A Tale of Three Brothers (Completed)

Back to School

Soon enough, what had felt like the longest summer of Sam's life was at its end. 4th of July decorations had been replaced with back to school decorations, soccer moms rushed to get last minute school supplies, and as the heat spell finally broke Kiwi Town came to life.

On the last day of summer vacation, Elliot dragged Sam and Dylan to the local flea market for new clothes and new school supplies. An hour away from Kiwi Town, the flea market was a safe enough place for them to go shopping without having to worry about causing a commotion.

Dylan loved the flea market. He loved the sounds, the noises and even the people. But Elliot hated it. He often said the flea market reminded him of a third world country. Old women in colorful outfits shoved animals, food and stolen watches at you, and everything was covered in a layer of dirt. Sam's irritation at the flea market drew mainly from the unfairness of it all. He hated shopping in general, but he felt that if he was going to do it, he should be able to go where he wanted.

Elliot handed his brothers some of the money their father had left them. "We're here for clothes and school supplies only," he warned. "Nothing else." He looked at Sam, because the last time they'd gone shopping Sam had spent all his money on candy.

But Sam wasn't interested in buying any candy. Nor was he interested in buying any clothes. He quickly found the stall he was looking for. A tall Middle Eastern man stood behind a makeshift stall. Tacked to the sides of the stalls were pictures of different cell phones. "I need something a girl would like," he said.

Elliot was livid when he found out Sam didn't buy clothes like he was supposed to. He was even more livid when Sam refused to show him what was in the bag he was carrying. Dylan hadn't bought any clothes either. Instead, he'd come away with two turtles and a new art case. Elliot griped the entire way home about responsibility and trust, but they ignored him. They didn't get many opportunities to buy things for themselves.

Nobody was home when Elliot, Sam and Dylan returned from their trip to the flea market. An envelope with the name Tavert was sticking out the side fo the door. Elliot frowned as he read it. "What is it?" Sam asked.

"They want to buy our house," Elliot said.

"Let me see that," Sam said. He took the letter away from Elliot and read it. "That's a lot of money. It can't be worth that much."

"It is when you throw in the orchard," Elliot said.

"But we don't own the orchard," Dylan said. "That's city property. ="

This was true. Michael and Denise had only been able to buy the Kiwi House because it was being sold at a discount. None of the other buys had liked the idea of living in front of an orchard. It would have meant keeping the fence maintained, warding off the bugs and constantly being bombarded by the smell of rotting kiwis.

"I don't know" Elliot said. "It's weird."

Sam sat down on the couch. "This is crazy. We can't sell our house."

Elliot sat down next to him. "I know."

Dylan took the letter from Sam. "We have to get rid of it."

They burned the letter in the bathroom sink. Sam felt as though he were now keeping another secret, one he wasn't sure he'd be able to hang on to for long.

The first day of school was every bit as chaotic as Sam expected. He hadn't realized he'd grown out of last years school clothes until that morning when he was trying them on. Sam pleaded with Elliot to let him borrow a pair of pants. "Come on, I'll look stupid if I go to school with my pants this far up my ankles."

"Absolutely not," Elliot said. "It's your own fault you don't have any clothes. Should have thought of that before you bought that phone."

Sam's face reddened. "How'd you know about that?"