Max Hystory - Adventures in time - Market Garden

Homecoming

Chapter One

Homecoming

by Jeff McDonald

Inside the stone walls of the Fort Williams adoption agency, Max Hystory sits in a very untypical classroom, there are only six other students and the teacher; who is the pastor of a local church. Unlike most classrooms in most public schools, this one is very orderly and quiet. The students sit silently upright in their chairs, dressed in blue and black school uniforms awaiting the teacher to begin his lecture. Pastor Greg turns to his class and begins his lecture on the invasion of Normandy, as he talks he busies himself with pulling down the correct map to use to illustrate his lecture and picking up a world history book upon the edge of his desk.

"What do you know about the invasion of Normandy?" He asks pausing as a students hand is raised.

"Isn't this supposed to be a lecture?" Max interrupts, "you know, you talk we pretend to listen."

"Aren't you supposed to raise your hand before asking a question?" Pastor Greg insists.

"Well...Do you have any thoughts about Normandy?" He asks, "Anybody?"

"It was a great success! I know that much." Max blurts out expecting a laugh but receives nothing but silence from his fellow students.

"Eventually it was, at first it was horrible, and then things got a little slowed down because of supply problems," he explains.

Max raises his hand high and waits for the teacher to call on him; Pastor Greg sees his hand but continues speaking hoping that Max will grow tired and put down his hand, after a few minutes of his interruption Pastor Greg's curiosity gets the better of him.

"What could you possibly have that would add to this conversation Mr. Hystory?" He asks.

"Why do we always need to learn about war? Isn't it wrong to kill?" Max asks.

"Yes it is Max, but there are times when we need to do horrible things in order to stop even worse things from continuing. During world war two the Nazis committed all sorts of atrocities and one reason that it is even called a world war is that the world came together to stop the expansion of fascism," Pastor Greg explains.

"So it was okay to kill in order to stop the Nazis?" Max asks.

"It was a necessary evil, and the world is a better place because of it," Pastor Greg answers.

"What about the war we are in now, is it necessary?" Max asks.

"There is a lot of debate about that, but I believe that history will show that we were right when all is said and done." He explains.

"I don't think I will ever understand why war is necessary," Max says.

RRRRIIIINNNGGG!!!! The school bell sounds, and all the students gather their books and stuff.

"Okay, I want you guys to read about Normandy all the way up to the end of the war, and extra credit to the person who can tell me what 'Operation Market Garden' was? You will have to give an oral report at the end of the semester." He informs them as they walk out of the classroom and off to their next class.

Standing like a stone pillar outside the classroom door is the agency's student counselor Mrs.Williams, coldly she informs Max to go straight to the day room and wait, his new adoptive parents will be here today to pick him up soon. Max sits patiently waiting in the day room of the Fort Williams adoption agency, he is supposed to meet his new family today. He taps rhythmically on the table with a pencil from the can of pencils on the table, he had taken it to draw with, but after hours of drawing that activity has grown tiresome. Grabbing another pencil he begins drumming upon the table, pencil box, etc. He pretends to be a rock drummer despite having never seen one. Through the racket of his so-called music styling's he hears in the distant hallway the faint click-clack of Mrs. Wallace's heavy black shoes as she approaches the day room, Max immediately stops his drumming and looks up past the ping-pong table and watches as she turns the corner from the cold, sterile hallway that leads from the infirmary. She is a vile, heartless woman, short in stature, stocky and built for something other than caring for children, everyone here in this adoption agency is oddly like that with the exception of Pastor Greg. Her jet black hair is pulled back in a very tight bun that stretches out her wrinkles and gives her an evil almost wicked quality to her appearance. She struts with an air about herself that makes her seem stuck-up or arrogant, a janitor who was being terminated a few months ago had mentioned to her as he walked out that she even looked like a bitch, she apparently did not care for his comment and physically threw him and his little pet dog out, giving herself a most unusual and fitting nick-name that is spoken in only hushed whispers after lights out.