He noticed the shinny rock under his hand just before he said to himself, "I wish they would go and leave me alone."
"Come on guys. We have better things to do than pick on RAT-Boy." 'Billy Boy' said as he led his band of thugs off.
'Must be a good luck piece.' Robin thought about the shinny rock, so he picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket.
Looking at his watch, he knew that he needed to head home soon. Mom worried about each of her four kids, especially since their dad had died when Robin was not quite one year old.
Brushing himself off, patting his pocket to make sure that he had his lucky stone, Robin headed home.
"Mom, I'm home." Robin shouted as he entered their small apartment. While Robin hated having to share a room with his younger sister, he knew that his mom worked extra long hours just to give them this much. Apartments bigger than three bedrooms were nearly non-existent.
Robin's older sisters, twins who were four years older than he was, shared the largest bedroom. Robin's mother had the smallest bedroom. Robin and his younger sister shared the middle sized bedroom, which was only a little bit bigger than the one his mom had.
"Dinner is almost ready. Wash up and set the table." His mother called out.
Robin knew that it was his turn to set the table. His mother had decided early that each child would share in doing the chores and no one was exempt from any chore. "Chores don't come in girl chores or boy chores." She often said.
After dinner, Robin made sure that his homework was done and then was allowed to watch some TV. He wasn't pleased that the girls got to pick on Sunday night; not so much because he missed a show he wanted to watch, but that he had to watch shows that they wanted to watch, girlie shows.
The next day Robin made sure that he had his lucky stone with him when he headed off to school. His first class was drama, Miss Goodbody's class, so he wanted to be extra early. He sat in class, waiting for it to start, having day dreams of how he would step in to save some play and that Miss Goodbody would love him for it.
Just before class was over, Mr. Puffedup, the vice principal, came into the class and handed Miss Goodbody a note. She seemed sad after she read the note.
Right after class, Robin stopped by her desk and asked, "Was the note bad news, Miss Goodbody?"
"Huh?" She said, having not noticed him standing there. Then figuring out what he had asked, she said, "Yes. It was a bit of bad news. Gina is moving. Her father just received a big promotion and they took Gina out of school today. She had an important role in our play for Friday night, and I don't have anyone to replace her with."
Slipping his hands into his pockets, touching his lucky stone, Robin said, "I wish..."
