Children of the Knight (29 page)

D
AY
by day, Arthur instructed his knights-to-be, and day by day they grew stronger in weaponry and in chivalric knowledge. Even the gang members had thus far adhered to Arthur’s rule of no street rivalries entering this safe haven. They’d also shown vast growth, both in civil behaviors, and more importantly, in their strong desire for a better path in life. True, their learned tendencies toward arrogance and domination over the weak were traits that might never fully disappear, but in their willingness to accept a new way of thinking, the boys were becoming more adept at controlling those tendencies. And that was all Arthur could ask of anyone.

“One day soon,” he told the assemblage, “those who wisheth and who be worthy shalt be knighted by me into this new Round Table. Yes, we do not have a physical table, but the symbol of that round table be crucial to our success. None of us canst strive for greatness above and beyond any other. The needs of the entire company doth be of greater import, remember. The code of chivalry, to which every knight must swear fealty, doth require us keep faith in God and each other, to fight for all, not merely a few, to avoid unfairness at all costs, and to always speaketh the truth.”

He paused and gazed over the vast throng. “Can ye all gathered here accept this code and strive to the best of your ability to live it?”

There was silence from the assembled kids as they digested Arthur’s words. The code was extreme for most of them. Especially for Esteban and the other gang members who’d spent their young lives ignoring rules and laws, lying, partying, slanging, running their own program.

Noting their hesitation, Lance leapt to his feet and cried out, “I can, sire!”

Within the crowd, Mark jumped up as well, grinning at Lance before gazing at Arthur. “And I, sire!”

Next stood Jack, glancing a moment at Mark, whose gaze was locked on Arthur, before turning to face the king. “And I.”

Reyna stepped forward in the rear, holding her bow above her head in salute. “And I, Arthur.”

She inspired Esteban, who threw her a smile before he, too, rose to his feet and stepped forward. Hell, why not? “And I.”

Within moments, the entire chamber had risen to its collective feet, shouting in unison, “And I, sire!”

Arthur turned to Lance with a smile and a nod, which Lance returned with a slight bow. Soon, Arthur knew, very soon his army would be ready, and then his crusade could truly begin.

J
ENNY
was attempting, and failing, to teach
Romeo and Juliet
to her ninth graders. She hated the slavish way the school and the district forced teachers to adhere exactly to the state-mandated curriculum. As if those paper pushers in Sacramento had any idea what her students needed to learn to be successful in life.

All it would take was for this and other districts to just tell the state, and the feds, to go take a hike. If every district in the state did that, what could Sacramento do, give everybody detention? They couldn’t cut off funding because that would be a public relations nightmare. Sadly, nobody in this state had the balls to fight back. Including her, unfortunately.

At present, a boy named Tony and a girl named Maria struggled to read aloud some passages from the Shakespeare play and were mangling the dialogue worse than any actor on those cheesy science fiction movies she often watched to kill time.

The other students paid little or no attention. Their minds were either wandering, they were doodling, playing with their cell phones, or otherwise tuning out the horrific acting of their fellow students. Quite frankly, Jenny didn’t blame them.

Tony read, “I take thee at thy word: call me but love, and I’ll be new baptiz’d; henceforth I never will be Romeo.”

Maria responded after a pause, “What man art thou that thus be screen’d in night so stumblest on my counsel.”

During this recitation of lines, Jenny wandered down the aisle to a heavy boy dressed all in black and snagged the car magazine he’d been looking at. “Hey!” the boy exclaimed indignantly, “That’s mine!”

“You can have it back after class,” Jenny said in a quiet voice. “Now pay attention.”

“What for?” the boy asked with disdain. “Nobody talks like that no more.”

Now Maria piped up with, “Wait a minute, I lost my place.”

A few students laughed, and Jenny sighed. It was only second period.

T
HE
following days for Arthur, Lance, and their rapidly swelling army passed much the same as those previous. Weapons and fight training in the mornings, lunch, and then Arthur would offer instruction on the ways of knighthood, with discussion and questions afterward.

The number of gang members who attended and indicated their intention to reject their old gang and join Arthur’s new one swelled by the day, though Arthur continually made it clear his was not a gang. His was a brotherhood. The homies explained to Arthur that street gangs were about brotherhood too, just mixed in with criminal activity and running the streets.

The Round Table, Arthur repeatedly assured them, would be different.

“As Knights of the Round Table,” he explained one day, “ye follow the code of chivalry, as I have toldeth thee. Above all, that means honor. The weapons we doth be using and with which thou art all training shalt be used only for self-defense and to protect those who are defenseless. Ye have not been able to win the hearts and minds of the people through violence and crime, but ye shall through service to all.”

“There’s always gonna be
vatos
wanna run their own, Arthur,” Esteban pointed out. “They ain’t gonna like us musclin’ in on their territory. That always means war.”

Many of the gang kids nodded their assent. They knew how it worked on the streets.

Arthur tipped his chin approvingly. “Ye doth be correct, Esteban, as it hath always been with mankind. However, doth life itself not seem too bitter already without territorial battles or wars or feuds?”

Esteban just shrugged, but many of the nongang kids nodded their assent. They knew all too well the bitter pill that was life. Mark and Jack exchanged a knowing look.
Beyond
bitter, they knew.

Esteban was no longer clad in a tight wifebeater to try and show off for Reyna, but had now adopted one of Arthur’s tunics and accompanying leather drawstring pants while in the presence of the king. As was the custom, most of the other gang kids followed his lead.

“The motto of this world doth seem to be ‘Do what is easy’,” Arthur continued, his eyes roaming their expectant faces, making eye contact with as many as possible. “Ours shalt be as follows––do what is right, rather than what is easy.”

He let that sink in a moment.

“That done be hard, Arthur,” Darnell threw out, and many heads nodded their agreement.

Arthur nodded. “Anything that be worth doing doth be hard, Darnell.”

Darnell fell silent to digest this, and Esteban glanced at him appraisingly.

Arthur went on, “
Might
doth lie within the bad half of people, the selfish part. We canst not cut it out, so instead we turn a bad thing into something good—we agree as a knighthood to use might
only
for right. It shalt be the oath to which all of thee must swear.”

The assemblage nodded in understanding. They’d heard this message on several occasions and understood the ramifications. If they joined up, they knew they’d have to check “me” at the door because then it would be “we” only, and not just the “we” of the Round Table, but the “we” of society. They were to put their own interests and wants second to the needs of the community. As children and teens who by nature were self-centered it was an easy concept to understand, but a hard one to put into practice.

Arthur knew all this. Lance and Mark and Jack and others within his inner circle had explained these pitfalls, and yet they believed enough of the kids would give it their best shot, not because it came naturally, but because their lives were so lousy that anything else would be better, especially a campaign that sought to right the wrongs that had been done to them.

Arthur continued making eye contact with as many of the children as possible while he spoke and saw eagerness in their eyes. They wanted this, he knew. They craved this opportunity to make a real change in their lives.