(Author's Note: Read Chapter 1: Evergreen City here https://steemit.com/fiction/@mrchaperone/the-bench-at-the-city-park-chapter-1-evergreen-city)
“James, Harvey! Let’s go now, or we’re gonna be late!”, Mrs. Whitfield called for her sons. It’s a 20-minute drive to the City Park, but traffic flow now might have been a bit moderate to heavy now because of the parade. And, another thing, they should find a space to park the car.
“We’re coming!”, Harvey shouted as he and James ran down the stairs. Harvey’s wearing a blue shirt and an Earth brown jumpsuit, and his top-side shoes. He likes wearing his favorite flat cap. James is wearing his favorite red loose long sleeves, which he got as a gift last Christmas. He’s got ripped jeans, and his white Chucks.
Mrs. Whitfield and the kids are now on their way to the City Park. They passed by the Evergreen Academy and the turned left. She must make a quick drop-by at the First City Bakery. She’ll need to make a few reminders to those who’ll be on duty today, as almost half of the employees are out for the parade. The bakery is open only until 10:30 A.M., so the remaining workers can still enjoy the rest of the day.
“Good morning everyone!”, Mrs. Whitfield greeted everyone inside the store. She went to her small office behind the cashier, and the team leaders followed her inside.
“I just came to remind you of the things you need to do today. And since the bakery will be close by noon, I want all of you to have everything delivered before it.”, she instructed.
“Charlie, don’t forget to prioritize the breads and pastries needed at the Mayor’s Buffet after the parade. And for the rest of you, please make sure that leftover breads or pastries there’ll be, store them properly and carefully. We can’t afford to have any rotten food just like last month, no matter how few it may be.”, she reminded them.
Just last month, Suzy, one of the staff, forgot to turn on the machine that stores leftover breads and you know what happened next. Mrs. Whitfield went out of the store, afterwards.
---o---
While Mrs. Whitfield was in the store, Harvey saw some of his classmates passing by the bakery and wondered where they might be going. James was busy texting his friends about their whereabouts. Harvey then asked permission from his brother.
“Can I get out really quick? I’m just gonna ask my classmates about something.”, said Harvey.
“If Mom’s here before you can come back, I’ll be held responsible.”, James warned. “Better be fast.”
Harvey went out of the car and ran as fast as he could towards his classmates. He glanced at the bakery’s window to check on his mom, but he didn’t see her.
“Hey guys! What’s up? Where are you all headed for?”, Harvey asked while catching his breath.
“Oh, hi Harvey!”, Veronica said, giving him a bright smile.
“We’re going to Sam’s house. He was absent since Thursday. Ivan said he was sick.”, explained Jay.
“Okay. I hope Sam’s fine. I wish I could join you but I’m with Mom and James. The parade will be starting in a few minutes now.”, Harvey said.
“Don’t worry I’ll just say ‘hello’ to Jessica…erm…to Sam for you.”, Ron said, giggling. And everyone teased Harvey, except for Veronica who just smirked, but no one noticed.
Harvey left the group and ran again back to the car. Mrs. Whitfield was already there.
---o---
“And where might you’ve been, Harvey?”, she asked. “And, James why did you allowed your brother to go out of the car. I said I’m just gonna be back quick.”
James didn’t answer. He just looked at Harvey, and went back to texting.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”, Harvey replied. “I just saw my classmates near the bakery and asked them where they were going. They said Sam’s been sick. He was absent since Thursday.”
James heard what Harvey said and looked worried. Sam is Tom’s younger brother. He wondered if it was the reason why he saw Tom and Vinch on their bikes earlier, and realized they were quite in a hurry.
“Is he okay?”, James asked. Mrs. Whitfield noticed that James is a bit worried. She started the car and drove off.
“I don’t know.”, Harvey replied. “But, Jay said he’ll tell me about it at school on Monday.”
“I hope Sam’s fine. He’ll be fine. Don’t worry, Harvey. I’m gonna call Mrs. Brown later tonight. I’ll tell you right away, honey.” And so, they’re now on their way to the parade.
The Brown residence isn’t that far from the bakery. They just turn left through Sunflower Street. Walked straight from there, and turned right to Carnation Street. Jay, Ron, and Veronica fetched some of their classmates along the way. Now they’re in front of the house.
Ron knocked on the front door, while the rest of them patiently waited. Veronica kept on fixing her hair while she chats along with the other girls: Olivia, Chloe and Kath. Jay stood next to Ron. Inside the house, Mrs. Brown was busy with the dishes when she heard the knocking.
“Wait a minute! I’m coming.”, Mrs. Brown screamed. She put down the plate she’s currently soaping, rinsed her hands quickly, and wiped them on her apron.
“Who’s there?”, she asked as she approached the front door.
“I’m Ron. We’re here to visit Sam.”, Ron respectfully replied.
Mrs. Brown opened the door. “Come on in guys. Sam’s upstairs. He’ll be happy to see all of you.”, she said. “How sweet of this kids!”, she thought.
“Where’s Jessica, Mrs. Brown?”, Veronica asked.
“She’s with her cousins. They’re gonna watch the parade.”, Mrs. Brown replied. “Aren’t you all gonna go to the City Park?”
“We’re just gonna catch up.”, Jay responded.
One by one they entered following Ron who got in first. They waited by the living room and finally got a “go” signal from Mrs. Brown. She checked whether Sam’s awake already.
Jay headed to the stairs first, and the rest followed through. Mrs. Brown lead them to Sam’s room. She left them and went back to her dishes.
Since Sam is sick, he was isolated. His brother Tom stays downstairs. He sleeps on the couch. He decided it all by himself. He loved his brother that much. Jessica has a separate room.
“Hello Sam!”, everyone greeted him cheerfully. Chloe brought some cookies. Ron brought some photocopy of his notes from school.
“Hey guys.”, Sam said in a weak voice. He then coughed.
His bed is covered with a cloth net, but you can see through it. “He seemed really sick”, Jay thought.
“Are you okay, Sam?”, Chloe asked. “You should really be in the City Hospital. My Dad could help you.”
“And, Sam, what’s this net all about? It’s like you’re being quarantined.”, Jay noticed. “Mom would usually tell stuffs about this when she was in Africa on a medical mission.”
“I’m alright. I’ll be at school on Monday.”, Sam explained.
“Oh, by the way, Harvey wants to extend his regards. We saw him by the bakery earlier before we got here. He said he couldn’t come because he was with his mom and brother. I think they’re headed now for the parade.”, Ron explained.
“Is that so? Say ‘thanks’ for me to Harvey.”, said Sam, and he coughed again.
Veronica noticed some blood on some tissue paper near the foot of the bed. But she ignored it.
“I’m gonna tell your mom to bring you to the hospital. I think this isn’t any ordinary fever.”, Chloe said.
“Right! And isn’t that blood on the tissue paper?”, Veronica blurted out in disgust.
“What blood?”, the girls almost said in chorus.
“No it’s not.”, said Sam. “It’s not mine.”
Jay noticed Sam seems to be not telling the truth. “Sam, tell us the truth.”, he said. “Ron, tell the girls to wait outside.”, Jay commanded.
“C’mon girls. We’re gonna follow you really quick.”, Ron lead the girls out of the room and closed the door. Veronica looked suspicious of Ron and Jay, but she led the girls going downstairs.
“Now, Sam, tell us what happened.”, Jay inquired.
“Okay. I’ll tell you. But make sure Mom doesn’t hear us. Come near here.”, said Sam.
“Hey Ron. Hurry up!”, he called. And Sam began to tell Ron and Jay about everything that happened.
They finally reached the City Park despite the traffic getting heavy now, but Mrs. Whitfield should find a parking space not very far from the park. She doesn’t want to get caught in heavy traffic later when day ends. She finally saw a spot and swerved the car to it. But, before she knew it, she almost hit someone. She stepped on the breaks. James and Harvey were both startled. Harvey was in front and good thing he was wearing the seat-belt. James wasn’t wearing the seat-belt so his head bumped on Harvey’s seat.
“Oh my God!”, Mrs. Whitfield screamed. “Are you alright boys?! Harvey, honey, are you okay? James?” She was worried and at the same time angry at whoever crossed very quickly in front of the car. She went out and saw a bike lying on the road near its rider.
“Are you okay? Oh my gosh! Is that you Tom Brown?!”. She was astonished. She hurriedly assisted Tom on the sidewalk. Vinch helped. He was a bit behind Tom also riding his bike when it happened.
James saw that it was Tom who was hurt. He went out of the car. He pulled Tom’s bike to sidewalk and went over where his mom and Tom were.
“Are you guys okay?”, James worriedly said.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I was just stunned and fell off my bike.”, explained Tom.
“Why are you boys in such a hurry?”, asked Mrs. Whitfield.
“You’re the one in a hurry Mom! You could’ve hit Tom.”, James yelled.
“I--I didn’t mean it. I was just--I saw a spot for us to park. And then--”, Mrs. Whitfield stammered.
“No. No, James. It’s my fault.”, Tom said to James. “I’m sorry Mrs. Whitfield. But we have to go. I have to bring this medicine for Sam.”, he said, looking at Mrs. Whitfield. He stood up to get his bike. He rode on it and bade goodbye to James. Vinch followed Tom.
There were a few people curious about what happened. They slowly dispersed and went their own ways. James felt frustrated and stood by the side walk. Harvey, still on the car, was just staring at them. Mrs. Whitfield went back to car and parked it on the spot she found.
“Are you okay, honey?”, she asked Harvey. He simply nodded. He looked at James from inside the car and said: “Mom, I think James hit his head on my seat.”
Mrs. Whitfield just gave a deep sigh. She switched off the engine and told Harvey to get out now. She went out of the car last. She walked to where James was to check on his head. But James backed off a bit. He still feels uneasy about what happened. He wanted to go with Tom and Vinch not only because of Sam, but also because his best-friend was hurt, although he wasn’t hit by the car.
“Let’s go now.”, Mrs. Whitfield said. They passed by the pharmacy. She looked through the window and thought this was where Tom bought the medicine. She looked back forward.
The parade has already begun when they arrived. Two floats have already passed by. But Harvey is much more interested to see the circus people, just like everyone else. James was walking behind his mom and Harvey. Harvey held a grip of his mom’s hand. He looked at her and smiled as if telling her not to worry much about what happened.
Soon, they reached the end of that street and saw a lot of people on the sidewalk. There were barricades on the Main Street where the parade is now on-going. They were late. Harvey ran ahead and tried to peep from the people who already found a good spot to witness the most awaited part of the day. Mrs. Whitfield and James caught up with Harvey.
“I can’t see properly.”, Harvey complained, trying to peep through the towering people in front of him.
“C’mon boys. Let’s walk a bit over there. There might be a good spot.”, Mrs. Whitfield said. James and Harvey followed her. James’ mind is a bit calmer now. He’s tall so he could see the street parade.
“I know a place just near here.”, James said and started to walk ahead of them. Mrs. Whitfield was surprised, and followed James. Harvey ran to catch up with them.
James remembered passing by a small café when he was biking with his friends. Its rooftop was renovated to accommodate people, who have been liking a lot how their coffee tasted. The café owner decided to add a European ambience under the open sky.
Tom and Vinch continued to ride their way to Tom’s house. Tom tried to ease the pain he’s feeling right now. He wasn’t hit by Mrs. Whitfield’s car but, his right leg was caught on the bike seat as he fell.
“Are you alright Tom?”, Vinch asked as he noticed the way Tom pedals.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”, Tom replied. And soon, they arrived at Tom’s house. The saw a bunch of girls outside the house and recognized them as Sam’s classmates. They didn’t even bother to greet them. It’s as if they weren’t there.
Tom and Vinch disembarked on their bikes quickly. Vinch parked the bikes properly on the side.
“Hey, Mom! We’re back. How’s Sam?”, Tom asked his mom.
“Oh, you’re back. Sam’s upstairs with his friends.”, Mrs. Brown said as she’s rinsing the dishes.
“His friends?”, Tom wondered. He realized Sam might be spilling something that shouldn’t, so he quickly ran upstairs. Vinch saw Tom and followed through. “Hello Mrs. Brown!”, he greeted.
“Hi Vinch!”, Mrs. Brown greeted back. “Kids today seems to be always in a hurry.”, she thought.
Tom opened the door to Sam’s room, but found it locked. “Sam! Open this door now.”, he shouted. Vinch was behind him. “Hey man. Calm down. You’re destroying the door.”, he said.
In the room, Sam, Ron, and Jay was startled by the loud knock. Jay got the door open. Tom almost ran over him. Vinch followed Tom inside.
“What are you doing Sam?!”, Tom asked furiously. “And all of you get out of the room now!”
“Including me?”, Vinch asked. He was confused by how Tom was acting just now. Tom just stared back.
The boys went out of the room. Jay and Ron went downstairs, said “goodbye” to Mrs. Brown, and quickly went out of the house. Vinch stayed outside the room, eavesdropping.
“Why did you tell them?!”, he tried to softly spoke.
“I didn’t--I promise. We were just talking about school. That’s all.”, Sam trembled as he covered half of his face with his blanket.
“You know we can’t tell anybody of what happened.”, Tom sat on the bed. “We can’t tell anyone, Sam.”
Sam was sobbing now. “Shush, now. I’m sorry. Here’s some medicine for your cough.”, Tom said.
He poured some water on the glass, pop out a pill, and have Sam drink the medicine. He noticed something on the floor. He picked it up and saw blood on the tissue paper.
“Tom, am I gonna die?”, Sam asked his big brother and cried.
“Of course not. We’ll find a way. I’m gonna call them now.”, Tom said.