Promise

by Judy Young

  “This is your first and only warning, Luke Woodhead,” Doris said. “Any more behavior like that, and you’ll be kicked off my bus. You shouldn’t even be a bus rider. You live close enough to walk.”

  “You know my dad won’t stand for that,” Luke said.

  “Just because your dad’s on the school board doesn’t mean I’m going to allow misbehavior on my bus and I’m sure the rest of the school board would back me.”

  Yo-Yo went to the front of the bus after Luke got off.

  “Sorry,” Yo-Yo apologized to Doris, picking up Kaden’s backpack. “It was my fault. I egged him on.”

  “No, Luke’s behavior is Luke’s choice,” Doris told Yo-Yo. “But it is your fault you’re holding up my schedule again. My bus doesn’t move while students are standing.” She sounded gruff but gave Yo-Yo a big smile.

  Yo-Yo trotted down the aisle with Kaden’s backpack banging into his knees and handed it to him.

  “Sorry, the strap ripped when he grabbed it,” he said.

  “That’s okay, it’s been fixed a gazillion times. But you’d better watch out. Luke’s not someone you should mess around with.”

  “Not at all worried,” Yo-Yo said. “I’m a Navy brat and I’ve been to a bunch of schools. There’s always a Luke around. I had him figured out by lunchtime. Like I said, I had a fifty-fifty chance of getting on Luke’s bus. I always like to let bullies know right away that I’m not afraid of them, even though I usually am. You’ve probably noticed, I’m not exactly the biggest kid around. But buses are great places. Lots of witnesses.”

  “Does your mom know you wanted to ride the bus just to make your stand with Luke?”

  “Heck no,” Yo-Yo said. “She wouldn’t let me out of her sight if she thought I was going up against someone like him. I told her I wanted to ride around to see where all my new friends live. Which really isn’t a lie.”

  Yo-Yo was looking out the window. The bus had let the last town kid off and was now halfway up the mountain.

  “Everyone said you live a long way out of town. I can’t believe this is in the same district. So all the rumors are true, aren’t they.”

  Kaden tensed up when he heard the word “rumors.” The word always led to his father and he wasn’t willing to talk about that.

  “Mostly,” he said, but quickly changed the subject. “Where’d you live before you came here?” Kaden figured he could avoid the topic of his father if he could keep Yo-Yo talking. That obviously wasn’t difficult. The kid never shut up.

  “I’ve lived in fourteen different states, that’s more than one per year, but ever since kindergarten, we managed to stay in the same place for a whole school year so Mom can teach. Promise is the seventh school I’ve been to. The last place I lived . . .”

  Yo-Yo kept talking but Kaden had stopped listening. They were driving past the dirt road leading to the fire tower. Kaden glanced up it. A white pickup truck was moving toward the main road. Kaden scrambled over Yo-Yo and ran to the back of the bus. He reached the back windows just in time to see the white truck turn onto the main road. But it didn’t turn toward the cabins. The truck turned left.

  Angrily, Kaden slammed his hand down on the back of the seat.

  “What’s the matter?” Yo-Yo said. He was sitting on his knees, looking over the back of the seat at Kaden. Kaden said nothing. The bus pulled into the circle drive.

  “So the rumors are true!” Yo-Yo exclaimed. “You do live in cabins, don’t you? This is really awesome! Living way up here in the woods. How sweet is this? Can I get off with you? I’ll call my mom and have her pick me up. She won’t care. I can’t believe this. I’ve never had a friend who lived in the wilderness before!”

  Yo-Yo was already heading down the aisle, talking excitedly all the way. But when Kaden saw his dad’s truck turn toward town, it brought back all the anger from the previous Friday, and Yo-Yo’s incessant gibbering just added fuel to the fire. Kaden grabbed his backpack by the broken strap and pushed past Yo-Yo.

  “Would you shut up,” Kaden said angrily. “You’re not getting off the bus with me. I don’t need a friend.”

  Yo-Yo was surprised at the sudden outburst. “I just thought—” he started, but Kaden interrupted him.

  “Just. Shut. Up.”

  “Kaden!” Doris said as she pulled the lever to open the door. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “You too, Doris. Both of you. Just shut up and leave me alone!” Kaden yelled, and stomped from the bus.

  Kaden stormed past Gram’s and flung open his cabin door. Instantly, Gram’s voice came over the intercom.

  “What was all that yelling about?” Gram said.

  “Nothing. I’m going for a walk,” Kaden said, tossing his backpack on his bed.

  “Not until you’re ready to speak nicely to me, you’re not,” Gram said back. Kaden ignored her, and letting the screen door slam, walked away from the cabins.

  CHAPTER NINE

  SURPRISES

  By the time Kaden reached the muddy spot in the road, he had calmed down. He knew he wasn’t angry with the new kid. Yo-Yo had even called him a friend. He wasn’t angry with Doris either. Or with Gram. He was angry with his father. His father, who wasn’t ready to see him yet. His father, who was certain to have seen the bus go by and would have known Kaden would be coming home from school. His father, who had chosen to turn left, not right.

  The stick was no longer standing upright in the middle of the muddy patch. One boot print was in the mud and the stick now lay near the edge of the road. Kaden put the stick back in the middle of the muddy patch. He started to walk on but came back. He found a small branch with several dead leaves still on it and laid it in the muddy patch. If Dad comes up here again, Kaden thought, he’ll have the stick all figured out. He may put it back next time to make it look like nobody’s driven up the road. But Kaden knew his father wouldn’t pay any attention to the leaves. He’d drive right over them, crushing them in the mud.

  Feeling satisfied, Kaden walked on to the tower. Kubla greeted him, cawing from the landing as Kaden took the rope from its hiding place in the bushes.

  Kaden swung the rock back and forth, back and forth, letting out a little more rope with each swing. On the third swing, he let go. The rock, with its rope tail, went up, over the crossbeam and then back down, thudding on the ground. This time, he threaded the rock through a loop tied at the opposite end of the rope, then dropped the rock to the ground again. He pulled on the rope hand over hand until it tightened around the beam.

  Tightly grasping the rope above his head, Kaden lifted his feet and twisted them around the rope. When he straightened his legs, he was dangling a foot above the ground. One hand at a time, he reached above his head and pulled himself a little higher. Twisting and straightening and pulling, he repeated this procedure over and over, looking like an inchworm creeping up the rope.

  It wasn’t until he balanced on his stomach over the metal beam twenty feet above the ground that Kaden saw a large plastic bag on the landing. It was stuffed with something big and bulky and tied shut with a twisty. Kubla stood on the bag. Wondering what was in it and who left it there, Kaden flung a leg over the beam and carefully scooted backward until he reached the landing. Kubla jumped to his shoulder. Kaden unwound the twisty, and together, the boy and the bird looked inside.

  Kaden couldn’t believe his eyes. Inside was a brand-new backpack. It still had tags on it. It wasn’t an ordinary school backpack. It was a daypack a hunter might use, with a woodland camo pattern that would blend in perfectly with the fallen branches and leaf litter of the woods. It had all sorts of pockets, webbed straps, and tie-downs. On the side was a mesh pocket with a plastic canteen. Kaden opened each zipper compartment and looked inside. Empty. No notes. No cards. Not even a receipt.

  Kubla put his head in and out of the opened pockets as if he, too, were looking for a clue to identify the mysterious gift giver. But Kaden knew it had to be from his father. Gram wouldn’t buy him a new one. If Emmet
t did, he wouldn’t fling it up on the landing.

  “How did he know I needed a backpack?” Kaden asked Kubla. “Maybe he went into my room last Friday. Maybe he saw my old one sitting there. What do you think, Kubla?”

  Kaden suddenly felt very lonely. Except for Luke and his followers, the kids at school were nice enough, but they generally just left him alone. He was never included in any activities outside the classroom, and over the years he had gotten more and more used to being a loner. Now he thought of the new kid who had called him a friend. The new kid who didn’t mind sitting near him at school. Kaden let out a sigh. After his outburst on the bus, he doubted Yo-Yo would be sitting behind him anymore.

  Kubla stopped tugging at a zipper pull and, cocking his head to one side, muttered to Kaden. Kaden gently ruffled the feathers on the bird’s head.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re a great friend and nobody will ever take your place. But it’d be kind of nice to have a human friend to discuss things with, too.” Kaden sighed and shook his head. “I guess I blew that chance, though, didn’t I.”

  That night, Kaden pulled out the “M” encyclopedia. The first entry said the letter “M” was the thirteenth letter in the alphabet and probably came from a hieroglyphic sign to represent water. The second entry was “Ma, Yo-Yo.”

  “What are you looking up?” Gram said from the kitchen.

  “I’m supposed to find out what instrument a guy named Yo-Yo Ma played,” Kaden said.

  “Plays,” Gram corrected. “He’s not dead and he plays a cello.”

  Kaden looked up with surprise.

  “That’s right,” Gram said. “I do know a few things. And I always liked Yo-Yo Ma.”

  Kaden couldn’t remember Gram ever playing any music. But there was an old turntable and a pile of records stuck in a corner in Cabin One, the junk cabin. They had been collecting dust for years.

  Kaden read more from the encyclopedia. “Wow,” he said. “He played for President Kennedy when he was only seven and now he plays a 250-year-old cello he named Petunia because some little girl asked if it had a name.”

  That night as Kaden lay in bed, through the intercom he heard Gram’s front door squeak open. Then through the open window he heard Gram walk past his cabin to Cabin One and open its door. A few minutes later, Cabin One’s door shut and Gram’s footsteps could be heard walking back to Cabin Three. Over the intercom, Kaden heard sounds of things being moved around. Soon the low sweet notes of a cello drifted through the intercom into Kaden’s room. Kaden listened and smiled. Gram hadn’t done anything surprising like this for as long as he could remember.

  Tuesday, August 30

  CHAPTER TEN

  ACCEPTED

  Gram didn’t notice the new backpack, or at least she didn’t say anything about it. But Doris did. When Kaden apologized to her, she just said, “Apology accepted,” then nodded toward the backpack and added, “I see Chapston City profited from Luke’s behavior.” Kaden didn’t reply.

  Luke noticed the backpack, too.

  “Ooh, new backpack,” he said sarcastically, sitting behind Kaden on the bus. “And camo, too. Gonna use it to hide stolen loot?”

  Kaden ignored him but smiled to himself. He knew despite his sarcasm Luke was envious of the backpack. There wasn’t a boy in school who wouldn’t love to have a backpack like that one. But Luke would never say anything like “awesome backpack,” especially to Kaden.

  As Kaden quickly scrambled off the bus, he wondered what Yo-Yo would say. Even after yesterday, even if he blew having Yo-Yo as a friend, Kaden doubted the new boy would give him the silent treatment when he saw the new backpack. Kaden chuckled to himself. Actually, he doubted if Yo-Yo was even capable of being silent.

  When Kaden entered Ms. Ales’s room, he instantly noticed Yo-Yo’s backpack on a desk in the middle of the room. Right behind Elana’s desk, kitty-cornered to Luke’s. Someone’s history textbook sat on the desk behind Yo-Yo’s, claiming that seat.

  Kaden crossed the room and swung his backpack onto his usual desk. He knew what had happened. Luke had informed Yo-Yo who Kaden was, that he came from a bad family, had bad blood. Yo-Yo had also been out to the cabins and saw how differently he and Gram lived. Now it was obvious. Yo-Yo had teamed up with Luke and Elana. Kaden had hoped it would be like it was yesterday, that Yo-Yo would talk to him, that Yo-Yo thought of him as a friend. But the backpack across the room told him otherwise.

  Once again, Kaden felt angry. Angry at himself this time. It was all his fault, he told himself. He was the one who had yelled at Yo-Yo. He was the one who said he didn’t need a friend.

  Kaden laid his head on his backpack and closed his eyes, dreading the first bell. Dreading seeing Yo-Yo prance into the room, laughing with Luke and Elana, laughing about Kaden, proving he didn’t need Kaden as a friend.

  “Hey,” Yo-Yo’s voice called out suddenly. Kaden startled. He hadn’t heard Yo-Yo come in.

  “I tried to hurry but Mom made me help carry boxes, so I couldn’t be here to tell you when you first got here.” Yo-Yo didn’t sound angry. He sounded like nothing had even happened yesterday on the bus.

  “Tell me what?” Kaden asked.

  “We’re moving,” Yo-Yo announced.

  “Moving? You just got here. Is your dad being stationed somewhere else already?”

  “My family’s not moving,” Yo-Yo answered. “My dad retired. He’s not in the Navy anymore. We’re here to stay.”

  “But you said you were moving,” Kaden said.

  “Not me. Us. You and me. We’re moving.”

  “Huh?” Kaden said.

  “Nothing says ‘loser’ more than sitting in the back corner,” Yo-Yo said.

  “You sat in the back corner yesterday,” Kaden said.

  “I always grab the back corner on the first day at a new school. That way I can see the entire classroom. Check everyone out. See their reactions when my name is announced. You can tell a lot from reactions.”

  “Oh yeah? What did you learn from my reaction?”

  “A lot. First off, you didn’t laugh when you heard my name, or even smile, even though everyone else did. So, you’re not the type to make fun of others. And second, you’re your own man. You didn’t follow along with the crowd, but . . .” Yo-Yo hesitated.

  “But what?” Kaden said.

  “I probably shouldn’t say this after seeing how you can have a bit of a temper,” Yo-Yo continued. “I don’t know what that was all about on the bus yesterday, but it came to me on the way back home.”

  “What came to you?” Kaden said.

  “That I was in your usual seat in every class yesterday and nobody ever sat in the desk beside me. So I made another deduction. You always sit back here by yourself. Nobody in front of you, nobody beside you.” Yo-Yo paused, tilted his head, and looked at Kaden. “You’re not very popular, are you?”

  “Who says I want to be popular? Luke’s popular. Who wants to be like him?”

  “Luke’s not popular; people just act like they like him. They’re afraid not to,” Yo-Yo said.

  “What’s that got to do with moving?”

  “You can’t get friends sitting back in the corner by yourself. Before you know it . . .” Yo-Yo suddenly stopped talking, finally noticing what was on Kaden’s desk. “Hey, wicked backpack!” he said. “Can I see?” He grabbed the backpack and looked through each compartment, all the time talking about how sweet it was and what each compartment could hold. Kaden expected Yo-Yo to ask where he got it, but after he’d gone through each pocket, Yo-Yo went back to the previous subject.

  “So, there’s our new seats, near Luke and Elana,” Yo-Yo said, pointing toward the middle of the room.

  “I don’t think where I sit will change my popularity,” Kaden said, but Yo-Yo ignored him. He took Kaden’s backpack and crossed the room.

  “Yours . . . ,” Yo-Yo said, picking up the history book and plopping Kaden’s backpack on the desk, “and mine.” Yo-Yo put the history book down be
side his own backpack.

  First bell rang and voices started coming toward them. Before anyone entered the room, Kaden asked, “Why these seats?”

  “It’s all about location. It’s easier to whisper over a shoulder than side to side. And, being more used to talking to others in class, I can get away with turning around to talk better than you can.”

  “But why so close to Luke?” Kaden asked.

  “Being close to Luke shows you’re not afraid of him. But you want to stay behind him so you can keep your eye on him. Make him have to turn around to see you. But not directly behind him where he can get to you easily.”

  “And Elana?”

  “She’s cute, you have to admit it.” Yo-Yo grinned. “Besides, she’s not bad if you get her away from Luke.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Kaden said, “but the only place where she’s not around Luke is at Pillie’s. Luke’s banned from the Purple Cow, but you’ll never get Elana away from Luke at school.”

  “Patience, Kaden, patience. You can’t expect miracles overnight,” Yo-Yo answered. “I’ve only been here one day.”

  Kaden laughed. It suddenly seemed like it had been a month since yesterday. And if someone asked Kaden what his impressions were of Yo-Yo, Kaden would have to say besides being a bit hyper, Yo-Yo was the easiest person in the world to make friends with.

  Kaden and Yo-Yo sat down at their new locations as the other students piled into the classroom. Luke came in beside Elana, took one look at Kaden, and marched straight toward him. As he passed Yo-Yo, he reached out and shoved Yo-Yo’s backpack and history book to the floor. Then he turned to Kaden.

  “What are you sitting here for? Nobody said you could come out of solitary confinement,” Luke sneered. He picked up the corner of Kaden’s desk and tipped it over. “Get back to your corner and take that compact little punk with you.”

  The room quieted, waiting to see what would happen next. But before anything could happen between Kaden and Luke, Yo-Yo jumped up, grabbed Kaden’s backpack from the floor, and leaped over the toppled desk onto a chair. A row of desks and an aisle separated him from Luke.