Chapter the Fifth of Part the Fifth
In which the narrative recounts acts from the life of Brendan McLish in Chicago, Illinois.
Brendan began to worry when he noticed how preoccupied Mrs. Pafko was when she was supposed to be explaining the mysteries of mathematics to the students in the choir’s home schooling program. When Mrs. Pafko was called away and an equally preoccupied John Kim gave up his organ practice to talk shyly about music history, Brendan became more worried. When Luke Kenney was called out of class, Brendan knew that a really serious problem was afoot. There was no way Luke could be in trouble personally and, as head chorister, he was always the first boy to be told of a problem regarding the choir.
“You look like you are expecting a terrorist attack any minute,” Tel Arman said to Brendan after class.
Pir Min flinched at the thought as he walked with Brendan towards the wreck room, but said nothing.
“I think I’m expecting something, but I don’t know what,” said Brendan.
“Do you think that your government has found out about us and is ordering us to go back to the world we came from, rubble and all?” asked Tel Arman.
“I have no idea,” said Brendan.
“Father Morton’s threatening to terminate the choir,” said Craig Pafko.
“WHAT?” exclaimed several boys.
“Mother didn’t say that,” said Sue Pafko.
“What did she say?” asked Kit.
“She said the choir program has a problem that has to be worked out.”
The boys and Sue reached the wreck room where Timmy Sanders was playing a game of chess with himself. Brendan hardly knew Timmy and had not even noticed him very much until his outburst against the “aliens” the week before. Unlike most of the boys, Timmy never greeted Brendan or introduced himself when he joined the choir. He was not in the choir’s home schooling program because he went to a private school elsewhere, and so Brendan saw less of him than of the other boys.
“What’s the problem that’s got to be worked out?” asked Miles.
“I don’t know,” said Sue.
“I’ll bet Timmy squealed on us and the cops are closing down the choir,” said Craig Pafko.
Timmy jerked his head up at that.
“Squealed on who?” Timmy asked.
“You know what I mean,” said Craig. “The whole choir program is getting sent down the tubes because you told the cops we’ve got illegal aliens here.”
Tel Arman pursed his lips, suggesting that he was thinking of picking a fight with Timmy. Pir Min’s face caved in and he wandered over to the bookcase crammed with tattered paperbacks and discarded comics. One further sign of trouble that Brendan noticed was that Mr. Mason, Kit’s father, who was supposed to be on wreck room duty was not there. That spelled trouble was because Mr. Mason was the church’s lawyer.
“I didn’t tell the cops anything,” said a frightened Timmy Sanders.
“You said you were going to,” Miles reminded him.
“But I didn’t do it,” Timmy protested.
“Yes you did!” Craig insisted. “Why else would they be closing the choir program in the middle of the year like this?”
“Who said they’re closing the choir program?” Timmy asked, genuinely frightened at the thought.
“Nobody said they’re closing the choir program,” said Sue.
“Then why are Chet and Luke and our mother all in Father Morton’s office?” asked Craig.
“Maybe Father Morton wanted to tell them how much he likes the choir,” suggested Kit with an ironic smile.
Craig, in spite of being a touch smaller than Timmy, grabbed Timmy by the collar.
“So, why did you squeal on us?” Craig asked him.
“I DIDN’T GO TO THE COPS YOU CHICKEN POOPERS!” Timmy yelled.
Oh, I get it,” said Miles, with understanding dawning in his face. “You squealed on us to Father Morton and he’s closing the choir before the church gets into trouble.”
Suddenly, several boys pounced on top of Timmy, punching at him and calling him every bad name the boys knew and then a few more. Suddenly, the faces of the boys frighteningly resembled the faces of the people in the temple who tried to sacrifice Passenell to their gods.
“COOL IT!” Brendan yelled.
The boys who were on top of a teary Timmy Sanders froze, but they did not back off. Only after he had called out those words did Brendan begin to understand what he had done. Both his hanging back and his outcry were reflex actions, but he knew they were right. It was what Luke would have done. Pir Min sitting deep in his corner, looked devastated. Sue Pafko gave Brendan a look of deep gratitude.
“Why should we cool it?” asked Miles.
“Timmy,” said Brendan. “You said you didn’t tell anybody about how friends from a different world. Is that true?”
“Yes!—I swear I didn’t tell anybody! Not even my parents!” cried a frightened Timmy.
“Do you believe him?” asked Davy.
“Timmy is innocent until proven guilty,” said Sue.
“Then put him on trial right now!” Craig yelled. “I’ll be the judge!”
“And I’ll be the jury!” added Davy.
Grant Elliott walked into the wreck room just then and gave the boys an odd look when he saw that most of them were still poised to punch out Timmy.
“I have an idea,” said Brendan. “I think we should wait until Chet gets here and tells us what’s really going on. If he says that somebody squealed on us for harboring aliens, we’ll ask Timmy again if he said anything. If the problem is something else, then we owe Timmy a huge apology.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” said an uneasy Grant Elliott.
The boys all seemed to come to their senses and they drifted away from Timmy, whose face was still white from the attack on him.
“If they close the choir,” said Kit, “I suppose we can go join Mark’s choir in his world.”
“They’ll probably find an excuse to close that choir, too,” said Miles. “Mark says that the guy who sponsors their choir has enemies.”
“We’re running out of worlds where we can be a choir,” said Brendan. “Tel Arman and Pir Min’s world is wrecked, Kyle’s world is horrible, Dunsland’s world is full of sorcerers who don’t like music, we can’t go back to Polnar’s world after what we did there—“”
“Danzigger’s people didn’t like having me,” said Pir Min, “so I don’t think they’d like it if we all showed up there.”
“And so if the enemies of Mark’s patron wreck his choir, we’re all that’s left,” said Miles.
“And if they close our choir, then we’ve got nowhere to go.”
“Except Merithwell,” said Kit.
“Yea,” said Brendan, “but if there’s nobody to listen to us, then it’s just like having rehearsals.”
“I’ll listen to you,” said Sue. “I’ve had lots of practice at that already.”
“I’ll bet Ritzvah and Petzkah will come listen to us, too,” add Pir Min.
“Maybe Merithwell will collect lots of people who like to listen to us and we can sing for them,” suggested Kit.
“And then we can invade all the worlds and start boys’ choirs everywhere,” suggested Miles.
As those words were spoken, a grim faced Chet Maxson came into the wreck room followed by a crushed Luke Kenney. Brendan looked at his watch. Rehearsal was already five minutes late; one more very bad sign. The boys hastily followed Chet into the choir room and took their places. Chet played out the ringing chords the signaled the beginning of rehearsal but ended up on a harsh discord. The boys stiffened and prepared themselves for bad news.
“I can see by the looks on your faces that rumors are flying all over the place,” said Chet. “So, before we start our rehearsal, I’ll tell you the news straight. The good news is that the world hasn’t totally come to an end—yet.” Silence. “Now for the bad news. I think most of you know that our choir program is supported by an endowment given this church many years ago by a donor who wanted this church to have a choir of boys and men. That means St. Dunstan’s has had a free ride, musically, all these years. We have a choir that attracts people from all over the country without the church having to finance it. It also means that this parish is stuck with this choir whether it likes it or not, because the endowment money can be used for no other purpose. Unfortunately, the terms of the endowment have caused some resentment among a few people who would rather spend the money on the physical upkeep of the church, which is a real problem, or have other options for a music program.
“In itself, that resentment is not a problem because resentment can’t change the terms of the endowment, but the resentment can greatly exacerbate a problem that comes up from another quarter. And that is what has happened. The money for an endowment such as this is invested in various stocks and bonds so that the earnings can be used to support our choir program. It is because of these funds that we have been able to run our choir home schooling program, for example. What has happened is that two of the companies that the fund was heavily invested in have collapsed, making the stock in those companies worthless. There are other companies where the value has gone down considerably and dividends are lower than usual in many other stocks. What this means is that the endowment does not have the funds to finance the choral program as we normally run it for at least the next several months.
“If you have the impression that the endowment has been poorly managed, your impression is correct. Kit’s father is examining the situation for the possibilities of suing, particularly if evidence of fraud or other illegal activities is discovered. However, even if we have grounds for initiating some law suits and we are successful, the endowment will still lack funds over the short term. If St. Dunstan’s is going to continue the choral program without interruption, the church itself will have to support it, at least for the time being. That’s the rub. Just because many parishioners like the choir does not mean that they want to pay for it. Father Morton, not surprisingly, does not seem to mind losing the choir if it is not supported. Mother Stephens, of course, is much more sympathetic to us. The Vestry seems to be divided and a lot will depend on how strong our support is from the rest of the parish.”
Brendan felt as if the bottom of his whole life was falling out. If the choir disbanded, his life would be an instant shambles.
“In the face of this,” Chet continued, “I want to stress my firm and total commitment to keeping you boys together as a choir. My position here is not just a job, it is a trust. The institution of choirs of boys and men has a long and venerable history. A choir like yours can create a choral sound that no other type of choir can quite match. I also think it important that the educational opportunity offered by such a choir be available for boys like you who value it. If I have to do without pay for the next few months to get us through this, I will do it. I have already started seeking alternate means of support in the form of donors who want this choir to continue as it is. The bottom line, of course, is that you boys must be committed. Whether or not you care about this choir is up to you, of course. If you do care and are willing to do whatever extra work is necessary to keep it going, I will do everything it takes to keep us going. Brendan!”
“The months I’ve sung in this choir are the only good months I’ve ever had,” said Brendan. “I’ll do anything to keep us together. And I know some boys in other worlds who will do anything it takes, too!”
All the other boys broke out into a loud cheer that overwhelmed Brendan almost to the point of tears. Miles and Kit both patted him firmly on the shoulder. Chet, also, was deeply moved. Miles raised his hand.
“Miles?”
“I think we owe Timmy an apology for what we said to him,” said Miles.
The boys applauded loudly. Craig was the first to thump Timmy on the back. Chet looked a bit puzzled at first, and then seemed to figure out roughly what might have happened in the wreck room before he got there.
“I think I have my answer,” said Chet. “The first order of business is that our next concert featuring the Western Wind Mass will take place no matter what. We may need whatever money that can raise from that concert so be prepared to sing extraordinarily well. Since the main thing is to keep you boys singing, let us do some exercises and work on next Sunday’s music.”
At first, Brendan felt too heavy-hearted to sing, but the first anthem they worked on was the lament over the downfall of Jerusalem by William Byrd, christened Billy Byrd-Brain by some of the boys. Brendan remembered Chet explaining that William Byrd remained a Catholic during the English Reformation and that he was probably thinking of the ruin of his church when he wrote the motet. In every way, it was a fitting piece to sing that afternoon. Throughout the hour, Brendan sang as if his life depended on it. He began to feel that everything was going to be okay as long as he was singing, but when the rehearsal came to an end, he again began to fear that his life was about to fall apart.
“Does our being here make things worse for you,” Brendan heard Pir Min ask Chet.
Chet sighed deeply.
“Oh, Pir Min, I understand your intentions and your caring, but please don’t think for a second that you’re a burden just because you were rescued from another world. You’re already a great asset to our choir and we need all the good singers we can get.”
Brendan noticed Timmy standing close to Pir Min, his whole body stiff.
“Yes, Timmy?” asked Chet.
Timmy turned towards Pir Min and Tel Arman.
“I’m sorry about what I said about you,” said Timmy.
Both boys looked a bit embarrassed.
“Thanks for saying that,” said Pir Min.
“I want this choir to keep going,” said Timmy. “I’ll help anyway I can.”
“Thank you very much, Timmy,” said Chet.
Are you feeling okay?” Miles asked Timmy.
“Uh—sort of.”
“Luke! Brendan!” cried Kit. “Merithwell is opening up!”
The boys could see that for themselves as soon as they looked in the direction of the filing cabinets.
“I have a feeling that we have another emergency or two to take care of,” said Luke.
“What are we waiting for?” asked Miles.
“We’re not waiting,” said Brendan.
“Tel Arman! Pir Min! Timmy!” Luke called out. “Come on!”
Tel Arman and Miles made a point of waving Timmy to follow them as they rushed into Merithwell, poised for action. Brendan and Luke ran right into Mark Streeter and a large group of boys dressed in fancier blazers than even the St. Dunstan’s boys had.
“Mark! What’s happened!” asked Brendan as he disentangled himself from his friend.
“The guards!” one of the boys gasped.
“STOP THEM!” Tel Arman yelled.
Miles and Tormo jumped to the front to fight a small group of uniformed men rushing towards Merithwell but suddenly the wall closed, leaving the guards behind.
“Whew! We’re safe!” said Peete.
“No we’re not!” cried another of the boys pointing in the opposite direction.
Brendan whirled himself around. What he saw a cluster of gray robes and a long stream of flame. Several boys screamed and grabbed at each other for protection.
Proceed to Chapter the Fixth of Part the Fifth