ADC.07

7. Back to Almost Normal

'If you are different from the rest of the flock, they bite you' - Vincent O'Sullivan

The Christmas holidays that year were magical for Joel. Of course he had long since ruled out the existence of Santa by then and was beginning to doubt that of God. It was just nice being able to relax again. Boarding at Forester had less obvious stresses and strains as well as the expected. Joel had to be constantly on his guard 24 hours a day, a moment's lapse could result in more pain or humiliation. At least the day-boys had home time in between school-days.

Joel's aunt was visiting with her family adding to his excitement. Aunt Maureen was very prim and proper and the rest of Joel's family thought her a little snobby. She was a school teacher and her husband part-owned a small business. Joel had no real thoughts about it, he was just glad he would see his cousins again. Because of how far apart the families lived they only saw each other once every two or three years.

Adam was a little older than Joel and Luke a bit younger. Charlie was the youngest by far and his brothers underestimated him. Joel did at first until one day. The three older boys would play together quite happily although Adam and Luke often squabbled. Charlie would usually be around the adults but frequently went to see what the other boys were doing. Joel went to the kitchen shortly after one of Charlie's interruptions to hear the youngster reporting back to the mothers.

Adam always gave off an air of superiority as the oldest, reminding Joel vaguely of his peers at school. It was only in front of aunt Maureen though and probably because it was expected. Adam was girl obsessed and spent a lot of time talking to Joel about them when the adults weren't around. It was always in hushed whispers and Joel learnt a few new words. It seemed all the boys his age or a little bit older were suddenly developing an interest in girls. Joel had to admit he would like to see Jodie again. It had been a long time and he felt too awkward just turning up on her doorstep.

Joel liked Luke best really. He was funny, though Luke's constant antics had worn thin with the rest of his family. Joel only had to put up with it for a week at Christmas so found it hugely entertaining, not least because of the look on auntie Maureen's face. Aunt Maureen gave Luke a withered look almost as if she had given up on the boy. He was clearly not of sound mind.

A run of bad weather kept the boys confined to the house. It was the typical winter weather all boys hated. Cold and wet. Not cold enough to snow, but too cold to be out in the mixture of sleet and rain. There were other implications. Joel didn't see it happening but his friends were drifting away from him, or he from them. All the boys were changing but the changes in Joel were different due to his alternate circumstances. A break in the weather saw Joel take his cousins to play football. They met up with Jamie and Ashley who were keen to hear about Forester Grammar.
"So what's it like then?" Jamie asked.
"It's rather strange"
"Oh, it's rather strange" Ashley mimicked putting a finger under his nose and lifting it.
"Stuff you" Joel said and dived on Ashley.
"Hark at Little Lord Fauntleroy" Ashley scoffed as the boys rolled around.

Running out of steam the boys collapsed panting. They started laughing. It was good to be home!

Ashley did have a point. Joel's accent was changing. Being surrounded by upper class accents at school had rubbed off on Joel, and although the change was minimal, it was noticeable to the village boys. Joel was disappointed he didn't see Jodie. Her house was further away and she stopped going to football when Joel went to Forester. When it was time to go home Joel felt his eyes well up and turned away quickly. Being away from his father was beginning to erode Joel's ability to keep his emotions in check.

Aunt Maureen bought Joel an encyclopaedia for Christmas that year. It wasn't wrapped and she said he could only have it if he could spell it.
"E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-A-E-D-I-A" Joel reeled off quickly.

He wondered if his aunt thought he was stupid when she seemed surprised how easy it was for him. New Year's Eve was best. The boys were left the house to themselves. With all the alcohol around it was too good an opportunity to miss. Joel had dabbled with Scott but Adam was a boy possessed. They were getting very drunk and thought it would be a good idea to let Charlie have a drink. The parents returned to a comatose Luke, with Adam and Joel trying to clean up Charlie's never ending supply of vomit. It was pointless telling the giggling boys off there and then. Luckily for them the parents saw the funny side and a stern telling off in the morning was all that followed. Joel was thankful his father wasn't home. When the brothers went home Joel was at a loss.

The weather was still bad and nobody showed up for football, even when it wasn't raining. Christmas was the one time of year food wasn't rationed. The women of the village all had their own Christmas club where they paid a small weekly amount from the beginning of January. By Christmas they each had a tidy sum. There were lots of rabbits to be caught but Joel's father had given Zorro away when he went to boarding school and the animal had since died. It felt like Joel's world was caving in on him as the return to school drew closer. The butterflies began three days before going back and Joel was confined to bed, sick with worry. He didn't want to go back..... ever!

* * * * *

Joel hated the fact his birthday fell in the first week back at school after the Christmas holidays. It meant he would never escape the dreaded bumps. At least the day-boys whose birthdays were during term times had a chance of them falling on a weekend. The bumps for boarders were different as well. For day-boys it merely involved other boys grabbing arms and legs and heaving the birthday boy up to head height and back down to the ground with a bump. With boarder's bumps the recipient was tossed in a blanket and the 'bump' would be against the ceiling not the floor. Normally bumps would be given by classmates from the same year, but the likes of Harris would take an interest, seeing it as another excuse for inflicting pain. Unfortunately for Joel, proles were largely unaware of blanket tossing and second years often took a hand.

The grape-vine was red hot and trying to keep birthdays a secret was impossible. Even if Joel had made a secret of it, he would have been found out. There were no secrets at a boarding school. Having seen three boys given the bumps already Joel wasn't worried, and just before lights out he awaited his fate. Thankfully other second years beat Harris to the punch and Joel went meekly to the middle of the dormitory where a blanket had been laid in preparation.

Joel lay in the blanket without a fuss and four boys picked up the corners. As the blanket went taut Joel was lifted to waist height. Another heave and he felt himself parting company with the blanket. The third heave took him higher. After that Joel was pushing himself off from the ceiling. The main fear was if the blanket wasn't taut on the descent. There were all sorts of schoolboy tales circulating about boys who were left paraplegic after being dropped. Of course nobody could name any of the alleged victims. Oddly enough Joel didn't find the experience unpleasant at all, in fact it was fun. It had made other boys nauseous but the fear-factor was largely responsible.

As far as school-work was concerned Joel had recovered from a sluggish start and was edging to the top of the class in most subjects. Although French had been a bit of a handicap to start with, as he had no prior tuition like the other boys, Joel soon caught up and was in top three by Easter. Without doubt though maths was Joel's best subject (he hadn't begun German at that stage). History was one subject Joel seemed to have a problem with. For some reason nothing he did was good enough for Dinosaur whose affection towards the boy seemed to fluctuate for no apparent reason.

One day Joel would be in the good books, the next he would be getting caned for the flimsiest of excuses. Joel didn't know what the problem was or what to do for the best. It could have been the refusal to join the photography class, or even that Dinosaur resented Joel's friendship with star pupil Herman. Whatever reasons Dinosaur had, nine out of ten canings Joel received in that first year were at his hands. Fortunately caning held no fear for Joel and his leather belt hardened buttocks. Six of the best was over very quickly and only left a series of red stripes. Only Harris had managed to draw blood and that was with a tree switch.

Joel was relatively quiet throughout his whole first year which wasn't a normal character trait. The sheer scale of Forester Grammar, with its lengthy history and quirky traditions, was awe inspiring to a poor kid from a little village. Being a boarder helped Joel academically because there wasn't the distractions of home life and plenty of time was allocated for out of class studies. Things were going as well as could be expected on the whole. He lacked true friendship like he had at home but as yet the canings were sporadic, apart from those off Dinosaur who always found reasons.

Despite doing well at rugby, Joel was in and out of the school team depending on Dinosaur's mood at the time. The team had a poor season, testimony to Dinosaur's erratic selection methods, but School House won the trophy for the inter-house competition. It was no surprise. School House almost always won. The boys had more of an understanding than the two day-boy houses who only played together as teams on such occasions. More than half the school team were boys from School House.

The Easter holidays should have been a welcome respite from the trials and tribulations of school and Joel hoped the weather would be better so he could have more time with friends even though Easter was the shortest holiday period. Unfortunately Joel arrived home to bad news. His father was on a ship bound for the Falkland Islands and his mother wasn't taking it well at all. She had started drinking heavily. When she went out for the night Joel would wait nervously for her return. When he saw the taxi pull up outside he ran upstairs and pretended to be asleep. It never worked. As soon as his mother set foot through the door she would go up to his room.
"Hello baby are you asleep?" she would say softly, the light from the hallway illuminating the boy's face.
"Wha-what?" Joel asked as if just waking up:
"I love you; make me proud"
"Yes mum" Joel promised and turned over hoping forlornly that would be the end of the conversation.
"I miss your dad" she said reflectively in slurred tones.
'Wait for it, here it comes' thought Joel. Her mood changed as tears started to flow. Joel recognised the pattern and knew exactly what to expect.
"Don't worry he'll be okay" he said hoping to avert the imminent disaster.
"You don't care; you don't care about anything" she snapped her tone becoming hostile.
Nothing Joel could say would change things so he kept silent hoping it would stop the inevitable. It didn't.
"Why can't you be like your brother?" she asked angrily.
Still Joel didn't react and she started shaking the boy.
"Answer me!" she yelled.
"What do you want me to say?" Joel pleaded, tears now welling up in his eyes.

It was a wasted question. The blows rained down on Joel and he curled into a ball covering his head with his hands, thankful his mother wasn't as strong as his father. For a few minutes fists hit Joel around the head and back but he had covered up well restricting the damage. It hurt more emotionally than physically.
"Get out! Get out of the house now!" she bawled.

Joel got out of bed quickly as his mother went to her bedroom sobbing once more. It was a pattern he was to get used to. First would be the love, then the tears, then the anger. Joel would find himself sleeping in the telephone box on the next street. The next morning his mother wouldn't remember anything but she never asked where he had slept. Every chance Joel had he would be out of the house and wouldn't come back until late. He was grounded a couple of times but climbed out of his bedroom window. Joel's mother always found out and he would get a beating then do the same again. He just couldn't be around his mother. She was distraught and Joel felt helpless, unable to make her feel better.

Going back to school should have been a relief but it just made things worse. It became common knowledge Joel's father was in the Falklands with the task force but there was no sympathy. Quite the reverse.
"I hear the Argies have sunk another ship" a boy would say loud enough for Joel to hear.

Joel's heart skipped a beat but he remained poker-faced. Whether it was true or not, he knew the boy was trying to upset him and pretended not to care. In the shower room he overheard two boys talking about the sinking. It was true!
"Do you suppose it might be the ship Phillips' father is on?"
"Who knows"
"It would serve him right sending the disgusting little oik to Forester" another added and Joel's blood boiled but he slinked out of the shower room unnoticed.

Joel knew which boy had said it and waited for him to come back to the dormitory. As the unsuspecting boy approached, Joel lashed out angrily. Not being very big and not yet having developed a mean enough streak to deliberately hurt people, Joel was less than intimidating. Even though he generally bettered the boy he was fighting, Joel seldom did enough damage to put others off. His limited popularity waned further still as the term wore on, and he was constantly fighting. It resulted in frequent visits to Dinosaur's study or that of the Headmaster. When questioned Joel would never give a reason for hitting a boy and teachers regarded him as a trouble-maker.

The desire for friendship was replaced with one to be simply left alone. He felt like a mouse in a room full of cats, senses constantly on high alert, wondering who would be next to cause him pain. Joel's volatile behaviour didn't discourage the hurtful comments, it just made the boys band together knowing he couldn't fight everyone. He would walk to the far playing fields every lunch time and sob uncontrollably, every day a new threat to body and soul.

Cricket and athletics took over from rugby, and he excelled at neither. Joel actually hated cricket and tried to avoid it at all costs. It was so boring just sitting around when his side were batting. Even when Joel was put in to bat himself he didn't like it. What fun was there in a boy hurling a leather-clad lump of cork at you at 100 mph?

Thankfully the Falklands war was over just before the end of term, but the damage was already done. The adverse effect on both Joel's school-work and how he interacted with his peers set him back in several subjects. The exam results weren't as good as Joel was expecting because of the downward spiral leading up to them, but nevertheless he managed to pass everything. Joel excelled at Maths, English and French, but barely scraped History and Latin, the rest were just about average.

As Joel neared the end of his first year other matters came to the fore. He was slow and naive in sexual matters, Most boys talked of little else but with no friends Joel was never privy to such information. The joy Joel felt as he stepped off the train into the village was like nothing he could remember. It was like a huge weight lifting off his shoulders. His father was still away but with the Falklands conflict over he was safe, and Joel hoped it would mean his mother was in a better mood. Joel's mother was at work when he arrived home and he lifted the doormat to get the hidden key. Everybody hid their key under a doormat or a flower-pot so it seemed a little pointless, but such was the community spirit in the village it didn't matter. Doors could be left unlocked (and often were) without a problem.

Over the next two years the community would be tested and eroded by outside forces. There was a dark shadow over the village as rumours of pit closures were rife. Margaret Thatcher had the country in a firm grip and her popularity soared as the British fighting spirit rallied around the government over the Falklands crisis. Many forgot the death of the British steel industry just a couple of years before. The uncertainty surrounding the coal mine didn't concern the village boys this summer though. They were too young to worry about their futures and their parents were optimistic closures could be averted, as had happened in the previous decade.

Joel dropped his case inside the door and ran up the stairs to his bedroom. He practically ripped his school uniform off and flopped back on his bed. Spreading his arms and legs wide he bounced a little revelling in the feeling of the soft blanket and springy mattress. The beds at school had coarse blankets and thin mattresses. Eager to see his friends he had barely seen for a year Joel pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

He ran all the way to the football field and wasn't disappointed. All his old friends were there and now had senior status. The younger boys still at primary school looked up to them and the whole balance of power had changed. As secondary school boys Joel and his friends now commanded a respect not previously afforded them. Some of the more sensible younger boys who were in their last year of primary school were allowed to sit with Jamie, Ashley, Xander and co as the boys took a break.
"Flipper!" Ashley shouted when he saw Joel approach.

It gave Joel such a lift to hear the nickname again and the genuine warmth of the greeting. Joel went and sat with the boys who chattered away excitedly. It was disappointing in some respects. The other boys wanted to hear all about boarding school and what went on but it was the last thing Joel wanted to talk about. He wanted to hear what his friends had been doing but they saw each other every day and it was old news. Thankfully the boys started playing football and Joel joined in having successfully avoided answering most of the questions. After the game the boys sat down to talk again.
"Where is Scott?" Joel asked and the others frowned.
"He's lost the plot" Ashley laughed.
"Umm, what about that girl .....and her brother?" he asked as casually as possible.
"Jodie? Haven't seen her"

Joel hadn't really expected to see Scott because he was never keen on football anyway and lived furthest from the field. Scott's temper had become a real problem and he was always fighting at school, even getting suspended for throwing a chair at a teacher. Joel desperately wanted to see Scott but didn't want to call on him suspecting brother Mart could be a cause of Scott's problems.
"Alan broke his leg in two places coming off his bike" Mattie said explaining the boy's absence.
"Colleen still loves you, she likes posh boys" Ashley put in mischievously and Joel jumped on him.
"I'll show you posh" Joel growled jocularly as the boys rolled around on the grass.
"All pile on!" Xander shouted and the other boys jumped on top of the wrestling boys in a heap.

'It was great to be back home' Joel thought as he struggled for breath under the weight of half a dozen boys.
The boys settled down again and talked about the World Cup that was going on in Spain. England needed to win against the hosts to qualify for the semi-finals and everyone was optimistic. Joel was more interested in recapturing the remnants of his childhood that had been stifled so badly at Forester.
"Let's go camping" Joel suggested hopefully, but Jamie didn't look keen.
"We can camp by Witches Lake because it don't cost anything" he added trying to drum up support.

The boys argued for and against before deciding to camp at Witches Lake. It wouldn't be the same without Alan, Scott, and Jodie, but was perhaps it was for the best. The others might notice Joel's obvious interest in the girl and tease him. Nathan couldn't camp with them because he wasn't allowed to stay out overnight, but a couple of the younger boys wanted to go.

Most weren't keen on the younger boys accompanying them in case there was trouble or an accident, the older boys would always get the blame. In the end it was decided Joseph and Lawrence could go because although they were in a different year at school, they were only a few months younger than some of the others. Arrangements were made and Joel said he would go and see how Alan was feeling.

Joel noticed Nathan had been quiet the whole time as the boys chattered away incessantly. He looked a shadow of the boy Joel knew from last summer. Mattie and Xander looked after him the best they could but the dark circles round his eyes were evidence of problems at home. Joel wanted to put a reassuring arm on the boy's shoulder wondering if he had told the others about his step-father.

Alan's mother answered the door and sent Joel upstairs. Alan was laid on top of his bed a big plaster cast running almost the full length of one leg. Joel looked at it and the names scribbled on the white plaster where all the other boys had signed it. They had all used their nicknames and some wrote coarse stuff. One had even drawn a rude picture and Alan saw Joel looking at it.
"That was Ashley, mum went mad when she saw it and wanted to scribble it out but dad laughed so I was allowed to keep it" he explained and passed Joel a black marker pen.
"Suppose this means it's my turn next then" Joel said gloomily as he remembered how they each seemed to take turns at getting hurt.
"You'll be okay, the cast doesn't come off for another month" Alan laughed as Joel added his nickname to the others.
"We're going camping in a couple of days" Joel ventured.
"Where are we going?"
"You can't go like that"
"Wanna bet?"

Joel looked at his friend and laughed. He certainly had guts. Alan's mother came into the room with a couple of glasses of squash and a cheese sandwich each.
"I'm going camping mum" Alan stated rather than asked.
"No you're not!" she said looking horrified and Joel was a little relieved.
"Let the boy go, it'll do him good to get out of the house. You fuss him too much" Alan's father said as he appeared in the doorway.

A debate followed between the parents and finally Alan's mother relented as Joel gave his assurances the boy would be well looked after. How the hell they would get Alan to Witches Lake was a mystery but at least there were a couple of days to think about it. An hour later Joel said he had to go home and rose to leave, he still had another call to make before he went home. He headed for Jodie's house.
"Come in, they are in the play-room" the twins' mother told Joel.

Joel walked in with a beaming smile. Jodie's eyes lit up and she hugged Joel catching him a little off-guard. She looked different but the same. It didn't seem like Jodie was going to let go and Joel had to ease her back. The warmth of her greeting made Joel feel funny inside and he was embarrassed. Only Jodie could make him feel that way.

Questions came thick and fast, Joel enjoying the attention the twins heaped on him. He was careful not to mention the camping at Witches Lake knowing Jodie would want to go. He wanted her to go but Jodie was more obviously a girl now and her presence would be too restrictive for the boys. Joel enjoyed talking to the siblings, they were far more attentive and willing to listen than his rowdy friends. It made Joel open up a bit more and he told of his misfortune at having to go to Forester.

Keeping a watchful eye on the time Joel reluctantly said he had to go and was rewarded with another hug off Jodie. She gave him a peck on the cheek making Joel blush instantly. How he hated and loved that all at the same time.
"Perhaps you can come and sleep-over one night" Jodie suggested and there was something in her tone Joel couldn't quite fathom.
"Love to, if I'm allowed" he promised.

Joel went home and quickly built a fire before his mother came home. It seemed a shame to build a fire in summer but it was necessary for hot water. He took the rubbish out, refilled the coal scuttle, and chopped some more kindling. Joel enjoyed doing all this, a year ago it was a chore and a time consuming burden, but now it was a symbol of normality. When Joel's mother came home she cooked dinner whilst he had a bath. He lingered in the bath a long time. It was the first bath he had since the Easter holidays. At school the only bath was in sick-bay and Joel had forgotten how relaxing it could be. Showers were quicker and easier but he needed a bath to soak away the ills of Forester Grammar.

His mother made stew and dumplings, something else he missed at the boarding school. It had been his staple diet but not once had it been served as a school-dinner. Joel liked his mother's stews because they lasted three or four days and could always be added to. It also meant that Joel could tuck in anytime he wanted. Now the Falklands war was over Joel's mother did seem happier but wouldn't truly be at peace until his father returned. Joel wondered if she still drank as much on Bingo nights and was glad he would be camping on the next one. It was better to sleep in a tent with friends than in a telephone box alone.

After dinner Joel went and played football. It felt good not being one of the youngest anymore. How different it was from school. Younger boys were ridiculed, teased ,and tormented at school, but in the village they were encouraged and looked after, albeit in a somewhat patronising fashion. Joel told his friends about the initiations at school.
"If someone wiped their bum on my face, I'd bite it" Ashley snarled and Joel didn't doubt he would.
"They just do that to the day-boys" Joel said, sorry he had mentioned it.

Everybody at school accepted the initiations as normal, it didn't occur to Joel the practises at Forester were a world apart from the experiences of his friends at secondary school. Joel clammed up again. He thought he was in danger of becoming further distanced from his village friends if he told too much of what went on. Joel began to feel he didn't belong anywhere. He certainly didn't belong at Forester and without him knowing it, Joel's attitudes were changing towards village life.

Camping in the woods, swimming in the lake, and tickling a couple of trout would be just the tonic Joel needed as he felt his childhood slipping away. Forester was making him grow up before he felt he should. Sleeping under the stars with no adults and no rules, was so liberating and invigorating. Nothing else made him feel so alive.

The boys found an old pram and went to call on Alan. He was a bit big for the pram and it must have looked funny to anybody watching as the boys made their way to the woods, pushing a twelve year old with a broken leg in a pram. The boys took the road way to the woods to make it easier to push the pram and it turned out to be a wise decision when they eventually had to cut across the fields. They had barely gone a hundred metres when pushing the pram became almost impossible. Alan walked a while on crutches having abandoned the pram but was far too slow so the boys took it in turns to carry him.
"It'll be dark before we get there" Ashley moaned.
"Rubbish, it don't get dark until half past nine" Mattie replied.

Ashley had a tendency to complain but he did have a point. The boys were only camping one night and there would be no playing on the swings or swimming in the lake if they arrived too late. Alan wasn't the biggest boy but the plaster cast made it awkward to carry him. Another problem was getting trout. Alan was second only to Mattie when it came to trout tickling and Joel's one success was probably a fluke.
"You'll have to get us all a trout" Joel said to Mattie.
"I can still get some" Alan assured the others.
"What if Potter sees you, it's not like you can run and I'm not carrying you with Potter shooting at my butt" Joel said.

It had been so long since the last camping trip the boys hadn't prepared well. None had brought food from home and they would go hungry unless they caught some trout, or managed to trap a pheasant.
"We should have brought a ferret" Xander grumbled and Jamie nodded.
"It's the wrong time of year for rabbits, they'll still be full of milk and taste like crap" Mattie snorted.
"We should have gone to the beach and camped out again, except Jamie would stink the tent out" Ashley said.
"You're the one with mucky hands" Joel laughed remembering the spring onion trick.

Ashley jumped on him and the two boys wrestled around.
"Stop messing about you two" Mattie said irritation in his voice.

Ashley and Joel looked at each other then at Mattie. They came to a silent agreement and Mattie saw the look on the boys' faces. He started to back away as they stood up. They lunged at him and he tried to run off. It was no good, they caught him easily and pinned him down. Joel looked at Ashley as they sat on Mattie.
"Elephants and ants?" he suggested but Ashley shook his head seeing they were on ploughed ground.
"Dirty knickers" he said.
"No, don't..... Pleaaassssee!!" Mattie howled as both boys took handfuls of the dry earth and shoved them inside his pants.

The others laughed as Mattie's pants were filled with dirt. Ashley and Joel let him up and Mattie took his earth swollen pants off to shake them out.
"I HAVE to go swimming now" Mattie grumbled as the boys started walking again.
Joel picked up one of the tents to carry, looked at his friends and smiled. He wondered what the boys at Forester would make of the scene.

Mattie and Joel veered off from the other boys deciding to risk Potter's Pond, everybody else carried on ahead to Witches Lake. They needed trout otherwise it would just be potatoes to eat later. Mattie would have to work hard to feed all the boys and the longer they were there the greater the chance of being shot. To the boys it was an acceptable risk and there was never any question whether they should report Potter for shooting at them. Nor would they tell their parents because no sympathy would have been forthcoming. The boys were trespassing and poaching, a pellet up the backside was far better than being arrested by the police and the prospect of a beating at home.

Joel usually kept an eye out while Mattie and Alan tickled the trout, but with Alan incapacitated it meant he had to try and catch some himself. The boys approached the pond crawling on their bellies through an area of long grass. They dipped their hands in the water and upturned their fingers waggling them invitingly for the trout. It took a little longer than usual before Mattie whisked his first one onto the bank. Joel could feel the trout's belly on his fingertips but his 'strike' was either too slow or too premature. Mattie scooped two more out.

There was a little splash in the water and Joel looked at it wondering what was the cause. A few seconds later there was another one.
"Did you see that?" he asked Mattie.
"See what?"
"Oww!!" Joel howled as he suddenly realised what caused the splashes when a pellet hit his arm.

The boys had been caught completely off-guard and jumped up. Mattie bent over to pick up two of the fish and Joel grabbed the other.
"Ouch!" Mattie yelped his backside having provided Potter with a perfect target.

Joel laughed as the boys fled the scene of the crime but his mirth was short lived as another pellet hit him in the small of the back. It was always funny when somebody else was shot, like when playing war with the pistols, but it wasn't pleasant being on the receiving end. The boys were out of range before Potter could register any more hits.
"I swear he's getting better" Joel grumbled as he rubbed the red dot on his arm.
"Bet he practises" Mattie agreed.
"He got me in the back as well, where did he get you?"
"Right in the crack, a bit lower and I'd be pooping it out" Mattie replied and both boys laughed at the thought.

They only managed three fish, it wouldn't even be half each between the eight boys,
"We'll have to get some spuds as well"

The boys had made slow progress hampered by Alan but were swimming and playing on the swings by the time Mattie and Joel showed up. Jamie sat with Alan who wasn't allowed to get his plaster cast wet.
"Is that it?" Jamie asked disappointed.
"I got shot TWICE" Joel said annoyed at the ingratitude.
"And I got shot right in the crack" Mattie added.

There was still plenty of time before it got dark and the boys who had been swimming gathered around looking at the meagre haul.
"You lot can get some spuds and onions since we got the fish" Joel said.
"I'll get some wood for a fire" Jamie said quickly, so he didn't have to walk so far.

Joseph and Lawrence hadn't camped with the others before and were happy to go with Ashley and Xander. Joel and Mattie put the tents up while Jamie gathered some wood. It was far easier than when camping at the beach because it was everywhere. The boys stayed up long into the night. Joseph, Lawrence, and Alan ate the trout. The younger boys because they never had one before, and Alan because he was injured. The other boys made do with potatoes.

The next day they played in the lake briefly but hunger took over and they made the long slow trek home, bellies aching. The summer holidays were by far the longest but they came and went all too quickly for Joel, and the last week saw the butterflies come back. Joel tried to convince his mother not to send him back on the grounds his father would be coming home soon, but it was to no avail. It would mean it would be a whole year without seeing his father.

At least Joel could go back to Forester with his batteries re-charged, it was just as well with what lay in store.