The Life and Adventures of Gordon Tikili

Chapter Five: Stephen Finds Out

Once Gordon returned home, he immediately got a phone call. It was Stephen. Over the phone, he sounded absolutely furious. Apparently, Stephen's dad had snuck a phone into his prison cell, and told his son everything that had happened.

Stephen yelled at Gordon through the phone. Gordon knew that Stephen hated him even more now, because his father had made up a fake story to get Gordon in trouble.

Gordon was sent some online homework covering the difference between idioms and hyperbole. He found it rather easy, but couldn't really focus on the assignment because he had started to think about his problems.

He was worried that Stephen had found out about what had happened, and if he knew everything that had happened in Miami. Max probably wasn't worried about the situation. In fact, he was most likely relieved that he wasn't Gordon. He wondered if Max was sorry that he had taken the responsibility of looking after him.

Soon enough, Max's mom arrived at his house and was full of questions. That was when the whole story appeared on the television. Both moms were surprised that Gordon and Max had been thrown in juvenile hall.

Gordon's mom felt sorry for the boys. She tried to look on the bright side, but would've admitted that it was very hard to think of something positive about the situation.

Max's mom, on the other hand, was extremely disturbed that Max had been so careless. Max tried to explain to her what had actually happened, but she said that she didn't want to hear it.

She flew into a rage and said,"Max, you're almost out of the house. You need to learn that you have potential and a big responsibility for taking care of Gordon or anyone that's younger than you." Max now thought that Stephen's father was an absolute jerk.

He was the one that made his mother get mad at him. He was the one that threw them in jail. He was the one that had ruined everything for Gordon. Max wished that Stephen's father would never return to Indiana.

Stephen was even meaner to Gordon the next day. In front of Maria, he pushed Gordon into a bookshelf. Then, he stuck out his foot so Gordon would trip in front of him.

Worried, Maria whispered to Gordon, "Is everything okay?" Gordon replied, "I'll be alright." But Gordon was not exactly sure. In Social Studies, the teacher asked the name of the current U.S. president.

Stephen bitterly replied, "George W. Bush," and shot Gordon a look from all the way across the room. Gordon knew that Stephen was still upset from what had happened in Miami, especially his father getting arrested.

Not only had Stephen found out that his dad had been arrested, but he also discovered that his mom had just been put in jail as well. Stephen would have to stay with his Uncle Will. Gordon felt bad that both of Stephen's parents were in prison.

He went over to Stephen's desk and said, "I'm very sorry."

Stephen was still mad, and just muttered,"Go away." Gordon saw Stephen's fury and decided it was best to leave him alone.

He had not heard from the other kids in a long time. They were probably playing basketball together. At lunchtime, Gordon didn't see Stephen. He overheard someone saying that he was too sick to play basketball.

Gordon thought that maybe Stephen had been sent to his uncle's house or had run all the way home, just like Gordon had. Mike burst into the cafeteria, holding a basketball, with Ben, Liam, and Stephen by his side.

They announced, "We did it! We beat the New York Otters! We're in the finals." A whole group of kids started cheering for them as soon as they stopped talking. Gordon looked at Mike, Stephen, Ben, and Liam.

Their smiles seemed to say, "Ha ha. We got into the finals without you." Gordon reassured himself that he would find a way to help them win the finals. He wanted to slap himself and say, "Stop dreaming, Gordon. They'll never let you be on the basketball team because all of them hate you," but he kept quiet.

Instead, Gordon decided that he wouldn't quit. "If they're gonna be mean, let them be mean," he told himself. "Don't give up. They'll be begging for you to play as soon as the finals begin."

He knew that he had been on a long and tiring adventure. But Gordon also knew that if he quit, everything that had happened would count for nothing.

The next day, Gordon told his mom what had happened. She sighed and said, "Gordon, never let those boys get to you. They could be mean because they're jealous of you, or because they had a bad day and are just taking their anger out on you." What neither Gordon nor his mom knew was that Stephen had also done something no student should ever do - lied to the principal.