Wilson's World

The School Bell

Wilson sat at his desk clutching his pencil and looking at the clock that seemed to be crawling at a snail’s pace, waiting for the school bell to ring. It seemed that as summer drew nearer that old school bell got slower and slower. Then finally, the time came and almost in the same motion Wilson cleared his desk and was out of the classroom door. As he walked home his anxiety turned into caution because that morning, he had noticed that his mother put out broccoli and he hated broccoli. Wilson was always sure that Mother was punishing him by cooking the broccoli. He knew that his mother loved him, but he could never quite tell when she was angry at him. Now, his pace began to slow, and his mind began to race—I just don’t like broccoli, Wilson thought.

Now Wilson walked slowly and thought, boy I wish that old school bell hadn’t rung so soon. Then, as he turned the corner on his street an eerie feeling of dread came over him. He didn't know just what it was, but it felt so real that it caused his heart to flutter like the wings of a giant bird. It was sort of like the time when he slipped through the cracks of the boards that covered Mr. Johnson’s well. That well had been so dark and scary, and Wilson had always thought that just before he was pulled out, he had heard the hiss of a snake. Then, as he walked toward his apartment, he noticed an out of place car parked in the middle of the block. As he curiously peeked into the car it seemed that the man inside appeared very nervous. The man turned slightly in Wilson's direction, he couldn’t tell if the man noticed him and he really didn't care at that moment.

Wilson looked at the ground, grabbed his book bag strap and started to run home. as he ran he thought of all of the times that he had run home after the ringing of the School bell. There were times when he had almost gotten home before the sound had finished but today his apartment seemed so distant. Wilson was sure that he had heard something fall from his bag as he began his run. Now, even the thought of broccoli didn’t matter, he just wanted to see his front door. Finally, he raced up the stairs and reached for a pouch of his book bag where he kept his keys, but they weren’t there. He shook the knob on the door to his family's apartment and it opened. He ran in excitedly and perched under a window facing the street. The car was still there and as Wilson surveyed the street, he noticed another man, a stranger who was standing on the sidewalk by Mr. Bill's storefront. now he was sure that these two men were up to something, but what, and what could he do about it? A thousand thoughts raced through his mind and none of them were good.

Just then, his mother called out "Wilson is that you?" "Yes, mother it's me" he replied. "Why did you leave the door open?" his mother shouted back in a piercing tone that reminded him of that old school bell. " I'm sorry, mother I'll close it now" he shouted back. He hesitantly pulled himself away to close the door but when he returned to the window the man on the sidewalk was gone. But where was he? Wilson thought. Then he glanced through the heavily sign clad window of Mr. Bill's store and noticed that the man was standing at the counter with Mr. Bill standing in front of him. Now his heart raced frantically. He could see that Mr. Bill’s face looked flush, but he could only see the back of the man’s head. What if he had to identify the man, Wilson thought?

Wilson wanted desperately to tell his mother, but she had been so angry at him for making up tales and he wasn't sure that she would even believe what he suspected. As Wilson looked on, he could tell that Mr. Bill’s face was more and more flush. He knew that somebody had to do something but what? Wilson’s underarms were now itching as they often did when he sat at his desk waiting for that old school bell to ring. Now Wilson was sure that the store was being robbed. He crawled over to where his mother's cell phone was to call 911 but it wasn't there. He searched his memory bank for something to do but all that came was the fearful idea of opening the window and shouting out to anyone who could hear and help. No, he thought, he might shoot at me. Then, as he raised his eyes to get a better look the man raced out of the store but as he was leaving, he looked right into Wilson's eyes then ran to the car which sped away. I must do something Wilson thought, with his heart now fluttering at a pace that he had never felt. "Mother" he shouted. “Why are you shouting so loud” mother shouted back. “The store is being robbed, the store is being robbed” Wilson frantically cried out.

Mother ran over to where Wilson was and looked out onto the street, “Are you sure Wilson” she said observantly looking into his eyes. “I’m sure mother, I saw it all and now they are getting away." Just then the car returned to where it had been parked and the driver got out, ran to the sidewalk and picked something up. Suddenly, Wilson realized that he must have dropped his keys. As the car drove past his apartment Wilson noticed that the man who had been in the store was looking right at his window. By now mother had called 911 and as it happened there was a squad car on their street. They pulled the car over and both men were brought to the front of the car and handcuffed. One of the officers went into Mr. Bill’s store while the other talked with the two men. After a few minutes, the officer who had gone in to talk with Mr. Bill came out, walked over to where the two men and his partner were standing and said something to them. One of the officers took the handcuffs off the men and shook each of their hands then the officers got in their car and drove away.

“Wilson” mother shouted as she angrily returned to the kitchen. The two men just stood there looking at the window where Wilson had been watching. Then, one of the men started walking toward Wilson’s apartment. Now, Wilson was trembling like a leaf in a strong wind. Maybe the man was coming to get even with him for snitching. Maybe he would even hurt mother. He ran to the door and locked it, then he remembered that he hadn’t been able to find his keys. Maybe the man had his keys. Wilson began to survey the apartment for something that he could fight with but everything that was big enough was too heavy for him.

Then suddenly, the school bell rang, and Wilson excitedly heard the teacher say, "Be sure to get all of your homework in tomorrow, no excuses." Wilson smiled, and thought to himself—I did it—I beat that old school bell again. Then he cleared his desk, making sure that all the zippers were closed and started out for home.