A Kingdom of Our Own

Chapter Thirty - Induction Day

Monday morning. Skandar sipped on one of his many herbal teas from a china cup in the darkness of predawn, and waited for Dalton and Harry to arise. It was a cool, clear September morning, with the hot and sticky days of summer already a matter of the past. He was sitting at one of the four chairs around the kitchen table, tapping his fingers against the woodwork, and suddenly darted to his feet when he heard the boys coming down the stairs. It was going to be a big day for them both and so Skandar figured now was a better time than ever to treat them both to a surprise. It was the least he could do at the end of the day, after all the pain and worry he’d put them through the night before.

The doorknob to the kitchen door twisted and Dalton and Harry walked into the room, already dressed in their formal Amish shirts and trousers for the day to come. Clearly, from the frowns displayed on their sullen faces they were out of their comfort zones, but Skandar knew his little surprise would cheer them up, maybe enough for them to enjoy their first day at school.

“Come outside, I’ve got something to show you.” Skandar commanded eagerly before they’d even had a chance to take their places at the table. He put his arms around the boys and herded them towards the front door. They were both rather baffled by what was going on, but followed regardless.

He led them out onto the front porch where they were hit by a cool breeze, and then around the side of the house where he usually parked his Pontiac. As usual the car was there, parked at a slight angle, although it was what was next to it that made the boys gasp gleefully.

“Skandar, are these seriously for us?!” Dalton exclaimed, gawping at the pair of gleaming muscle bikes lined up before them. They were both painted his favourite colour, red, and were the same style of bike he’d had at home, except these were a good few years advanced. Ever since he’d left home there had been a deep longing within him to somehow retrieve his bike and take a long ride through the woods, like he used to with Elijah, but until now he had managed to suppress such desires. Now that he found himself in the presence of a new bike though, the need to take hold of the handlebars and race freely once more was stronger than ever.

“Yes, it’s a good journey up to the schoolhouse. I could hardly have my boys walk it there every day now could I?” Skandar said with a chuckle.

While Dalton was just plain excited by the gift, Harry was somewhat touched. This was the first time in his life that he’d received a present of any real significance and so he found himself quite unsure on how to react.

“This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever given me.” Harry muttered, still staring dumbfounded at the bike, but turning to smile lightly. “Thanks Skandar.”

Skandar stood there, looking to and from Dalton and Harry, happy that he’d begun to make some sort of an amend for the way he’d acted earlier. “That’s ok son,” he said, laying a hand on Harry’s shoulder, before he added with gleaming eyes, “So aren’t you going to give them a spin?”

                                                  *

Riding the bikes down to the schoolhouse was only a five minute affair, but gave Dalton an adrenalin rush all the same and as a result, he found it a rather difficult task to settle down when class commenced.

Skandar had warned them beforehand that it would be incredibly different to all that they were used to from their lives in Portland and that it would be tough at first. The Amish highly distrusted what the outside world called “education”. They saw it as designed to promote individual advancement, independence, power, and distain for the simple life. And Skandar was by no means incorrect in his claims. It certainly was “different” from the American sense of education.