Chapter 4

"Awww, come on, it'll be alright," Dieter needled his little sister. "We're only building a little snow dragon just like we did earlier."

"What the parents don't know, can't hurt us," pronounced Iosif.

"That's right, Anna," Petrushka added excitedly. "We'll go real quietly and make it real quick, and they won't even know we're gone. Say yes, say you'll go." His eyes narrowed slyly. "You don't want us to go without you, do you?"

"It's ok if she doesn't want to go," stated Dieter. "She'll just get in our way, most likely."

Now Anna got mad. "I will not!" she huffed. "I can sneak, too." She poked at her big brother, who laughed at her.

"Alright then!" Iosif professed, jumping to a stand beside his bunk. "Let's go."

Silently as possible, accompanied by only the occasional hushed giggle, the children slinked through the hallway to the coat closet near the kitchen. Anna could almost not contain her enthusiasm. Petrushka helped her put on her bright winter clothes, but even he was fumble fingered in the dark, and Dieter ended up tying Anna's red boots.

Iosif opened the last barrier, the outer door, and the children tumbled through onto the back stoop.

"Wow," breathed Petrushka, awed. "It's, it's magical."

The back yard was soft and otherworldly, with navy blue at the brightest areas clear of the trees, and the deepest ebony shadows under the giant hemlock and balsam boughs. It was enchanted, ensorcelled by the night. A half moon hung over the view. There wasn't much light to see by.

"I think we should go into the woods," directed Iosif. "I don't want them to look out the window and see us."

"It's a little dark under there," squeaked Anna, nervously.

"Nonsense!" corrected Dieter. "It's perfectly safe. I think you're just being a scaredy cat."

"Am not!" hotly returned Anna. Dieter smirked. Anna jumped off the stoop and began plowing across the back yard. She got about half way and fell over, defeated by the snow. Petrushka made his way to her, and gave her a helping hand up. All of the children shuffled through the drifts to the verge of the forest, and stopped. It was mighty black in there.

"Look!" blurted Iosif. "There's a light."

"I see it," confirmed Dieter. "It's bright and glowing yellow."

"Oh, yeah," added Petrushka. "What do you think it is?"

Anna shivered.

"I dunno," was Iosif's opinion. "Let's go see." He strode confidently into the inky dark brush. The other children rushed to follow so as to not be separated.

"Stupid faggot," Joey Maulson elbowed Tommy Elsada aside. "Get out of the way so real people can get to class."

Tommy grabbed his glasses which had been knocked askew.

Whap! "Yah, you queer or sompthin'?" jived one of Joey's hench men after smacking the back of Tommy's head.

Oof! Tommy fell to the floor when another goon tripped him. "Watch where you're going, cumbreath," the goon supplied.

Several girls had stopped and watched. They tittered, then ran off together.

Tommy picked himself up gingerly, groaning when the bell rang. Damn it, he was going to be late again. He wished Joey and his thugs would just leave him alone.

Tommy wasn't gay, but he might as well be, given all the good his admiration for girls did him. They wouldn't give him the time of day, unless he came to their notice, and then they would fling barbs at him, too. Once as a freshman, he had objected when football bullies called him "Queer Bait," and the epitaph had become set in stone. Better to stay quiet, to just stay out of sight.