Bookworm - Chapter one

A boy discovers the importance of reading when he suddenly finds himself in the plot of a novel he hates conversing with the author.

Chapter One

"I hate reading mom!" Shua called at the top of his lungs, "I'm always stuck inside staring at these eye-burning pages of useless knowledge while Biby is outside playing football with Nic and actually having fun."

"Shua, now you listen to me. Bibiana loves to read and she's done her work so she's free to play in the yard with her brother. Your complaining and refusal to read is what keeps you locked up." She held up her hands and used air quotes around the words, "locked up." “Now finish your reading and you can go play.” His mom put down her coffee on the pilgrim style table stretched out across the width of the dining room. Across the top a linen cloth adorned with embroidered flowers created a make believe garden that one was almost able to smell. The steam melted off the coffee cup wafting up to the ceiling leaving Shua to pinch his nose in disgust.

Shua lifted his eyes to the clock hanging on the wall. The hour hand stuck in its lame position and the second hand moved like molasses. He tried to focus on the page he had open but his mind kept wandering off to some far off land with dragons and castles and such. He shook his head in dismay and stared at the page once more, “He…he cood…coudn’t qui…quite tell,” struggling through each sentence. The book slammed shut. “Mother? Please come here.”

Her bare feet scraped the hardwood floors and Shua’s mother appeared, her apron caked with flour and hands held up, chocolate smeared across her hands. “Yes Shua, do you need anything? I am in the middle of putting the eggs and wet ingredients in the mixing bowl.”

“Sorry Mother, I didn’t mean to bother you. I don’t want you to forget an ingredient again, but I just struggle so much with these sentences and I think that’s the reason I hate reading.”

“Shua, you shouldn’t say you hate reading. Hate is a strong word you know.”

An image of a fiery heart with bulging muscles flashed through Shua’s mind at the mention of ‘strong word’.

“Let me clean up here and get the cookies put in the oven and I will certainly help you get through your chapter. Ask and you will receive. I think you will enjoy reading.”

Shua shook his head. From the day he first began school he put in his head the awful idea that reading was dumb. He kept a pile of books under his bed hoping that his mother wouldn’t find them.

A nice aroma filled the air, Shua’s favorite - cookies. Chocolatey, gooey, mouth watering. Shua found himself staring at the ceiling when his mother walked in. “Shua, you have to put in the effort. I’m not trying to yell or be mad at you, there have been many great men in history who had trouble reading. So count yourself as fortunate.”

“Fortunate of not being able to read?” Shua exclaimed. “While Nic and Biby zoom through their work with ease and get to play football nearly every hour of the day.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. They are just gifted in a way you are not.” his mother replied, dropping the subject. “Now where are you in the book?”

Shua pointed to a spot near the middle of the page sighing deeply, frustration clearly showing on his face.

“Now now. Reading takes patience and perseverance. One can not read without practicing, and certainly not without failing. So you are not far off the path from success.”

Shua’s mother, with much patience and guidance, helped Shua through the rest of the chapter. She pointed out how each sentence is structured consisting of a subject predicate and a complete thought. “ See here, you could take this sentence,” she said pointing to a spot near the bottom of the page, “and isolate it and it would make sense.”

“Oh wow! I never thought of it like that. The boy drinks water. You’re right and this whole book is made up of little thoughts. Hey, maybe I could write a book. I have so many daydreams, so many little thoughts throughout the day that they could pile up into the length of a novel.”

“Well that’s not out of the question. If you work at it you could certainly become an author.”

“I think I’d rather read what goes on in my head than what these lame books teach me. They're so boring. I want to read about dragons and knights, not boring history and english.”

“Well knights were part of history, so if there wasn’t history you wouldn’t have knights or dragons or any of that. In fact there would be no books.”

Shua perked up at his mother’s words. The thought of no books greatly inspired him. No reading, no history lesson, no school. He could fight dragons all day long without being interrupted by school.

“No I wasn’t!” Bibiana yelled through the screen door as it nearly smashed Nic’s fingers.

“Watch it Biby! You almost took my fingers off.”

“No I didn’t! They are still stuck to your hand. And I wasn’t down. You didn’t touch me. It was a touchdown.”

“I clearly got you at the one yard line and you know it,” Nic yelled back.

Shua shook his head as the argument reached his ears. It always ended that way. Just last week-when he had actually been allowed to play football-the final play of the game just had to end up being controversial. 

Biby had stepped up in the pocket, arm cocked back as she let loose a 20 yard missal. The ball had spiraled perfectly, landing right in Shua’s outstretched arms. 

Shua had his eye on the endzone, still five yards out. But there was one problem; Nic was waiting for him, arms held out wide as he closed in for the tackle. Without even thinking, Shua countered with a slight shift in his bodyweight, feet planted firmly in the grass, he gave a grunt and dove with his arm outstretched. Football first, his hand gripped tightly to the ball, and he flew through the air and over the endzone marker.

But Nic, just as quick, threw both hands on Shua’s back and made the tackle.

“He’s in!” Bibby confirmed.

“He’s down!” Nic yelled.

“Okay Shua,” his mom said. “I think that’s enough reading for today. You’ve certainly shown potential. Your father will be proud.”

“You really think so, mother? I barely read anything.”

“Even the smallest bit of knowledge is a step forward. Now I think,” she looked over to where Nic and Bibby were still bickering, “there is an argument that needs settling.” Her eyebrows raised and she winked at Bibby.

Shua grinned and watched as her mother busied herself in the kitchen. She nonchalantly hummed a tune as she scrubbed the mixing bowl out. “Come on guys, let’s play ball!”

Nic and Bibby raced out the door with Shua trailing behind. The sun beat down casting sharp shadows across the house. Each was dressed in summer clothing. The boys wore a loose t-shirt and shorts and Bibby was clad in a long skirt and a lightweight blouse. Mud was caked to the soles of their feet with only their arches showing forth. The yard was transformed into a makeshift football field. Endzones marked with a stick and sidewalks marked the sidelines.

“Alright Bibby!” Nic called, “You and Shua can start, I’ll kick off the pigskin.”

With only three players, Bibby was on both teams usually taking quarterback or an occasional run.

“Hut!” Nic slapped the football with the top of his foot and it sailed across the yard.

“I’ll cover you Bibby.” 

Bibiana grasped the football tightly to her chest just as Nic let loose a nasty stiff arm to Shua as he plowed into his brother.

Shua fell back, nearly hitting his sister as she took off with lightning speed, the football tucked neatly in the crook of her arm. Nic was stunned, gazing at her ponytail flopping against her back as she headed for the endzone. “You guys just got lucky with that one,” Nic muttered under his breath.

Shua countered with a marvelous kickoff downfield and Nic with the retrieval was stopped short as his brother tagged him for the first down. With Bibby in the pocket Nic went out for the pass.

Shua locked eyes with Nic, for he knew the eyes gave away the ball’s location. Step for step Shua locked in with Nic and leapt up for the block swiping Bibby’s pass midair.

“Come on Shua!” Nic called, clearly frustrated.

“Hike!” Bibby called after the reformation on the line of scrimmage.

Nic scrambled again to beat Shua’s defense. This time Nic was ahead of Shua’s blocking. Bibby threw a bullet just missing Shua’s reach and hitting Nic’s receiving hands.

“Touchdown!” Bibby yelled, throwing her hands above her head in celebration.

Honk! Honk! A flash of headlights beamed into the children’s view and gravel crunched under the car’s tires. “Oh, look,” Shua called, pointing to the driveway, “father’s home already.”

“Well look at that,” Nic replied gazing at the sky, “it’s that time, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” Bibby answered. “It gets dark so soon now. We barely can get in a game of football these days.” She smiled as she waved back to her father coming down the walk. His computer bag slung over his shoulder and he had some sort of paper bag gripped in his hand.

The door closed and Shua called to his siblings, “Let’s go see what he’s got!”

Author's Note

I'd just like some feedback on the story idea and the beginning chapter. Thank you!