Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2005 10:27:27 +0100 From: Harry Anders Subject: Little Harry-23 Chapter 22 ended with: "Now I'm ready to go to school, dad. I will study as much as I can, to be able to help my gypsy people when the time is right." We set the alarm clock, to be sure we would wake up in time, and showered together. I put him to bed in our waterbed, and he clamped his arms around my neck: "Thanks, dad, for being my dad. I really, really, really love you. You are the best dad in the whole world." He closed his eyes and fell asleep, probably dreaming of his first day in school. I went downstairs to work on my story 'Little Harry', a story that at some time might change our world. Soon I disappeared into the story, until I felt too tired to go on. I went upstairs, undressed, and got into our waterbed. Immediately my little soul mate shifted towards me and nestled himself in my arms. I LOVE that boy! My precious son, my little gypsy prince, who someday will fulfill grandiose deeds in our world. But first he had to attend school tomorrow. Soon I fell asleep, dreaming of a better world full of love. And of many, many readers; who all loved my story 'Little Harry'... -------------------------------------------------------------- After I had readied the book 'Little Harry', I discovered it needed one extra chapter. Here it is: Chapter 23. Little Harry's first and last day in school. The alarm clock woke us up, and we both stretched and yawned at the same time. Little Harry crawled onto my stomach with a big grin: "Morning, dad. Today is a beautiful day, and it also is the first day of the rest of our lives." I yawned again, ruffled his hair, and started to laugh: "You stole that from the first chapter of my book!" He grinned, tickled my ribs, and jumped out of bed: "Come on, don't be lazy. You promised to take me to school today, and I don't want to be late!" "There's no need to hurry; we have plenty of time." But he was already in the shower, adjusting the temperature. I followed him at a slower pace, being sixty-five-years old and still a bit stiff. I entered the shower, and he immediately leaned into me so that I could wash him. He was in an excellent mood and started to hum. We washed each other, dried each other, and went to little Harry's room to look for suitable clothes for him to wear in school: "I want to look nice today, dad! I will show them we gypsies are proud of ourselves." "Perhaps you could better show them you are proud of yourself as a human being?" "But they are always chasing us gypsies away, and I AM a gypsy boy!" I decided to let it go, hoping for the best. We went downstairs to the kitchen, both frolicking like little children. I made us buttered toast while little Harry scrambled a couple of eggs, mixing them with some of his famous herbs. Soon we both enjoyed the tasty meal. We cleaned the cutlery and went into the living room to prepare for leaving. Little Harry looked at me with a hint of fear in his eyes: "Dad, I feel a little bit nervous now. This is the first time in my life I'm attending school, and I hope I won't make too much mistakes." "Well, you should be in the same class as Nicky, so perhaps he will show you how to behave during the first few days?" "Oh yeah, you're right. I didn't think about that. But I'm still a bit nervous. How will the other children react when they discover I'm a gypsy?" "Just be proud of yourself! There's nothing to be ashamed of." "Yeah, but I hope the other children will know that too..." He opened his school bag and rechecked everything. Satisfied, he led the way to our golden van, followed by me. He put his pillow onto the front seat to sit a bit higher, and buckled up. I started the engine and we drove off, on our way to little Harry's new school. Soon we were there. I parked the van in front of the school gateway, and little Harry hugged me with a deep sigh: "Thank you, dad. See you back in the afternoon. I hope Nicky will show up soon..." "I will be here when school is out, to collect you. Enjoy your first day of the rest of your life!" He grinned and kissed me good-bye. He jumped out of the van and entered the gateway, looking back and waving at me. At that moment Nicky showed up, nearly bumping into him, and they immediately fell into each other's arms with beaming faces and patting each other's backs. Together they returned to our van, and Nicky enthusiastically greeted me: "I will take good care of him, pop! You can count on me." I got a wet kiss from Nicky, and a second kiss from little Harry. They re-entered the gateway, shoulder to shoulder and with their arms around each other; stared at by a couple of other children. I waved at them until they disappeared into the building; and drove off, back home. On the way back I had a strange feeling, as if I left a part of myself behind, as if I was no longer complete. The van felt empty without my little soul mate in the front seat. The sound of the car radio irritated me, so I switched it off. I tried to convince myself that everything was okay with him and I would see him back in the afternoon, but I couldn't get rid of a vague feeling of pending trouble. As if I had to protect him from something... I parked the van in the driveway, and entered our house. Again I felt that strange feeling of emptiness, as if a part of myself didn't come with me. I already missed my little soul mate, and the day hadn't even started yet. I would need a lot of time to get used to the loneliness again... I brewed myself a cup of coffee in the kitchen and took it with me to the living room. There I sat down in front of the computer and started a silly game to divert my thoughts. But even that didn't help, every time I thought I heard the voice of my little soul mate talking to me. Was I becoming insane? Or was this the beginning of arteriosclerosis? I wasn't sure... Suddenly I laughed at myself: "Boy, you're getting OLD!" Of course it's quite normal to feel an emptiness after being used to a whole bunch of children playing around you for the whole day. But I couldn't get rid of a vague feeling of uneasiness... I looked at the clock: half past nine. Still six hours to go... I forced myself to do something useful and started to clean the kitchen. I vacuumed the rooms and tidied the cupboards, closets, and cabinets. I washed the curtains, and hung them back. I made a list of the things I had to buy. Again I looked at the clock: only half past twelve. Still three hours to go... I forced myself to eat something. Then I took the list with me to the supermarket. I took a cart, and again felt that emptiness. Pictures crossed my mind of little Harry pushing the cart and helping me collect the things we needed. I MISSED my boy... I terribly missed him. Where were John and Davey? Of course they went to school too. But perhaps they were home earlier? Should I pay Trudy or Mary a visit, and ask them about it? Would they feel that same emptiness, now that their children were in school for the whole day? I decided not to bother them with my feelings, and went home. I put the groceries away and brewed myself another cup of coffee. Again I looked at the clock: only half past two. Still one hour to go... At three o'clock I took the van and drove to little Harry's school. I parked the van in front of the gateway, and stared at the empty schoolyard. Another twenty minutes to go... and every minute felt like an eternity... only nineteen minutes to go now... Some other cars parked along the road, and suddenly I saw BJ, waiting in his car. He waved at me, and I waved back at him. Obviously I wasn't the only one who was waiting for his boy... Exactly at three-thirty a loud bell reverberated through the school building. Ten seconds later the front door opened and spat out an endless stream of yelling children, flooding the schoolyard. They hurried through the gateway and spread out into various directions. I waited impatiently, trying to catch a glimpse of my boy. Where was little Harry? In the distance I saw Nicky, climbing into BJ's car; and they drove off without looking around. Weren't Nicky and little Harry together? Didn't they attend the same class? And why didn't Nicky greet me? He knew I would be waiting here too. Didn't BJ tell him he saw me and waved? How strange... Slowly the schoolyard emptied. After a few minutes only a few children patiently waited for their parents. But where was my boy? I started to be worried now. By now he should have showed up... unless he was being punished for something, or had to remain behind for some reason. I left the car and went to the school building, unsure what to do now. Should I enter the building, look around inside, or ask for him? But what when there was a plausible reason for his remaining behind? Wouldn't I look too over-worried as a single parent? Slowly I climbed the few steps to the open front door... Suddenly a wrecked and piteously sobbing small boy showed up in the door opening, trembling all over and squinting in the sudden sunlight. He saw me, staggered down the steps, and fell into my arms, where he nearly fainted. What had happened to him? I held him in my arms and tried to ask him a few questions, but he didn't respond at all. Should I go back into the school building and ask somebody what was the matter with my boy? But whom should I ask? I decided to take him home first and ask the questions afterwards. I carried him to the van, opened the front door with some difficulty, and tenderly put my poor boy onto the front seat. He groaned and started to sob without looking up. What had happened to him? I offered him my handkerchief, but he hardly reacted. What was the trouble? I drove home as fast as I dared with that so vulnerable small boy next to me. What was the matter with my precious soul mate? Was he ill? Or had they done something terrible to him? I couldn't detect anything unusual, only his hair seemed to be wet. Had he tried to wash his face? Little Harry was hanging in his seat belt like an astray little birdie, barely reacting to the things around him. Now and then he trembled and sobbed. I tried to send him as much love as I could muster, but he didn't pick it up. I parked the van in our driveway, unbuckled little Harry, and carefully carried him inside the house. I laid him down onto the couch, where he silently curled up into a ball. What should I do now? Call our house doctor? Or should I wait for another while, until it became clear what had happened? He didn't feel feverish... I went to the kitchen and returned with a wet cloth to carefully wash his face. Very slowly little Harry returned from his collapse. He squinted at me, and I saw a look of horror in his eyes. He tried to say something, but choked up and started to sob again. I got him a glass of water, and he gulped half of the water down, eagerly and in one big swallow. That seemed to help. He sighed a few times, and I took him into my arms. He nestled himself against me, still trembling, and seemed to be more aware of his surroundings now. Again I sent him all the love I could muster, and this time it worked. Slowly he calmed down. After a while he started to tell what had happened, still trembling all over and now and then sobbing: "They were so mean, dad! They saw Nicky and me entering the schoolyard with our arms around each other and started to call us fags and homo's... Fortunately Nicky was put into another classroom, else they would have harassed him too. When I entered my classroom, they pushed me and I fell down on my knees. They told me they hated homo's, and in their eyes I was just a dirty gypsy fag. I tried to defend myself, but every time I looked up they punched me in the face. After a while the teacher entered the room, and then they were quiet. But in the pause everything started again. In the noon break I went to the toilets, and sat there until class started again, without eating. But when school went out they took me to a toilet, put my head into it, and tried to flush me down the sewer pipes, because that's where I belong..." He started to sob again, and I couldn't calm him down for a long time. Suddenly the doorbell rang. I went to the front door, to let a raging BJ and a very timid looking Nicky showing a black eye enter our house. We went to the living room, where Nicky immediately curled up next to little Harry and started to sob loudly. They threw their arms around each other and tried to solace each other, now both of them crying their hearts out. I offered BJ a cup of coffee to ease the tension, and after a while we sat down onto the easy chairs. Fortunately the boys were calmed down a bit and stared at us with blank faces, entangled into each other and now and then softly sobbing. BJ sipped his coffee and started to tell his story: That morning Nicky went to school in a cheerful mood, glad to meet his friend Harry and be with him in the same classroom. But the school management had divided the too big class into two smaller ones; and that separated Nicky and little Harry. They didn't see each other for the whole day. That turned out to be good, because the children soon started to harass Nicky. They called him a fag and a homo, because they saw him and little Harry with their arms around each other and both kissing a grown-up man. They pestered him during the whole day, until at last Nicky attacked them. Then the whole bunch of children started to pummel him, until one of the teachers turned up and rescued him. Nicky now had several bruises on his body, a few painful ribs, and a black eye. And he absolutely refused to ever go back to school. I told BJ what they did to little Harry, and he nearly exploded: "Those beasts! How DARE they! Didn't that poor boy endure enough in his short life? I will go to that school and teach them a lesson they will never forget!" He raged for a long time, with clenched fists, cursing all the homo haters and the teachers who didn't intervene. At last he calmed down a bit and asked me what I had planned to do for now. "I don't know... This certainly isn't what I hoped for on little Harry's first school day. Why does everything have to be so difficult for our children nowadays? They were so totally free in Rumania, where everybody hugged everyone without any prejudices or afterthoughts. They walked there with their arms around each other for the whole day, just like Davey, and John, and all the other children. Why is that not allowed here in our country? WHY?" BJ thoughtfully nodded and shamefully bowed his head: "I used to think the same bullshit about boys hugging each other..." The doorbell rang. I went to the front door to let John and Davey in, both enthusiastically chattering about their first school day since the vacations. They entered the living room, and immediately froze at the sight of two very sad looking boys on the couch: "What happened to you? Why are you looking so sad? Didn't you have fun in school today? Nicky, what's with your eye? Did you have a fight?" Little Harry and Nicky both started to sob again, and I told John and Davey what had happened. Davey looked very sad, and John nodded thoughtfully: "They could have expected such a thing. That's why Davey and I never touch each other in school, even when we are working on the same project. Even when you are sitting or walking too close to each other, immediately the others start to comment. You just have to reckon with their crazy beliefs about what's 'normal'. It's a pity our Rumanian mountains are so far away. Since the three weeks we spent there, I feel like I'm incarcerated here..." Davey nodded, and added with a sad voice: "I'm frightened every day I'm in school. If they ever discover how my father abused me, I'd better end my life. Last year a boy hung himself because they thought they saw him kiss his friend. His friend had to move into another town, and we never saw him back..." We talked for a long time; and slowly a picture showed up of life in school nowadays, where bodily contact only was allowed between boys and girls, and where every suspicion of being a homosexual immediately led to harassment or worse. Even the teachers weren't allowed to touch the pupils any more, from fear of being accused of pedophilia by the parents. Every normal friendship between males was looked upon suspiciously when you didn't have at least a girlfriend to prove you weren't a homo. Looking at another boy in the showers was a deadly sin, unless you were comparing your thing with the others and bragging about it. Accidentally touching another boy immediately led to lots of aggression. Looking 'differently' inevitably led to being bothered, while looking 'girlishly' led to a continuous stream of disparaging accusations. Many 'different' looking boys broke down after a while and vanished into mental health care or worse. Even not wearing the 'right' clothes or shoes could lead to severe excluding from the group. Girls were treated totally differently. Girls were allowed to touch each other, to sit together with their heads touching, to walk hand in hand, to embrace each other, and to have deep and lasting friendships. Girls also seldom took part in the harassments of the boys. They had their own problems, mostly in deciding who was secretly in love with whom, and which boy was the best looking one. BJ and I decided to keep Nicky and little Harry home for the time being, and have a serious talk with a few teachers the next morning. We ordered pizzas, and after the meal John and Davey went home to do their homework. BJ went home after another cup of coffee, and left Nicky with us. Little Harry and Nicky slowly recovered from their sadness and wriggled into the same chair in front of the computer to play a racing game. Soon they were completely absorbed and forgot their misery for a while. I sat down in my chair, and tried to find a way to cope with the huge problems I was facing now. Sending little Harry back to school was out of the question. They would never leave him alone after what they did to him today. But I couldn't keep him home too, as the law dictates that every child has to attend school until he or she is at least sixteen years old, except for under extraordinary circumstances. Was this an 'extraordinary circumstance'? I doubted it... Perhaps my lawyer could offer us a solution? I asked the boys to make less noise for a moment, and phoned my lawyer. I told him what had happened, and he immediately advised me to threaten the school and all the teachers with a lawsuit. That way they were forced to take action to prohibit any further harassment. I tried to explain how cruel children could be amongst each other, but he had no children of his own and started to look at it from a judicial point of view, which didn't help me much. I asked him about withholding little Harry from school, but he was afraid that would cause me lots of troubles. The only thing he could advise me was: enrol little Harry into another school, and instruct him how to behave there to prevent further problems with the other children in his class. I asked him about home teaching, but the law only allowed that under very special conditions, and I should have all the required licenses to teach him. I thanked him for his advice and hung up. That didn't bring me much further! Nicky looked at me with determination in his eyes: "Pop, I'm NOT going to school any more! I've had enough of it for the rest of my life. If they try to force me, I will hitchhike to my people in the mountains in Rumania. There at least they love me as I am, and I know I will be welcomed there..." Little Harry looked more thoughtfully: "You have to attend school, to learn important things and be able to earn a living when you are a grown-up. And I still want to be a lawyer, to help my people when I am old enough. But I don't want to be flushed through the toilets every day..." They restarted their computer game, and soon had some fun again in crashing their cars against each other. That night we slept very restlessly, waking up every moment. Nicky's ribs were sore, so I offered him a pain killer tablet. That helped a bit, but he still got vivid nightmares and then woke up sweating and panting. Little Harry moaned in his sleep and thrashed all over the bed, waking us up a couple of times. Then he stared into space and told us something incoherently about sewer pipes and schools in the mountains. He calmed down when I took him into my arms, but an hour later he started to moan and thrash again. Now and then I HATED our society that did such things to our innocent children. At last the sun started to shine through the crack in the curtains and we left the bed, still yawning and dizzy with sleep. We washed, dressed, ate some toast with cheese, and waited on the couch in the living room for BJ to show up. BJ was exactly on time, and we assured the boys we would be back as soon as possible. We drove to the school in my van, where we arrived half an hour before the classes would start. We entered the building and were stopped by the janitor: "Good morning, gentlemen! How can I help you?" "We want to talk to the principal." "He isn't here yet, and I'm not sure whether he will show up today, or not. Perhaps you could leave him a message?" "It's about our sons, who yesterday both were harassed and called names during the whole day." "Well, that happens all the time... Boys will always be boys, you know. Perhaps you better let them fight their own battle, without intervening?" "Even when they are called fags and homo's, are pummelled, and nearly flushed down the toilets?" "There's no difference. They will come through, and it certainly will strengthen their characters when they are older." "Please tell your principal we are planning to file a lawsuit against the school and the two teachers who didn't intervene. Please also tell him one of the boys is severely discriminated against his gypsy origin, so perhaps he would be willing to free some of his precious spare time to answer our questions first?" I left my address and phone number. We returned to the van and drove home, both of us still in a very bad mood. We entered the living room, where little Harry and Nicky both sat on the couch, softly talking. At the same moment the phone rang: The school principal told me his name, and warned me I was transgressing the law by not sending my boy to school today. He would inform the authorities about my behaviour, unless I immediately sent the concerning child to his classroom where he ought to be NOW. "Now you listen to me, mister Principal! That 'concerning child' has a severe nervous breakdown, due to the fact that his classmates tried to flush him down the sewer pipes in the toilets yesterday, while his teacher didn't do anything to prevent the harassing. The other boy has four severely bruised ribs and a black eye, due to the same harassing in another classroom. We will take both of them to the hospital today, to let a specialist there file a report about the injuries. The first boy was severely discriminated against his gypsy origin for the whole day in the classroom, while the teacher was there and did nothing to prevent it. So I'm warning you: you will have a talk with us very soon, or your teachers will have to deal with a couple of lawsuits." "I understand, sir, but I didn't know anything about the circumstances. Could you be here at three-thirty, to talk about the things that are bothering you?" "We will be there!" We decided to be prepared for everything, so we took the boys with us to a hospital. There they took a couple of pictures of Nicky's bruises and black eye, filed a report about his injuries, and little Harry was looked over by a psychiatrist who filed a lengthy report about his new sewer pipe trauma's. Back home I phoned our lawyer, but unfortunately he had to attend a session in court and couldn't accompany us to the school. He advised us to use a small tape recorder and record everything that would be said. One could never know... I thanked him for his valuable advice, and promised to keep him informed. Next we went to my computer and looked on the internet for special schools. Soon we found a couple of private schools that had a very strict policy about harassment and violence. I asked little Harry and Nicky what they thought about those schools. "I don't know, pop. I'm still very hesitant about going to school now. What if one of the boys there happens to know one of the boys from my old school?" "I'm thinking about giving it a chance, dad. Things can't get worse than they already are..." "Shall we phone them, and try to have a look there today? But we have to be back at three o'clock." BJ and the boys agreed, so I phoned the private school. They could receive us immediately if we wished; so we went on our way, promising the now hungry boys to stop on the way to get us something yummy to eat. The private school looked very nice and cosy, with small classes and highly educated teachers. I had already promised BJ to pay for both Nicky and my own son, so the financial part was already settled. Both boys immediately felt at home, and they eagerly wanted to start school the next day, even Nicky! I felt very relieved now that was settled too. BJ and I would alternately bring and collect both boys. In a relieved mood we went home, where we waited until it was time to pay the old school a visit. Suddenly BJ and I looked at each other: "Do we really want to visit that school today? Or shall we let it go, and take the rest of the day off?" I went to the phone and cancelled our appointment; with the promise to keep the lawsuit in mind in case I ever heard of another boy being harassed. The boys cheered and high-fived us and each other: "Thank you, dad, for creating this solution. Now I can study to become a good lawyer. But I've learned a lot too! From now on I will be very careful to behave 'normal' as long as other people are around. Now wait until John and Davey hear about our new school!" Nicky didn't say anything; he just offered me a couple of wet kisses and melted into me, with beaming eyes. I felt wonderful. Loving and loved, caring and cared for, father, friend, educator, and responsible helper-- all in one. Now I had found my purpose in life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the definitive ending of book one. Book two will follow! I've again totally rewritten the book, and now it's ready to be published. Want to read the whole rewritten story in one long sequence? Visit my homepage! http://www.harryanders.com There you will see my book, the beginning of the next book, excerpts from the hundreds of emails I've received, and a new FORUM especially for you... I LOVE your emails! Please send them to harry@harryanders.com I wish you all a profound peace in your heart and lots of love in your life. Harry AnderS, alternative writer.