The Squirrel War Part 5

Once the ruckus from the squirrel attack died down, after the reporters left and things got back to normal, wait, no, things never got back to normal, after that. There was a little peace, a breather.

It was the end of Summer and Squirrel fever had hit. The town grapevine documented the spread of the critters and they -- weren't they just so adorable? With their Protestant work ethic and their fluffy goodhearted nature, they set a good example for us all. Especially for me, pointed out my mother. If I just payed more attention in school, did my homework, worked hard, I could grow up to be somebody. Why, I could become the President, if only I would apply myself.
I spent long summer days looking for and watching the squirrels. They kinda were like monkeys, very good climbers and they had a little bit of bird in them, cause they took big leaps from tree to tree. I imagined what it was like to be a squirrel, pretended to talk squirrel and I got a lot better at climbing trees. I made maps of where they lived, what they ate and where their roads where. Veronica I missed, she was gone for the summer, staying with her grandparents. I wanted to show her how good I got at climbing, and tell her all that I learned about squirrels.
My mother missed her friend Eedee. We went to visit her in the hospital, Mr. Reinholt came to get us and we rode there in his old Ford Truck. I got to sit up front between my mom and Mr. Reinholt. It felt good, I was happy. I thought about it after and wondered about my Father and day dreamed a family for myself. I wished Mr. Reinholt was my dad, even if he only had eight fingers. In the heat of the morning, I fell asleep on my mother's lap.
The hospital was a big place. We walked down a long hallway to Mrs. Reinholts' room. Her room was also big, with a lot of beds lined-up on both sides. It was like a giant slumber party, but it seemed that nobody was having any fun. Mrs. Reinholt was happy to see Mom, but there was a lot of crying going on. Crying and whispering. I sat with Mr. Reinholt while Mom and Eedee clung to each other. I looked around, mostly. I never saw so many sad people in my life. I sure didn't want to spend any time there. Worse than school.
When it was time to leave, Mrs. Reinholt started crying hard. It made me itch inside and I got the stomach willies. I was going to start bawling too. Thankfully, Mr. Reinholt took me by the hand and we went outside. I asked him if Mrs. Reinholt was going to be O.K. He looked at me and nodded. I saw his watery eyes, then he turned, looking at something in the distance. Mom came outside dabbing her red eyes and blowing her nose. The drive home was long, quiet and uncomfortable. It was the last time I ever saw Mrs. Reinholt.

Two weeks before school, Veronica came back from vacation. I was jumping inside and my face hurt from all that smiling. We were talking at the same time about what happened during summer break. For a couple of weeks it was like I lived in the best place in the world. If heaven was better than this, I was ready to go. Except for singing hossaners, that didn't sound like you would want to spend days and days doing. I wondered if they made you go to school.
I was a little frightened of God. Actually, more than a little. He was spooky and seemed mean.

When school started I began to make mistakes. It was Veronica. She was a bad influence on me. I knew she didn't mean it, it was me and my lack of experience. As I look back, that was a theme that I would encounter again and again.
Veronica was a straight "A" student. She did all her homework, studied for tests and seemed to like school. I liked being with her and would go to her house, where I got to also doing homework. I even handed it in, where the troubles started. If only I had a dog to feed my homework to. Well, the teachers were impressed. I could see that they misunderstood my intentions, but I have to admit, it felt good being praised. The problem is that they thought that they had finally brought me around. It only fed fuel to their delusions. Even my Mom was starting in on me and began another round of that President of America talk, when I brought home C's and a couple of B's. As it turned out, I lost nearly a whole year over it, that's how long it took to set the teachers straight. The exception was English. My imagination and the endless hours of studying comic books paid off. Also, it helped that my English teacher was smarter than most and had a private agreement with me. After I repaired the damage, she promised to never give me a "B" again if I would hand-in my stories on the sly. Otherwise, as long as I didn't cause trouble, I could sit in the back and do as I liked. That was Mrs. James, she was real neat. She would return my homework or my stories after class, with suggestions written on the sides and in between lines. She even gave me books to read, books without pictures. I liked her a lot.

The trouble with the squirrels would spread further, that Fall.