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across from him on the coffee table. He looked at the rest of the kids with a smile. “I know it was fun but the shows over, everyone get back to whatever it was you were doing.”
    Tom decided that he probably had better get back to what he was doing, which he didn’t exactly know what was, but it wasn’t staring at Cody in awe. He decided he might as well go upstairs and see what was in the heavy bag that Sam had given him.
    Tom entered his room and put the bag on his new bed. He opened the bag and took the contents out one at a time. He found that there were enough changes of clothing for three days, toiletries, a book that was titled in bold letters “Rules of the House,” and another book with “Skills and Crafts” written on it.
    So much had happened in such a short time that he couldn’t grasp the details of it all. Tom couldn’t understand even how this had happened to him. Why me? What am I doing here? How did I get into this? He thought about the night that he had met Archelaus and the old man in the alley. It seemed like it had been so long ago. Archelaus seemed to radiate power from his very being. Why had the old man smiled at me in the end, was he smiling out of understanding or was it because he had a secret? Tom continued to think about the events of the past few days as he slowly sat down on his bed. Exhaustion finally overtook him and he fell asleep.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 6:
     
    Tom woke up bewildered, not knowing where he was. He looked around, memories of the past few days flooded back and he remembered that he was in his new room. There was a simple dresser next to his bed that he assumed was his. A blanket was folded at the head of his bed and on top of it was a pillow. Tom rubbed his hand across the crown and crossed swords embroidered on the white pillowcase.
    Tom took the clothes from the bag and neatly placed them inside the dresser. He then took the toiletries and placed them in a separate drawer. The two books he placed at the desk that was next to his dresser. He noticed that there were paper pads and pencils on the desk, neatly arranged on top. He started to look through the drawers of the desk when Cody came back in.
    “Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to fill those up with needless assignments and other fun things to keep you much too busy,” Cody said. Cody sat on his bed. “So, Tom, where do you come from? Tell me a little about your family and the home you’ve left.”
    Tom closed the drawer and walked over to his bed. “I came from an orphanage outside of Davenport. Before that I don’t remember.” He looked down while he nervously wrung his hands. He could not remember the last time someone had asked him where he was from or anything else about him for that matter. “I didn’t like the place I came from much, there was food and shelter but that was about it.”
    Cody smiled. “Wow, Tom it sounds like a great place to build character,” he said then punched Tom softly in the shoulder. Cody looked around. “Well, this place is a lot better than where you came from but it has some draw backs. There are of course the rules and then there is Sam, he’s a tough one and of course there are the other boys, they can be a real pain in the butt.”
    Cody laughed at Tom seeing the nervous expression on his face. “I’m just kidding Tom. This is a great place to be.”
    Tom relaxed and smiled as Cody stood up from the bed.
    “Well, it’s about time for lights out so let me show you where you can brush your teeth and get ready for bed,” Cody said.
    Tom followed Cody out of the room and down the hallway to a door at the end. There were boys laughing and joking from within. Many urinals and stalls were on one wall and on the other wall there was one long sink with faucets coming out of the wall above it. Several boys were brushing their teeth and joking with one another. I can’t believe no one is