"Tommy, where you gone, mate? I was looking all yonder for you."
Seated by the large oak tree near the schoolhouse, 16 year old Thomas glanced up to see his cousin Abraham approach him , flanked by a few of his buddies. It was the summer of 1754 as the green leaves of the oak trees were brightly outlined against the blazing sun at its zenith. The young Briton used the moment to take a break from his studies and enjoy his last week of school reading a 'very pleasant tale 'as he referred to it in his own words until he was sought out by his cousin and his posse.
"Why, my very curious cousin, I was enjoying a marvelous novel by Sir Miguel Cervantes. You ever heard of him?"
"Nay, I can't say I have." Abraham Parrish only shrugged and glanced over at the boys as they look puzzled. "Is he some kind of knight, lord, or a crusader who dignified himself Only one, a chubby curly dark-haired fellow named Jonathan, had his eyes glow with recognition.
"Nay, he is the Spanish writer who wrote Don Quixote, the story of a peculiar nobleman who aspires to be a knight, but ends up going on a wild goose chase with his 'squire' Sancho Panza."
Thomas clapped his hands. "Ah, very well put. We do have some well-read folks in this group, Abe."
The hazel-eyed Parrish only shook his head in bemusement. "I can see that. However, not everyone wastes their days burying their faces in several pages of parchment. How about you join us for a game of football? We can use one more person on the team."
"That sounds pretty entertaining, but I will have to decline this time." Thomas smiled at his cousin despite the disappointed looks on the faces of the boys. " I have a book to finish, but assure you I'll be available to play the next day."
"You responded the same way yesterday and the days prior," Abe reminded him. "If you don't particularly enjoy our company any longer, please speak up rather than dilly dally. "
"It isn't that I don't enjoy horsing around with you boys," Thomas countered, rising from his spot below the tree. "I do enjoy playing our games, but there are times I need to do something more sedentary like chess, checkers, or even enjoying a nice book. Besides, don't you have a test on Ptolemy's theorem?"
"That was yesterday, Tommy," Alfie, the only redhead in the group of boys, replied. "Besides, we know you scored high marks on it with your all knowing mind. You are the schoolhouse's know it all. No wonder Mr. Reeves favors you over the rest of the boys."
Thomas chuckled. "I am sure if you defined your priorities well, you'd all be on my level."
"And why would we want to do that?" Alfie frowned. "Not everyone has aspirations to become the next Mr. Reeves. "
Before anyone could utter a retort, Aberforth, the straw-haired lad in their group, looked ahead and pointed his finger across the grassland.
"Ho! Look yonder, boys. The fair maidens make their arrival!"
Curious about this latest development, Thomas glanced over to where Aberforth was pointing and noticed a small group of female students leaving the other brick schoolhouse meant for female students. Registering the jape, Tom chuckled as he glanced back at the boys.
"That's quite a marvelous recitation, Aberforth. I see you read a lot about King Arthur's adventures. You should drop in every Wednesday for the Reader's Digest group. We need more well-read gentlemen like you."
"Oy, but he isn't a dull anorak like you, Tommy," Abraham quipped. However, Thomas knew better than to let his cousin's wiseacre behavior bait him. Besides, he knew that Abe had a tendency to get entranced by tales of epics that included knights doing chivalrous deeds or slaying beasts here and there. Moreover, judging by the way his sea blue eyes glanced over at the girls leaving the schoolhouse, it could be deduced that not only tall tales caught his interest.
"Oi! Let's leave my bookworm cousin to his adventures and embark on one of our own with the maidens. "
As the boys left to speak to the girls, Thomas lay back in the temporary shade the vegetation provided from the direct sunlight of the summer sky and tried to concentrate on Don Miguel's story, but found his mind wandering to other matters, such as the recent war on the continent. Ever since the Jacobite uprising ended a decade earlier with the end of the Bonnie Prince's Stuart dynasty power grab, a few short-lived wars like the War of the Austrian Succession and the Silesian Wars, had popped, but based on the reports from the press in London, it seemed like there will be another skirmish, this time in the American colonies.
"What are you reading? That book looks pretty noteworthy."
Startled out of his thoughts, young Thomas glanced up to see a lass his age, with auburn hair that glowed brightly in the sunlight, staring down at him with curious green eyes. Hastily, Thomas sat up , dropping his book. Blushing, he awkwardly bent down to retrieve his book, but the girl that had approached him was already snatching it. Curiously, her eyes perused the title and her eyes grew wide.
"Don Quixote? This one was a delightful read. Much more than any of Shakespeare's foreseeable comedies. "
Thomas tilted his head to the side, intrigued by this girl's taste in reading material. "You really think so?"
"If I didn't, why would I be telling you how much of a delightful read it was?"
The young Briton just chuckled a bit stiffly. "That's true. Oh, how rude of me. Let me introduce myself. I am Thomas Parrish, I am sure you have heard of my father, Silas Parrish, First Dragoon in His Majesty's 76th Cavalry."
"Abigail van Horn," his female companion replied in turn." As for your father, no , I haven't, although my father is a part of the 52nd East Indian Regiment. "
The young man nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. Not everyone is informed on military matters and such. Abigail, eh? Lovely name. I think that was the name of my dear mother's mother. She had passed on before I was born."
"Really now?" Abigail blinked. "I am flattered you think so. Onto other matters, what do you plan to do for the following year once you complete your education?"
Thomas furrowed his brows in concentration as he adjusted his hat, pondering the question carefully.
"For one, I intend to apply to further my education at Harvard or any of the prestigious universities in the British Isles. Before that, I plan to make an excursion to the New World colonies and perhaps grace the Caribbean Islands of my presence. "
The young English girl raised her bright red eyebrows. "That sounds quite....ambitious although the only souls going to the colonies now are the King's soldiers."
"Oh ho! So it is true! So we are going to compete with the French for their colonies, eh? "
"It would seem so based on how the events are playing out," Abigail responded, bending own to examine a dandelion, as bright yellow as the blazing sun. "I heard from my father that this was due to a young colonist by the name of George Washington who had lead a militia force against them and was captured as a result. Troops are due to embark to the Americas once Parliament and the king agree to it."
"Good lord, as if we needed another war with all this conflict on the continent." Thomas fiddled with his shirt's button. "And all this as a result of a lad a few years older than me, eager for glory, engages a superior military force with a small group of irregulars. Has he not read Sun Tzu?"
Thomas's new female friend giggled as she sat down under the tree. "You realize that King George desired the place known the Ohio River Valley before the French got their dirty hands on it? Britain wants to expand her colonies and we are bound to butt heads with the French and perhaps the Spanish should any of the powers know no bounds to their aspirations."
The brown-haired schoolboy sat beside his new pal and shook his head. "Oh boy. At this rate, my father's regiment will be deployed to the colonies. Moreover, recruitment drives for military positions will be in full swing."
"If it comes to that, will you enlist for the Royal Army?" Abigail tilted her head to the side, blinking her eyes which seemed to glow a bit in the intense sunlight.
Thomas thought for what felt like several moments before turning to reply to his female friend.
"For the honor of my father, uncle, and their father before them, I shall pledge my allegiance to the crown should duty call."
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