Archibald Babbage (English)

Chapter Three - The Real Archibald Babbage

Everyone sees what you appear to be,
few experience who you really are
-Niccolò Machiavelli-

"Your new brother is really strange. Is he like that at home too?", Lilianne asked her best friend without taking her eyes off Archie, who was calmly turning a page in his book.

The two friends occupied themselves with drewing with chalk on the floor of the playground.

"I don't know what you mean, he's really nice," Ivy replied, but still looked thoughtfully in Archie's direction.

As always, he had made himself comfortable under the big oak tree and didn't seem to notice anything around him.

"Oh come on, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Even you can't claim that he is behaving normally. At first I thought it was because he is new to your family and to this school. But that was almost three months ago! And look at him now. He doesn't speak to the other children nor doesn't he want to make friends with anyone here, "said Lilianne, puffing her cheeks.

"Ah, now I understand, you're still angry that Archie has turned down your offer of friendship," Ivy laughed and began to give her masterpiece the final touches.

It was a beautiful humming-bird with gorgeous plumage in shades of blue and green. It had an orange stripe on its neck. With his long, thin beak he drank the nectar of a bright red flower.

Lilianne took a moment to admire her friend's artistic talent before saying indignantly:

"That's not true at all. I don't care about him. If he weren't your brother, I would be even less interested in him!"

"And still you can't stop staring at him", remarked Ivy. "How about we finish the painting of your butterfly before we have to go back to class. There you can continue to adore Archie in peace."

Lilianne was outraged. As if she ever would like a weirdo who did nothing but read? Yes, she admitted that Archie was a really pretty boy, even if he was a bit short and skinny. And yes, she had never seen eyes more beautiful than his. They looked like liquid gold, for Gods sake. And maybe she liked it a tiny little bit, how his hair fell on his face when he leaned forward to read one of his many books. But that didn't meant she liked him!

"I don't adore him, you brat. If you'd listened to me, you'd know that I even said the exact opposite. Why are you and Blossom pretending everything is okay with him? Just look at how he's dressed! It's so warm today, that even such an icicle like yourself are wearing a short-sleeved shirt, but he has his sleeves pulled up over his hands as if he were cold. Are you telling me that this is normal boy behavior? "

Ivy knew the reason why.

Two weeks ago, on Sunday afternoon

"Mom, can I show Archie the ivy that we bought earlier?" Ivy asked her mother, as soon as they had parked the car in the garage. Her parents laughed.

"Yes Ivy, go show your new Ivy plant to your Brother", her father said mischiviously. Rosie gave her husband a playful clap at the back of his head.

"Don't make jokes with the name of my child", she said to Dorset before turning to her eldest daughter. "And of course, my darling. It's a real shame he didn't come with us. But I'm really proud of him for putting so much effort into his homework. Blossom, my darling, can you put the ice cream in the freezer?" Archie will definitely be happy that he still gets his strawberry ice cream, "said Rosie and began to carry the remaining plants into the garden with her husband.

As Blossom carried Archie's sundae into the kitchen with a frown, she couldn't help but wonder why Mom always insisted on buying him strawberry ice cream. From what she saw, Archie didn't like strawberry ice cream at all.

Ivy, on the other hand, ran, nimble as a weasel, up the stairs to Archie's room, the plant ivy pressed tightly to her chest. Archie liked ivy, she was sure of that. She had seen him stare for several minutes at the facade of an ivy-covered house on the other side of town. He would definitely be happy about it!

Grinning madly and breathing a little heavily, she stood in front of his room and pushed open the door cheerfully. In all her euphoria, she had completely forgotten how much Archie hated it, when someone didn't knock before he enters his room. He was so surprised, that he bumped his head against his open cupboard door.

Obviously, Archie was just about to change his shirt, so Ivy wanted to turn away, but then she saw it. It all happened in a few seconds, but she saw it so clearly that she was sure she would be able to remember every detail for the rest of her life.

He looked even thinner than she'd thought, every single rib sticking out clearly. All over his upper body, down to his arms, he had many small and large scars. Some looked quite old and almost completely healed, while others were clearly bulging against his pale skin. For a split second, Archie stood before her like a deer in the headlights before his whole posture changed.

This should be the first time she'd meet the real Archibald Babbage.

She briefly quarreled with herself whether she should talk to him about his condition when she looked into his eyes. The otherwise honey-like color had given way to a wild, pungent yellow. She had never seen such a color on any human being.

"Out",

Even though he was only whispering that single word, Ivy could still physically feel the freezing cold in his voice.Without a word she grabbed the door handle and closed it behind her.

"Come on, we have to get back to class before we get in trouble for being late again."

Without giving her friend another chance to discuss this matter any further, Ivy gathered the chalk off the floor, put everything in its box, and walked straight back to school. Lilianne followed her, shaking her head in disappointment.