I get back from delivering papers to find the witch on the front porch. The morning is gray, and she's talking to Momma. When the witch sees me, I feel frozen. “You,” she says, pointing a finger, and something inside me shrinks a little. Her other hand holds her jacket closed, her hood up on her head. “Tell yer friend that my metal's 're not fer the takin'.”

“What?” I ask.

“I know you 'nd your friend have been eyein' my house fer the past who knows how long,” she says. “I'm tellin' you this once. You can't have 'em, and I'll do with 'em what I see fit.” The witch turns and walks away, keeping the gate open.

Momma closes the front door and sighs. “Charlie, what happened?”

“I don't know.”

“What did Henry do?”

“He said he was going to ask his momma and sister and papa about raising money for the war.”

“You didn't say anything about Mrs. Vaughn's house?”

I shake my head. “She's scary. I've never seen her leave it.”

Momma hums. “Sometimes, that's what happens when life is not kind to you.” She locks the front door and wipes her hands. “Now, then. Something quick before you go.” She goes back to the kitchen. It smells like warm, and fresh bread. Gramma and Gramps are there. Gramma is at the stove. Momma pats my head and pulls on her coat and hat. “Be good today, okay?” She doesn't wait. She opens the back door and leaves.

Bill appears, a batch of hair on the top of his head standing up like a tree. Half of his shirt is tucked in.

“You aren't dressed properly,” Gramps says. He shoos him to the table in the dining room.

“Charlie, take this? Be quick. You don't want to be late for school.” Gramma hands me a plate of chipped beef on toast. White lines wave up from it. She has dark rings under her eyes.

I grab a piece and fold it in half. It's slimy and thick in my mouth, the beef is sliced thin, but it slides down like the times I accidentally swallow whole ice cubes, except I don't think I'm going to choke and die. It makes my mouth a little dry. It almost dribbles down the edges, but I lick them up. The toast is crunchy and fresh. It makes me happy. I don't know how, but it does.

“Charlie, you know better,” Gramps warns. He's sitting down eating with the side of his fork. “Sit down and eat.”

Bill's eyes are soft and hazy as he eats it, crumbly and sloppy. He smears the sauce over half his face. “Wipe your face,” Gramps says. He hands him a napkin. “Did you finish your homework?” Bill doesn't say anything. He shoves the rest of it in his mouth and gets up.

I stuff another piece of toast in my mouth, making sure the sauce doesn't get on my clothes, and follow Bill's lead. The clock in the living room rings. The sound is sad and far away, like it knows no one is listening to it. I grab my books and follow Bill out the front door. Gramma and Gramps say goodbye.

I make sure to close the front gate. I look down at the witch's house and feel weird, like I swallowed a worm and it's wiggling in my stomach. I ignore it. I skip up to Bill and grab the cuff of his jacket. “Henry says he's going to have some ideas for how to raise money for the war.”

“You don't raise money for the war, dummy,” Bill says. “You raise money for the war effort.”

“Why are you mad at me?”

“Because,” he says, but doesn't say anything else. His face gets a little longer, eyes a little more closed, and he sighs. “I'm not mad at you, Charlie. I'm mad at other things.”

“Are you mad at Henry?”

“No. Why?”

“So you're just mad at the war?”

“Hitler, the Emperor.”

“Who?”

“The Jap's leader.”

“Oh.”

“There's a lot of people, Charlie. A lot of people who need to be taken down.” Bill wipes his face, and it goes back to normal. “I'm just mad.” He holds my hand as we cross Broad Street, too busy in the morning for me to wander through alone. That's how Donald broke his wrist that one time. It makes me feel safe, though.

Lionel taps me. His hair is combed flat. “Morning.”

“The witch came to my house.”

“Really?” he asks. He matches my steps. “Why? What did you do?”

“I didn't do anything. Henry did something.”

Lionel's eyes get big and he grins.

I nod. The doors to the school aren't open yet. It's a brick building with big windows on two floors. It reminds me a lot of my house, but the school looks more like a castle than a house. The gymnasium is on one side, and the public library is on the other. Both have their own front doors. The school leaks a lot, too. Mr. Harvey, the janitor, says they'll need to build a new roof soon if nothing gets done. Sometimes, I look at the gymnasium and wonder how the roof doesn't fall in. I've tried a few times to build it with blocks, but the walls or roof keep wanting to fall down. I even tried to glue it all, but then Momma got mad at that. It still fell over, though.

And then there's this tree by the library front doors. Everyone calls it the ribbon tree. It's not very big, but it's tradition that graduating kids tie ribbons to the branches. The ones that are higher up, the school has to get the volunteer fire department to undo. There's always a few ribbons higher up that the fire department doesn't get. Henry wants to climb all the way to the top and tie a big red one, like a flag.

Arthur shows up next. He's got a big grin when he sees us. “Momma took me to Mill Creek for my shoes to be fixed up.” He rocks back on his heels, and his boots are slippery and brown, like polished wood floors. They squeak like the desks in our classroom when someone sits down. “Tell me what I missed on the Lone Ranger?”

“This is more important. Henry got in trouble with the witch.”

“Really?” Arthur looks at me. “What did he do?”

“I don't know,” I say. “I'm waiting for him to show up.” We wait. More people come, pooling in front of the school like water in the bathtub. The sound of everyone talking gets louder. Henry doesn't come. “Maybe he's sick?”

“Henry doesn't get sick,” says Arthur. “I bet he's running late.”

“Maybe he overslept.”

I smile. “Henry would do that.”

The doors open, moaning. We stand up and file in. “Let me know what happens?” Lionel asks.

“You bet,” Arthur says.

I look back. Light shines from the clouds, but I still can't see Henry. A few people are running up Broad Street towards the school. I think Henry could be with any of them.