Son of Fred -- Early Reader ages 7-9 (Ch. 8)

Chapter Eight - Plans Are Made…

"My fist is a hammer," Shawn said, holding up his chin. He tried making an angry face but he couldn’t.

The boys looked at his skinny knuckles and it cracked them up.

These same fellows used to call him names. And often teased him at school. Now they were confused. He wasn’t running off bawling to someone.

“Get away you Bullies…Huh,” Shawn said, staring them down.

Maybe because he showed he could be brave. Or, it could be because knocking him around wouldn’t prove anything.

The boys just looked at him, unsure what to do.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “Waddell Falls. No more scared-cat. Let’s scat!”

Now they weren’t laughing at him. They were laughing with him. He was coming across as a cool kind of guy.

Shawn was soon running alongside as everyone raced up more steps to the waterfall. This time he was ‘friends’ with friends. The air was noisy with their yelling.

No more ‘Retard.’

No more funny-looking boy, he thought.

Shawn was just a boy with friends.

And Son of Fred loved it.

Shouting and chasing each other became a game. And they wrestled in fun on the grass. These boys had names. Nathan, George and Sam.

Now Shawn had three friends.

He told them about his plan to find Fred.

"You're running away?" They asked, shocked.

"No, it’s for my dad. I'm just looking for my dad." Shawn pulled his baseball cap down tighter. No one was going to change his plan.

“Help me find my dad…Fred?” he asked. They listened.

"We'll look for a little while. And then take you back home. OK?"

"A-okay," Shawn answered. He smiled his smile. Then he gave them his right hand thumbs up sign. It was his lucky thumb.

The afternoon was super, as ‘friends’ became ‘better friends.’ Four boys were now working together to search all the trails.

It was a busy time since Victoria Park was filled with people.

 Family picnics were going on everywhere. There were children playing Frisbee, some even roller-skating. And a few doing tricks on their skateboards.

Now Shawn was part of the noise and fun time.

"Over here!" Shawn shouted over and over. And his new friends ran and helped check behind the work shed. Even behind the swimming pool, and around piles of lumber.

Or anywhere else their new friend pointed. Everyone was like a detective seeking a fresh trail.

While they searched all over, they still had time for fun.  The boys even pretended Shawn’s dad was kidnapped. Soon it became a game of ‘hide-and-seek,’ with a new name.

And it was called, "Find Fred."

Unknown to Shawn, he was gaining their respect. They could see he was able to laugh at himself. And was interested in everything he saw.

He even taught them new names he gave the birds.

They joined in his laughing, as he pointed to fat crows scooting overhead. “Flying houses” he called them.

Could they be friends with Shawn at school, too? Shawn wondered. They might tell others he was an A-okay guy.

But these were questions for later.

Right now he was having too much fun. Son of Fred was a busy-busy boy. And he raced ahead shouting, “First to the top of the hill!!”