The First Stone

Chapter 1

"Happy Birthday, honey." Will pulled the covers higher over his head,burrowing down into the warmth. Grumbling something unintelligible,he waited until he heard the door close before kicking off the sheets. He stumbled over to the window and pulled the curtains shut,then finally opened his eyes. The navy blue of his walls and curtains was soothing after the blinding sunlight. Before leaving the room,Will made his bed to avoid his mother's wrath later in the day. He tugged the corners, making sure the NASA logo was centered, and went downstairs.

"Hey mom, can I have pancakes?" he heard her muffled reply from the living room and stuck his head through the doorway. "What?"

"Yes, Will. Anything for my special man!" She was way too cheerful as she set aside the party favors she'd been crafting. She pulled her brown curls away from her face and into a knot, then started into the kitchen. Will figured he had a few minutes to play, so went back up the stairs and into his father's office. It was really a spare bedroom, but there was a desk and computer in there. Will booted it up and started his game.

In no time at all, the door opened and his mom walked in. "Enough blasting aliens. Your breakfast is ready, didn't you hear me calling?"

"I'm playing Warcraft, mom. Not Starcraft." Will sighed, closing the game. He hoped he could play later, at least.

"Monsters, then. Come down while it's hot." She left the room and he followed, noting that the clock said 11:30. He'd slept later than he thought. "We're meeting Jeremy's family at three, so be ready." Lydia called over her shoulder as they parted ways. Will heard her fussing with some wrapping paper in the living room. He never listens, the rustling seemed to say, always lost in those video games. He frowned, then shrugged it off. After breakfast, he returned to his game.

That afternoon, they drove to the community park in silence. His mother had gone from overbearingly cheerful to muteness so fast that he knew she'd been putting on an act earlier. Her silence seemed to say I'm annoyed. The slight downward tug at the corners of her mouth said He should have taken the day off. I can't do this alone. Will glanced at his mom and her brow automatically smoothed. "We're here." She smiled as she pulled into a parking spot.

As soon at the van stopped he jumped out to run and see his friend.Lydia was left behind to carry everything—Will swore he heard a sigh and a grumble of frustration. He stumbled to a stop and pivoted to face his mother—but she was still grinning. "Let me help you."He offered, moving back to the van. The surprise on her face left Will feeling a bit smug as he carried a cake emblazoned with the number twelve.

Something felt different, Will realized. His innate understanding of his mother's feelings must be something granted by his newfound maturity and age. Walking up to his friend Jeremy, he noticed something different about the other boy, too. Jeremy sat on a picnic table, staring at a nearby tree. "Happy Birthday." Will called.

"You,too." Jer said distractedly. Where did it go?

"Wanna climb on the jungle gym?"

"Yeah,okay." With a last lingering look at the tree, Jeremy pushed off of the table and took off running. "Race ya!" Jeremy's sister stood off to the side, watching them run with a wistful look.

Ashe jogged to catch up, Will's new sense was telling him something.Jeremy had changed since the previous day, too. Maybe everyone changed when they were 12. Maybe this was puberty.

*~*

Trees loomed in the darkness, formidable in their height and numbers. Dense bushes and patches of bracken concealed creatures of the night who were certainly awaiting their opportunity to pounce. Will moved noisily along the path, flashlight swinging towards every threatening shadow. He'd been walking for eons, the sound of cicadas drowning out all sense of time, when he finally broke into the clearing. Jeremy was already sitting on one of the three fallen trees which created their meeting spot. They boy sat hunched in on himself, idly tearing a mushroom into pieces. As the flashlight illuminated his friend, Will had a sudden flash of understanding. Jeremy's poor posture, his closely cropped frizzy hair, his over sized clothes—they were all attempts to hide. The naturally big-boned boy had been bullied more than once for his size, for taking up space in the world. And even now he was attempting to shrink into non-existence.Will felt the depths of his friend's depression crash over him in a wave—his knees hit the ground, the flashlight rolling away.