Inklings Book Finalist: Zachary Walcott

Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2017 finalist, Zachary Walcott! Zachary finished 3rd grade this past school year. The story he submitted is called “Timothy, The Boy of Courage” We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did!
Leave a comment below on what you thought!

 

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Timothy, The Boy of Courage

by Zachary Walcott
 

The Young High Schooler

+++++Once there was a boy called Timothy Slum. He was the smartest kid in the school, and that’s saying something, because his school went to 8th grade and he was only in 5th grade.
+++++Timothy had received news from his parents that he totally was NOT expecting. His mom had said proudly that night, “My young son Timothy Slum is a young high schooler!”
Timothy had dropped his fork full of chicken and stormed out of the room, toward his own room.
“THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Timothy shouted back.
+++++His parents had been expecting a hug. Well, that’s the opposite of what his parents had wanted! So Timothy had to go to high school as an 11-year-old, and that was that.

The First Day of School

+++++Timothy felt he wouldn’t have the nerves to do this again.
+++++Well, Timothy’s parents were 99.9% percent sure he was going to like it. Timothy, on the other hand, was about 0.1% sure he was going to like it. “Well,” he thought, “At least that equals 100%.”
+++++That morning, Timothy woke up at 2:00, thinking about his first day. All the high schoolers were experts at insulting. I mean, that was their specialty.
+++++Tim tried to go to sleep again. His body was tried, but his brain alert. So, he decided it would be better just to play on his computer, do some nerdy, math-game thing. He got on the computer and searched some stuff about math equations and authors whom he already knew.
+++++“This is boring, but it’s better than sitting in that high school dump,” thought Timothy. “I have a very exhausting day ahead of me!” And so he did.
+++++“This is the worst . . . I have such bad parents,” thought Timothy. “This is human torture!” Then he became more hopeful. “Maybe the day won’t be so bad.” Then he changed his mind. “This is going to be the worst day!” he convinced himself. Tim was not looking forward to high school, “but why was he encouraging himself to have bad thoughts?” he wondered.
+++++When 6:45 came, Timothy got dressed, brushed his teeth, and organized his backpack.
+++++By the time that Timothy and his mom had arrived at the school and had entered the principal’s office, Timothy had already received several dirty looks and even a few whispered insults.
+++++“This is like one hundred Avery’s in the same place,” Timothy thought, referring to the bully from his old school.
+++++Timothy sighed. This situation was as bad as his mom lecturing him on how smart he was. And “boy was that saying something!” he thought.

The Worst Day Ever

+++++Timothy was practically killing himself, trying not to lose his temper as the older kids laughed and made mean faces at him. He was a sapling and they were giants.
+++++For once, Timothy’s classes were actually at his own high level, which was good. Probably, it was the only good thing about being in high school. But there were also these five-minute breaks between classes, and that was definitely something bad. The hallways were crowded with high schoolers jostling for space and looking at Tim in funny ways that just made him feel awkward and stupid.
+++++When Timothy got home that day, he was exhausted. Timothy regretted being born–perhaps that’s the simple way of putting it. It had been the worst day ever.
+++++His mom and dad were proud, but Timothy was disappointed. He stayed up late thinking about how bad this week could be. Would he continue to be the sapling or would he rise and conquer these beastly, insulting giants? As he pondered he felt his eyes getting heavy and he fell asleep.

A New Friend

+++++Timothy went to school the next day, still exhausted from his first day. The front of the school had a place with a sparkling pathway leading through a grassy area full of students.
This time, when he walked through the gates of the school, he saw a boy who looked about the same age and the same height as he. Timothy wondered who he was.
+++++As soon as the new boy caught sight of Timothy, he scurried away, as if he were a bunny and Timothy were a fox.
+++++It turned out they had almost all the same classes. That’s how they began to talk.
+++++One day in English class, Timothy popped the awkward silence thinking he might have found a friend. “Hi!” said Timothy.
+++++“Hi. My name is Larry,” said the new boy.
+++++“My name is Timothy, but you can call me Tim.”
+++++Soon, each day got better and Timothy actually started to have some fun at school. On one of those days, Timothy even thanked his mom and dad for enrolling him in high school. Such gratitude shocked them.
+++++When his parents asked him if he had made any friends at school, Timothy replied, “Yes!” He was so full with glee. Timothy now had a friend who helped him ignore the bullies. The bullies pretty much left Timothy alone, once they saw that he was no longer impressed or intimidated by them.
+++++Once though, some bullies broke into Timothy’s locker and stole a large book. Away they ran down the hall. They weaved in and out of school traffic like a high speed chase. The other students were angry drivers.
+++++“We just stole your life! This book is your life! Loser!” they shouted back, at Timothy.
+++++The book was not Timothy’s life. Not by a long shot. Actually, the book was just some simple-minded, bedtime reading.
+++++But, before the bullies could reach the end of the hallway, Mr. Stretchmore, a gym teacher, lassoed them up in his arms. He made them return the book to Timothy and to apologize to him in front of everyone in the hall. Timothy felt tired, so tired of bullying. He thanked Mr. Stretchmore, though, and returned the book to his locker.

The King

+++++It was fun having Larry around as a friend. Timothy learned that Larry had never had any friends either. This fact hit Timothy like a bullet. He was reminded of how the kids at his old school did everything they could not to avoid becominge his friend. Such memories still hurt Timothy.
+++++Though sooner than later, Timothy was grinning. He had become the King of High School. It was awesome. People had started calling him “Bbro” and “Ddude.” It was nice, like he was some sort of celebrity.
+++++His second year was even better, which seemed unthinkable that first year. Now, there were actually some girls who liked Timothy. Not that he liked any of them.
+++++Timothy’s year was going as well as one would ever hope, even better. He was was treated awesomely. Larry was being treated well, too. They were the Twin Kings, if such a thing existed. IT WAS A W E S O M E!
+++++During the next two years of high school, every day was exciting and Timothy was happy. When time came for college, Timothy met new friends. He still missed Larry, his first real friend.

THE END

Author Profile

Zachary attends Town School for Boys in San Francisco. He loves sports. When bored, Zachary loves to read, including his first published book, A Cop Named Fuzz Copper. Although Zachary considers it a bad habit, he likes to play on the computer. Of course, he enjoys playing with his friends too!
An aside: Zachary himself insists that he is not as smart as Timothy.

Acknowledgments

I thank my parents for understanding when I needed to write and I thank my friend Blake for being quiet while I was writing next to him. I thank my teacher Mr. Corey Olds, who not only helped me, but also edited and published my first book. I thank Mr. Olds the most for introducing me to the writing world!