Clay (Matilda)

An Extraordinary Child

Our story starts out like this. Everyone is born but not everyone is born the same. Some will grow up to be knights, or princesses, or even jesters. Some will only be really good at acting. One way or another though, every human and wizard is unique. Yes, you heard me right. Wizards exist, unfortunately, due to recent events. Many of them are either hiding or have decided to follow the head wizard, Monstrox. Anyway, back to our tale.

Most parents believe their children are the most beautiful creations on the planet. Some take a less emotional approach. One such family was dumped with a baby boy on their door while they did see the note left on him they paid no heed to it. When they took him to an orphanage to get ride of him, they learned that they could keep him for a one thousand dollars every two months so they decided to keep him because of their greed.

Henry and Zinnia Wormwood lived in a nice neighborhood, in a nice house, and drove a nice car, but they were not very nice people. They also had a son, Michael. The Wormwoods were so wrapped up in their own lives, that they barely noticed they had another son. Had they paid any attention to him at all, they would have realized he was a rathe extraordinary. His name was Clay.

"CLAY! Now look what you've done! You're supposed to eat your spinach, not play in it!" Zinnia whined as she picked up Clay and wiped his work off of the counter top. Had she looked look before she wiped, she'd have found the her new son not only spelled his entire name, he also drew a picture of an older version of him with a sword. She placed him in the kitchen sink, turned on the faucet and left the baby while complaining. "Babies, ha! You're better off raising tomatoes!" The baby boy looked at the faucet as it filled half of the sink that was empty and frowned. Something told him that he wasn't going to be cleaned anytime soon.

By the time Clay was two, he learned what most people learn in their early thirties; how to take care of himself. As time went on, he had developed a sense of style. He wore a set of blue jeans, a blue shirt with an eagle on it. Part of it was white and part of it was light blue. (Think of his family crest) Clay always wore a bracelet on his wrist that spelled a five letter name and a four letter name in a language he didn't understand. He didn't know what the names were but his heart always told him that it was important.

Every morning, Clay's older brother Michael went to school. His father went to work selling used cars for unfair prices, and his mother went off into town to play bingo. "Soup's on the stove. Heat it up if you get hungry." His mother said then she left. Clay was alone and that was how he liked it. Now that he was alone, he grabbed the pot with soup in it and threw the can away. He then proceeded to crack some eggs and follow a recipe book that he found in the house. He made himself some pancakes with eggs and bacon. He liked to eat a healthy breakfast and because he felt like it, put some flowers in a small case to make it seem classy while he ate. And to show how extraordinary he is, he had taught himself to read when he was only two.

Once Clay turned four, he had read every piece of literature in the house. 'I can do this. I remember reading stories in the paper about knights. I don't know anything about them but I can be brave.' One night, Clay got the courage to ask his father for something he so desperately wanted. 

"A book! What do you want a book got?" Harry asked undignified as the rest of the family was watching a show while eating dinner, which was a usual thing for the Wormwood family. Clay looked at his father with pleading eyes. "To read." He said simply. "To read? Why would you want to read when you've got the television set sitting in front of you? There's nothing you can't get from a book that you can't get from a television faster." Harry said rudely. At this point, Michael had grown tired of his younger brother being in the was of the set and pulled him away by his knight in shining armor pajamas. (Don't judge me by how I described his PJ's. It was the best I had.) "Get out of the way!"

Clay already knew that he was different from his family. He saw that whatever he needed in this world, he'd have to get it himself. The next morning, Clay looked thought the phone book for the library's addreass and left soon after his parents did. He was on a mission for a book. So, by himself, he walked ten blocks to get to the public library and bravely walked in. Clay was determined to get books about knights. 

"Excuse me." He asked the librarian Ms. Marge, who to his surprise was a robot. 'That's right. Some squire bots are out in public.' She was about to shush the talking human but noticed it was a young child who probably didn't know better. (I'm making her a bit nicer in this book)

"Where are the children's books, ma'am?" Clay asked politely. Ms. Marge smiled at him. "They're in that room. Would you like me to pick one with lots of pictures?" She asked. 

Clay shook his head. "No, thank ma'am. I can manage." Clay said and he went to the children's books to start reading. From that day one, everyday, Clay walked ten blocks to the library. He devoured one book after another. His favorite book was about The Legend of The Wizard Knight. While Clay was reading a book, he giggled silently to himself. Ms. Marge was watching him with fascination each and every day. One day Clay finished all of the children's books, he then started to search for others. Later Ms. Marge offered him with some information. One day, before he left Ms. Marge told him, "You can have your own library card, and take books hime. You can take as many books as you like."

"That would be wonderful, ma'am." Clay said happily. So, from that day on, Clay's mind continued to grow, nurtured by the authors who had sent their books out into the world, like ships onto the sea.

Let's me know how I did! See y'all next time!