Scarecrow and Mrs. King
"The Stand"
Written by Anne Riener
"The Stand"
Written by Anne Riener
Lee Stetson walked into the school courtyard, scanning the area. He spied several children on the playground equipment—some swinging back and forth on the swings, others sliding down a large metal slide, a few girls occupied themselves in a game of hopscotch, while several boys played catch in the ball field. A small group of girls sat on a picnic table cheering the boys on. Lee looked over at the girls, and noticed them pointing at him, giggling. He looked down at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact, and kicked the dirt up with his tennis shoes.
“Hey,” he heard a voice call out. He looked up and saw a pretty little redhead girl with pigtails wave him over. “I haven’t seen you before. You must be new.”
“Yeah,” Lee managed to force out.
“My name is Alice, and this is Kathy, Christy, and Pam.” She pointed to each of the girls as she told him their names.
“Hi,” Lee awkwardly replied, raising his hand in a halfhearted friendly gesture.
“Do you have a name?” A magnetic grin graced her freckled face.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, it’s Lee. . . Lee Stetson.”
The girls giggled again, covering their mouths.
Lee could feel his face getting warm and knew he had to be blushing.
“What do we have here?” He heard another voice say.
Lee saw the boys that had been playing ball were now gathered around the picnic table.
“Fresh blood,” he heard one of the boys' whisper to another. He then saw the first boy smack the other boy in the arm. “My name is Tommy, and this is Peter and Jacob. What’s your name?”
“Lee.”
The boys laughed. “Lee? That rhymes with. . .” Peter started to say, until Tommy slugged him again.
“So where are you from Leeee?” Tommy said, drawing out his name.
“Washington. . . Washington D.C.” Lee narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.
“Long way from home, ain’t ya?”
Lee was silent.
“Are you deaf?” Tommy asked, standing only inches from him.
Lee's back stiffened in anger.
“Tommy, leave him alone,” Alice begged.
“I will—but first I need to tell Lee here the ground rules. One, I don’t want you talking to my girl, you understand." He thrust his hands into the pockets of his denim jeans. "Second, do you have any money on you?”
Lee nodded his head.
“Good." Tommy smiled. "Every morning you will meet us here and give us all your money.”
“What for?” Lee asked, not knowing what Tommy wanted from him.
“Protection." Taking his hands out of his pockets, he placed one arm around Lee. “How much ya got?”
“My uncle gave me some lunch money this morning—but that’s all.”
“Your uncle?” Tommy asked, looking around at the other boys, who nodded their heads. “What are you—a bastard?”
Lee stepped back from Tommy's grip and shoved him. “What did you call me?”
“You heard me.” Tommy egged him on, balling up his fists. “Ya wanna fight me?”
Tommy knocked him over, and before Lee could get back up, Tommy was instantly on top of him, straddling his chest, pounding him with his fists. Lee tried to fight back, but couldn’t punch while lying flat on his back. He tried to cover his face with his arms, but one of Tommy’s punches got him square in the eye. He could hear the other children yelling, encouraging the fight. All of a sudden, Lee felt himself being picked up and placed on the ground—hard.
“Alright—enough of that,” he heard a voice say. “The bell rang and I suggest the rest of you get to class.”
The group of children scattered and headed toward the school.
“I’ll teach you to fight.” Lee was startled when he realized the voice belonged to his uncle. “You have KP duty after school for two weeks."
“But—”
“But what?” his uncle snapped, holding Lee firmly by the forearm.
“Nothing, Sir.”
“Good. Report to Barney in the mess hall after school. And no more fighting. Do I make myself clear, Skip?”
“Yes, Sir.”
*****
Lee walked into the mess hall, and then into the kitchen. He found Barney standing in front of the stainless steel, double basin sink, filling a bucket full of soapy water.
“Hello, Lee.” Barney turned off the water and put his arm around Lee. “I understand you’re helping me this afternoon?”
“Like I had a choice,” Lee mumbled under his breath. “Yes, Mr. Dorsey, Sir.”
“I told you to call me Barney. No need to be formal. Why don’t you start with wiping down the tables?” Barney handed him the bucket of soapy water and a sponge.
Lee walked back into the mess hall and began to wipe down the tables. He looked up and saw Alice shyly smiling at him. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he replied back.
“I’m sorry about what happened. The fight wasn’t your fault. Would it help if I talked with your uncle?”
“No!” Lee answered quickly. “Why don’t you just leave me alone?” He took the sponge, and after dipping it into the bucket, he slammed it down on the table, wiping vigorously.
“I know your uncle—he’s Major Clayton, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” Lee turned his back and stepped forward to the other table wiping it down.
“I thought so—my dad’s under his command.”
Lee just nodded.
“Lee, why won’t you talk to me?”
“What? So your boyfriend can beat me up again.”
She heaved a heavy sigh. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Could have fooled me,” he replied back in disgust.
“Tommy’s nothing more than a bully. I know it and he knows it.”
Lee didn’t say anything.
“Well, I better get back home. It was nice talking with you, Lee.” She picked up her books and headed out the door.
Lee sat down. Frowning, he covered his eyes with his hands.
A moment later, Barney sat down beside him. “You want to tell me what happened today?”
“No, Sir.” Lee's lower lip quivered.
“Okay, that’s fair.” Barney slapped his thighs and began to stand up.
“I hate it here,” Lee managed to choke out. “I hate my uncle. I hate living on base. I miss my home—I want—I want. . .”
Barney sat back down and pulled him into a bear hug, blowing out a breath. “I know. I know.” He patted him on the back, comforting him. “Does any of this have to do with the boys who were picking on you this morning?”
“How did you know about that?”
“The shiner you have for one and I overheard you talking to the little red-head with the cute freckles. What’s her name—”
“Alice.”
“Yes, I know her. Sweet girl.”
Lee pulled back and looked at Barney.
“I take it—it was Tommy Hunter who gave you that black eye?”
“He called me a bad word—but I swear, Barney—he threw the first punch.”
“I see.” Taking off his cap, Barney scratched his head. “Tell you what—how about after school tomorrow, old Barney show you how to defend yourself?”
“My mom told me never to fight.”
“Not fight, Lee—defend yourself. There’s a difference.” Barney ruffed Lee's hair.
“Okay,” Lee beamed.
*****
Lee and Barney stood in front of a punching bag hanging from the ceiling of the base gymnasium.
“Now, this here is a punching bag,” Barney told him. “Boxers use them to develop speed and punch.”
“Sir—” Lee began to say, “I mean Barney. I know what a punching bag is.”
“Good, then put these on.” He handed Lee a pair of old boxing gloves. Although they were too big, he tied them as tight as he could. Looking them over, Barney said, “They’ll do. Now this bag represents your opponent. I want you to punch the bag like you plan to punch an opponent.”
“You mean Tommy?”
“No Lee, I don’t want you looking for a fight—even if it’s Tommy.”
Lee nodded his head in reluctant understanding.
“Now stand here.” Barney showed Lee where to stand, how to place his feet, how to hold his hands high in a guarding position, and how to snap out left, followed by his right. Lee punched the bag, while Barney yelled out advice. “Keep your head up and your eyes open. Keep it up.”
About ten minutes later, Lee stopped hitting the bag, panting hard.
“That was real good, Lee,” Barney praised. "Always remember to keep your head up, your eyes open, and out-think your opponent. Practice every night and soon you’ll be able to defend yourself.”
Lee looked up at Barney smiling.
*****
“You sure seem to know a lot about history, Lee,” Alice said to him as they both got up from their school desks.
Lee grinned shyly, he rocked back on the balls of his feet, then pitched forward. “Thanks. I always loved history—you know I grew up in D.C.”
Alice smiled back. “I remember you saying something about that. Would you like to walk me home?”
“Yes, I’d like that.” He grabbed her books from her and they exited out the classroom door.
Lee and Alice walked down the path leading in front of the schoolhouse. The late autumn air was cool and crisp. The only sound was that of the leaves crunching beneath their feet.
“Are you still grounded?”
“Yes, but only one more day.”
“That’s good.” She bit her lip, and glanced over at him. “It’s almost Thanksgiving, and soon it will be Christmas. Do you have anything special planned?”
Lee was silent, shuffling his feet.
“I’m sorry, Lee.”
“It’s okay, Alice. No, I think my uncle plans on staying on base for the holidays.”
They both walked slightly for a few more minutes.
“Lee, can I ask you a personal question?”
He stopped and looked at her, shrugging his shoulders. “I guess.”
“Do you miss them?”
“My mum and dad?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Lee lowered his gaze. “No, it’s okay, Alice—”
“Well, well, well. . . what do we have here?” Lee heard a voice interrupt them. “Alice and Lee, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. . ."
Lee looked up to see Tommy, Peter, and Jacob surrounding them.
“I thought I told you to stay away from my girlfriend.” Tommy shoved Lee. “Now, I’ll have to teach you a lesson.” Peter and Jacob grabbed him from behind, pinning him against a tree, knocking the books out of his hands.
“Leave us alone, Tommy!” Alice screamed.
“What ya gonna do about it, Alice?” Tommy pulled her pigtails, yanking her hair.
“Owww!” she cried out.
“Stop it!” Lee pushed against the other boys. “It’s me you want to teach a lesson to—leave her out of this.”
Tommy looked over at Lee, and then back at Alice. “Let him go, boys.”
Lee stepped away from the tree. Tommy began circling Lee, fists balled. The other two boys leaned against the tree laughing. Alice ran down the street.
“I’m gonna make you cry,” Tommy taunted him.
Lee said nothing. He just watched Tommy lower his head and suddenly charge. Lee stepped quickly to one side, and stuck out his foot. To everybody’s surprise, including Lee's, Tommy fell flat on his face. Tommy jumped up, his face red with humiliation, he rushed at Lee again.
Lee repeated his performance, and Tommy went down once more.
Tommy got up slower and Lee waited, patiently watching him. Tommy swung at him, and Lee finding an opening, hit Tommy in the gut with a left hook and then an upper right to the jaw.
Tommy managed to land a couple of good punches and hit Lee in the nose. His nose began to bleed.
Lee promptly paid him back by knocking Tommy to the ground. “You had enough?” Lee yelled, angrily.
Tommy shook his head. He climbed up and attacked Lee again. Lee hit him in the stomach, and he sat down hard. This time when he got up, he had the other two boys charge Lee too.
Lee took all three of them on, swinging and punching away, until he felt a strong pair of hands pull him away from the other boys. “That’s enough,” he heard the voice say. “Now you three go home before I tell your parents.”
Lee turned to face the voice. One of his eyes was beginning to swell shut. When his eyes began to focus, he could make out his uncle and Alice. She smiled at him brightly. Lee then looked over at his uncle expecting the worst, but was surprised to see him looking at him with pride.
“Come on Skip, let’s go home and have Barney find you a nice juicy steak. You're going to have a couple of good shiners there, Boy.” He put his arm around Lee, and the three of them headed toward home.
“Hey,” he heard a voice call out. He looked up and saw a pretty little redhead girl with pigtails wave him over. “I haven’t seen you before. You must be new.”
“Yeah,” Lee managed to force out.
“My name is Alice, and this is Kathy, Christy, and Pam.” She pointed to each of the girls as she told him their names.
“Hi,” Lee awkwardly replied, raising his hand in a halfhearted friendly gesture.
“Do you have a name?” A magnetic grin graced her freckled face.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, it’s Lee. . . Lee Stetson.”
The girls giggled again, covering their mouths.
Lee could feel his face getting warm and knew he had to be blushing.
“What do we have here?” He heard another voice say.
Lee saw the boys that had been playing ball were now gathered around the picnic table.
“Fresh blood,” he heard one of the boys' whisper to another. He then saw the first boy smack the other boy in the arm. “My name is Tommy, and this is Peter and Jacob. What’s your name?”
“Lee.”
The boys laughed. “Lee? That rhymes with. . .” Peter started to say, until Tommy slugged him again.
“So where are you from Leeee?” Tommy said, drawing out his name.
“Washington. . . Washington D.C.” Lee narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.
“Long way from home, ain’t ya?”
Lee was silent.
“Are you deaf?” Tommy asked, standing only inches from him.
Lee's back stiffened in anger.
“Tommy, leave him alone,” Alice begged.
“I will—but first I need to tell Lee here the ground rules. One, I don’t want you talking to my girl, you understand." He thrust his hands into the pockets of his denim jeans. "Second, do you have any money on you?”
Lee nodded his head.
“Good." Tommy smiled. "Every morning you will meet us here and give us all your money.”
“What for?” Lee asked, not knowing what Tommy wanted from him.
“Protection." Taking his hands out of his pockets, he placed one arm around Lee. “How much ya got?”
“My uncle gave me some lunch money this morning—but that’s all.”
“Your uncle?” Tommy asked, looking around at the other boys, who nodded their heads. “What are you—a bastard?”
Lee stepped back from Tommy's grip and shoved him. “What did you call me?”
“You heard me.” Tommy egged him on, balling up his fists. “Ya wanna fight me?”
Tommy knocked him over, and before Lee could get back up, Tommy was instantly on top of him, straddling his chest, pounding him with his fists. Lee tried to fight back, but couldn’t punch while lying flat on his back. He tried to cover his face with his arms, but one of Tommy’s punches got him square in the eye. He could hear the other children yelling, encouraging the fight. All of a sudden, Lee felt himself being picked up and placed on the ground—hard.
“Alright—enough of that,” he heard a voice say. “The bell rang and I suggest the rest of you get to class.”
The group of children scattered and headed toward the school.
“I’ll teach you to fight.” Lee was startled when he realized the voice belonged to his uncle. “You have KP duty after school for two weeks."
“But—”
“But what?” his uncle snapped, holding Lee firmly by the forearm.
“Nothing, Sir.”
“Good. Report to Barney in the mess hall after school. And no more fighting. Do I make myself clear, Skip?”
“Yes, Sir.”
*****
Lee walked into the mess hall, and then into the kitchen. He found Barney standing in front of the stainless steel, double basin sink, filling a bucket full of soapy water.
“Hello, Lee.” Barney turned off the water and put his arm around Lee. “I understand you’re helping me this afternoon?”
“Like I had a choice,” Lee mumbled under his breath. “Yes, Mr. Dorsey, Sir.”
“I told you to call me Barney. No need to be formal. Why don’t you start with wiping down the tables?” Barney handed him the bucket of soapy water and a sponge.
Lee walked back into the mess hall and began to wipe down the tables. He looked up and saw Alice shyly smiling at him. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he replied back.
“I’m sorry about what happened. The fight wasn’t your fault. Would it help if I talked with your uncle?”
“No!” Lee answered quickly. “Why don’t you just leave me alone?” He took the sponge, and after dipping it into the bucket, he slammed it down on the table, wiping vigorously.
“I know your uncle—he’s Major Clayton, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” Lee turned his back and stepped forward to the other table wiping it down.
“I thought so—my dad’s under his command.”
Lee just nodded.
“Lee, why won’t you talk to me?”
“What? So your boyfriend can beat me up again.”
She heaved a heavy sigh. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Could have fooled me,” he replied back in disgust.
“Tommy’s nothing more than a bully. I know it and he knows it.”
Lee didn’t say anything.
“Well, I better get back home. It was nice talking with you, Lee.” She picked up her books and headed out the door.
Lee sat down. Frowning, he covered his eyes with his hands.
A moment later, Barney sat down beside him. “You want to tell me what happened today?”
“No, Sir.” Lee's lower lip quivered.
“Okay, that’s fair.” Barney slapped his thighs and began to stand up.
“I hate it here,” Lee managed to choke out. “I hate my uncle. I hate living on base. I miss my home—I want—I want. . .”
Barney sat back down and pulled him into a bear hug, blowing out a breath. “I know. I know.” He patted him on the back, comforting him. “Does any of this have to do with the boys who were picking on you this morning?”
“How did you know about that?”
“The shiner you have for one and I overheard you talking to the little red-head with the cute freckles. What’s her name—”
“Alice.”
“Yes, I know her. Sweet girl.”
Lee pulled back and looked at Barney.
“I take it—it was Tommy Hunter who gave you that black eye?”
“He called me a bad word—but I swear, Barney—he threw the first punch.”
“I see.” Taking off his cap, Barney scratched his head. “Tell you what—how about after school tomorrow, old Barney show you how to defend yourself?”
“My mom told me never to fight.”
“Not fight, Lee—defend yourself. There’s a difference.” Barney ruffed Lee's hair.
“Okay,” Lee beamed.
*****
Lee and Barney stood in front of a punching bag hanging from the ceiling of the base gymnasium.
“Now, this here is a punching bag,” Barney told him. “Boxers use them to develop speed and punch.”
“Sir—” Lee began to say, “I mean Barney. I know what a punching bag is.”
“Good, then put these on.” He handed Lee a pair of old boxing gloves. Although they were too big, he tied them as tight as he could. Looking them over, Barney said, “They’ll do. Now this bag represents your opponent. I want you to punch the bag like you plan to punch an opponent.”
“You mean Tommy?”
“No Lee, I don’t want you looking for a fight—even if it’s Tommy.”
Lee nodded his head in reluctant understanding.
“Now stand here.” Barney showed Lee where to stand, how to place his feet, how to hold his hands high in a guarding position, and how to snap out left, followed by his right. Lee punched the bag, while Barney yelled out advice. “Keep your head up and your eyes open. Keep it up.”
About ten minutes later, Lee stopped hitting the bag, panting hard.
“That was real good, Lee,” Barney praised. "Always remember to keep your head up, your eyes open, and out-think your opponent. Practice every night and soon you’ll be able to defend yourself.”
Lee looked up at Barney smiling.
*****
“You sure seem to know a lot about history, Lee,” Alice said to him as they both got up from their school desks.
Lee grinned shyly, he rocked back on the balls of his feet, then pitched forward. “Thanks. I always loved history—you know I grew up in D.C.”
Alice smiled back. “I remember you saying something about that. Would you like to walk me home?”
“Yes, I’d like that.” He grabbed her books from her and they exited out the classroom door.
Lee and Alice walked down the path leading in front of the schoolhouse. The late autumn air was cool and crisp. The only sound was that of the leaves crunching beneath their feet.
“Are you still grounded?”
“Yes, but only one more day.”
“That’s good.” She bit her lip, and glanced over at him. “It’s almost Thanksgiving, and soon it will be Christmas. Do you have anything special planned?”
Lee was silent, shuffling his feet.
“I’m sorry, Lee.”
“It’s okay, Alice. No, I think my uncle plans on staying on base for the holidays.”
They both walked slightly for a few more minutes.
“Lee, can I ask you a personal question?”
He stopped and looked at her, shrugging his shoulders. “I guess.”
“Do you miss them?”
“My mum and dad?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Lee lowered his gaze. “No, it’s okay, Alice—”
“Well, well, well. . . what do we have here?” Lee heard a voice interrupt them. “Alice and Lee, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. . ."
Lee looked up to see Tommy, Peter, and Jacob surrounding them.
“I thought I told you to stay away from my girlfriend.” Tommy shoved Lee. “Now, I’ll have to teach you a lesson.” Peter and Jacob grabbed him from behind, pinning him against a tree, knocking the books out of his hands.
“Leave us alone, Tommy!” Alice screamed.
“What ya gonna do about it, Alice?” Tommy pulled her pigtails, yanking her hair.
“Owww!” she cried out.
“Stop it!” Lee pushed against the other boys. “It’s me you want to teach a lesson to—leave her out of this.”
Tommy looked over at Lee, and then back at Alice. “Let him go, boys.”
Lee stepped away from the tree. Tommy began circling Lee, fists balled. The other two boys leaned against the tree laughing. Alice ran down the street.
“I’m gonna make you cry,” Tommy taunted him.
Lee said nothing. He just watched Tommy lower his head and suddenly charge. Lee stepped quickly to one side, and stuck out his foot. To everybody’s surprise, including Lee's, Tommy fell flat on his face. Tommy jumped up, his face red with humiliation, he rushed at Lee again.
Lee repeated his performance, and Tommy went down once more.
Tommy got up slower and Lee waited, patiently watching him. Tommy swung at him, and Lee finding an opening, hit Tommy in the gut with a left hook and then an upper right to the jaw.
Tommy managed to land a couple of good punches and hit Lee in the nose. His nose began to bleed.
Lee promptly paid him back by knocking Tommy to the ground. “You had enough?” Lee yelled, angrily.
Tommy shook his head. He climbed up and attacked Lee again. Lee hit him in the stomach, and he sat down hard. This time when he got up, he had the other two boys charge Lee too.
Lee took all three of them on, swinging and punching away, until he felt a strong pair of hands pull him away from the other boys. “That’s enough,” he heard the voice say. “Now you three go home before I tell your parents.”
Lee turned to face the voice. One of his eyes was beginning to swell shut. When his eyes began to focus, he could make out his uncle and Alice. She smiled at him brightly. Lee then looked over at his uncle expecting the worst, but was surprised to see him looking at him with pride.
“Come on Skip, let’s go home and have Barney find you a nice juicy steak. You're going to have a couple of good shiners there, Boy.” He put his arm around Lee, and the three of them headed toward home.
Author's note: This story was my interpretation of the incident the Colonel tells Amanda about in the episode "A Relative Situation."