Founders School for Boys

By bottomboy1011@yahoo.com

Also find FSB and other stories my website

https://storiesfromthebearcave.wordpress.com/

 

I am a little ADD so it is hard for me to sit down and write. I will not do it if I do not get feedback. Nifty gives us an outlet to write things that we cannot talk about in the real world, so donate http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html  and be sure to give the authors feedback on what you think after you read their stories..

 

CHAPTER 34

BACK IN COURT

I was up before Ma had a chance to wake me. I was so excited about celebrating Timmy's eleventh birthday with him. I ran to the bathroom to pee, brush my teeth, and wash my face and hands. I ran into the kitchen and hugged Ma. "Good morning Ma."

"Good morning little boy. My, you sure are in a good mood this morning."

I grabbed the juice and milk out of the refrigerator and sat in my chair. "Ma, can I tell you something?"

"Sure baby, you can tell me anything."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Sorry angel, but you always make me laugh. I promise I won't laugh at you."

I thought about that for a second and said, "Ok I guess. Today is Timmy's birthday, and I guess I am extra excited."

"Of course you are, he is your best friend."

"That's not it... I mean he is one of my best friends, but the thing is..."

Ma got that look on her face that said she was worried that something was wrong. "What is it Brian?"

"Not counting Donny's birthdays, this is the first time I have ever really been invited to someone's birthday party."

"That can't be true, your dad was the minister at the church. There had to be other invitations to parties."

"Sure there were, but those kids didn't really want me there. I was invited, like you said, because I was the ministers kid. This is the first time I have ever been invited because the kid whose party it is, wanted me there."

Just as she sat next to me Pa came in. Ma said, "Brian, I know that outside of your family, you were not a very happy boy. The good news is that you are not that boy anymore. I am sure that your family is looking down and seeing how different your social life is now, and they are happy. I wish they could have been here in person to see what an amazing boy you have become."

Pa added, "Brian, I guess I am the only one who really sees the changes you have gone through since coming to FSB. You are out there, not hiding from anyone. You still like to read, but that is only a small portion of your life now. Now you have friends and have had experiences that you never thought possible this time last year. I am so proud of the remarkable boy you have turned out to be."

"You just love me for my cunt." I said with a giggle.

Pa reached over grabbed my hands and turned me so that I was looking him in the eye. In a serious tone he said, "Brian, if I never have sex with you again, I would still be honored to be your Pa."

My eyes got a little watery and I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed me back sticking his tongue down my throat. When we broke apart and I caught my breath I said, "I love you both so much."

We finished eating and Pa followed me into my room. "Let's find you some clothes to wear."

"Don't I need a shower first?"

"What would be the point of that? You are going to be bouncing off the walls for three hours. I think we can hold off the showers till after the party."

He picked out a nice pullover shirt and cargo shorts. It was not the nicest clothes I had, but I still looked good in them. I pulled on some socks and my tennis shoes. I stared at myself in the mirror, then pulled up my shirt. Pa touched my arm, "Brian, is everything all right? Do you want to put something else on?"

I said excitedly, "Look Pa, my tummy is not sticking out as far."

"You are just now noticing that?"

"How did that happen?"

Laughing he said, "Brian, you never stop moving. You spend most of the day running around with Timmy, Owen, and the gang. You swim laps with Tyler a few times a week, and the rest of the time you are playing in the pool with your friends. You have been eating a little more lately, but you burn it off as quick as you fill up."

I looked at the mirror again and was still amazed. I pulled my shirt up to my chin and laid on the floor on my back. "Look Mom, Dad, and Donny, I am skinny."

Pa just laughed, "Come on bones, we have to get going."

Once we were ready, we piled into the car and headed out. I was surprised when we stopped at the Rec Center and parked. There in the lot was a big bus. It looked like one of those Greyhound busses, only way nicer. It was painted a nice bright blue, had chrome wheels, and all the windows were tinted so dark you could not see in them. On the sides were painted, `Founders School for Boys Falcons', it was really cool. The Falcons are the school's sports teams.

Just then Timmy showed up and a minute later Owen and Amanda. We all climbed into the bus, and I was in shock. All the seats were a nice leather and there were like a million lights of all different colors. There were three seats on each side of the isle. Me, Timmy, and Owen sat on one side and Amanda sat on the other side with Colt's sister Beth and another girl that came on the bus after us. It was like every kid on the ranch was loading onto this bus.

I whispered to Timmy, "Hey, I thought girls were only allowed to wear dresses."

Timmy giggled, "Can you imagine the looks on the faces of the people that work there when all the girls started jumping on the tramps and their dresses were going up and down as they jumped. Showing them their naked pussies and butts?"

Both Owen and I thought about it for a second and started giggling. When everyone was finally on the bus Timmy's dad whistled real loud getting everyone to be quiet. "Sorry about that folks, but I need to get this said. Kids, as you get off the bus, you will be put with an adult. You are not, and I repeat not to go off in the mall without that adult. We will not be going there to shop. We will be getting off the bus and going straight to Tramp City, and from Tramp City back to the bus. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone nodded their heads and said, "Yes Sir."

"We are not trying to take the fun out of today, but as you can see, there are a lot of you, and it will be hard to keep track of you if you wander off. Please be safe and stay with the group."

Again, every said, "Yes Sir."

Timmy's brother Toby got behind the wheel of the bus and we were off. We got to the mall about fifteen minutes later. We stopped right in front of the mall doors and got off the bus. We walked in a line straight to Tramp City. There was a line along the wall outside. I recognized a lot of the boys in line as kids from the school.

We walked by all of them and to the entrance. We were let in, and a wrist band was put on our left wrists. If we tried to leave before the bands were deactivated it would set off an alarm. After the kids from the bus were let in, the kids at the entrance followed. We all ran to take off our shoes and put on our vests. The vest are made out of Velcro and there are walls that are also made of Velcro. This is so much fun. You see, what you do is start jumping on the trampoline and when you are ready, you throw yourself at the wall.

What is really cool about this is that you never know how you are going to land. You may be straight up and down, or any other direction. As for me, on my first jump I slipped, and landed upside down on the wall. I started laughing and so did everyone else. Once the staff pealed me off the wall with the ripping sound Velcro makes, I was ready to go again.

As it turned out, Timmy's dad had fixed it so that we had the place all to ourselves for three whole hours. After the first hour and a half, we were all pretty tired which is when we stopped to eat pizza. The cake came out and it was really big and had a picture of Timmy's face on it. It was so cool, and delicious. It was just after Timmy blew out the candles that he climbed us on a chair. His dad whistled again bring every silent.

Timmy took a deep breath and said, "I want to thank everyone for coming here today. I am like the luckiest kid in the world. I have a wonderful loving family, and this extended family of brothers and sisters. Thank you all again for coming today."

He sat down and had some more cake. After a little more talking we went back to jumping around for the next hour and then got loaded back on the bus. Once we were back on the ranch we headed home to get cleaned up. Timmy and Owen showed up at my house a few hours later. We sat at the table to play some cards, "Timmy, when are you going to open presents?"

"I will open them later tonight. Most of them I will donate to the Children's Hospital in Milbourn."

I asked, "Don't you want them?"

"Sure I want them, but I don't need them."

Pa said, "Brian, as Crossman it is our duty to give what we can to help others. Timmy got a lot of gifts, and the question becomes, does he want them or does he need them. Don't get me wrong, I know that he will find a few that he really wants, and he should have those, but the kids at the hospital need really need what he can give."

Timmy said, "Yeah, I will keep a few that will be fun for us all to play with."

Owen asked, "What about the one from me and Brian?"

"I looked through all the gifts and didn't find one from you guys. I just figured that since we are such great friends that you didn't get me one."

I looked over at Ma, "What happened to the gift we got Timmy?" I looked at Timmy, "Owen and me put our money together to get you something cool."

"Yeah, we must have gone in like twenty stores to find you just the right gift."

Just then Pa came in from the garage carrying a wrapped box. Ma said, "I thought it would be better for Timmy to open it when it was just you guys."

Owen and me jumped up and gave Ma and Pa big hugs. Timmy tore into it and was bouncing all over the place when he saw what it was. "I love Legos!!! Wow it is a jeep like yours Mr. Walters." Pa laughed and nodded his head.

Owen said, "We wanted something special for you Timmy, because we love you so much."

That got us all hugging and kissing each other. It also got Ma and Pa some loving as well. We cleared off the table and spent the rest of the afternoon putting it together.

After everyone went home, we had dinner, watched a movie, took another shower with cunt cleaning. I climbed on to their bed and laid down on my back. Pa asked, "Is there a little boy here that needs a mounting?"

"Pa would it be ok with you if I just sucked on you tonight? I just want to taste you and make you feel good."

"If that is what you want, that would be fine with me."

I moved over and Pa sat with his back against the headboard. I crawled between his spread legs and saw my prize. I was on my elbows and knees looking forward to pleasing Pa. I started by pulling his cock and balls to one side and breathing him in. I was disappointed because we just got out of the shower, and I only smelled soap. I started licking his balls and sucking on them.

I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt my butt cheeks being pulled apart. I looked back to see Ma smiling. "Concentrate on what you are doing little boy, don't worry about this end."

I was not sure what she was going to do but didn't much care. I went back to bathing Pa's balls with my tongue and mouth. I was exploring every nook and cranny of every wrinkle on his sack. I would carefully take first his left ball and then his right into my mouth. I swirled my tongue around it and listened to him moan.

That is when I felt it. I was surprised and couldn't see it without stopping what I was doing, and I didn't want to do that. The shivers vibrated through my whole body as Ma started licking my cunt. This has only been done to me a few other times, mostly by littles going after the cum inside me.

I tried so hard to ignore what she was doing and concentrate on Pa. I started licking every inch of the shaft, but then came my favorite part. As I got to the glans, I started catching big globs of pre. Every time I would lick his glans, another glob would cling to my tongue. I was loving this, but what Ma was doing was driving me crazy. I could feel the tingles starting.

I wanted her to stop so I could please Pa. Then again, I didn't want her to stop till after my Tingles. I was going crazy, both ends needing something and I was stuck in the middle. I was licking his glans when it hit me, I was shaking all over. I pulled away from Pa's cock so I would not bite it.

When I came down from happy place. I looked around and both Ma and Pa were looking at me with goofy smiles on their faces. Ma licked her lips and said, "That is one sensitive and tasty little cunt."

Once I got my breathing under control I rolled back over and went back to work. I licked the whole shaft again, then it was his glans I focused on. I licked him until I got as much pre as he was going to give me. I collected it in my mouth, I swirled it around and swallowed a little bit at a time, leaving just enough in my mouth to coat his cock.

I worked his cock a little at a time into my mouth. I went down a little, and then up a little until that final downward stroke put my nose into his pubic hair. I worked his cock with my throat for a while, loving every second of it. I am not sure how long I was doing it, but I was so into sucking his cock that I lost all track of anything that was not his cock.

I felt it as his cock started getting a little bigger and I felt his balls push up against my chin. He was moaning like crazy, then got all stiff as he sent burst after burst of cum into my mouth. I swallowed every drop, savoring the taste. I held the last shots in my mouth not wanting to lose the flavor. However, all good things must come to an end. While I nursed on his cock, the sensitivity got to be too much, and he pulled it out of my mouth with a pop.

Ma started laughing, "Brian, you are going to have to swallow the rest. You can't keep it in your mouth forever." I just smiled and nodded my head. Telling her with my eyes that I was going to try.

I did swallow shortly after that so I could clean Pa's cock and balls. I curled up between them and after some good tongue kissing from both of them we fell asleep.

I woke up Sunday in the arms of the two people I loved the most in the world. We all got into the shower and then had a wonderful breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, OJ, and milk. After breakfast, I went to my room, crawled into my bed, and started reading my book. You see, I told the guys before they left yesterday that I had things to do this morning and would see them after lunch. I love those guys with all my heart, but a kid needs some time to himself once in a while.

I heard the phone ring, but since I was not called to it I knew it was not for me. I thought I heard someone knock on the door, but I was really into this chapter, so I ignored it. I heard grownups talking but could not make out what they were saying.

I was just finishing up the chapter I was reading when I heard Pa calling me, "Brian, can you please come here?"

"Coming Pa." I said as I hopped out of bed and walked down the hall. I was almost to the living room when I saw him, "No, no, no, no, no." I screamed as I ran back to my room. Pa called me back, but I just couldn't go.

Pa found me in my room with my hands covering my ears repeating the word no, over and over again. He pulled my hands away from my ears, "Brian, I don't have time for this. You will come out into the living room, and you will behave, is that clear?"

Through tears and a panic attack, "No Pa, please don't make me."

"Brian, I don't know what is going on with you, but you will do as I say, and you will do it now."

He held out his hand for me to take. The last thing in the world that I wanted to do was go into that living room, but I took his hand a followed him. As we entered the living room, I saw a very worried Ma, who spread her arms to me. I dropped Pa's hand and ran to her. She wrapped me in here arms and whispered in my ear, "Baby, Mr. Anderson is here to talk to us about what is going to happen in court tomorrow."

"Knew it," I yelled, "he is going to let her take me away. I knew this was going to happen. Any time things go right in my life something happens to mess it all up."

"Brian, I am not sure what you think is going to happen here, but I am very sure that you are wrong." Said Mr. Anderson.

I looked at him with all the anger I could muster, "So, you are saying that there is no chance that she can take me away. You one hundred percent guarantee it?"

"I wish I could, I will go with ninety-five percent."

"Whatever, what I want has never mattered before, why should this be any different?"

After that I felt like a switch was flipped and I was off. I know that they were talking to me, but nothing registered. When Mr. Anderson left, Pa asked, "Do you feel better now?"

I just turned and walked to my room. I closed the door and crawled under the bed. Normally I would go into the closet, but I didn't want to talk to anyone right now, not even Donny. I curled into a ball and cried myself to sleep. When I woke up it was late, and I was alone in the house. I started panicking, looking for Ma and Pa everywhere.

I finally found them sitting in lawn chairs watching the sun set. Ma saw me first in my full-on panic. "Brian!" I heard her yell as she ran to me. "Come on baby breathe for me. Deep breath in, now deep breath out. In, out, in, out. That's it sweetheart, you are doing fine."

Pa came out of the house with a glass of water, "Drink some of this buddy." I tried to drink, but now I had the hiccups. I managed to get some down, "Are you all right Brian? What brought this on?"

"I" hiccup "came out" hiccup "of my room, and I could not find you." Hiccup. "I thought you left me."

"Brian, we would never leave you. We know this is a lot for you to take in, and that is why we waited till the last minute to tell you about it." Said Ma

"But I can't lose you, please don't let her take me."

Pa made me look him straight in the eye, "Brian, you have worked with Mr. Anderson, right?" I nodded my head, "Is he any good at his job?"

"Yes Pa, Mr. Anderson is the best, but I am so scared. I know that he'll do everything he can to protect me, but even with Jamie, the verdict could always go a different way. What if the Judge decides that I should live with Mrs. Hastings?"

"With everything he told us today, I can't see it." I had no idea what he was talking about, but he seems convinced, so maybe I should believe it too.

It was a horrible night. I tossed and turned, paced back and forth, and that does not even include all the crying. When Pa came to get me in the morning, I was a mess. He picked me up and carried me into the shower. We sat on the bench with the rain shower sprinkling down on us. He held me and rocked me for a while, then washed my whole body. Once we were dried off we went to the kitchen for breakfast, I could not eat a thing. I was sure that if I ate I would puke all over the place.

Pa took me into my room and helped me get dressed in my suit. I grabbed a couple of hangers so Pa and I could hang our suit jackets on them like I did with Mr. Anderson. As we headed to the garage, however, instead of getting into one of our cars we went and stood at the end of the driveway. I figured we were going to be riding in with Mr. Anderson.

Instead of his Cadillac pulling up in front, and big white van with tinted windows pulled up. I could see Tommy driving and wondered what was going on. When the door opened, there sat Timmy, Owen, Mr. Jackson, and Tyler. I climbed in with Ma and Pa, "What are you guys doing here?"

Owen asked, "Did you really think we would let you do this alone?"

"Yeah, little bro, we got your back." Said Tyler.

I sat between Timmy and Owen, who each took one of my hands in theirs and held them all the way to Milbourn.

I fell asleep on the way, which was not surprising since I didn't sleep much last night. Once we got to the courthouse and parked, we all got out and headed inside. I was ok at first, but as we got closer my knees started shaking. When I saw Mrs. Hastings, I would have fallen to the floor if Tyler hadn't had a hold of me.

We all went inside the courtroom. Now I know how Jamie felt when he walked through those doors. It all becomes very real, knowing that when this is over and I walk back thought those doors, my life may be changed forever.

We all sat behind the rails that separated the audience from the court stuff. I sat shaking between Ma and Pa. They each had an arm around me and kept telling me it would be alright. Mr. Anderson came in and had me join him at the table on the other side of the railing.

We sat side by side, "Brian, I know you are scared, but you have to listen to what I am saying."

I looked into his eyes and said, "I am listening Sir."

"Good, now you have to understand, things will be said that may make you angry or sad, but you must keep still and pay attention. I know this will be hard, but I also know what a strong boy you are. We will do good today, I feel it."

Mrs. Hastings came in with her lawyer and sat at the other table. Behind her sat a bunch of people I remember from the church, even Mrs. Collins, the teacher from bible study was there.

The bailiff entered the courtroom and said, "All rise, the Honorable Judge Amanda James presiding."

We all stood as the Judge entered the courtroom and sat behind the tall desk. She was in her fifties I guess, with brown hair, and a look like she could be really strict. The thing is, I found myself liking her right off the bat.

"You may be seated." Said the Judge. "Welcome everyone to family court. This is the case of Maxine Hastings verses the Founders School for Boys, as it pertains to the custody of one Brian Burke." She looked at me, "Brian, would you please stand up?"

I stood on those dang shaky knees, "Yes, Your Honor."

"Do you understand why you are here today?"

I stood straight and said, "Yes Mam, Mrs. Hastings is trying to take me away from my family."

I saw a quick look of surprise before the Judge said, "Thank you Brian, please be seated." I sat down never taking my eyes off of her. "Do we have opening statements?"

Mrs. Hastings lawyer stood, "John McKay representing Maxine Hastings Your Honor. This is a simple case Your Honor, Elizabeth Burke, and Maxine Hastings, have been friends for over ten years. Mrs. Hastings was there for the birth and the trauma of Brian Burke's birth. She helped Mrs. Burk get through all the medical procedures that followed the premature birth of the boy and was also there through his whole childhood. When the Burke family was asked to replace another family on a mission in Syria, and the decision was made to leave Brian at the Founders School, the Burke's asked to meet with Mrs. Hastings. In this meeting Carl and Elizabeth Burke asked Mrs. Hastings, in the case of anything happening to them, to please take custody of their boys. This request included both nine-year-old Brian Burke and twelve-year-old Donny Burke. Mrs. Hastings agreed to the request."

I wrote on the pad in front of me `Can't you object?' Mr. Anderson wrote back, `Object to what? They did ask her.' I knew he was right, but I was still mad about it.

"After enrolling Brian in the Founders School, the Burke's came home and gave Mrs. Hastings copies of the paperwork that they signed at the school. Included in that paperwork was a custody agreement that you have before you. In it, it states that if for any reason the Burke's could not return to their son, that custody of Brian would revert to Mrs. Hastings. Sadly, less than six months later, there was a raid on the village by rebel forces in which every man, woman, and child including Carl, Elizabeth, and twelve-year-old Donny Burke were killed."

I tried to be strong, but I couldn't. I got up and ran to Ma, where I cried on her shoulder. The Judge asked, "Mr. Anderson, do we need a recess?"

Mr. Anderson stood, "No Your Honor, we can continue if you will allow Brian time to calm down where he is."

"I am ok with that. Continue Mr. McKay."

"Thank you Your Honor. The Burke's intent was clear, they wanted their young son brought up in a loving home, with the religious influence they themselves wanted to instill in their son. Thank you Your Honor."

I was able to calm down some, so Ma wiped my face with a tissue and told me to go back up with Mr. Anderson. When I got back to the table, the Judge asked, "Brian, are you ok? Do you need a break?"

I stood, "I'm alright Judge, I am sorry for the way I acted."

"Brian, you are doing fine. I can't imagine what you have gone through, so if you need a break at any time you just ask your lawyer, and we will arrange it."

"Thank you Judge." I sat down.

"Mr. Anderson, you are up."

Mr. Anderson stood, "Your Honor, the matter before you is anything but simple. That started with a nine-year-old boy being separated from his family, with the knowledge that he would not be with them again for two whole years. Brian had never even spent a night away from them before this. The only time Brian was separated from his brother Donny for more than a day, was when Donny would go off for a week every summer to camp. During this time, Brian suffered debilitating panic attacks. Until Donny returned home. Only Donny could calm him. However, when he said goodbye to his family, it never occurred to him that he would never see them in person again."

Mr. Anderson stopped and took a drink of water. I know he was pausing to let that sink in. He did the same thing during Jamie's trial. "The only thing that made this new adventure livable for Brian, was a friendship that he struck up almost immediately with a boy named Timmy Marshal." He said while pointing at Timmy. "Even with that Brian struggled with his shyness and issues relating with others. Now, less than a year later, Brian has many friends, and has found the Walters, who have been there for him since before his parents were killed. No, Your Honor, this is anything but a simple case." He said looking at the other lawyer. "Thank you for your time Your Honor."

"Mr. McKay, call your first witness."

Over the next hour or so Mr. McKay called three people from the church who talked about my parents and their relationship with the Mrs. Hastings. I was getting a little angry with Mr. Anderson because he was not asking any of them questions. As Mr. McKay was about to call another Church member to the stand, but Mr. Anderson stood, "Your Honor, I think we all understand that all of these people here with Mr. McKay will testify that the Burkes were longtime friends with Mrs. Hastings. If there is nothing else, we will stipulate that the Burkes and Mrs. Hastings were friends."

The Judge asked, "Mr. McKay, will there be any other line of question for the rest of these witnesses?"

"No Your Honor, we will stipulate."

"Then let's move along."

"Yes Your Honor. We call Maxine Hastings to the stand." Mrs. Hastings walked up to the chair beside the Judge and was sworn in. It started out with the same questions he asked all of the other witnesses, with mostly the same answers. He gave away most of the questions in his opening and the answers were obvious.

When he finally sat down, it was Mr. Anderson's turn. "Mrs. Hastings, we have heard many times this morning how close you and the Burkes were, so I would like to start off by saying how sorry I am for the loss of such a wonderful friend."

She dabbed a tear from her eye with a tissue, "Thank you."

"I just need to clarify a few things, so please bear with me. It is my understanding that you were close with both Burke boys, is that correct?"

"That is correct."

Mr. Anderson kept flipping through his note pad, like he has no idea where the information was that the was looking for. He stopped on a page like he just found it. "Let's talk a minute about Donny Burke. It is my understanding that Donny was a shy boy with few friends, it this correct."

She laughed, "No Sir. Donny was a very outgoing boy. He was always smiling and doing things with the church youth groups."

I could not help but smile. Donny was anything but shy. "Oh really?" Mr. Anderson said as he flipped through some more notes. "I was under the impression that he rarely attend church with his family."

"You are wrong, he was always in the first pew with his mother watching his father give his wonderful sermons."

"Wait a second, you said that Donny was there with his mom, where was Brian?"

"Brian hardly ever attended church."

Mr. Anderson got a surprise look on his face. For that matter, so did the Judge. "How is that possible? Was he in a Sunday school class during this time?"

The smile left her face, "No, I believe he was at home."

"This makes no sense to me. Why would the Ministers son not attend church?"

She sat up straight, "Brian had some behavioral issues and was removed from the Sunday school class. As for why he was not in church, I can't say."

"Now Mrs. Hastings, you have testified that you were his mom's best friend. You told us that you talked all the time, and you are telling this court that you don't know why Brian was not in church with his family? I ask again, why Brian didn't attend church on Sunday?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Because Brian does not believe in god."

That sure did get everyone's attention. It took everything I had not to smile. "Wow, I didn't see that coming." He said as he looked at me with a straight face. "That must have been a big issue in their home. I mean the Ministers son not believing in god. The Burke's must have been very angry with him."

"No, they weren't." She said angrier than I think she meant to.

"Why were they not angry, this must have been such an embarrassment to them. What reasons did she give you for not being angry?"

"Elizabeth was not happy about it, but they decided as a family, not to push it on him. They felt that he had to figure it out for himself."

"I don't imagine you agreed with that."

"I most certainly did not. A child needs to be guided to the lord, they can't, at that age make those kind of decisions on their own."

"I understand, but to be clear, you feel that a boy Brian's age does not possess the understanding to make an informed decision on this subject?"

"Of course not. It is way too big a subject for them to decide on their own at nine."

"Did you know that Brian read everything he could get his hands on?"

"Yes I was aware of that."

"Were you aware that he read the Bible from cover to cover three times?"

"I find that hard to believe since he didn't believe in god."

Nodding his head, "Than, I assume you are unaware that most of the sermons that Carl Burke wrote, he wrote with Brian."

Laughing, "I doubt that."

Mr. Anderson nodded his head. "Ok, let's change subjects. It is my understanding that Brian had many friends and got into a lot of trouble. Did you and his mom think that it was because of his friends that he was in trouble all the time?"

This caught her by surprise, and she chuckled a little, "You are wrong on both counts. Brain didn't have any friends, and the only trouble I ever heard about was a few fights at school."

"Wow, my notes are all messed up, I am sorry." He put his pad down on the table like he was frustrated with them. "Thank you for being so patient with me. I am usually much more prepared than this. I just have two more questions for you. If the Judge were to grant your request, would you require Brian to attend church?"

"Absolutely, how else will he be able to reunite with his family again?"

I was just about to stand when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back and saw Pa leaning over the rail. His look told me everything I needed to know and relaxed back in my chair. Mr. Anderson didn't see it, but the Judge did.

"My last question is, when did you decide to tell Brian that he was coming to live with you?"

It was obvious that she did not want to answer the question, "I let him know when I saw him."

"When was that?"

Knowing that she could not avoid it, "After the funeral."

"Was it not in fact as Brian was leaving the cemetery after laying his whole family to rest? For someone who is telling this court that she has his best interest at heart, I for one am not seeing it."

Mr. McKay jumped to his feet, "Objection."

"I withdraw the last question. No further questions for this witness Your Honor."

"Mr. McKay, call your next witness."

"The petitioner rests Your Honor."

"In that case we will break for lunch. It is eleven thirty, court will resume at one o'clock." She stood and so did we as she left the courtroom.

The courtroom cleared except for my group. I relaxed in my chair exhausted. Mr. Anderson patted my leg and said, "I know that was hard Brian, but you did a good job. Any questions for me?"

I sat up, "Why didn't you ask all those other people questions?"

"Because there was no point. Nothing they were saying was wrong, and other than what they said, they had nothing to add. He was already wasting time with them, why should we add to it. My goal is to get this finished today. I don't what this dragging on till tomorrow. You just don't need that stress."

Except for Mr. Anderson, we all walked down the block to a deli for lunch. Once I sat down in the booth, I leaned into Ma and fell asleep. I was not trying to in fact I was hungry and looking forward to my sandwich. Ma woke me when everyone was finished. When we got back to the courthouse, Pa took me to bench in the hallway and put a to go box on my lap. I ate it all in record time. After I had finished Me, Pa, Tommy, Tyler, Mr. Jackson, Timmy, and Owen all headed to the bathroom to wash up and pee. Not in that order though.

As we were heading back to the courtroom Mrs. Hastings tried to talk to me. She never got the chance though, because before I even knew it was happening Tyler, Timmy, and Owen were between me and her. "I just want to talk to Brian." She said.

Tommy stepped in front of everyone, "Mam, that is not I good idea at this time. Please step out of the way."

She did and we all walked around her and into the courtroom. I ran up to Mr. Anderson and told him what happened. "It's ok, let's not make a big deal out of it."

The Judge entered the courtroom and we all stood. "Please be seated. Mr. Anderson, would you call your first witness."

"I call Peter Birmingham to the stand."

A man came through the gate and took the oath. He looked familiar, but I could not place him at first, then it hit me. "Mr. Birmingham, can you please tell the court where you work and what you do for a living."

"I am employed with the Milbourn school district. I am the Principal at The Milbourn School."

"Thank you. Do you know Brian Burke?"

When he looked over at me, I smiled and gave a little wave. "Yes, I sure know Brian."

"Can you tell us how you know him?"

"Brian was one of my students."

"You say he was, is he not still one of your students?"

"No, Brian was transferred to the Founders School for Boys last year."

"Can you tell us why he was transferred?"

Laughing he said, "I guess mostly because he was caught cheating." I sunk down in my chair a little as the Judge gave me a disapproving stare. "Maybe cheating is the wrong word. You see what happened was that his math teacher saw something that no one else had ever noticed before."

"Really, what was that."

"Brian was the perfect C student."

"I don't understand, what is a "Perfect" C student?"

"Before Brian, I would have told you that there is no such thing. What Ken Walters, Brian's math teacher discovered is that no matter the test or paper Brian always received a C. Once this caught Ken's attention, he changed up the tests he was giving Brian. He gave him tests that were at least two grades higher than Brian should even be able to complete. Do you want to guess Brian's grade on those tests?"

"Please tell us."

"He passed with a C. Ken then asked Brian's other teachers to do the same and again he came away with a C."

"I guess I am not following you, what does this mean?"

"It means that he was manipulating his grades. You see, if the child is an A student, they are often recognized for their accomplishments. If the child is a failing student, the child is made fun of by his peers and sometimes punished by disappointed parents. No one really notices a C student. That is until he entered Ken Walters classroom."

"Wait a minute, are you telling me that if it had not been for this one teacher Brian may have been doing this for the rest of his academic career?"

"Yes, I am ashamed to say. In fact we found that he had been doing it since he was in second grade."

"How was this possible? Can any student do this? Do I need to look at my kids schoolwork?"

"In my thirty years as a teacher, I have never heard of this happening. To answer your question, no. The chances of your kids or any other children doing this is slim at best. Most children would not want to, they would want to stand out. Brian on the other hand has issues that made him not want to stand out."

"What issues were those?"

"Brian is smaller than the other kids in his class. He also had a weight issue," He smiled at me, "however, it doesn't look like that is an issue anymore. Looking good Brian."

I just smiled and puffed out my chest. The Judge looked at me and smiled too. "Sir, how was Brian able to manipulate his grades, did he have help?"

"No, as it turns out Brian has an IQ of one thirty-five. The average IQ is between ninety-nine and one hundred. This puts Brian in the ninety-nineth percentile. With what looks to be math as his strong suit."

"Can you tell me how the Founders School became involved with Brian?"

"That would be Ken. Ken graduated from FSB, receiving a scholarship to Colorado State where he received two Master's in Mathematics and Education. When he graduated, he chose our school to teach at and I was honored to have him. Anyway, he contacted Joe Robinson, the Headmaster there."

"Thank you Sir for your time. I have no further questions."

"Mr. McKay, do you have any questions for this witness?" Asked the Judge.

"Yes Your Honor."

"Prior to you finding out about Brian manipulating is grades, did you have any other interactions with Mr. Burke?"

"Yes, on two other occasions Brian was sent to my office for fighting."

"That sounds serious. Can you tell the court what happened?"

"Sure, the first time Brian beat up a sixth grader who was trying to shove him into a locker. The second time a fifth grader knocked the books out of his hand and pushed him over every time he tried to pick them up. He was suspended both times per school requirements."

He asked a few more question trying to get the Principal to say something else. When he was done the Judge said, "Thank you for your time Mr. Birmingham, you may step down."

"Mr. Anderson, you may call your next witness."

"I call Tyler Pritchard to the stand."

I was a little surprised by this, as watched as Tyler was sworn in and took the stand. "Can you please state your name and age for the court."

"My name is Tyler Pritchard, and I am seventeen."

"Tyler, can you tell me how you know Brian Burke?"

"Sure, he in my little brother."

"I am confused, I thought Brian only had one brother, named Donny Burke."

"That is true, Donny is his brother."

"Then how are you his big brother? Can you explain what that means?"

"When a little comes to FSB, he is assigned a big brother. That is an older boy ranging from fifteen to seventeen. As his big brother, it is my job to make sure that he does his chores in the house, takes showers, brushes his teeth, etc. I am also the one he will come to when he has any issues."

"That is impressive. You said when littles come to the school, can you please explain that to the court?"

Tyler laughed, "Well you see Sir, most of the kids that start FSB do so when they start the second grade. We call them littles because they are. Brian, was not technically a little, but he did become my little brother."

"Interesting, now you say when he came to the school he had issue, what kind of issues?"

Well, in Brian's case, it started out mostly about being home sick. In the beginning he was having a hard time being without Donny."

"Why is that?"

"I guess my first indication that there would be issues was when he was first dropped off. I saw the way he was with Donny when he came in.

"What do you mean?"

"While his patents were in with the Headmaster, Donny said something to me that I still remember to this day. He said, "Tyler, I am not one that condones violence or threatens people, but I will make you this promise, if anything happens to my little brother, it will be you that I will come after. Have no doubt that I mean what I am saying, I will make you pay." I knew he meant it, which told all I needed to know about how close they are and how hard my job was going to be."

"Wow, it is hard to picture Donny saying something like that from what I have heard about him. Was that the last time you talked to him?"

"No, Donny and I emailed each other many times, and when he could, we video chatted. We became friends, and his loss hit me hard. Then watching what Brian went through was just heart breaking. Anyway, Brian struggled a lot in the beginning."

"Why, was there other issues besides being home sick?"

"He had many panic attacks, but I think the worst of it was with Timmy, and then Owen."

"I thought they were his friends."

I looked over at Timmy and Owen and realized that they were watching me, making sure I was ok. "They are his friends, but that was the real issue. You see, Brian wanted friends so bad, but prior to Timmy, Brian's only friend was Donny. This is where the real problem with Brian began. He had no idea how to be a friend and made some mistakes early on that almost cost him his friend. It took some time, but they worked through it."

"That is amazing, so just to clarify, Brian went from being a total book worm, to having friends and coming out of his shell?"

"There is a lot more to it than that. Brian is also an amazing actor, singer, and athlete."

"What are you talking about? He didn't do any of those things at his old school. How did this change happen?"

"It started with his friend Owen. You see Owen had some issues of his own that were dragging him down into a bad depression. So, with that in mind and Brian's shyness, Owen's big brother and I decided to put them both in drama. It was our hope that they would come out of their shells."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, did it?"

"You bet it did, those two shy and withdrawn little boys," Pointing at me and Owen, "not only were cast in the play but were the stars of the show. Since then they have become leaders I guess you could say. Other kids are attracted to them, they just want to be around them. Some of the older kids call them Kings of the Littles, because the younger boys are always around them."

"Unleavable, obviously he has grown a lot since he has been there. I have no more questions."

Mr. McKay asked a few question but got nothing that hurt me. Next up was the Headmaster, who went over everything that he had, including a signed letter from my parents changing the custody agreement from Mrs. Hastings to FSB.

Then it was my turn. I walked to the chair next to the Judge and took the oath. That's when things got weird. The Judge said, "Have a seat Mr. Anderson. Now it is my turn. I believe that I have heard all the legal reasons for this hearing, now I need to get to facts" She turned to me, "Brian, normally I would ask the child in that chair if they understood what was happening here, however, I have been watching you, and you are very aware of the situation. Am I correct?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I understand everything that was said here today."

"Brian, here is what I want you to do for me. I want you to tell me about your life. Start with before your family went away until now. Can you do that for me?"

I said, "Yes mam, I mean Your Honor. I miss my family very much every day, but even though they are gone I can still feel their love all around me. The thing is, that when I lived here in Milbourn, I was always lonely. Donny was my only friend. I got picked on a lot at school, so even though I love school, I was always afraid to go. When I was there, I always had to hide so I would not get picked on and get into fights." I said feeling the sadness I felt back then.

"Ok Brian, and what about now."

I perked up, "Now it is so cool. I have lots of friends, but my two best are over there." I said pointing at Timmy and Owen, "They are really more than friends, they are my brothers and I love them very much. We are always busy, all summer we have swam, road our bikes, built things with Legos, and played lots of games. I never did any of that stuff before coming to FSB."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. Now Brian, can you tell me about your living situation?"

"When I am in school I live in the Crossman House with my best friends Timmy and Owen. Tyler is our big brother, and is really cool unless we act up, then he is not so cool." I said while smiling at Tyler."

"What about when you are not in school?

"Oh, then I live with Ma and Pa." I said pointing at them.

"Why do you call them Ma and Pa?"

I giggled, "Because they are like a Mom and Dad to me. The thing is I already have a Mom and Dad, so I can't call them that. Pa likes old movies and showed me one called Ma and Pa Kettle. So I asked them if I could call them Ma and Pa. Do you know what they said?" I asked excitedly.

Smiling, the Judge asks, "No, what did they say?"

Giggling more, "They said no. Pa says no, it would not be right to have you calling me Ma all the time. Then Ma says, he is right, I don't want to be called Pa." I was laughing hard and so were some of the other people, "I told them that they were being silly that it is the other way around. They looked at each other, nodded, and said in that case ok."

The Judge then asks, "Brian, how do you like living with them."

I looked her right in the eyes, "Judge, I love them almost as much and my parents. They are always telling me how proud they are of me, I get lots of hugs, and kisses. To be honest Judge, Ma has a problem there."

"What do you mean?"

I saw Ma looking at me with a questioning look, "Sometime she gets carried away and goes kiss crazy." I giggled again, "Judge, she covers my whole face with girl cooties."

"Does that bother you?"

I looked at her like she was crazy, "Are you kidding, I love it. Sometimes when I am sad about something, she holds me and tells me that she is there for me, and that I am safe. We spent a lot of time like that after my family was killed. Pa plays with me, and sometimes we snuggle together and watch a movie." I stood up leaned on the Judges desk and said, "I know that my parents are looking down on me and happy, knowing that I am in a safe place with people that love me."

"What about Mrs. Hastings? Do you think you would like to live with her?"

"Mrs. Hastings in a nice lady, but I would not be happy with her, and she would not be happy with me."

"Why do you say that Brian?"

"Mrs. Hastings in very into the church and would try to make me a part of it. My parents knew I didn't feel the way about god and the church the way they did, so they stopped making me go. Judge, when it comes to religion, a person has to believe in order to feel something when they go there. She will force me to go, I will hate her for it, and she will hate me for my beliefs. Can you see that working out? Besides, I am a Crossman now and am proud of it."

"Can you explain what a Crossman is?"

I thought for a second, "It is a family. We are free to believe the way we want. I know what some people think, they think it is like a cult, but it isn't. Some of the Crossman kids are Jewish, Christians, Hindu, and lots of other religions. We don't hate each other for not believing the way we do. We love each other for being who we are. The thing with the black man that was killed and the riots, I cried about it right alongside the Black, Asian, Mexican, and Indian kids. None of us could see what color had to do with anything."

"You are a smart boy, and maybe you will be the one that figures out how to change things. Thank you Brian, for answering my questions for me. Can you please go back to your seat?"

"Yes mam." I walked back to the table and sat next to Mr. Anderson.

"I have heard a lot of information today and need to sort out some things. We are going to take a one-hour recess, at which time I will make my decision."

She stood up and so did we. Once she left the courtroom we all ran out to pee. I swear, this was the longest hour of my life. When it was over, we all went back into the courtroom and waited for the Judge.

When she finally came back in, we all stood, "Be seated. I have reviewed this case fully. I won't lie, when I first read about this case, I had already decided how I would rule. What I saw was a child in the custody of a building, when there was a perfectly good family wanting him. However, after listening to everything said here today, I had no choice but to change my thinking. Mrs. Hastings, I think that your desire to honor your friends wishes is honorable, but not realistic. This boy lost his family but found another one to fill that void. He is thoroughly entrenched in this life he found, and I believe that taking him out of it would cause too much damage. For that reason, I rule that the Founders School for Boys will retain custody of the minor child Brian Burke."

Mr. McKay stood, "Your Honor, can we be heard on visitation?"

"I don't think that is necessary, your client never visited before. If Mr. Burke and the school agree to it, you can set something up with them." She rose and left the courtroom.

I walked over to Mrs. Hastings, "I am sorry you had to go through all of this. If you want to visit, I will be happy to visit with you." I went in and gave her a hug."

She backed away from me. She looked down on me with a face like you get when you smell something bad, "I don't know how your mother ever put up with you. You go live with those heathens and live a sinful life without god. I feel sorry for you; you will never see your family again. You will never make it to heaven unless you change your ways. I tried to help you come into the light, but you just want to stay in the dark."

My family started to move in but stopped when I broke out laughing. I looked at her and said, "There is the problem right there. You think I won't go to heaven because I don't believe the way you do. You think I am weird and someone who doesn't deserve your love, but it is me that feels sorry for you. You have so much hate in you. It is sad to look at. If my mother is sitting in heaven with god looking down at you right now, what do you think they are saying. Do you think my mom would still be your friend? Do you think god want's someone with that much hate in them in his kingdom of love? No Mrs. Hastings, you are the one who is lost, and in the darkness."

Her face just got redder, and she turned, stormed off. I looked at Ma and Pa, "I am sorry for being disrespectful to her, but I was really mad."

Pa just laughed, "I think you showed her more respect than she showed you. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am hungry. Let's get out of here and go celebrate."