Texas Stars ✓

Chapter 1 - War Strikes

        "Hmm," Father stroked his short beard, "No need to get all nervous."  Debbie knew that whenever he played with his beard, it meant there was a reason to be nervous. "But," Father continued, "That doesn't mean we can't take precautions.
        That morning Alex had revealed that French had just declared war. (Why? Nobody will ever know.) Of course Debbie's family lived in Livingston, but eventually would become vulnerable all the same.
        "What precautions?" Debbie raised her eyebrows suspiciously. Father stood up from the dining table, "We could send you and Alex off to the country for a spell. Just to give you two some nice fresh air of course," Father was obviously lying. But he was trying to keep Debbie from getting too scared, so she said nothing for his sake.
         "What about you and Mother?" Alex put his thoughts into words, "Won't you be coming with us?" 
        "No," Father sat down again, "We'll still be here to tend to the house, but," He added quickly, "You can still have a marvelous time without us."
         Debbie wasn't so sure, "Who would we stay with? And would we stay in England? Or travel out of the country."
        "You would travel out of the country," Father started playing with his beard again, "There is a volunteer program in America offering to let children, by children they mean people sixteen or younger, stay on family ranches for awhile. And," Father looked at Alex, "Thankfully you are still sixteen, and therefore could go with your sister and keep the boys off of her." Father winked at Alex.
        "But what do you do at a ranch?" To Debbie, ranches consisted out of stinky animals and some stinky cowboys. And most likely no running water that came from pump either.
        "You work." Mother talked for the first time, "Just like you do here. Except you rise earlier there, and go to bed earlier. Everything is earlier." 
        Debbie groaned, "Do we have to live on a ranch? What about my friends? What will happen to them?" 
        "Oh they'll be fine, and I'm sure that there will be a girl your age at the ranch." Father smiled.
        "Which ranch are we staying at all summer?" Debbie was a least a little bit curious about where she was going to end up staying.
        "We don't know yet. We'll see when that time comes. Right now you need to concentrate on packing." Father massaged his worried face with his hands, "I should have seen this coming and sent you off earlier. But what has been done, is done. So to make up lost time you'll just have to pack fast, and you'll be on the next ship to America, then you'll be taken Texas." He stood up once more, signally the end of the conversation.
        "Texas!" Debbie cried, "Of all the places why there!" She threw up her hands, "Everyone knows that it's filthy there, and filled with nobodies."
        "Sit down Debbie." Mother scolded gently, "And who told you that Texas is filthy?"
        Debbie sat down and looked at her hands, "Brighton," She said quietly. Everyone knew that Brighton was a snob, bully, and quite likely a big fat liar, "But still, even if it isn't filthy, why do we have to go so far away? The French aren't going to attack just yet anyway."
        "You don't know that they aren't going to wipe the south out quickly," Father paused, realizing that he had just confirmed that he was sending Alex and Debbie off just so that they'd be safe, "It'll be a fun experience for your summer, and it's already June. So might as well get you there as soon as possible." He ended calmly; acting as if he had never mentioned the French.
        Debbie grimaced. She knew she likely wasn't going to win this argument, and might as well make the best of it. "I'm going to go pack." She stood up from the dining table that had all sorts of uneaten food. 
        "I'll go pack as well," Alex stood up and pushed his plate of uneaten food away. He poked his head into Debbie's room, "Are you going to be all right?"
        "Yes," she opened her closet and pulled down a packing bag, "I'll be alright."
        "But you don't want to go," Alex could read her thoughts, "Not willingly anyway."
        "Of course not! I wish I could stay here with my friends! Although getting away from Brighton could be good..." He could be such a pain in the back at times.
        "We'll be back soon." Alex entered her room and patted her on the back, "I've heard from various sources that the war shouldn't last long. And we'll be back home before you have a chance to say unpack." He smiled comfortingly.
        "What about you though?" For once she focused her thoughts on Alex, "What about your friends? Won't you miss them?"
        "I'll be okay." Dear old Alex was always so selfless. "And I'm sure I can make friends with the extra ranch hands. Assuming they have them..."
           "Do they speak a different language there?" Debbie's curiosity started taking over.
        "I think it's the same. Just a few different spelling changes. And they have accents." Alex grinned.
         "Oh." Debbie flopped down on the bedspread, "Will I make any friends at the ranch do you think?"
         "Of course," Alex grinned, "You're you. You can't not make friends, and I'm sure you'll have all of the guys hanging around you as well."  He winked.
        Debbie snorted, "Hardly. If I do, they'll all be like Brighton. And I don't want that. He's an ugly-as-a-pig, rude, inconsiderate little boy."
         Alex laughed, "He isn't that bad is he? And I'm sure that they won't be like that. They'll probably be more like Henry."
        Debbie blushed at the last comment. "Henry is young and immature."
        "But handsome, brave, and can always make you blush." Alex could read Debbie like a book.
         "Not always! Besides," Debbie crossed her arms, "He's only a friend."
        "Sure." Alex just sat there grinning.
        "Although I'm not sure if you could say the same about Katherine." Debbie and put on a smirk. She could tease him just as well as he could tease her.
        "I'll be honest with you," He tilted his chin up obstinately, "We are just friends. Best friends, but there is nothing romantic going on."
         "Sure," Debbie rolled her eyes, "That's why I saw you two with googly eyes down at the river a week ago."
        "Hah! Nice try Debbie," Alex wrinkled his nose at Debbie (meaning that she was obviously right about her accusations).
         "And I caught you guys getting all chum chummy at the creek." Debbie wasn't done teasing.
         "What! We weren't all 'chummy'!" He stood up, "I could mention the time I caught you and Henry walking home together from school. Almost touching." He smirked.
         "Ugh, he was showing me something that he had found down at the creek." Debbie just rolled her eyes, "He's just an immature friend. Nothing special. And," she stood up and turned towards her packing bags, "I need to get packing. Goodbye."
        "I should too, goodbye sis," Alex grinned as he closed the door behind him.
        He can always make me smile, Debbie grinned, remembering their corny conversation, I'm glad I have a brother as sweet as him. 

Notification Alert: The war in this story is intirely made up. 

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