Chapter One: Welcome to Plumfield

"The town wasn’t very lively. From the exterior, you could almost believe that it was the slowest, sweetest little Southern town in the United States. That town was unlike any other."

Our town has been this way for about as long as anyone living here can remember. You know the type. Everyone knows everyone else and, somehow, you’re related to a quarter of the population. There’s not much of a town history, especially since not much seems to happen around here. I guess you could say the most interesting thing about Plumfield is the name. The town got it’s name to do salvias that grow on the hills during the spring to which many residents refer to looking like, “a field of plums.” Hence, the name Plumfield was born out of pure wit and originality.

The town wasn’t very lively. There was the annual town fair, school festivals, and elections as any other town has. From the exterior, you could almost believe that it was the slowest, sweetest little Southern town in the United States. Underneath Mrs. Kennapple’s blueberry pies and the hum of tractors, there was more to Plumfield. There was more behind the plastered smiles on people’s faces. That town was unlike any other.

That isn’t the right place to start, though. Things didn’t always seem to secretive and mysterious. On the outside, if you don’t scratch far beneath the surface, Plumfield is one of the nicest places to live. Crime is scarce here and always draws attention. Mr. Royce, who lived in faded brick house across the street from mine, said it was always this way. No one seemed to think it was necessary and people lived on in peaceful bliss.

As a child, I grew up with plenty of friends. We all lived on the same street and could run to one another’s houses in no time. We were an odd group of kids but we had each other’s backs and cared about each other like family. First, there was Spunky. His real name was Judson but he was the one who decided we all should have nicknames. He was the leader of our group. He lived up to his nickname, always sporting a few new bandages on his elbows and plotting a new adventure for us to go on. I met him after his family moved into the house next to mine when I was six. He hadn’t moved from out of town but from the other side of town. Our birthdays were very close, him being only one day older than myself, so we always celebrated them together.

Then, there was Miller who was affectionately nicknamed Tubs by Spunky. Miller was a fairly short, round kid who always had plenty of M&Ms and Skittles to share. He liked to brag that he was the oldest, only beating Spunky and I by a month. Though he was the oldest and supposedly the wisest of the bunch, he was never to eager to run around town with us for fear of getting in trouble. Even though he could be a bit of a “wuss” as Spunky would say, I always knew Tubs meant well. 

Next there was Ducky. Ducky’s real name isn’t something I can share since that was how he introduced himself. Once, when Ducky wasn’t around, he tossed around a few ideas as to why he was called that. Tubs said he thought it was because Ducky’s hair reminded him of duck feather with how it was often unkept and stuck out at queer ends. Spunky said it was because Ducky was a “quack.” I think that was supposed to be some word similar to crazy. I just told everyone that Ducky, being as odd of a boy as he was, deserved a nickname just as peculiar.

Fire Ant was the last to join our troupe of misfits. Fire Ant moved to our neighborhood from up north. I met him when I eight. I was roaming around one day while Spunky’s mom had him stuck in bed since he was sick. It’s unusual for anyone to move to Plumfield; people typically don’t leave and don’t move in. He caught my interest immediately. His accent was so different from mine and he always asked me to say certain words and would laugh and say them in comparison.

I was the one who gave Elliott his nickname. Where he was from, they didn’t have fire ants since the weather was too cold for them. He was intrigued when I told him to watch out for fire ant piles since he wouldn’t want to get bit. At the sound of this information, he asked if I could show him a fire ant pile. So, I brought him to the largest pile I knew that sat in Ducky’s backyard. Ducky and I watched Elliott as he peered at the hill before poking it and watching the tiny creatures scurry out of their home. A few jumped on him, bit his arm, and Elliott hollered so loud that Ducky’s mom rushed out of the house to see what was going on. The next day, when I introduced Elliott to Spunky and Tubs, I was certain to introduce him as Fire Ant.

Lastly, there was me, Bookworm. I was the only girl in the group and I didn’t mind it. The only time it bothered me was when Ducky would sneak up behind me when I was reading and point it out. I’d be under a shady tree with a dusty, dogeared book in hand and he’d sneak up behind me and say, “Well, howdy there Miss Winona Barnett!”

“Don’t say that!” I’d protest with a pouted lip and crossed arm. This hadn’t been the first time that has occurred and I wasn’t too sure why it bothered me so. Tubs and Spunky heard the ruckus, us not having met Fire Ant yet, and came to see what the problem was.

“Oh, Winona is just upset cause I called her ‘Miss’ again,” Ducky would laugh, rolling his wide brown eyes. “Don’t get what the big deal is all about. She is a girl!”

Spunky, in an attempt to be suave that only comes off as silly when you’re seven years old, leaned against the tree with a hand on his chin. “Well, we wouldn’t want to upset our friend here, would we? I’m thinking that Winona here deserves a nickname of her own.” Spunky quickly snatched my book and held it above his head. “This is it!”

Tubs cocked his head to the side in confusion. “The Secret Garden?”

“No!” Spunky said, hitting Tubs aside the head with his book. While Tubs complained and Ducky laughed, Spunky said, “We’ll call her Bookie.”

So that was that. There were five of us; Spunky, Tubs, Ducky, Fire Ant, and Bookie. All we needed was each other and Plumfield was a huge land full of adventure that needed to be discovered.