Read Online 21 Days in October by Magali Favre - Free Book Online Page B

AWOL?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Gaétan is shivering inside the phone booth. He called Louise as soon as his shift was over, despite the early hour.
    â€œIt’s a figure of speech. You’ve got nothing to say to me?”
    â€œI’m sorry about last night, but something came up.”
    â€œYou ran into a pretty girl?”
    â€œDon’t be ridiculous! I’ll explain tonight. I need to see you. It’s important.”
    â€œI have a lot of work today. I need to study every once in a while, you know. And I have a paper due on Louis Riel. It’s fascinating!”
    Gaétan can feel that his disappearance last night has hurt her. How can he regain her trust? Then, he has a sudden idea.
    â€œLouis Riel! My father used to tell me about him.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œMy great-grandfather knew him.”
    â€œIs that a joke?”
    â€œNo, it’s true. He went out West as a settler.”
    â€œCome by the Chat Noir tomorrow night and you can tell me all about it.”
    â€œAlright. See you!”
    â€œAnd rest up so you’re in shape. Expect an interrogation.”
    Gaétan hangs up. His hands are blocks of ice, but he’s just won a small victory. Now that he’s sure to see Louise again, the boy hurries directly home. He promised his mother he would be there to take care of his brothers.

    The two boys, just back from school, jump on his bed to wake him up. Gaétan looks at them through half-opened eyes. The sun is already beginning to fade away. These days, it seems that the sun is always angry with him. Gaétan goes to bed and it’s barely light out. He gets up and it’s already dark.
    â€œMama said you have to take care of us,” says the younger boy.
    Gaétan pulls himself wearily out of bed and drags his feet into the kitchen. As long as he’s home he would have liked to sleep a little more. But he did promise.
    â€œYou guys want toast with peanut butter?”
    â€œNo, cookies from the box!”
    Gaétan smiles. “The box” is the red metal container where his mother puts her famous cookies—oatmeal, molasses, or gingerbread, depending on what she feels like making or what’s left in the kitchen cupboards. All the children on the block have tasted them. At Christmas, she uses it to store her fruitcake, which can stay there for a month. Even empty, the box smells spicy enough to tempt a saint.
    â€œWant a glass of milk, too?”
    â€œCan we watch TV?”
    â€œGo ahead, I’ll bring everything in.”
    Deep down, Gaétan is proud to be taking care of his brothers, to be responsible enough to say yes or no. He enjoys preparing their snack, which he puts on a tray and brings into the living room.
    â€œWow, what service! Thanks!”
    â€œI’m giving you a treat today, but don’t think it’s gonna be like this every day. After
Fanfreluche
, go do your homework,” he says in a voice he wants to sound authoritative.
    â€œWe don’t even got any!”
    â€œI doubt that. If I remember correctly, Mme Paquette gave homework every night. Don’t even try to pull a fast one on me.”
    â€œI just have a little math to do,” admits Patrick.
    â€œI got some grammar exercises,” Richard adds. “You gonna help us?”
    â€œWe’ll see. In the meantime, move over! I want to watch
Fanfreluche,
too.”
    The two boys jump aside to make a place for him in the centre of the sofa. The show’s theme song begins and Fanfreluche appears, opening her enormous book. Today, the mischievous doll with her pigtails pointing in all directions is going to the circus, where Mme Dora will predict her future. As usual, when Fanfreluche doesn’t agree with the story, she jumps into the adventure to change the ending.
    Gaétan prefers
Sol and Gobelet
, the two clowns who always get themselves into crazy situations. But they’re on Tuesdays. And anyway, the