The Tennessee Youngster

Chapter Two

The Move

The night had come and gone as Debra and Stephen rose early and started packing their belongings at four thirty in the morning. Tommy and Nick had no idea, but while they slept, Stephen had picked the boys up out of their beds and placed them on the ground. This way he would let them sleep as he took apart the beds and moved them into the trailer.If they were going to get packed and on the road, Stephen felt it was best to let the boys sleep to keep the arguing or unwanted commotion to a minimum. It wasn't long before time had passed now around nine in the morning as Tommy woke to sound of a slamming door. Quickly lifting his head up, he had no idea where he was, but found himself in a daze as he noticed he and his brother were lying on the carpet of their bedroom floor. Nick was still fast asleep as the sound of a slamming door made Tommy jerk.

Tommy looked around his room to find it to be empty except for two piles of neatly folded clothes next to him and his brother. He figured he would get up and get dressed and venture out of the room to see what was going on, but first, he would wake his sleeping brother. Tommy walked over to his brother and knelt down next to him to gently wake him, but stopped. Gently shaking his brother would be too easy. Besides, it was payback time for the wedgie.

Tommy pondered for a moment and then quietly got up and walked over to the bedroom door to peek out. Ever so gently Tommy stuck his head out to see if there was anyone around. Tommy tiptoed down the hallway to the entrance of the living room and glanced at the wall to see no one around. He did notice the front door was wide open with the screen door closed, but no one was in the apartment.

Slowly turning around Tommy was caught off guard, as he planted his face into his stepfather's stomach. Startled by how his stepfather had appeared out of nowhere, drew back a few steps as Stephen looked on at him.

"Well, it is about time sleepy head. Get dressed and wake your brother as we are almost done and I am going to need both your help tying down your bikes to the back of the trailer."

"Uh, sure dad, OK, let me do just that."

Tommy answering his stepfather with glee in his eyes as he had just been granted to wake his brother. Stephen didn't say how to wake him, but to just wake him up. Tommy with a devilish look and grin on his face quickly scoped around to see if there was anything left out in plain sight to use to wake his wonderful older brother. Not much was left as Tommy realized how his parents managed to clear the apartment so fast.

Tommy spotted a box that had not been taped up and was labeled pots and pans sitting next to the front window of the ground. Now that would be a wakeup call for his brother to experience. Two pot lids working together as cymbals would really do the trick in getting his brother up. Tommy ran over to the box and saw just what he was looking for and grabbed the two lids and darted off back to the bedroom to deliver Nick's morning wake up call.

The sheer excitement and tension grew as Tommy quietly opened the bedroom door enough to see Nick still lying there on the ground sound asleep. The door had to make a creaking noise as Tommy closed his eyes tight. Opening one eye his focus clears up and sees that the noise had no effect on Nick. This was too good to be true as Tommy ever so gently walked towards his brother.

His eyes wide open, with his tongue per truing between his teeth surrounded by a great big grin, as he stretched out both his arms. It was as if the clouds of heaven opened with a beam of light shining down on his brother as Angels sang a glorious hymn each step Tommy took closer to Nick. Then all of sudden it came to a holt like a needle scratching a record as his mother opened the door and yelled at him. NO, Tommy thought to himself. He was so close to bringing justice towards his brother as Nick awoke to see Tommy draped over him, arms stretched with pot lids.