Jem's excursion

A Story by Bree

My interpretation of what could've happened the night Jem left to retrieve his trousers from the Radley place in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

As I stepped outside into the night, I was consumed by the dark void. Every bit of confidence left in my body, and I was standing alone; wide-eyed and filled with pure terror. Every shadow, every plant, every inconspicuous blade of grass was Boo Radley watching me; preying on me like a hawk to a rat. I felt his eyes piercing into my soul, and I shivered. I turned to see the door in which led me into this immense darkness, but alas, it was closed. Scout no longer held in for me, and I began to realize that I should have listened to her advice. Nevertheless, there I was; alone and afraid. There was no turning back.

I took a wobbly step towards the Radley's place as I quickly glanced behind me to reassure myself that I was truly alone. I slowly crept towards the fence. With each step, I became more afraid. The shadows seemed to become darker, and the crunch resulting from each step amplified and echoed into the emptiness. I stood in front of the fence trembling. I felt Boo's eyes staring at me from a broken window. The violent bang of the shotgun echoes in my mind. As I felt a warm, salty tear slide down my cheek, I thought to myself, "Quit being such a girl, Jem. It's merely your imagination." The cold, crisp air filled my lungs as I took air fill my lungs as I took a few deep breaths, and the paranoia subsided.

I stuck my hand under the fence to retrieve my pants only to find that they were not where I had left them. I began searching the ground, hoping that I was mistaken and left them elsewhere. My eyes strained in the darkness. I saw a dark figure, but I couldn't make out what it was. The fear of never returning home crept into my mind. I slowly moved towards it. What I saw was not Boo Radley. Instead, it was my pants; carefully folded and slung onto the fence. I couldn't recall leaving them there, especially not in their condition.

"This is a trap," I thought to myself. "He must've known I'd come back for them."

With the pants in my grasp, I bolted through the vast darkness as far as my legs could carry me. I stopped to catch my breath under a streetlight and examined the pants. The gaping hole in the right leg no longer existed. Instead, it was sloppily sewn back together. I jumped in fear and dropped them. I contemplated leaving them there and began to walk away.

"Afraid or not, I didn't go through all of this to return without what I sought after," I whispered to myself.

I turned back. I ran home keeping the pants and arms length away and decided that I would never tell Scout anything about the entire outgoing. I returned to the only place that was safe; home. I quietly knocked on the back door. Scout peeped through the door.

"Is that you, Jem," she asked in a soft, familiar whisper.

"Yes, it's me. I got my breaches."

She slowly crept open the door; careful so it wouldn't creak and alert Atticus. I slipped inside and headed straight to my cot without saying a single word. I trembled as I fell asleep.