Alive and Kicking

by Chris Lynch

  ANYWAY, SO WE STOPPED CHEERING, OUT OF SHOCK, AND THEN WENT BACK TO CHEERING WHEN THE PLANE HAD NO CHOICE AND JUST CAME ON IN AND DOWN, THUMPING THEN SCRAPING WITH AN ALMIGHTY SCREECH INTO ONE SORRY MANGLING OF A BELLY LANDING.

  SO BILLY HARGREAVES, ONCE NEARLY GETTING A NICKNAME OF BELLY BILLY, HE WAS LOVING THAT NEW TURRET SO MUCH, HE WAS ON THE GROUND CHEERING WITH US. THEN AFTER, HE DIDN'T LOVE IT SO MUCH. THEN, HE MADE A POINT OF TAKING A PISTOL WITH HIM ANY TIME HE HAD TO CLIMB BACK IN THERE BECAUSE HE SAID HE WASN'T EVER GOING TO SEE THE GROUND COME TO HIM LIKE THAT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

  UNTIL FINALLY HE WOULDN'T GO DOWN IN THERE AT ALL. HE'S NOT FLAK-HAPPY OR LACKING MORAL FIBER OR LACKING ANYTHING ELSE. HE JUST COULDN'T GET HIMSELF DOWN INTO THAT BELLY BALL ONE MORE TIME, AS MUCH AS HE HAD LOVED IT ONCE. SO WE MADE ARRANGEMENTS, AND WOULD YOU CARE TO GUESS WHO HAS A NEW JOB, DOWN WHERE ALL THE ACTION REALLY IS?

  SO, YOU WILL PROBABLY FALL EVEN FURTHER BEHIND, ADVENTURE-WISE, BUT WRITE. WRITE ANYWAY, BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT ANYBODY ELSE THINKS, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST I WILL KEEP BEING INTERESTED.

  AND, I BET YOU THOUGHT I WOULD FORGET. AM I RIGHT?

  HAPPY SECOND ANNIVERSARY, BROTHER. I HAVE TO RUN NOW BECAUSE ADVENTURE CALLS AGAIN. I'LL WRITE YOU ABOUT IT, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP WRITING, TOO.

  JUNE 6, 1944

  Chris Lynch is the author of numerous acclaimed books for middle-grade and teen readers, including the Vietnam series and the National Book Award finalist Inexcusable. He teaches in the Lesley University creative writing MFA program and divides his time between Massachusetts and Scotland.

  Copyright © 2014 by Chris Lynch

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

  First edition, February 2015

  Cover art 2015 by Tim Bradstreet

  Cover design by Christopher Stengel

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-52303-5

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.