The Troubles of a Young Man By Peri Gordon, 10

Jonathan lounged on the couch and tried to focus on the boring book he was being forced to read. He hated how he had to spend the summer cooped up in his home. He wanted to at least get a break from this torture on the weekends. But his father wouldn’t hear of it. Trying to block out his thoughts and get his fifty pages over with, he ran his fingers over the book’s rusty blue cover, feeling the gold lettering that spelled: A Young Man’s Guide to the History of War. Ugh, how he hated reading this dull history book. If he read a small portion a day, he might have found it a bit interesting. But fifty pages a day was too much for him, especially when followed by a million quizzes to lock in the knowledge. Every battle, every fort he needed to know, not because it would help him in life but because his father insisted, saying that discipline would make him a fine young man. Keeping all of this in mind, his aqua-colored eyes roved the room—and met his father’s cold blue eyes. His father gave him a chilly stare—a get-back-to-work stare—and turned away. Jonathan sank deeper into the sofa and continued his studies.