Long Islanders

17 - Christmas Break

Snow drifted down past the van window as Jimmy stared out it, watching the side of the highway flash by. Christmas break was upon them and he was finally going home, if only for a short while.

The first semester at Falcon Summit had been strange. Although the weekends at the Nowaks' farm had been fun and had soon grown to feel normal, not seeing his friends in class had been weird and not being on Stanwich Drive hadn't felt right. Plus, Connecticut didn't know how to eat pizza correctly. He was still amazed to have seen the other students actually eat the pizza with a fork and knife instead of picking it up with their hands and folding it in half lengthwise. No matter how many times he had tried to explain, no one had understood why what they were doing was a heinous crime against pizza.

But Jimmy did have good memories of his time there. He had gone to his first concert, had convinced Mary and Maisie that Billy Joel's album Piano Man was phenomenal and had gone on for hours talking about it and listening to the classic songs on it, and he and his cousins had all been forced to read Tiffany's Table Manners. On top of all that, his time at the school had helped him with his dyslexia.

And now he was going home again.

As the car pulled into his driveway, Jimmy clambered out of the car and grabbed his bags. Snow drifted down around his face and he turned and hurried up to the front door, his father right behind him.

"Jimmy!" his mother cried as he opened the door, rushing out of the kitchen. Lizzy and Ron came out of the living room and Jane galloped down the stairs. Jimmy dropped his bags and hugged his mother as his siblings gathered around, clamoring to hear about the Nowaks and what Falcon Summit was like.

It took him a long time before he was able to tell them everything, a steaming cup of hot chocolate in his hands. As he finished his stories and drained the last of his drink, a loud knock sounded at the door.

"Probably the Rossi brothers," Ron said. "I told them you'd be home today."

Jimmy bolted towards the door and opened it to see John and Andrew standing there, both grinning. "Jimmy!" they yelled as he stepped outside, not even minding standing in the cold snow with only socks on. Both of them clapped him on the back, effectively welcoming him back to Stanwich.

Jimmy felt a knot dissolve in his stomach. He hadn't realized until this moment that he was afraid of not fitting in anymore, but the Rossi's reception reassured him and melted away his doubts.

"Get your coat," John instructed. "We're gonna properly welcome you home with a BB gun fight. Grab your gun, let's go!"

Jimmy pumped his fist in the air and raced back inside, making a face as he suddenly felt the wetness of his socks. "I'm going out with Andrew and John!" he yelled into the kitchen before taking the stairs two at a time.

"Take your bags with you!" his father shouted and Jimmy had to go back downstairs and drag his suitcase up with him.

He dropped his bags by the door and knelt down on the floor to pull his BB gun out from under his bed. Taking it out of the box, he lovingly rubbed the stock before changing his socks and heading back downstairs, his ammo box in one hand and his gun in the other. After pulling on boots and piling into his winter gear, he trooped out into the garage where he loaded his gun.

A lot of the neighborhood boys were standing out in the road, holding their own BB guns. Everyone was bundled up more than normal, to help block the metal BBs from inflicting as much pain. There were a couple kids Jimmy couldn't recognize and he furrowed his brow as he joined the group.

"Charlie, Bruce, meet Jimmy!" John introduced, gesturing to the two new kids. "Jimmy, Charlie and Bruce Meyer, the new kids."

The brothers waved to Jimmy, who nodded.

Quickly, John split everyone into teams and the fight began. Ducking and dodging, running and pumping the gun, Jimmy had more fun than he'd had in a long time. When it began to get dark and John called for a halt, everyone was red in the face and panting, but Jimmy felt good, despite the bruises from where he had gotten struck by the BBs.

The days of Christmas break seemed to fly by until it was Christmas Day. Jimmy eagerly unwrapped the oblong package under the tree signed with his name and his eyes widened.

Inside was a brand new BB gun, the best and most powerful in the business.

The following day, he joined the assembly of boys for another BB gun fight, carrying his new one proudly. But as soon as everyone else saw it, they backed away. "No way, man!" Henry cried, shaking his head. "I'm not getting shot by that thing!"

So Jimmy had to return and get his other gun in order to play.

When Christmas break ended, Jimmy reluctantly packed up his things to return to Falcon Summit. The weather was remarkably warm today, for a Long Island winter, and Jimmy stuffed everything into his suitcase and headed downstairs.

"Ready?" his father asked.

Jimmy nodded.

Jimmy almost fell asleep on the ride into Connecticut, until his father pulled onto the side of the deserted highway. "All right, get out."

Uncomprehendingly, Jimmy stared at his father. "What?"

"Your Aunt Lisa's is that way." His father pointed. "Your bike's in the back, you can ride that to the farm. Wear your poncho."

He's being serious.

Jimmy climbed out of the car, pulling his suitcase out as his father strode around to the back, pulling his bicycle out of the trunk. Jimmy swung his leg over it after slipping his poncho on, his suitcase tied to the handlebars, and regarded his father uncertainly.

"Go," he said, waving in the direction of the farm. "See you later, Jimmy."

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Michael were very surprised when Jimmy showed up at their farm on his bicycle.