By the Creek Read Online Free PDF Page A

pursed his lips slightly when David asked him questions he wasn’t quite sure how to answer.
    “Are you listening to me?” his mother asked, and the image of Benjamin in his mind popped like a bubble. “I was saying that his family might not be too happy about him hanging around with you. The Amish aren’t known for being accepting of outsiders, and you spending time with him might get your friend into trouble.”
    David sat up. “Then what am I supposed to do? He’s my friend and I like talking to him. Should I just ignore him and not speak to him when I see him? That would be rude.” His mother had often pointed out whenever she thought he was rude, and he’d waited sixteen years to give a bit back.
    “Don’t sass,” she said sharply.
    “I’m just being honest and behaving the way you told me to behave,” David told her innocently.
    “Fine. I’m not going to forbid you from talking to him if you want, but you may end up disappointed if his family finds out he’s talking to you and they put an end to it.” She got up and moved toward the door. “Come into the kitchen and have some cereal if you’re hungry.” She closed the door behind her, and David’s stomach instantly growled. He’d been fine until she mentioned food, and now he was starving. He got up, wandered out of his room, and sat at the table, pouring generic frosted flakes from the box into his bowl and then adding milk. His mother sat down, but he wasn’t in the mood for talking.
    Wouldn’t you know it, he’d found someone he thought he might be able to be friends with, which was no easy feat out here in the middle of nowhere; it figured he’d be Amish and his family might not be happy about it if they found out. Life definitely sucked sometimes. David stared into his bowl and ate without looking at his mother.
    “It’s supposed to cloud over and rain later today, so I thought I’d go to town to do the shopping. I also need to stop at the drugstore. Do you want to come?”
    David lifted his gaze and peered out the window, looking out over the field as the grasses swayed in the wind. He didn’t see Benjamin walking back home. “Sure, that would be cool.” It would give him a chance to get out of the house. “Can I drive?”
    “Yes, you can drive,” she said with a smile and got up from the table, carrying her coffee mug with her. “I’m going to get dressed and then we can leave.” She left the room, and David looked back over the field, wondering how being friends with someone could get Benjamin into trouble. It seemed too stupid, but could it really be true?

Chapter 4

     
     
    H IS mother had been right—the rain had started that afternoon, and for the next week, it was cold, cloudy, and wet. More than once, David had bundled up when it wasn’t raining and gone out, walking along the side of the road because he needed to get out of the house for a while. He couldn’t help looking across the almost manicured fields across the street toward the cluster of buildings. No matter the weather, he saw people outside bustling between buildings, working regardless of the rain. Sometimes he saw people in the fields behind horse-pulled wagons, tending crops. He always looked to see if he could recognize Benjamin, but he never did.
    Finally, after almost a week of wet and damp, the clouds parted and the sun came out. Within a few days, everything went from gray to green, and the air went from cold to hot and heavy. The one thing the house didn’t have that David quickly wished for was air-conditioning. Whoever built this house had definitely been cheap. Their house had been built on the corner of the farmer’s field that surrounded them and there were no real trees on the property, at least none of any size, so the house got no shade and became hotter and hotter as the days went by. But as much as he wanted to complain, he was glad that the rain was gone. While his mother worked, he didn’t have much to do, and as the temperature