Vent on the log

Sister Terry banged her ruler onto the desk with a loud SWAT ! Everyone flinched , Henric most of all because it was on his desk the ruler delivered it's blow . 

" Incomplete ? How is my work incomplete ? " She demanded of him . 

The boys sat on their desks in her French class , having handed in their assignments . Except for one student ; Henric . He had not finished his assignment and when he told her , Sister Terry's eyes drew into slits and the ruler went into her hand . 

" Well , Henric ? " She demanded ," How is it you alone , have not completed the assignment ? " 

" I am sorry Sister . " He said ," I will try - " 

" Mon Deu ! My Lord ! " She said angrily and twisted the ruler in her hands ," Try ? I do not accept attempts at my work , Henric. It is either done or not . You have the next two days , out of kindness I might add , to finish it . If you enter my class on that day and I hear the words ' incomplete ' again ... may the Lord forgive me . " 

The other boys next to him swallowed and Henric felt a heavy weight in his chest . He nodded his head regardless of the anxious feeling he felt . 

" Yes , Sister Terry . I will do it." He said and she turned around in a flurry of black . 

" Now , today we will be learning French and English connections of speech. " She said ," Many words spoken in English have origin in the French language , can anyone explain how this came about ? " 

None of the boys raised their hands and Sister Terry pressed her lips . No volunteers ? She thought , very well ...

" Henric , can you answer this ? " She said and her face showed it was not really a question but a command. 

The other boys looked on as Henric stood up to answer . 

" A French monarch gained control of England , the birth place of the English language . " He explained ," He allowed French to be spoken at his court and later the language spread into normal talk . Various words , a few of them political , entered the English language ." 

" Five examples , now ." She demanded and Henric gave a nod . 

" Minister from French ' Ministre ' , Excellent from ' excellent ' , Divine from ' divin ' , " he said and a few boys frowned . He knew so much , where did he learn so deep ? 

" And ... Pardon from ' pardonne' , " he said and gave a pause . 

" Why did you stop ? Finish , or is that the end of your knowledge ? " Sister Terry asked him . 

" And lover from French ' louver ' " he said and finally sat down . 

" Thank you Henric . " Sister Terry said ," Your responses have given me a grand idea . This week's assignment is to find ten English words and draw their French origin , no links between other languages are allowed . " 

The boys in the class nodded their heads but some gave Henric piercing glances . This was all his fault ! They thought , they would make him pay for this . 

Henric ignored the looks he received and paid attention only to the lesson . He knew what the other boys were thinking though and he knew they would hurt him later . He gave a sigh , he'd just have to bear it . 

....

" Hold still now , Henric ." Sister Irene said dabbing some iodine onto his cheek . Henric flinched as it burned the bruise on his lip corner . 

" I don't believe the tale I was told , mind you . " She said looking at his face . " You , starting a fight that is ... if Sister Cali was here she'd never believe it either ." 

Henric sat on in the infirmary , the last boy to be checked on . After their classes , Henric had been on his way to chop up the logs he had toppled over . Unfortunately when he came he found he was not alone . 

Several boys sat on the logs , they appeared to have been waiting for him . He knew what was going to happen and he didn't prevent it . The next thing he knew , he was on the ground being kicked at . He had curled up and tried to cover his head from the onslaught . 

Of course , it could be argued that the boys at Pearl orphanage were saintly but that was only to people outside the building . The boys at the institution were just like any other , they had no quilms about hurting Henric and would have acted innocent had they been asked by a Sister on what happened . 

Luckily for him , Christan had come with Link and Stuart . They had fought the other boys , an uneven match if there ever was one and the noise had alerted one of the Sisters . When they were finally stopped and asked who was responsible , the boys who had beaten him said it was Henric's fault . 

Christan , Link and Stuart had readily disagreed but Henric wouldn't have it . He had accepted all responsibility for the fight and was instantly punished with fifteen lashes from a ruler , whilst the others received five . Then they had been sent to the infirmary , but Henric had been made to go last . 

" The wounds should sink the lesson into the mind ." The Sister who had lashed him had said . 

Finally he had gone inside and was then treated by Sister Irene , the new ward of the infirmary since Sister Cali's departure . 

" No , it was my fault Sister ." Henric said ," I told everyone so . " 

" I know what you said but I know what I know . " She answered looking at him , " Sister Cali was close to me , it's the reason I'm in this infirmary . That and my medical skills as a nurse . Sister Cali always said you were a good boy and I've never heard evidence of you misbehaving ." 

Sister Irene was a tall woman of mid fifties and had a thin frame like a stick . Her nose was straight and made one think of Pinocchio after he said a lie . Her skin was pale brown and her eyes were wet green like dew on grass . She could have been termed as fair but not beautiful , her tongue often had the of way acting ahead of her brain and she was often in trouble with the other sisters for it .

" All can sin and error Sister . So can I . " He said looking down , " May I leave now ? I have to go and cut the firewood ." 

" Your body's in pain but you wish to go out into the cold wind and cut wood ? " She asked him . 

" I am fine Sister . You need not worry for me . " He said and got to his feet . " I will return to you if I feel unwell ." 

" Of course , Henric . But you be careful with yourself . Sister Cali would not feel well knowing about this , she loved you greatly ." she said and the boy nodded his head before walking out of the room. 

" Oh , a pity . " Sister Irene said to no one in particular .

....

" You're still out here ." Stuart said walking to where Henric stood resting . 

He had been chopping wood for over four hours and the sun was was marking its way down into the horizon . A breeze blew around them and Stuart gave a small shiver but Henric was too tired and sweaty to feel cold . 

He had taken off his jacket , unbuttoned his shirt collar and rolled his sleeves . His face was drenched in wet drops of sweat and his breathing was deep . Stuart walked up to him with his hands in his trouser pocket . 

" Hello brother Stuart ." Henric said nonchalantly and turned to the next log . 

" Henric you need to stop . I was told to call you for dinner , you didn't come for chapel aswell ." Stuart said and Henric gave a heavy sigh . 

" I'll take my punishment then ." He said softly and the other boy bit his lip . 

" I'm sorry I didn't fight better for you today . I'm not that good as Link or Christan when it comes to violence ." Stuart said slowly and Henric turned around . 

" All for the better . Anger without a righteous conviction is wrong ." He said and reached for the axe but Stuart took it first . 

" Did you not hear me ? " He asked him ," You've been called to dinner . You can finish this task another day ." 

" I wish to finish it now , brother Stuart." Henric said passively ," Please hand me the axe . " 

" What's wrong with you ? I understand your desire to always be a martyr but this is foolishness . " Stuart said slowly ," Please Henric , just return with me and - " 

" I will come when I finish my task. " Henric said his voice flat and took the axe from the other boy . Stuart frowned confused in utter confusion . 

What was wrong with him ? He wondered , he had atleast two logs to cut through and that could take nearly an hour . If he didn't come back , then he'd be punished again . Didn't he see that ? 

" Henric ... did something happen before the fight ? Something bothering you ? " Stuart asked and Henric paused in his cutting . 

" If I said yes , would you leave without asking , brother Stuart ? " He said and Stuart gave a frown . 

" Stop calling me that . You have no need to be so formal , no Sister is around ." Stuart said and Henric sighed . 

" Fine , Stuart . What do you want of me ? I only wish to be left alone , is that a sin ? " He said and Stuart noted the slight sourness in his voice .

" Henric , what happened ? Why do you - " 

" Seem so aloof ? So distant ? " Henric asked cynically ," I haven't the slightest clue myself and I have been thinking of nothing else this whole time . I'm just angry and sad , for whatever reason ." 

" When did it start ? " Stuart asked but Henric shook his head .

" Henric , I know you may not believe this but I see you as a friend . A real friend , not just a form of endearment ." Stuart said ," I know you don't believe that , your face says it all but I am telling you , to me you are a friend ." 

" And as friends do , I should share my burden ? " Henric asked wryly and Stuart nodded his head . 

" But ... If you do not wish to , then I will not be the one to force you ." He added and Henric nodded his head and turned away . 

Stuart sighed softly , he had done as much as he could . If Henric did not want to come or tell him anything then he would not push . He turned around , wondering if he should have brought Link aswell , when Henric spoke . 

" What is love ? " Henric asked and the other boy turned around . 

" What ? " Stuart asked him . 

" The assignment by Sister Terry is about love . But ... I found what to write on the almighty and virtues of saints are plentiful to choose from but when it came to the last one ... I had no idea of what to put ." Henric confessed and let the axe go . It fell down and Henric sat on the log with his face downcast . 

" Is that what is bothering you ? You're frustrated on that ? " Stuart asked moving next to him . 

" Yes , In a way ... I admit it . That's what has my mind all wobbled . I am always fast to reply , fast to answer and fast to assist but this time ... I think I need help . " Henric said looking up at the path back to the orphanage . 

" Atleast you're asking for it . Thanks for asking by the way ." Stuart said sitting next to him , he crossed his fingers .," Love ... Mmm... I don't do Sister Terry's class so I'm not much versed on this . But ...let's see ... I think - " 

" I think I'll be done with the wood by the time you answer ." Henric said getting on his feet , " Nevermind , you need not worry about it . I'll find an answer somewhere , eventually ." 

" Wait ! " Stuart said grabbing his hand before he could reach for the axe ," I have an idea , don't rush back to work . Infact , I'll tell you about this answer if you agree to come back ." 

" I see no reason to ." Henric said but Stuart groaned . 

" Please Henric . I'd feel awful if I knew you stayed out here after dark ." Stuart said looking around ," There's rumour down in Yellow Cove of a witch in town ." 

Yellow Cove was the town beyond the orphanage , where boys went to after their completion of stay in Pearl orphanage . It was said to be amazing and large but Henric had never seen it . He'd be nineteen next year when he could leave the orphanage on his own legally . 

" I'm happy your concerned about me but please , do not worry . " Henric said but Stuart looked uncomfortable . 

" Please Henric , come with me back to the dinner Hall . I'll ... stay with you if I have to." Stuart said and Henric knew he was really worried now . Stuart would never have agreed to stay in the dark if he had a choice . He was scared of the dark . 

" You've convinced me , Stuart . " Henric said giving in with a sigh ," I'll go back with you but first let me hear your answers on love . " 

" Why is it about love anyway ? What does that have to do with French ? " Stuart asked and Henric sighed bit gave a small smile . 

" Are you going to say it or should I get back to chopping wood and the witch can take us in the night ? " Henric chided and Stuart groaned at his ill humour .

" Alright , I'll say . Only what I know though ." Stuart said and looked away ," Love means looking beyond someone's faults . Love means caring about someone first before you even think about it . Love means understanding someone despite anything or everything you may disagree on . Love means facing hardships together . Love means a promise of trust and loyalty to someone completely . Love means - " 

" Stop . " Henric said with a frown ," First off , I only needed five answers . Secondly those answers were incredible . And thirdly... were they really yours ? " 

" Yes , yes , yes . Can we go now ? The sun is already gone and I feel chilled to the bone . " Stuart said standing up and Henric knew he was trying to change the subject . He decided not push him and Instead he rolled down his sleeves and put his jacket back on. 

" Well , a deal is a deal . " He said with a small smile ," Let's return then . " 

" Thank the almighty . " Stuart said and turned to the path . Henric picked up the axe and followed behind him .