After supper (which had been unusually early), Allen and Onor walked back to the Disson's house. Everyone had cleaned up the supper dishes and to Allen's knowledge, gone home.
When the two boys entered the house, they found that Sir Disson was waiting for them.
"There you are, Allen," he said. "Your mother and I have been readying for your journey."
"Allen," came Lady Disson's voice from the closet. "Please change into the clothes that I have laid on your bed."
"Yes, Mother," replied Allen. "I won't take long, Onor."
He dashed over to the pole and quickly shimmied up. Allen walked over to his bed. He was so shocked and surprised by what he saw, that he jumped back, bumping into the wall.
"Are you alright up there, Al?" called Onor.
"I'm alright," Allen called back.
He stared at the clothes in front of him. He'd never seen clothes like that before, no one in the Burrows ever wore clothes like them. They were the fancy kind that only well-off people could afford.
Sometimes when business was busy, and his mother and father couldn't keep up with the orders, they would bring the clothes home so that they could work on them during supper when the adults talked over issues, and the latest news about what was going on in the world.
For these clothes were made of good material, hemmed nicely, strong and sturdy (he could tell, as his mother had trained him to spot a good sturdy shirt or pair of trousers), but best of all, they had pockets. No one in the Burrows had pockets. They were very expensive and rare things.
Pockets were just about legends in the Burrows. Hardly anyone except the adults and the older children who went into the village had ever seen pockets. But that didn't mean they didn't know about them.
Any child who had ever seen a pocket had a story to tell about what it looked like. Why didn't the people of the Burrows have any pockets? Simply because they didn't have use for them. Because they didn't have use for them, they didn't need pockets.
Allen shook his head and forced himself to focus. Onor was probably wondering what was taking him so long. He hurriedly dressed into the clothes on his bed, and picking up his old clothes, walked over to the pole, and slid down.
"What should I do with these, Mother?" asked Allen.
"Hand them to me," said Lady Disson.
Allen handed them to her, and she gave him a sack that he could sling onto his back.
YOU ARE READING
Wars of Arithmetic: Addition
Adventure*WARNING! Unfinished with updates still to come* A boy sets out to see (and possibly save) the world. Set in a medieval-like fantasy setting, this story follows an inexperienced boy on an adventure like no other. Actually, like quite a lot of others...
