The Story of Owen Read Online Free Page A

something “That would never happen in Hamilton.”
    â€œA lot of things happen here that would never happen in Hamilton,” I told him as Mrs. Postma called for attention.
    â€œI’ll bet,” he whispered. “So, what do you guys do for fun?”
    To my credit, I managed not to laugh in his face.

OFFENSE/DEFENSE FRIDAY
    The first time I saw Owen fight a dragon was in history class. It was the second Friday of September, and even though it had only been one week since Labor Day, and summer was hardly a distant memory, Thanksgiving seemed like an eternity away instead of a month. To make matters worse, it had been sunny and warm all week, and by Friday everyone was pretty much done with learning long before we even got out of English class. When we arrived in history, we could already tell something was up, because Mr. Huffman was rearranging the desks so that they faced each other in pairs. The desk pairs formed a snaking line from the back of the room to the front.
    â€œJust sit down,” he said. “Wherever you like.”
    Most of us took the seats that were usually ours anyway. Sadie Fletcher took the opportunity to sit across from Owen before I could get to my chair. I wasn’t entirely surprised. I had been avoiding the cafeteria as much as possible, eating lunch as quickly as I could by my locker before heading to the musicroom to practice. Jazz and concert bands started next week, and after waiting for two years for Sarah Mommerstein to graduate, I really wanted my turn at the school’s only bari sax. I knew that I had competition, though, as a couple of the kids from SCI also played, and I wanted to be sure I was the best option when we had auditions on Monday.
    It meant that Owen had been on his own at lunch, since he didn’t play an instrument, so he’d spent most of the week getting in with the popular crowd. Sadie was, I knew, probably more interested in saying she’d dated a dragon slayer than actually dating one. The look Owen shot me as I sat down beside him was a little bit panicked.
    â€œCongratulations!” Mr. Huffman said. “You have all chosen sides for Offense/Defense Fridays. Which I shall call something else as soon as I come up with a better name.” He gestured with his right hand, brandishing the meter stick. “Those of you facing the wall are dragons, those of you facing the window are dragon slayers.”
    It was difficult to say at that exact moment who was more mortified: Owen, who was staring past Sadie’s head out the window as though he could will it to brick itself over, or Sadie, who had just realized that she was the dragon. Mr. Huffman was clearly having the time of his life, and I couldn’t help but smile into my hand.
    â€œBefore you begin your battle, however,” Mr. Huffman said, unrolling a large paper map and affixing it to the not-so-charmingly anachronistic blackboard, “I will give you some information. You will be reenacting this historic encounter.”
    Despite our confusion, Mr. Huffman had our attention, and we all stared at him as he talked.
    â€œThe year was 1956, October 29th,” Mr. Huffman said. “The last Great War was finished, but things were not easy in the world. The dragon population, having gorged itself on the smoke over Europe for the better part of a decade, had never been higher or more ferocious, and they could smell the oil in the Suez Canal.”
    With a dramatic flourish, Mr. Huffman stepped aside to reveal a map of the canal, where Egypt and Israel kissed across the Sinai. We could see the English, French, and Israeli lines, and the knots and crosses that marked their skirmishes with the Egyptians. I looked at the desks and realized that, though the classroom was too short for us to be in a straight line, Mr. Huffman had undoubtedly arranged the desks so that we mirrored the canal’s path as closely as he could manage.
    â€œTensions were high,” Mr.