That's me and Phineas. That's us in the tree. So today, I went back to the school I left fifteen years ago, the Devon School. It brought back so many memories. I went to the tree that Phineas and I used to go to. Phineas, or Finny as many people called him, was one of those boys in school that was strong and athletic, he was handsome and was a total daredevil. "This tree flooded me with a sensation of alarm all the way to my tingling fingers" (8). I remember how we would climb it, and jump down into the river. I don't know why I let Finny talk me into doing these kinds of things. Standing next to that tree, it brought back the memory of when I jumped into the river for the first time. I was scared, but Finny convinced me to jump. I remember how Elwin told me that my jump was better than Finny's. I can remember exactly what Finny and I said to each other walking back through the woods.
"You were very good," said Finny good-humoredly, "once I shamed you into it."
"You didn't shame anybody into anything."
"Oh yes I did. I'm good for you that way. You have a tendency to back away from things otherwise" (10).
I denied it because it wasn't true. I don't back away from anything. Finny didn't argue with me after that, probably knowing I would get mad. We had to hurry back or we'd be late for dinner. Finny just kept walking. He was the kind of kid that "considered authority the necessary evil against which happiness was achieved by reaction" (11). As we hurried back, we got into a brief wrestling match. He won. It didn't surprise me really, since he was so strong. He liked the fact that I could accept when he was right and I was wrong. He liked that I can keep up with his strength when we're having fun. As we got back to our room we read our Hardy assignments. We heard the senior boys coming back to the dorms at 10 o'clock. They were allowed out later than us. We noticed that lights began to shut off. We undressed and I put on my pajamas. We said our prayers, and our summer school day ended.
That was a good day. And I remember looking forward to the next day, as long as I had Finny with me.
"You were very good," said Finny good-humoredly, "once I shamed you into it."
"You didn't shame anybody into anything."
"Oh yes I did. I'm good for you that way. You have a tendency to back away from things otherwise" (10).
I denied it because it wasn't true. I don't back away from anything. Finny didn't argue with me after that, probably knowing I would get mad. We had to hurry back or we'd be late for dinner. Finny just kept walking. He was the kind of kid that "considered authority the necessary evil against which happiness was achieved by reaction" (11). As we hurried back, we got into a brief wrestling match. He won. It didn't surprise me really, since he was so strong. He liked the fact that I could accept when he was right and I was wrong. He liked that I can keep up with his strength when we're having fun. As we got back to our room we read our Hardy assignments. We heard the senior boys coming back to the dorms at 10 o'clock. They were allowed out later than us. We noticed that lights began to shut off. We undressed and I put on my pajamas. We said our prayers, and our summer school day ended.
That was a good day. And I remember looking forward to the next day, as long as I had Finny with me.
