Adventure Club

Simon and Peter were the only kids in their neighborhood. They found each other out of necessity more than actual affection for one another. But what started out as a playdate forced by their moms, did eventually grow into a bond with some measure of fondness. By the time they were 8 years old, they were inseparable. In school, they sat next to each other, until the teacher moved them for talking too much. They walked home from school together, ate after school snack together, did school work together, and played together. When they could manage it, they ate dinner together and stayed at each others’ houses too. Their parents were just glad to have them out of their hair most of the time. 

It was on one such afternoon, that the boys started an adventure club. It was very exclusive, as they were the only two members. In this club, they would explore the unexplored; see what they had not seen; go where they had not gone. It is entirely possible that they were reading too many adventure stories, but as long as they were out of the house and home by dinner, they were free to do as they please. Simon found an old leather helmet in his garage and donned it for their adventures. Their first adventure was to Peter’s garage, to see what kind of gear they could find him. 

They tried on a ski mask, a bicycle helmet, and a snorkel but nothing quite had the adventurous zeal they were going for. Then, out of a dusty old box, Simon pulled a dusty on black derby hat. He wiped the dust off of it and shook it to try and clean it more thoroughly before placing it on Peter’s head. It was perfect. Simon and Peter donned their explorer’s gear and ventured out into the neighborhood, in search of unexplored frontiers.

On the edge of town, they found an old house. Its windows were boarded up and missing their glass. There was once a deadbolt on the door but it had long been forced open by some enterprising hobo. Carefully looking out for any snitches, they snuck into the dilapidated building easily. Inside, they found less treasure and more animal droppings. The carefully scoured the main floor, looking for anything left that was worth finding. They contemplated going upstairs but after inspecting them, they decided it was probably best to stay on the ground level. They left with nothing to show for their efforts.

They were soon called home to dinner and their adventuring for the day came to an end. They parted ways and returned to their homes, shelving their adventure chapeaus for the evening. Simon fidgeted through dinner. His mother tried to ask him how his day was but he was not forthcoming. His dad asked if something was wrong, but he insisted he was fine. As soon as he was done eating, he bolted to his room, where he spent the evening planning their next adventure route and daydreaming about the treasures they would find. 

School dragged on that day for both of the boys. Lessons were even less interesting than usual. Lunch was less tasty, even the desserts their moms packed. Even recess had lost some of its usual charms. There was just nothing to replace the pure joy of exploring the unexplored. No one understood like Simon and Peter understood.

Finally, it was time to return home. They skipped their snack, they fibbed and said they had no school work to finish. They grabbed their hats and hurried on their way. Simon had told Peter that he had a route all worked out. Peter was satisfied with the plan and went along with it without arguing. First, they would go to the old bridge over the river. No one ever went there anymore and there were sure to be some coins on the banks of the small river. Then, they would go to the field where all the big kids played their sports and explore under the bleachers. Finally, they would go to the woods behind the grocery store, surely there was treasure to be found.

  They eagerly headed out to the old bridge. It was a simple footbridge, made of wood with some iron pieces holding it together. The river there was never more than three feet or so wide. There was nothing in this part of town anymore. Their parents had told them that across the river there was once houses, a playground, and even a store or two, but everything closed down and was demolished. They say someone was going to build apartment buildings or something, but they never did, so the land sat, now overgrown by local flora. 

Though unused, the bridge seemed safe enough, it was only a few feet above the water anyway. The boys crossed it several times, their eyes on the surrounding ground for anything shiny or noteworthy. Simon found a coin. Neither of the boys knew where it was from, though that did not stop them from speculating. He pocketed it and they pressed onward. Once they had decided that they had found all there was to find at the bridge, they went across it and over to the abandoned field. You could still find remnants of foundations to buildings and other rubble. They sifted through it and kicked rocks for a while. They were still conducted their grid pattern search when an old man came walking down the path. He was already across the bridge by the time the boys spotted him. Peter saw him first. 

When Peter pointed him out, Simon just shrugged his shoulders. Unless he tried to stop them, they had no interest in what an adult was doing. Peter, ever the follower, shrugged as well and continued his hunt through the grass and gravel. But the man walked up to the boys without hesitation.

“What are you boys doing here?” his tone was inquisitive rather than accusatory.

“Exploring,” said Simon.

“Oh is that what you are doing?” he said, a smile on his gray whiskered face.

“Yeah, it is,” confirmed Peter.

“Well have you found anything yet?” he asked.

“Ye-” Peter started to answer but Simon cut him off.

“Not really, we’re still looking,” he shot Peter a meaningful look. If they told this man what they found, they may have to give it up to him. Simon was not in the business of sharing his treasure with anyone but Peter.

“Oh well that’s too bad,” he said, consolingly. “Maybe you would have better luck somewhere else?”

“Oh, well, we think the woods behind the grocery store,” said Peter proudly. Simon shook his head, disappointed in his colleague. He had no idea when to keep his trap shut.

“I really don’t think you boys should go there,” he said, furrowing his brow. He checked his watch and seemed alarmed at what he saw, he began to walk away. “Good adventuring boys, but do stay away from the woods!” He waved as he walked away, not waiting for an answer. 

They weren’t going to give him one anyway, Simon just shook his head and turned his attention back to the ground. 

“Don’t you think we maybe ought to listen to him?” Peter asked.

“Don’t be silly,” Simon responded, “He’s just a grumpy old adult, trying to ruin our fun.”

“Ok..” replied Peter, unconvinced.

All of their searching in the field that was once buildings turned up a silver dollar and a pendant with no chain. Disappointed in their haul so far, Simon insisted that they skip the bleachers and go straight to the woods, where they would surely find something worth finding. Though uneasy, Peter agreed and off they went.

The woods behind the grocery store were proper woods, not just some trees and grass in the middle of town. Behind it, was forest as far as was visible. There was a hiking path through that woods, but it did not come near the grocery store; that would sort of ruin the hiking experience. At the end of the tree line was the expected garbage collected by the wind from the store parking lot. The boys stepped over that, keeping an eye on it just in case it held something worth finding. Seeing nothing, they ventured into the thick underbrush. 

They spotted several squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks. They even glimpsed a deer before it ran off. This was more of the adventure they were looking for. They found funny looking mushrooms which they knew better than to touch. They found a tree that had been struck by lightning and fell, its charred body resting on the forest floor. They found some caterpillars and let them walk all over their hands and arms. This really was a proper adventure. But they knew it was getting late, and they were further from their neighborhood than they should be so they soldiered home.

Luckily, they made it back before dinner time, so they had not worried anyone. But they had vowed to keep their adventure in the woods a secret. If that old man did not want them in the woods, their parents probably didn’t either and they were not about to give up a prime adventure spot just because some adults wanted to be poopy pants. Simon knew Peter had a hard time keeping secrets so he had Peter ask his parents if he could have dinner at Simon’s house, they agreed. 

They just sat down to dinner when Peter started to itch. He tried to scratch quietly under the table, but it was no use. It was getting worse. Soon, Simon was scratching as well. They soon drew puzzled looks from Simon’s parents.

“What is wrong, boys?” his dad asked. “You’re awfully fidgety.”

“Looks like you have something itchy…” his mom said. “Come over here,”

Simon climbed off his stool and obeyed. His mother had to inspect him for only a few seconds before she started laughing. 

“Where did you boys get to today?” she asked.

“Just around town,” Simon said.

“What is it dear?” Simon’s dad asked.

“Well, it appears that the boys picked up a nice case of poison ivy,” she said a smile on her face.

“Where did you pick up that?” he wanted to know.

“The woods behind the grocery store,” answered Peter’s small and guilty voice.

“Well,” she said, “that place is absolutely crawling with the stuff so that makes sense. Let’s get you boys cleaned up.”

She had them wash and put on clean clothes. She smothered their now red and rashy skin with some sort of soothing lotion and put the poor, uncomfortable boys to bed. They were laying there, awake, when Peter spoke up.

“Next time, let’s listen to the adults, ok Simon?”

“Yeah, ok Peter.”