School had began, once again, in the little town of El Dorado, Illinois.  During the last days of August and the first few of September the classrooms were hot and the days dragged by as if they were suspended in slow motion.  Tommy was especially sleepy and required nudging several times per day.  Daryl had began the third grade in the Southern Illinois town and he had a distinct English accent.  He was an outgoing friendly person with a razor sharp brain and the ability to communicate his ideas at a level that Billy Bump had not witnessed for his age group.

Another friendly classmate was Jeff who’s parents owned a hardware store in town.  He walked up to Billy one day and announced that he wanted to be friends.  Billy had not experienced such an open and genuine desire to be friends on a regular basis, was very pleased…