Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Drama

WARNING, MY INTENTIONS FOR THE INSIDE CHILD IS A SHORT, EMOTIONAL STORY.

There was once a boy, who never went outside, he only left for school. Then he went straight home. The inside child spent his days in his bedroom.

The room was dismal, it was painted partially in dark grey, and had faded lime green wallpaper hanging down as it was not put up properly. He had an antique chair and desk made of oak wood facing a large window. This window was his only socre of light. The light came through as a dim white glow as the window was mucky. The curtains were too small and were full of holes. The floors were dusty, and made of dark wood planks that lacked brooms and carpets. His bed was singular, old and uncomfortable. It creecked everytime he sat on it. He had his own bathroom. It was unhygienic and full of grime. The toilet seat was hanging onto its hinges for dear life, the sink was crying from its cracks, the shower was cheap and tacky and had no self esteem. This is where he spent his days, all alone. He wasn't neglected, he was just a child of poverty.

The inside child's parents would argue, the Mum would complain about the lack of help around the house and the Dad would say he couldn't help if he were at work. Over the hoildays, the inside child's Dad would work overtime for more pay, during the day his Mum would smoke and drink the earnings away. The final day they  were together as a "family", The inside child would hide in his room from the drunken monster that roamed the house. His Mum would drink and drink, and look and look until she found her son. She would hit and beat him. She blamed him for the creature she'd become, afterwards The inside child would lay on his bed and sob and sob, Until the beatings repeated. His Dad came home early that day, and saw his wife beating his son. He saw his child cornered, crying and bleeding. His cheeks were red and bruised, he had black eyes that had tears streaming from them. That's when his Dad left his wife and The inside child was Mumless, for the greater good.
Besides his past, The inside child lived in his room. And it was one Saturday when he felt different. He was bored. He awoke from his bed and yawned. He looked at his clock and watched it for five minutes. The hand struck six o'clock. He sat cross legged and gave a semi smile. He opened his eyes wider in preparation to greet his Dad. "Morning Dad." He softly said as his Dad burst in holding a tray of runny egg and soliders. It was accompanied by a glass of orange juice.
His Dad smiled with glee, "Rise and shine sleepy head." He greeted.
"Do you have to work late again?" Asked The inside child with misery.
"Son, I'm sorry, but on Saturdays it's the most open day for an extra thew dollars. I know it's not much, but it's something. We need anything nowadays. Life is just more expensive nowadays." Explained the Father with shame as he observed his son's depressed face. "Tom, can you do me a favour though?" He asked. The inside child nodded, the Father carried on, "Always remember that Me and your Mother always love you, what she did was a mistake." And with that the Father walked out and went to work.
"She never loved me." The inside child whispered. He sniggered as tears trickelled from his face. He saw the soldiers and runny egg and remembered something that he hates, more than anything.
Before his Mother became an alcoholic, she tucked him in at nights. There was one night that The inside child despised. One that's very existence he spat on. He was five. It was a stormy night and he was terrified. His Mother was sat next to him and comforted him.
"Mummy," The inside child said.
"Yes dear," replied his loving Mum.
"Why is my name Tom?" He asked.
"Well Tommy, your my brave little solider. And thats what Tommy means." She explained softly.
Thunder bellowed loudly and Tom flinched, "But I'm not brave, I'm not brave at all!" He added.
His Mother gave a smile, "Your the bravest solider I know. Now go to sleep my little Solider, and I'll get you a glass of warm milk." That right there was a luxury for children of poverty. 
The Mother was just about to walk out when Tom peeped up, "I love you Mummy." 
"I love you too." She said with truthfully.

Tom stopped and held in the tears. He ate his breakfast and sat at his desk. His head in palm and his fingers strumming the desk. He exasperated. He opened a desk draw and got out a piece of paper. He stared at it. He suddenly folded it. Fold after fold, each crease was pure perfection. Finally he came out with the finished piece. He held the greatest but most basic of child wonders, a paper airplane.
The inside child smiled, he admired the product in his hands. He turned around and lobbed the plane into flight. He chased it around the room. Tom jumped onto his bed, and bounced off, He then followed it to the closed bathroom door, the plane elegantly steered away from it. Tom's face was actually beaming with a smile for once. He followed the aircraft to his desk as the masterpiece went nose first into his window. As Tom saw his work, he was back to depression. Ever since he turned 13 he was depressed. Maybe it was because of the beating? But The inside child didn't know, nobody knew. 
The inside child remembered the paper airplane hitting the window and gliding slowly down to death, this gave him an idea. Tom got another piece, made another perfect model, this time it was a bit different, it had a message on it. Tom got his deskfan and climbed on his desk. The window was now open slightly, and the fan was on full blasted. Tom laughed as his plane flew out for real this time, no windows could stop it now! As predicted it eventually landed on the muggy pavement. He sighed as no one realised it's existence, and therefore was about to climb down. His face was the traditional dull, sad lip curvature. Then, from the side of his glance he saw a girl his age pick it up.
She wore a red plad shirt covering a white t-shirt, and an open black silck bomber jacket on top. She wore black mini skirt with darkly tinted tights. She wore black leather boots with silver zipps. She had dark red lipstick and black mascara, her hair was long, straight and strawberry blonde. She looked around at the doors of the street, each until she saw 46. She smiled at Tom and got out a pen. She was writing on the plane! When she finished, she put her pen away and threw the plane toward Tom. It landed perfectly on the desk next to him. She kept on smiling, she waved. Her hands wore black leather fingerless gloves. They had a gap on the back of the hands where the straps met, onto of the meeting straps was a black leather bow. "Hi," She greeted softly and warmly as she walked off.
Tom looked at what see wrote, it read: Hi, cool plane! - Lillie :) . The note was right next to Tom's, which simply read: Hi there. If you find this please could you return it to 46 can street. Tom smiled and shut the window. He turned off the fan and climbed down. He put the plane in his desk draws. He felt a spark of hope. He sat down and started to rehearse his drama lines.
He practiced for hours and hours, then the front door opened. "I'm home, Boss let me home early by half an hour as you can probably tell!" Tom's Dad broadcasted, "Even better with the same amount of pay if I did stayed to the normal late hours.
Tom came running down the stairs, he nearly fell over when he bumped into his Dad. "I have a friend!" Tom said enthusiastically.
It was at tea time when Tom and his Father discussed Tom's new friend, "She seems nice then." Acknowledged Tom's Dad.
"Your right, she's really kind!" Tom replied.
"So how did you two meet? I mean you refuse to leave your room nevermind the house." Quizzed Tom's Dad.
"Well we had a short conversation on paper. I can show you if you like." Exclaimed Tom. He ran upstairs and got the plane. He then rushed back down to show his Father. 
"Wow..." Stated Tom's Dad, "I mean, someone replying to a public message isn't that huge, but good start."
"Yes, but she was the only one to realise that my plane was there, then Lillie signed it with a polite comment, then gave it back!"  Explained  Tom.
On Sunday Tom and his Dad hung out, they joked around, made homemade smoothies. They spent the whole day together. 
Tom awoke at seventeen minutes past seven the next day. He yawned to see the clock ticking slowly, "I've got forty-three minutes!" He panicked. He rushed downstairs and gulped his milk and wolfed his toast. He threw on his school clothes after getting washed and legged it to school. He was half way down the street when a girl stopped him. She had strawberry blonde hair and wore fingerless, black leather gloves and black leather zipped boots. 
"Hi there." She stated. Tom turned to face her.
"Hi, Lillie?" He replied, Tom wasn't sure if that was her name.
"Hi, 46?" Lillie said. She giggled. 
"Tom. Tom Green." Tom corrected. He offered his hand for a handshake. She took it and shook hard.
"Nice to meet you!" Exclaimed Lillie. 
The two jogged down the streets of Kane all the way to Jackson high. They split their ways and went to their registration rooms. Tom's, as usual, was loud and crowded. It was unexceptional. Registration only lasted five minutes, but those five minutes lasted for ever.
After that, Tom ran to his first lesson. He didn't know what was planned for science, but something Tom didn't understand. Tom never understood science and thats why he liked it. He saw science as ilogic but the only logic, unpredictable and of course predictable, Science was the oxymoron of lessons. And Tom liked that. Today was a test though. The most roofless of them all, the dictators. The dictators did their label, they dictate what group you would be in the following year.
Tom was 5 questions in and he was stuck, they were questions that only scientists could answer right? Near breaking point Tom saw a soft and gentle hand place a piece of paper on his desk. He looked at it, it read: Don't tell anyone that I gave you the answers to question 6, 7 and 8. They are A, 200.6 Joules, Solid. Don't ask for any more and remember keep your mouth shut. He looked at the person sat next to him. It was Lillie. Thankfully the teacher didn't see this act of kindness, but Lillie's twin brother did, his name was Richard.
It was break time and as usual, Tom walked to his table for four and sat with an apple. He enjoyed eating fruit. He was just finishing the apple when Richard came over. "Alright cheat?" He said.
"What do you want?" Tom said. At school he had experienced quite a lot of bullying. But this was a whole new level.
"Smarts is giving you the answers, how did you do it? I tell her to 'elp me but she says 'ell no, why should I 'elp you! So I repeat how 'id you do it?'' Richard complained. 
"Lillie just gave them to me." Tom explained. 
"Oh, I see, your 'laying dumb aren't you?" Richard yelled.
"No I swear!" Tom pleaded his innocence. Just then he got hit in the face and knocked to the floor.
"Tom! Richard what did you do?" Lillie yelled with panic and sorrow. She came running from the other side of the dinner hall. She stopped at Tom, as a barrier from him and Richard. Tom got up to see his friend be hit by her brother in the face. She nearly cried as she slapped him harder than his hits. Richard fell backwards and spun around to his sister and punched her harder. Tom stopped the fight by kicking Richard in the stomach. Richard fell to the floor. Tom turned to Lillie. 
"Are you okay?" Tom asked.
"Yeah," Lillie answered as teachers came running over. 
"Why did you get involved?" Tom asked with sorrow and pain for his friend.
"It's what friends do." She replied simply.
They definitely had detention. All three of them. It's just the matter of was it worth it?
The two friends walked home after the detention, Lillie was preparing for the grief when she got home and Tom wasn't sure what to expect. He'd never got into this amount of trouble, because he'd never socialised like this. They split their ways and Tom got in.
Tom walked into the kitchen, he saw his Dad and looked at the floor. His Dad got up and Tom flinched. This was natural. He couldn't help but flinch. Nothing happened, all except what his Dad did next. "Come here son." Tom's Dad said softly, calmly and warmly. Tom stepped forth and felt himself get hugged by his Father. He smiled as his Dad said, "Son, it wasn't your fault. This is just what happens when you get friends. It's also good that you stepped in to help Lillie."
"Thanks Dad. Wait, how do you know her name? Tom asked.
"School told me that you got into a fight regarding Lillie and Richard Tunes." Explained the Dad. As usual they sat down and ate fish and chips with a side of tomato sauce.
The next day, Lillie met Tom and they talked about the past incident. They decide to forget it and move on. "Thanks for helping me with the test."  Thanked Tom.
"No thank you for giving me a friend." Lillie replied. She smiled as they sat on park swings after the school day. 
"What do you mean? I bet you've got lots of friends!" Tom gavered.
"No, why would you think that though?" Lillie asked.
"Well your smart, talented, kind, generous, loyal, outgoing, trustworthy,..." Tom said, he trailed off at the end as Lillie interrupted. She smiled.
"Thanks, I better get going now, I have to get home by five." She said as she got up and walked off waving.
As soon as she was out of earshot Tom carried on his sentence. "... Determined, pretty." He said quietly and under his breath. Tom decided to go home. 
The week past really quickly now Tom had a friend. It was finally Saturday. The sun shone and smiles were worn. Tom got up early and was already ready for the day ahead. His Dad came in with breakfast and was shocked. "Whats the occasion?" Asked his Dad.
"I'm going out with a friend." Smiled Tom. He dug into his egg and sausages.
"Your gonna need this then." His Dad exclaimed. He passed his son a key.
"What's this?" Tom asked with his mouth full.
"It's the house's spare key, she's a one of a kind! Pure silver and you can decorate her anyway you want because that key is now yours!" Explained his Father. Tom was ecstatic and he thanked his Dad as he left. Soon after, Tom left as well.
Tom pondered the streets with a paper airplane. He could just remember Lillie's address. 19 Capricorn square. Tom walked down to the address. He was surprised as expensive modern houses towered over him. He finally came to her house. 
It was modern and massive; it was made of bricks and was five stories high, they had a 50 foot garden (length and width), they had two cars. It was the most expensive house on the block. Tom gulped. He got the airplane, he through it to a third story window. It landed gracefully on the window sill. Seconds later, Lillie's head popped out of the window. 
Her hair was wet and she wore a black summer dress. She also wore her classic gloves. She wore a red bow in her hair. She wore brown leather boots with a golden zip instead today, she had about five bracelets on and no makeup. She looked directly at Tom. "I'll be down in a second." Shouted Lillie. She climbed out of her window and slid down a drain pipe. When she got to the ground, her mum came out.
"I told you to stop doing that Lil!" Shouted her Mum.
"Sorry." Shouted Lillie as she and Tom ran off. They went around town playing with paper airplanes. They went through the parks, they went past schools, shops and they stopped at the bridge. "What did you want to show me?" Asked Lillie she was smiling. She looked like an anmie character when she smiled. She stood leaning crossed armed, on the arch shaped bridge's walls. They were made of stone and were really mossy. 
"There you go." Said Tom, he handed an origami paper boat. 
"Cool!" Said Lillie. She held it in her hands and obsevered it closely.
"It's been wax so we can drop them." Smiled Tom. He dropped his into the river. It went underwater and slowly bobbed up again. It flowed perfectly with the stream. Lillie dropped the boat into the stream. 
The two children ran to the river banks and followed the boats. They jumped over stones and ran through long grass. They eventually grabbed the boats and headed home. 
Tom was at the happiest he'd ever been in his life, he was starting a happy chapter in his once misrible life.