Escaping Boredom

Two

The next morning, the sun's exquisite light shone through the buildings and directly into the boy's eyes. The grey, dreary clouds of the previous night had vanished into the thin air, leaving behind a bright blue, cloudless sky. Along with the rain, the bitter temperature was no more. 

 Although it was only early morning, people were busy moving around the streets working. Bakers were kneading their dough; maids were straightening the house; butlers were preparing the day; cooks were anticipating breakfast; newspapers were just about to reveal their headline. 

 Sid was the first, of the two, to be disturbed by the opulent light. He flopped over to his back while extending his hands over his head. Yawning, he tossed the coat off his body. Drunk with delight, he smiled at the weather's good fortune. Once he stood up, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and shook the lethargic movements out of his bones. 

 "Franky," Sid said as he swatted Franky's legs. Franky, being the deep sleeper he is, hardly reacted. He turned over from his back to his stomach with grumbles of inscrutable words.  Sid pulled on his trousers and buttoned the row of buttons, snapped his suspenders on and shoved his feet into his stiff boots. "Get up, stupid," Sid said as he lightly kicked Franky before lacing his shoes tightly. 

 Franky sat up quickly. "Up!" he shouted. He flipped his coat over his body and stumbled onto his feet. "Bright out," he remarked while shaking his head to drive his dreams away. He did his suspenders, grabbed his shoes and pushed his arms through the sleeve holes of his vest while yawning. "Where we goin' today?"

 "I was thinkin' Herald Square," Sid said as he grabbed his flat cap and jammed it onto his busy brown hair. Franky followed suite. 

 Leaving their coats in a clump in an alley, away from the rest of the city, the two boys headed off to a selling venue. 

 The moment the venue came into view, they saw a group of boys standing around, waiting for the headline to be pasted in chalk. Each boy, the youngest being seven and the oldest at nineteen years of age, were shouting, pushing and inching their way closer to the venue. The waiting was intolerable. 

 "Sid," Franky swatted Sid's chest in shock. "I see Pat and Bobby! Guess they came back!"

 "Pat! Bobby!" Sid shouted into the crowd. At first, Pat and Bobby did not hear Sid's calls as they did not turn around but continued to attempt to gain way to the front. Sid called out again and this time, he won both of their attention and waved back. 

 For several minutes, Franky and Sid stayed patiently at the edge of the crowd. Sid stood with his arms a crossed across his chest and on his tip toes. Franky had stuffed his hands into his trousers’ pockets and as well had gone to his toes. 

 "Too many people in me way!" mumbled Sid, while standing on his tip toes to see above the mass of people in front of him. In a swift motion, he pushed the backs of the boys before him and took a sharp step foreword.  He repeated this barbaric process until he was at the start of the crowd, closest to the vender's stall. 

 Once he secured his spot, he waited impatiently with constant shouts of irritation. "Post the line, you bastard!" He repeated the vulgar line over and over until, at least the vender, Mr. Rhodes, appeared from his office with the piece of chalk in his hand. "Yeah!" Sid shouted throwing his fist in the air. With his other hand, he dug into his pocket for his payment to receive the newspapers. The faster he got his papers, the faster he sold and more likely to sell all thus earning more. 

 Suddenly, someone in the crowd yelled, "he's putting it up," which caused the whole crowd to yell in excitement. 

 "Sid!" Pat yelled from the edge of the group. "What's the headline?"

 Sid eyed the man with determination. " 'Invasion Causes Tension in Europe'," Sid replied. "I think we gotta go to war!"