AN: This is a story I wrote for English class, but I kind of liked it...so here it is. Please read and review and tell me if I should right more. AureliaSea13

It was a fraction away from the target, that old darned beast. Its purpose was to frustrate, anger, and destroy his only hope. He was sure that it hadn’t moved a fraction in at least five minutes.

The teacher’s voice droned in the back round, but nobody was paying attention to her. Well, nobody but Cissy Carlton, and she was such a goody-two-shoes! Nineteen pairs of eyes remained riveted on the old, rusty clock, as it continued its painfully slow path to the point when they would be free.

Everyone knew that they should be grateful for the clock, as they were expensive for schools to buy during this Depression thing. Yet, no one could help hating it. It ruled their lives while they were at school. Each day it slowed almost to a stop as the time when they could leave school ticked closer.

The second hand had begun its final trek around the clock. Even the teacher stopped speaking and watched the hand. Each tic and each tock sounded across the room like the boom of a cannon.

Thirty seconds, and everyone drew a ragged breathe.

Forty seconds, and they stiffened in their chairs.

Fifty seconds, and their hands tightened around their books

Fifty-five seconds, and they balanced more of their weight on the balls of their feet.

Fifty-six…

Fifty-seven…

Fifty-eight…

Fifty-nine…

…fifty-nine and a half…

SIXTY!

Everyone leapt to their feet, cheering madly. It was the last day of school, the final day for a whole two months! And to add on top of that, there was a ten cent circus playing tomorrow night!

Bobby ran out the door, calling goodbye to Mark Goodmen and JJ Bant. Slapping the hand of Frankie Walther, he took off down the hard-packed dirt road that would take him home.

It was 1930, and his family didn’t have a lot of money. His father had worked in a manufacturing plant, but it had been forced to close. Now his father did odd jobs at the store in town for money, and what he earned was barely enough to live by. Bobby hadn’t been able to see a circus or do anything that cost money to do for a year now.

However, his mother had saved enough money from the laundry she did and eggs she sold for the entire family to go see this circus. Bobby was ecstatic at the prospect of going to the circus. It had dominated his thoughts for weeks.

He ran through fields of half-dead crops. There had been a drought this summer and all of the fields were tinted brown. It was bad for farmers who relied on the crops for income. It was bad for Bobby’s family too.

Bobby’s home came into view. It wasn’t big or grand; it was made entirely out of wood. A small porch in front was covered in tools and kitchen implements. His mother liked to work outside.

Running through the slightly lopsided door he nearly collided with his sister, Louise Ann. She was only four, not old enough to have to endure school yet. She had frizzy blonde hair that was always getting in her eyes. Her eyes were a funny hazel that reminded Bobby of the dying fields, and her mouth was in an almost constant pout. The only time she didn’t look like she was pouting was when she was smiling.

She had fallen over when he had run through the door. Setting her back on her feet, he asked, “Where’s Mama?”

“I’m over here, Bobby,” his mother replied in a tired voice. She was sitting in her old rocking chair, clutching a letter that she had apparently just finished reading. Her face was the color of milk, as though she had just seen a ghost and was feeling rather sick and worried about the whole incident. Her blue eyes were glistening slightly, as though she was about to cry. The hand that gripped the piece of paper was trembling.

“Come here, you two. I’ve got something sad to tell you,” she said.

Louise Ann and Bobby went over to her. Bobby settled himself on the floor, and Louise Ann climbed into Mama’s lap. Bobby couldn’t recall Mama ever looking this worried because she was a woman who always saw everything as a grand opportunity to learn and to do things. Mama worried was like the sky being calico printed.

“Bobby, Louise Ann, your grandmother’s gotten real sick, and I need to go take care of her. Since I don’t know how long it will be until…how long I will need to stay and your father is working, you will have to come with me. Your father won’t be able to be away from his job that long. Your Aunt Sally said that it could be anywhere from two weeks to a year. It’s a good thing we have that money saved up, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to get there. We will have to set out to the station early tomorrow morning.”

Bobby heard the part about his grandmother clearly, but what really struck home was how they had to leave tomorrow morning. BEFORE the circus he had been looking forward to for weeks.

“Mama! That’s not fair! Couldn’t we wait another day before heading up to Grandma’s?” he cried.

Bobby could see the hurt in his mother’s face when he yelled at her and instantly regretted his words. Yet, he had promised everyone at school he would see them there! And he hadn’t been to a circus in years!

“Bobby, my mama is very sick. I have to go up to her, NOW. I can’t wait any longer than tomorrow morning,” she said.

The unfairness of it all was burning in Bobby’s brain, but he could tell his mama was upset. He forced down the urge to yell and scream and cry and punch and slam everything. He stood in the same spot for a moment. Then he spun on his heel and ran out of the house.

There was a little tree about 20 yards away from the house. Bobby sat down up against it and stared at the sky.

It wasn’t fair that they had to go to Grandma’s just because Mama had to. And father wasn’t coming either! Why did he always get pushed into doing things? He was, after all, a second grader now and capable of taking care of himself.

The next morning, they were in Mr. Galvur’s pickup truck on the way to the station. Mama had asked Mr. Galvur if he would drive them so they wouldn’t have to walk all that way. Now they were slowly lumbering past sharecropping farms.

A chorus of ‘not fair, not fair’ kept beating in Bobby’s brain. He couldn’t believe that yesterday he had been running down this road, happily anticipating tomorrow. His friends wouldn’t even know where he was, they were leaving so fast.

They passed a young colored sharecropper and his family, working out in a field. Bobby watched the children in fascination. The oldest couldn’t be older that him, and yet he was working alongside his father. The other three were resting in the grass. They wore ragged clothing; their faces were streaked with dirt. One was playing with a stick, drawing pictures in the dirt.

Bobby knew that those children wouldn’t be going anywhere, not even to school come fall. Their family didn’t have enough money to forfeit their help during the day.

Suddenly, Bobby felt blessed. He was going on a trip to his Grandma’s house in another state, and all he could think about was the fact he was missing a circus? How mean of him was that! He had a mother, a father, and a sister. What more did he really need?

Leaning forward, he asked his mother, “Is the big oak tree still there at Grandma’s house? Is Cousin Tom going to be there? Can we stay for a long time?” His questions continued, an almost ceaseless stream. He didn’t see his mother smile at him, glad he was happy again. She did though, because she could see hard times ahead during which he would need this good humor.

“Slow down Bobby! We have all day to ask questions! Stop so I can answer!”