Glory Be

Chapter Fifteen

"I'm sorry Sydney, I forgot your shirt back at home," Isaiah panted. He was still out of breath from running to the print shop. He woke up late. He had never woken up late before.

"Wha," Sydney yawned mid-sentence. He still had bedhead, and hadn't changed from yesterday, "It's fine. I told you, no worries."

"Sure, but I," Isaiah took a deep breath, "I promised."

"Whatever," Sydney yawned again, and stumbled back down the hallway, "Come on, I gotta convince my dad of my great, fool-proof plan for the afternoon."

Isaiah's shoulders slumped at Sydney's nonchalant attitude, but he quickly followed behind him. Sydney staggered into his Father's office, and Isaiah leaned cautiously in the doorway. Mr. Kowal shot the two with a suspicious look. Isaiah really had been honest yesterday; he had no idea what was going on.

"What do you want?" Mr. Kowal grumbled.

"So, here's the idea," Sydney said as he began to comb through his hair with his fingers, "Me and Isa are going to work our asses off till around noon today," Sydney said, while Mr. Kowal just looked immersed, "We'll get so far ahead of schedule, that you won't even notice us gone this afternoon."

"What." Mr. Kowal said blankly.

"We're going to go southwest, down to the smoky hills," Sydney said, "It's not far."

"The smoky hills?" Isaiah said out loud, stepping out from the doorframe. He had never been there, but his Father had mentioned it before. In his stories of his travels before settling in Red Hawk.

Mr. Kowal didn't say anything, he stared at Sydney with judgement, then passed that same gaze over to Isaiah. His expression softened momentarily before rubbing his temples.

"Fine, fine," Mr. Kowal relented, "Just be careful. There's canyons down there. Be careful where you step, and, and watch out for rattlesnakes." He added, looking more towards Isaiah than Sydney.

"Yes, sir," Isaiah replied.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Sydney added, "Thanks dad."

"Of course, Sydney," Mr. Kowal scratched his head and motioned for the two to leave his office, "Now you two better finish more than half of that paper before noon."

"Yes, sir," Sydney mockingly saluted his father before walking out of the office. Isaiah uncontrollably grinned at Sydney when they left. Sydney avoided eye contact, but a smile slipped onto his face anyways, "See, good plan, right?"

"Yes, absolutely, but if I may ask, why are we going there?" Isaiah couldn't help but ask. It felt like he could barely walk normally. He wanted to skip; his feet felt so light.

"It's cool," Sydney tried to leave it at that, but he smiled again, "And mainly because there's so many geological formations, and I just thought it'd be nice to get away from the more controversial science, and just go look at rocks."

"So, this is a lesson?" Isaiah asked as the two got settled at their stations.

"Partially, but also I just think it'd be fun to get away," Sydney grinned.

. . .

"I know you've never ridden a horse before, but I'll do all the steering and directions, so you have nothing to worry about besides holding on," Sydney said as he fit a saddle onto Sunny. It was warm out that afternoon. Bright skies matched with a small breeze.

"Sure," Isaiah's voice quivered a bit. He had become familiar with Sunny over the last few days, but Sydney did say she was a bit crazy.

"She won't buck you off, don't worry," Sydney said with a smile. His hat dipped slightly over his eyes. He insisted on grabbing it before they left.