Saving Ant and Sarha

Going Back to School?

It was Sunday and everyone had just gotten back from church. As soon as they got in the house everyone went their separate ways: Dec and Sarha went to go upstairs and change, Alph went to the living room to watch TV, and Anne went to the kitchen to get lunch started.

Ant was heading up the stairs when he heard Anne calling him.

"Ant, darling, can you come in here for a moment?" he took a detour and headed to the kitchen where he saw Anne at the sink washing her hands.

"Yes?"

"I have something to ask you. Me and your father have been discussing the topic of you going back to school. Would you like that?" Ant was not expecting that nor was he looking forward to going back to that school, but the way he saw it was he had no choice.

"I would love to go back to school!" he exclaimed with mock excitement.

"I'm glad you want to. Now you go upstairs and get comfy. Lunch will be ready in half an hour."

"Okay." Ant walked out of the kitchen, went upstairs, and walked into his room. He saw Dec lying in bed wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, gray sweatpants, and black socks while playing Sega. The first thing he did was change into sweatpants and a jumper before lying down next to him.

"What took you so long?"

"Mom wanted to talk to me."

"About what?"

"Apparently I'm going back to school tomorrow." Dec sat up and looked at Ant.

"That's awesome!" Dec smiled, but it disappeared when he saw Ant wasn't happy. "It is awesome, isn't it? You don't look so happy about that." he paused the game and put the controller down. Ant also sits up.

"That's because I'm not."

"Why?" Ant sighs and looks down at his lap, looking at the thread on his sweatpants like it's the most interesting thing he has ever seen.

"Because I'm scared." he mutters.

"What?"

"Because I'm scared." he says a little louder.

"I heard you. I'm just confused as to why you would be scared."

"I stopped going to school because I was getting beat up."

"I already told you Roger won't be bothering you anymore. He's been expelled, remember? Meaning he's not allowed to step foot in the school or he'll suffer some serious consequences."

"What if there's another one you don't know about?"

"If there is another bully at school I don't know about I promise I'll keep you safe from him." Ant laughed. Dec started to get mad. "What, you don't think I can keep you safe from a bully?"

"It's not that. It's just that you're usually the one who needs to be kept safe."

"You're my best mate, if I have to protect you from bullies at school that's what I'll do. Besides I'm the baby of the family. Believe it or not I sometimes get tired of being coddled all the time. It's nice to do it to someone else for a change." Ant smiled.

"You're the best Decky." he pulled him into a hug.

"I know." they pulled apart and Dec picked up his controller and unpaused it. "Wanna play a round? I bet I'll beat you."

"You're on."

********

Twenty minutes later and Dec has beaten Ant for the fourth time in a row. They were just about to start a new game when they heard Anne calling them down for lunch. They left their room and went to get Sarha but when they opened her bedroom door they saw she was fast asleep.

When they get downstairs they see everyone is already seated at the table ready to eat.

"Where's Sarha, loves?"

"She was asleep when we went to get her." Ant answered.

"Can you go and wake her up, she has to eat." suggested Alph.

"No boys, let the girl sleep. She must really be tired. She can eat when she wakes up." Ant and Dec sit down and everyone starts eating.  "Oh and Ant don't forget to lay out your clothes for school tomorrow."

"Okay. I will."

"So Ant are you looking forward to school tomorrow?" Alph asked with a smile.

"I sure am. I can't wait to be back." He forced a smile.

"That's good. I'm sure your classmates missed you."

"Yeah. Sure." The rest of lunch was spent eating in silence.

As soon Ant and Dec finished their lunch they washed their plates and put them in the dishwasher. Each boy then walked to each side of Anne.

"Can we go to the park and play football?" Ant asked, giving Anne his best impression of the puppy-dog eyes. Dec soon joined in.

"Oh alright!" Anne couldn't take it anymore. She gave in. "Be back before  it gets dark out."

The park was a five minute walk from their house. It was the neighborhood park where all the kids in their neighborhood played almost everyday. Dec would go there in the weekends. If Eamonn wasn't working or didn't have classes he would go with him.

Ant and Dec zoomed upstairs to put on their shoes. Not even a minute later they were running back down the stairs and out the door.

********

When Ant and Dec arrived at the park they saw it was semi-full. Some of the kids were playing freeze tag while others were playing hide-and-seek. They saw a couple of boys who looked their age. They were kicking around a football while chatting. Ant and Dec walked over to them.

"Hey guys." Dec said with a smile and small wave.

"Hey." the two boys replied in unison.

"I'm Dec and this is my brother Ant." he said gesturing to himself then to Ant. Ant just offered a meek smile and a small wave.

"I'm Jack, this is Alfie." Jack was a bit taller than the both of them. He had short blond hair that that shot out in all directions. He had dark blue eyes and ta skin. Alfie on the other hand was about the same height as them and had long, moppy brown hair that fell over his forehead. He had brown eyes that looked dark in comparison to his pale complexion. They were both wearing shorts with beat-up trainers.

"Do you guys want to play football?" asked Dec.

"Yeah. Two against two?"

"Yeah. Me and Alfie against you and Ant. Losing team has to run two laps around the park." said Dec.

"Deal." the other three replied.

"Prepare to lose." said a very confident Dec.

"You don't know what you're talkin about." replied Jack.

"Don't worry, I'll show you."

********

It was six o'clock and Anne and Alph were sitting in the living room and talking when Ant and Dec walked into the house. They were all covered in dirt, especially their faces. Not to mention they smelled terrible!

"What happened? Why are you all dirty?" asked a slightly disgusted Anne.

"We were playing football against a couple of boys. The loser had to run two laps around the field."

"Let me guess, you two were the losers."

"We would have won if Dec would Be blocked their shot."

"Hey it wasn't my fault!" Dec whined.

"It's okay. I still had fun." Ant grinned.

"Me too."

"That's good. Now why don't you two go upstairs and take a shower while I fix you a snack?" Anne suggested.

"That sounds great." They both headed upstairs. When she was sure they couldn't hear her, Anne turned to look at Alph.

"Those two will be the best of mates." she said with a smile.

"I know." Alph replied.