The Inside
By Caleb
Rudie ran down the street, bumping into bystanders along the way avoiding the Gestapo guards that he knew might be behind every shop, restaurant, or building. He knew he couldn't be late for his and Liesel's meeting. She had said that she got a new book that he must read. Rudie didn't care about the book, but she did, and if it was important to her he would make sure it was important to him. He saw the bridge that they were going to meet under up ahead. It was covered in snow, laden with the flags of the Third Reich on each side. He slid under it, being sure that no one was watching, especially checking for those who wore uniforms. He stood up under the bridge, wiping off the snow he had accumulated in his run there.
"Rudie?" said Liesel, causing the boy to jump. Rudie gave her a blank stare before he replied,
" Ja. Hast du das Buch? (Yes. Have you the book?)"
Liesel pulled a book out of a small leather bag she was carrying that matched her brown jacket. It had just a white cover, and had black title lettering. Rudie read the title aloud, piece by piece with all of his fifth grader's skill as Liesel handed him the book,
"Spelling-in the-German-Language," Liesel had an excited look on her face as he read it. But Rudie, very unexcited, stated,
"Why on earth would you get such a boring book.? We have to read books like this at school, why read this one for fun?!"
Liesel crossed her arms and said with a slight smirk on her face to demonstrate that she knew she was right,
"You should not judge books by their covers! I dare you to read the book. You may just enjoy it."
Rudie, observing the posture of his friend, realized that this was one of those arguments that boys do not win. His father had warned him of such arguments. He sighed, shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Maybe this will help me with our spelling test we have on Friday anyways."
Liesel replied with pride in her voice, "Indeed it may. Take it home with you, just bring it back to me tomorrow at school."
Rudie put it in his bag that held nothing but a soccer ball then said, "Alright, but if my father comes to school tomorrow saying that I died of boredom, then know that I will come back and haunt you."
Liesel chuckled as she turned to leave. "See you at school tomorrow! auf Wiedersehen! (Goodbye)" she yelled walking away. Rudie yelled goodbye back then began his walk back to his home, once again avoiding the places guards were known to stand watch. He passed by the bakery, the recruitment offices, and the Christmas tree in the square, which had its star replaced with a swastika this year. When he arrived home, he did his usual chores, which included his least favorite thing in the world, cleaning out the washroom. He also had to iron press his school uniform, being very careful to neatly straighten the Nazi insignia band on the uniforms shoulder.
He sat down next to the fire, which he just stocked so that it would be warm when his father got home soon. He looked towards the kitchen to make sure that his mother was too busy to notice what he was doing, then pulled out the book. Looking at the title again made his heart sink. Did I really agree to read this? he thought. Sighing, he opened the book. But, to his surprise, the first page was a map of a like a city, or camp. He was now interested, so he continued reading. It was a story of a young soldier who was captured by the enemy in the last war. The soldier had to use a code to relay messages to Germany from the prison camp he was in. Using this code, he was able to get help from the outside to escape. And the code he used was contained in the sentence, "Spelling in the German Language". Rudie closed the book when he came to the end. He was awestruck that such a boring looking book was actually one of the most exciting adventures he had ever experienced. He also wondered why Liesel asked him to receive the book underneath a bridge, and not just in public. But, it didn’t matter, because he knew that the next morning that he would be able to charm Liesel, telling her that she was right about the whole "don't judge books by their covers" thing. He smiled at that thought, then decided that there were definitely arguments that boys just can't win.
"Rudie?" said Liesel, causing the boy to jump. Rudie gave her a blank stare before he replied,
" Ja. Hast du das Buch? (Yes. Have you the book?)"
Liesel pulled a book out of a small leather bag she was carrying that matched her brown jacket. It had just a white cover, and had black title lettering. Rudie read the title aloud, piece by piece with all of his fifth grader's skill as Liesel handed him the book,
"Spelling-in the-German-Language," Liesel had an excited look on her face as he read it. But Rudie, very unexcited, stated,
"Why on earth would you get such a boring book.? We have to read books like this at school, why read this one for fun?!"
Liesel crossed her arms and said with a slight smirk on her face to demonstrate that she knew she was right,
"You should not judge books by their covers! I dare you to read the book. You may just enjoy it."
Rudie, observing the posture of his friend, realized that this was one of those arguments that boys do not win. His father had warned him of such arguments. He sighed, shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Maybe this will help me with our spelling test we have on Friday anyways."
Liesel replied with pride in her voice, "Indeed it may. Take it home with you, just bring it back to me tomorrow at school."
Rudie put it in his bag that held nothing but a soccer ball then said, "Alright, but if my father comes to school tomorrow saying that I died of boredom, then know that I will come back and haunt you."
Liesel chuckled as she turned to leave. "See you at school tomorrow! auf Wiedersehen! (Goodbye)" she yelled walking away. Rudie yelled goodbye back then began his walk back to his home, once again avoiding the places guards were known to stand watch. He passed by the bakery, the recruitment offices, and the Christmas tree in the square, which had its star replaced with a swastika this year. When he arrived home, he did his usual chores, which included his least favorite thing in the world, cleaning out the washroom. He also had to iron press his school uniform, being very careful to neatly straighten the Nazi insignia band on the uniforms shoulder.
He sat down next to the fire, which he just stocked so that it would be warm when his father got home soon. He looked towards the kitchen to make sure that his mother was too busy to notice what he was doing, then pulled out the book. Looking at the title again made his heart sink. Did I really agree to read this? he thought. Sighing, he opened the book. But, to his surprise, the first page was a map of a like a city, or camp. He was now interested, so he continued reading. It was a story of a young soldier who was captured by the enemy in the last war. The soldier had to use a code to relay messages to Germany from the prison camp he was in. Using this code, he was able to get help from the outside to escape. And the code he used was contained in the sentence, "Spelling in the German Language". Rudie closed the book when he came to the end. He was awestruck that such a boring looking book was actually one of the most exciting adventures he had ever experienced. He also wondered why Liesel asked him to receive the book underneath a bridge, and not just in public. But, it didn’t matter, because he knew that the next morning that he would be able to charm Liesel, telling her that she was right about the whole "don't judge books by their covers" thing. He smiled at that thought, then decided that there were definitely arguments that boys just can't win.