Eden-South by Janelle Stalder Read Free Book Online Page A

elders that he will not be what they expect in the
beginning, and that I hope they are ready for quite a challenge.
Anyone can achieve great things, as long as they are given the time
and encouragement one needs to reach it. They must be great
teachers now, and great leaders if this warrior is to bring any
sort of help to the army of Eden. Go now, and be back at the next
full moon. He will be waiting.”

 
    CHAPTER THREE
    It was the last day of his suspension, and to
Aiden it felt like he had been home for two months. His mother was
driving him nuts, and the confines of the house felt like a prison.
Since he was suspended from school for fighting, his mother had
decided that he should also be grounded from going out anywhere.
That left the house and the yard as the only places he was allowed
to roam. It was insane. Keeping a fifteen-year-old boy locked up
like this was cruel and unusual punishment.
    “Aiden!” his mother yelled up the stairs at
him. Looking over at his clock, he saw it was only seven in the
morning. That was another thing that was driving him mad.
Originally, he had viewed his suspension as the perfect vacation
away from school, and the chance for him to sleep in. His mother,
on the other hand, did not see it that way. She woke him up at the
same time as usual, and gave him a list of chores to do in order to
keep him busy. Groaning, he swung himself out of bed and looked for
a decently clean pair of pants to put on, amongst the mess covering
his floor. “Aiden!” she yelled again.
    “I’m up!” he yelled back. “I’m up.” Running
his hands through his hair, he actually thought it would be nice
when he could go back to school. There was a thought he had never
imagined having.
    He climbed down the stairs to the upper
floor, and saw Eddie standing in her crib from the outside hall.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling at her. She reached out for him,
so he obliged and went in to pick her up. As they were going down
the stairs to the main floor, Eddie giggled as he pretended to be a
horse, running her down the hall to the kitchen. His mother was in
there making breakfast for the baby. She smiled when she saw the
two together.
    “Good morning, my beautiful children.” She
smiled, tickling Eddie’s belly. It would be better, he thought, if
he were allowed to sleep in past seven. “I want you to clean up
that room today, Aid,” she started right away. “When you’re done
that, you can go outside and cut the grass in the back. Your dad is
working late tonight, so he won’t have time to do it himself.” Sure, he thought. She’s just looking to torture me as
much as she can.
    “Yes, Mom,” he mumbled. She set down a bowl
of cereal in front of him and kissed the top of his head, before
sitting beside the high chair to feed Eddie.
    “And how is my little angel this
morning ? ” she started cooing. Eddie responded in
indiscernible words. Aiden sat there miserably as he ate his
cereal, wondering what else she would throw at him once he got the
first two things on his list done.
    That afternoon, he found himself pushing the
mower across the long grass in the unbearable heat of the sun. The
air was unseasonably warm, and sweat poured down his face. Cursing
the whole time, he walked the length of the backyard back and forth
until the whole area was short and manicured. His mother walked out
with a glass of water, taking a look at his work.
    “You’ll need to rake up the grass when
you’re done,” she pointed out. He rolled his eyes, but didn’t say
anything. Instead, he drank the whole glass of water in one shot,
feeling dehydrated from sweating so much. “There are garbage bags
in the garage.”
    “Okay,” he replied, walking back over to
where he had left the lawnmower.
    “Isn’t being suspended fun?” his mother
called out, before turning to go back inside. He looked over at her
retreating form in anger.
    “Someone, kill me,” he breathed out
loud.
    After cleaning up the grass, Aiden