The Heart Made of Broken Ice

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: John

My name is John Peterson, and I was born in London, England on March 25, 1960. My father was a middle-class man, unlike my Uncle Ben who was wealthy. Unfortunately, my mother passed away while giving birth to my sister Rose. This took a toll on my father, and as a result, I did not see him often. My sister and I ended up living with our Uncle Ben and Aunt Molly, but we did not get along with Aunt Molly. She would always speak ill of our father, which made us uncomfortable. Despite my mother's death and my father's struggles, I hold no grudges against him. However, Aunt Molly would often criticize my father, saying that my mother could have done better.

I don't understand why Uncle Ben would let his wife say negative things about his own brother, my father, who was a good man. I don't get along with my cousin James because I think he's a jerk, so I don't talk to him much. On the other hand, I get along very well with my cousin Lisa, who is a good person. It's hard to believe that James and Lisa are siblings.

I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to attend an English boarding school, where I would be joining my cousins James and Lisa. My sister, Rose, was also attending the same school. Unfortunately, Uncle Ben was unable to pay for Rose's or my tuition because Aunt Molly would not allow it.

During my time at the boarding school, I had the opportunity to speak with Lisa, but not with James. Lisa and I shared three classes together, and I am proud to say that I earned good grades. My favorite subjects were math, writing, and reading. I have always enjoyed reading, whereas Rose preferred to watch TV. I have a dream of one day writing a book, while Rose aspired to be a ballet dancer. Although my dad was paying for her ballet lessons, Rose's favorite book was "A Little Princess."

I overheard my Aunt Molly discussing my uncle and my dad's friend Randy Brooks. Randy grew up in England and later became a lawyer. He and his family moved to Mississippi, but now they were moving back to England for Randy's job. While my Aunt Rose was criticizing Randy, my uncle defended his friend. Randy had a niece named Kate who was born with Cerebral palsy, and he and his wife Celine had adopted her.

"I saw that James appeared to be upset and asked him what was wrong. He replied,

"My parents are making me hang out with Kate Brooks. I don't want to hang out with her!" James spoke in an angry tone.

I replied, "You don't even know Kate that well. Why don't you give her a chance? Your parents aren't asking you to marry Kate. They just want you to be her friend." My tone was also angry while saying this to James."

"The only reason my parents want me to be friends with Kate is because her uncle is rich!" James exclaimed angrily.

"That's not true," I replied sternly. "Uncle Ben and Randy Brooks are good friends. Uncle Ben is just trying to help Kate and her brother Shawn make friends. I'm sure Kate and Shawn are not happy about going to a new school. You need to stop being a jerk and stop thinking that you are better than everyone else!"

"I don't want to be a laughing stock in school!" James retorted.

"If they were your friends, they would not laugh at you! You might want to make new friends if they are going to laugh at you. What did your dad threaten to do if you did not make friends with Kate?" I asked.

"He said he would cut my allowance," James answered.

The next day at school, Miss Read introduced Kate and her brother Shawn to the class. It was evident that Rose liked Shawn, and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Kate was. I wished my uncle had asked me to be friends with Kate, and he didn't have to force me. Although I was jealous of James, I was happy to see him being nice to Kate. Kate seemed to like James, and she made friends with Lisa and Rose. Shawn and I became friends, but I could sense that he didn't like James and didn't trust him. I didn't blame him for that. Kate and Rose had a lot in common, but I was too cowardly to introduce myself to Kate. She had only lived in England for a year, and I missed her after she left.

James had come to visit.

He said, "I'm glad that nightmare is over. I couldn't stand Kate, but I did put on a good act pretending to like that foolish girl. I even promised to write to her every day!"

I asked James if he was really going to write to Kate.

He replied angrily, "No, I'm not going to write to her!"

Just then, my aunt called James and he left. Afterwards, I talked to Rose and told her what James had said.

"What a jerk! I can't believe we share the same blood with him!" Rose replied angrily.

I told Rose that I felt bad for Kate but didn't know what to do. Rose suggested a plan: I should write to Kate and pretend to be James, making her believe that James is writing to her. Later, when the time is right, I can reveal the truth to Kate. I agreed to the plan and began writing to Kate as if I was James.