's a sidekick for you! Let me help you out!"
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