The New Kid

Innocence lost can never be regained. But sometimes sharing that lost innocnece with another can help you persevere.

Part One: Lead Poisoning and Cheating Death

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Every child hears it, even to this day. A boy pokes another with his pencil just hard enough to leave a mark and laughs out, "You've got lead poisoning." The other boy spits in his hand and washes off the mark and declares himself cured. They both laugh out. They just cheated death. In some part of their mind, they know better, but in the playful part, the part to which little boys pay attention, they have triumphed over death. Male bonding in its basest form.

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I sit smiling at my math assignment, but not seeing it. My best friend Charlie and I have just cheated death again. Every day in Mrs. Roget's class, we sit in the back row. Charlie is in the left most seat and I'm to his right. I can still see the redness on my left arm from Charlie's pencil.

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Mrs. Roget clears her throat and looks in my direction. "We're almost out of time Danny."

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I look at the clock. "2:45!! I'd better get started," I think to myself, "school lets out in fifteen minutes."

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Ten minutes later, Mrs. Roget tells us to pass our papers forward. No one sits in front of me so I have to get up to hand my paper to Jill Lakeson. It's times like this that I'm glad to be so good at math.

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Mrs. Roget takes the papers from the front row. "I have an announcement before we go. Tomorrow we will have a new student in class. His name is Henry Beamer. Let's try to make Henry feel welcome. Okay?"

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"Yes, Mrs. Roget," we all say together. The bell rings, and a few of the kids start to jump up. Mrs. Roget looks sternly at each kid until every last one of us is seated. Charlie and I casually put things into our book bags. I pretend to put my pencil into the bag. I palm it like that magician I saw at the carnival last year.

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"You may be excused," she says, and the kids grab their things and file out the door. Most of the girls and a few of the boys say goodbye as they pass by the teacher.

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Charlie and I walk home together. There's never a shortage of things to talk about. Today we wonder what the new kid is going to be like. Charlie theorizes that he'll be the power hitter that our baseball team needs. I reply that if he is, we'll have to call him Hank. "All power hitters named Henry go by Hank," I state showing off my knowledge of baseball history.

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We talk about Hank the rest of the way to Charlie's house and about how he's going to lead us to the Little League World Series. "We'll probably play Japan or Taiwan. Makes no difference who we play, not with Hank clearing the bases every time he comes up to bat," Charlie says.

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We stop in front of Charlie's house. I rub my chin and close one eye like my dad does when he wants to look like he's deep in thought. After a brief pause, I ask, "You know what I think?"

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"No, what?"

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"I think you're going to die of lead poisoning!!" and I jab my pencil into his arm.

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The pencil punctures the skin and the tip of the lead breaks off in Charlie's arm. He cries out and tries to wash his arm. The lead is embedded, and nothing we try will get it out. Charlie looks at me with the look of a man of his death bed. The color drains from his face. He holds his arms between us, and I see the dark stain in his arm. All I can mange to say as tears start running down my face is "Sorry. I'm so sorry!!"

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Charlie runs into his house yelling for his mother. I run three doors down to my mother. It frightens her to see her son come running in crying for her. I imagine Charlie's mother was just as scared, maybe even more so if he was shouting that he was dying.

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That night we both learned that they stopped putting lead into pencils long before our parents were born. I called Charlie to let him know that he's going to be okay, but he had received the same lecture I got. I still apologized for sticking him too hard. He said that it was okay. "No harm, no foul" was our mantra back then.

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Part Two: The New Kid

 

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I rush through breakfast as quickly as my mother will allow. I take double sized bites every time she looks away. Luckily, Rice Crispies is a clingy cereal, and it's easy to take big bites. When she turns around to refill her coffee cup, I drink the remaining cereal and milk from my bowl. I run outside so I can try to hurry up Charlie, but he's already outside of his house. He waves at me to hurry up.

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We both run all the way to school. We can't wait to meet the new kid so we can start making travel plans to Tokyo or wherever the Little League World Series is held. We get to school almost half an hour early.

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"Well, you boys got up with the roosters today," Mr's Roget teases when we come in.

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"We wanted to be here to meet the new kid when he comes in," I say to her. "Can he sit in front of me? The seat is empty."

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She smiles and says, "That's very nice of you. Yes, he may sit in front of you."

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Charlie and I take our seats and wait. The regular class shuffles in two or three at a time. The bell rings and class starts, but there's no new kid. Mrs. Roget is talking to the school secretary in the hallway. She comes in and addresses us, "Our new student, Henry, is in the office finishing up some paperwork, he'll be down in about ten minutes. I don't want to start without him, so you may talk quietly with your neighbor until he arrives." She takes her seat.

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Everyone in class starts to whisper. I hear a lot of speculation about Henry. Emilie Wilkens hopes that he will be cute while Amanda Peterson thinks that he will be exotic looking but funny. The boy who walks in a few minutes later surprises everyone.

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Everyone stops talking when he walks in. Charlie and I look at each other with disappointment on our faces. No baseball glories for us.

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Henry is small. He's easily six inches shorter than Charlie, and his arms look like they would struggle to hold a bat in the air. There is something else about his appearance that disturbs me though. His eyes follow Mrs. Roget's finger to the empty seat in front of me, and he walks down the aisle towards me. He looks at me, and I force a smile. He doesn't smile back, doesn't even look me in the eye.

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Up close I can see what it is about Henry's appearance that bothers me. His skin is kind of grayish in color. He looks like he would be cold if you touched him. Like a dead body. The area around each of his eyes is a darker shade of gray, like he has rubbed dirt on them. He reminds me of one of those cave fish with the big blind eyes and colorless skin I saw on tv. He almost looks vampirish.

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I say "hi" as he slides into the seat in front of me. He sniffs deeply and says "hi" back.

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Charlie and I banter back and forth throughout the day. We try to talk to Henry a couple of times, but he mostly just ignores us. I ask him if we can call him Hank while thinking that maybe we can teach him how to play baseball. His only reply is to tell me that his name is Henry. I take it as a "no".

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When the bell rings and Mrs. Roget finally dismisses us, Charlie says that his mother is taking him shopping, and he has to get home right away. We run all the way to Charlie's house. He waves goodbye as he goes inside. I watch Charlie go in and then I head to my house. After a few feet, something stops me. A feeling washes over me that I shouldn't go home, not yet. I turn around and spot a dollar bill in the grass by the sidewalk.

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I pick up the dollar thinking of how lucky I am. I know I should put it in my bank in my room, but a voice in my head tells me to spend it. "Go to the store," the voice says, "You're not even expected at home for another twenty minutes."

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That was the clincher, the realization that I not only have extra money, but extra time as well. Then a phrase pops into my head that my mother uses to describe the cash she hides away that my dad doesn't know about. "Mad money!!"

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I run the three blocks to the convenience store. I am surprised to see Henry in the store talking to the man at the counter. The man is giving him directions. Sounds like Henry got lost on his way home. I take two cans of grape soda up to the counter. The man is still trying to explain the directions to Henry. I understand the look of fright on his face. I've lived here my whole life, and I have no idea what the man is talking about. I interject that I can help Henry find his way. I give the man my dollar and he gives me ten cents back.

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Henry and I leave the store, and I hold out a can of grape soda to Henry. "Here, I bought an extra," I say. Henry just looks at it. I put the can in his hand and ask him where he lives.

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He tells me and I reassure him, "Okay, that's not too far from here. We'll take a short cut to get you home quicker. We don't want to worry your mom."

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Henry gasps when I mention worrying his mom. His eyes widen, and his voice has a tinge of desparation in it, "We have to hurry."

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I lead the way. I walk fast, but I don't run. Henry has a hard time keeping up. His legs are shorter than mine, and he reminds me of a mouse scurrying through the grass. He falls a few feet behind me but otherwise seems to keep up. We take a shortcut through a little wooded area. When he sees his house, Henry starts running. He thanks me for the soda  as he runs up to his porch. I watch as he tries the door, but it won't open. He knocks several times.

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With a last second thought, I say, "Hey, Henry, I'll come by in the morning, and you can walk to school with Charlie and me."

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Henry looks at me and starts to answer, but stops when he hears the lock on the door start to jingle. The door slowly opens. A tall woman with her gray hair wound up tight on her head stands in the doorway with her arms crossed in front of her. Henry looks at his feet. She says, "You're late," and she grabs him by the arm and pulls him inside. The door slams shut, and I hear the locks being locked again.

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I am late getting home myself. When I tell my mother why, she says that I did the right thing. She's proud of me for going out of my way to help the new kid find his way home.

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Part Three: Morning Surprise

 

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I get ready early and go down to Charlie's house. He didn't know about my plan to walk Henry to school, so he is just starting to eat breakfast. He tells me to go ahead, and he'll meet me at school. So I walk over to Henry's house.

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I knock on Henry's front door. After a couple of minutes, the lock starts to make noise. I take a step back. The door opens and the tall woman demands to know, "What do you want?"

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I hesitate for a second and state, "I told Henry that I would walk him to school to make sure he knows the way."

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She looks at me all over like a hungry wolf sizing up a lame animal before attacking it. Finally she says, "Wait here."

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She closes the door and engages the lock. I try to peek through the window in the door, but it is too high. There is a crack in the curtain in the window by the door, so I peek through it. The woman has a ring of keys in her hand. She finds the one she wants and inserts it into a lock that holds two ends of a chain together. She removes the chain and then slides a bar out from in front of a door. The door leads to the storage space under the stairs. She stands in the doorway looking for another key.

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She finds the key and takes a step back. I see her mouth a single syllable. I catch my breath to keep from screaming when a small figure walks out. It has cuffs on both hands with chains leading from the cuffs back into the room. The chains are suspended in the air, and I suspect that they are attached to some mechanism on the wall. The figure has a metal mask over it's head. There is a lock on the band around the neck of the mask that keeps it closed. The tall woman unlocks the cuffs and the chains fall. Then she unlocks the mask. It takes off the mask as it walks back into the little room. Out walks Henry.

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Henry's carrying a coffee can. I watch him take the can into the hall bathroom. I can't see what he does inside the bathroom, but I hear the toilet flush. Then Henry puts the can back into the little room. His mother hands him a light bulb. Henry goes into the little room, and I see light pour out of the room for the first time. The mother stands and watches for several minutes.

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When the light goes out, Henry walks out carrying the light bulb. He's holding it with one of his socks. It's probably hot. He puts the bulb on the table by the room and picks up his book bag. He goes to the door. When I see the woman coming, I step back from the window. I turn around and pretend that I was watching the street the whole time. I hear the lock again, and the door opens. Henry comes out, and the door closes without so much as a word of goodbye from the woman. I wipe at my face and am surprised when my hand comes away wet.

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Henry and I walk to school without saying a word. I wonder if Henry suspects that I saw what happened inside his house. I would say something to break the silence, but the only thing I can think about is what I saw through the crack in the curtains. When we get to school, Charlie is already in his seat. Henry and I take our usual seats.

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Charlie tries to talk to me throughout the day, but I just sit quietly. I feel like if I talk, I'll yell out what I saw at Henry's house. At recess, I stay inside. I don't feel like playing. Mrs. Roget asks me if I need to see the nurse. I shake my head no. She goes back to flipping through papers and writing in her grade book.

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I walk up to Mrs. Roget's desk. My eyes are stinging. I blink them rapidly and breathe deeply to try to keep from crying. I tell Mrs. Roget the whole story. She has me repeat it for the school principal. About an hour later, Henry and I are called to the principal's office. The secretary tells me to go into the office and directs Henry to a seat to wait.

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I repeat the story for a lady inside and am then told to return to class. Henry looks at me with those scared eyes as I walk by without saying a word. I hear the principal call him into his office as I'm leaving. About fifteen minutes later, we see Henry leaving with the lady. Charlie wants to know what is going on, but I can't bring my self to tell him.

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About a week later, Henry returns to class. For the first time, he looks healthy. His skin is still pretty white, but it has a hint of pink to it now. That year, Charlie and I teach Henry how to play baseball. I never tell Charlie what I saw that morning. Charlie shoudln't have to live with that image like I do. It gives me bad dreams sometimes. I'm willing to live with what I know because I know that it doesn't compare to the memories that Henry is living with. Henry and I have never discussed what happened that day. He never thanked me, not because he wasn't thankful, but because he didn't need to.