Soda Bottle Kid

The day past and not much happened at camp after the Dooley
adventure. The talk was of payback and the excitment of the previous night.
  Rodney lay in a rack thinking of everything that happened in the past month.
The world full of people and how they walk on this earth hurting, stealing , cheating
making their way. The thought of "I wont be that way", rolled though and out again,
  I've done all this stuff and envolved other people, man if ever this is told I will be
burned at the post.
    "Ton , I dont want to cash Dooley's bottles today", "Let's just get ready to get to
the church and get back to our families."
   "Ok,  Rodney, tomorrow looks better any way", Ton smiled and went to tell the others.
   Rodney drifted again of how they had come to earn money for the bikes and pull off one
of the greatest capers in all Springtown, the bus the camp trip and best of all Dooley's.
  
  Next morning they all packed up their gear and walked the 2 miles of track behind the
feed store and to the Methodist Church, piled everything dirty and soiled against a faux
delivery bus, it was 10 am. A full hour before the parents were to arrive.
  All the guys got in with parents looking back at Rodney and smiled and waved.
Except Josh, he just kinda nodded, flashed the peace sign. " Call me ", he said.
And disappeared, about the time Rodney's Mom showed up.
  " Did you have a good time honey"? , his Mom smiled as she quizzed about the
camp adventure. Rodney feigned the camp follies, canoeing, horse riding, and
archery. The Olympic games and capture the flag.
    It sounds like you had fun, her voice dropped and said, " Honey, Edwin and I split
and He moved out. Rodney, could have jumped out of his seat, but he was so wiped
out. " It's just you and me now but, we have to move....I cant do the rent at the farm house..
   Rodney was silent...., this is all too much, he started to say something, but it came out as
"Oh that's ok, It'll work out..."  The swirl of everything sank with it's full weight on his 13 yr
old mind. " Mom would it be ok if I went to bed early?"
   "Sure, what ever you need to do.", they pulled in the drive , Rodney's gunshot began to
pain him. "Are you ok?" his Mom asked. "Yeah I just hurt my leg playing flag football."
  , Rodney faked.
    Arriving home Clipper jumped and licked him all over as he got out of the car.
" good boy, Good Boy!, Back off dog" ! , He laughed as the dog held him down and
loved him up.
 " I guess he missed you" ,his Mom said.
   "I think so, Rodney said
   " I missed you too," his Mom pulled him up and hugged and kissed his forehead.
 That night Rodney fell fast asleep and dreamed he was flying over Springtown with
Clipper and they looked down at all the little people and farm houses. He saw Dooley
in his lawn shaking his fist in the air, but he couldn't touch them. He even tried to shoot
at them but missed. The crack of the shotgun woke him up, but he fell back asleep with
his dog at the foot of his bed.
  The next morning he looked out the window of his bedroom, to see his mom talking to the Sheriff
in the drive. His mom was saying " I'm sure it wasn't him he just got back from camp."
   Rodney sunk under the covers, Dooley called the Sheriff??? OH Crap!!
(Tune in next time).