“Have a good day, Mike!” she said.
Mike Harrington the Weasel nodded and walked by Tommy in a smug manner.
That creep! thought Tommy as Mike stuck out his tongue and exited. Look at him smirk. He likes her, too — I just know it! Boy, I’d like to get him alone in gym class for just five minutes!
Tommy hurried to a desk near the front and said, “Good morning, Miss Roberts!”
Debbie Roberts looked up and smiled a warm and welcoming smile as she greeted the boy. She was twenty-two, petite and perky, and had light brown hair worn in a short pixie-cut. She wore a pale yellow turtleneck sweater with a light brown skirt. To Tommy, she was simply adorable.
“Hello, Tommy,” she said. “How are you today?”
“Fine! How are you?” he said eagerly.
“I’m OK. It’s chilly today, isn’t it?” she said. “Well, it is only seventeen days until Christmas!”
Tommy smiled in a slightly dazed way and said, “How are you?”
She smiled and said, “I’ll be seeing you, Tom.”
He grinned foolishly and sat down. Seconds after the English teacher left to head for her next classroom for the third period, Tommy frowned.
Chilly! he thought. Why didn’t I say something like it’s never chilly with your sunny smile around? I’m such a dummy!
He sighed as his thoughts were disturbed by the noise of the rest of the class entering and taking their seats as Mrs. Jones, the burly-but-good-natured teacher, took her place where only moments before Miss Roberts had stood.
Tommy frowned. I always get just a few precious moments with Debbie by rushing out of my second-period typing class and getting to her second-period room just before she leaves to head to her own third-period room. If next semester’s schedule puts us at different areas of the building during the day, I might not get to be alone with her at all! he thought as he rested his chin on his hand. It doesn’t help any that guys like Harrington the Weasel loiter around her and cut into my time! He’s such a worm. How can she wish a guy like that a good day? Doesn’t she know he’s just a creepy suck-up?
Class started, and Tommy listened after rapidly writing down what Miss Rogers had said to him and how she had looked. His journal of Debbie moments was precious to him.
***
Later, as Tommy sat in the small cafeteria of Big City Middle School, he thumbed through a small but already-worn and smudged book.
A good-natured plump boy with a slightly unruly shock of blond hair sat across from him. He wore a green V-neck sweater vest and brown slacks. He munched down on an apple as he reached into a rather unusually large, brown paper lunch bag.
Tubby Watts frowned and said, “Say, Tommy, why do you still carry your yearbook around like that? We got ‘em back in October! Surely, you aren’t still having kids sign it?”
Tommy blinked and looked up from the page he had been staring at. He had kept the yearbook tilted up slightly so not even his best friend Tubby could see just what page he had turned to. Had Tubby been much of a sleuth, he might have deduced that the battered book almost automatically flipped up to one page because of its frequent perusal.
He had been looking at the faculty pages, where photos of teachers like Miss Roberts, Mrs. Woofentweeter, and Miss Demming filled a few pages. Tommy enjoyed looking at Debbie’s picture, and thus the boy always carried the yearbook to school with him each day. He remembered how eagerly he had asked her to sign it back in October, and he still felt warmth wash over him when he read her inscription.
“To Tommy, Keep reading! Best wishes for a bright and sunny future! Love, Debbie Roberts!”
He closed the book swiftly and said, “Oh, uh, well, gee, that is, would you like my pudding, Tubby?”
Tubby grinned broadly and said, “Sure thing, Tommy! That would be swell!“ He eagerly scooped up the pale banana pudding from the other boy’s lunch tray and forgot all about his curiosity as contentment swept over him.
Tommy smiled and shook his head.
***
Later, Tommy Rogers and Tubby Watts exited the school and crossed the playground as wind blew across the field, pushing their scarves around with ease.
A loud whistle echoed across the field, and Tommy and Tubby glanced up to see a beaming boy with a rather long and sharp nose and dark black eyes peering gleefully at them from atop a wooden fence.
“Hiya, fellas!” cried their pal Toughy Simms as the boy in a battered gray cap and nondescript shirt and pants dropped down with his casual agility and surety.
Toughy was a bit different from the other two boys. He didn’t go to school very often, spending most of his day doing odd jobs around town. The boy was a bit worldlier than his pals, but then he’d had to take care of himself since he was even younger.
“Hi, Toughy! What’s up?” asked Tommy as he received a playful punch in the arm from the grinning boy.
“Well, I was just waitin’ on you two bookworms to get paroled so we might knock about a bit, unless you got chores or somethin’?” he said.
“I’m free,” said Tubby. “What do you want to do?”
“We could go to the clubhouse and suit up,” suggested Toughy. “Maybe we could track some some Ratzi spies or mad scientists — or just pretend to.”
“No,” said Tommy. “I sort of have to go home. Mom needs me to run some errands for her!”
Toughy draped one arm over Tubby’s shoulders and said, “That’s rough. Well, while our fearless leader keeps his ma happy, the Blue Boys will make sure the clubhouse is free of Bundists!”
They laughed and called out goodbyes as they reached a pleasant block of modest-but-neat houses.
Tommy ran up the steps of his home and threw open a screen door, which banged behind him and attracted his mother’s attention.
“My goodness, Tommy! Do try to leave it on its hinges!” she said as she reached out to straighten her son’s collar. “You know your poor father is more like Dagwood than anyone else when it comes to house repairs. It’s a good thing he’s better in the courtroom than he is in the tool shed.”
Tommy agreed as he thought of his father Dan Rogers, the town district attorney. Dan was something of an idol to Tommy. The two enjoyed long conversations, and Tommy admired his courageous father greatly. It was a desire to help the once-beleaguered lawman that had driven Tommy and his pals to don the homemade costumes that became their trademark in their roles as junior mystery-men Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. That same desire to do good and have adventures had been fueled by reading accounts of the heroic deeds of other adult heroes like Wildcat, Mister Terrific, and Green Lantern. The boys — Tom, Tubby, and Toughy — had used a ramshackle wooden shed as their headquarters and had been remarkably successful in bringing in many smalltime hoods that frequented the small town because of its formerly bucolic nature.
“You know, I think it shows the founding fathers were a bit screwy when they named this tiny place Big City!” Toughy had once announced.
“It’s named from a derivative of Alexander Vander Bigge, the Dutch settler who founded it. Over time, Bigge became Big!” Tommy had explained.
Now, Tommy wondered if he could spare the time to continue his crime-busting duties when he had more adult things on his mind. He had developed a real crush on pretty English teacher Debbie Roberts earlier in the semester. Something about her had just carried him and his feelings away. He had not been attracted to her last year when she had actually been his teacher, but something had changed in that year of growth and maturation, and now Tommy was hopelessly smitten.
Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys: 1942: A (Little Boy) Blue Christmas, Chapter 2: A String of Robberies
by Libbylawrence
Tommy Rogers put his books down on the table and then carried them back to his room as his mother reminded him that the table was no place for schoolbooks. After doing so, he hurried back down the steps and said, “Ma, what did you want me to do today? I had to bail out on the fellas!”
“Sorry, dear, but it is for a good cause,” she said. “I want you to run over to the Rutherford house and leave a tray for Mrs. Rutherford. She’s feeling under the weather, and I know a cold can really take a lot out of an elderly person like that.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Tommy. “She’s a real swell lady. I was kind of hoping she might bake some of her Christmas cookies for us again this year!”
Martha Rogers dusted off the table and adjusted her own apron before replying, “Now, Tommy, living on a fixed income means the poor old soul can’t waste money or rationing coupons!”
Tommy nodded and said, “Sure, Ma. I sure wouldn’t want my sweet tooth to help old Schicklgruber and his goose-steppers win the war!”
“You’re a scamp!” said Martha. “Now, hurry! I don’t want the food to spoil.”
Tommy took the tray and hurried out of the house. He smelled the inviting aroma of the meal below its carefully packed wrapper, and his stomach growled. I’m getting as bad as Tubby! he thought.
He whistled the new Ben Miller Orchestra tune American Patrol and stuffed one hand in his jacket pocket for warmth. He then removed it and balanced the tray up against his chest as he switched positions and put the other hand in his coat. Ma would really give me trouble over going out without gloves! he thought.
As Tommy approached the old house in which elderly Mrs. Rutherford lived, he frowned. ”Her door’s wide open!” he said.
He ran forward and put down the tray. One thing he knew for sure was that, even in the rather idyllic town protected by heroic Dan Rogers and others, you didn’t leave your house unlocked.
Tommy glanced inside and saw a startling sight. The house had been ransacked. He saw open cabinets and turned-over tables, and as he reached the kitchen he found empty and hastily dropped drawers.
“She’s been robbed!” he said. “Gosh, I hope she’s OK!”
Moving swiftly and stealthily through the house, he soon realized that he was alone. With the nearby neighbors all at work, there’s nobody around to tell me anything about her! he thought. Ma said she was sick, too. That makes me doubt she would have left the house! Could she have been kidnapped? What would a gang want with a poor old lady?
He called the police and gazed sadly down at the tray. If only I’d been quicker, maybe I could have stopped them! he thought.
***
Later, after talking to the police and returning home, a relieved Tommy sat across from a distinguished-but-still-youthful man who wore a brown suit and smoked a pipe as he sat in a plush armchair.
“You were reckless to go in like that, son,” said Dan Rogers as he puffed on the pipe. “If the thugs had been there, you could have been seriously hurt. Still, you acted bravely and out of compassion, and I’m proud of you. Just don’t forget that you’re not Little Boy Blue and shouldn’t take such chances!”
“Ah, Pop, I know it,” said Tommy. “I’m just glad we found out what happened to Mrs. Rutherford.”
Dan Rogers nodded and stared off into space as he replied, “Indeed. Going to the hospital because her cough had gotten worse may have saved her from a rude surprise. I was very glad when Doc Stone called me to explain her absence. I just hate for the poor thing to come home to such a sad revelation!”
“Me, too,” said Tommy. “Maybe the crooks can be caught before Mrs. Rutherford gets out. It would be great if her stuff could be recovered as quickly as she recovers!”
Dan sighed and said, “I agree. That would be something of a Christmas miracle, though! The job was handled very well. There were no witnesses. These thieves may be tough to round up.”
Tommy nodded and thought, Maybe the crooks will strike again, and the Blue Boys will be ready for them!
***
That night, Tommy did not fall asleep immediately. He rested in bed with his head cradled in his entwined hands, and he gazed at the roof.
I didn’t even pay attention to the Lux Radio Theater tonight. Then again, “The War Against Mrs. Hadley” didn’t exactly sound like it would have been much of a cliffhanger! he thought.
His mind had been preoccupied with a dozen different ideas. He had pondered the problem of the robbers and how he and his pals could best handle the case. He had given some thought to the upcoming holiday and how much he looked forward to it. However, most of the time Tommy daydreamed about Debbie. He had never met anyone like her. He knew that if she only knew his secret, she might learn to care for him in time. What was a nine-or-ten-year age difference when two people were in love?
“Little Boy Blue might stand a better chance with her than I do, but I can’t tell her my secret,” he said. “That could spoil things for the fellas, too. Boy, I bet real mystery-men like Superman and Green Lantern don’t find themselves worrying about how their gals go for them more when they are in costume than when they are out!”
Snapping his fingers, he said, “Say, maybe I could show Debbie how I feel by giving her a nice gift for Christmas! With school ending for the holiday in around two weeks, maybe I can pick out a swell present. I’ll have two weeks’ worth of allowance, plus some savings to spend, too!”
Tommy turned over after cutting out the lamp by his bed. He closed his eyes and determined to think only of his girlfriend.
***
The next day found Herb “Toughy” Simms running down the street, deftly tossing newspapers in his wake. As one struck a mailbox and bounced through a shrub to land on a porch, Toughy smiled and said, “Toughy, ol’ boy, Leo Durocher’s Brooklyn Dodgers don’t know what a find you could be!”
He made his way up the street and squinted a bit into the slowly rising winter sun as he glanced down at a headline on one of the papers he was towing along behind him in a battered old wagon he had taken from a junkyard. ”The Axis Bomb Philippeville harbor in North Africa!” he read out loud.
“Man! Those guys got to get theirs yet! It’s only one day after Pearl Harbor’s first anniversary, and they just keep on going!” he said with a sigh. He spat on the pavement and then continued along until he drew closer to a pink house with a swing on the front porch and the now-barren remnants of a victory garden in the back.
Kelly Walton’s place! What a doll she is! She’s a reg’lar Libby Lawrence! he thought.
He grinned broadly as a shiny cab pulled up in front of the house, and a very pretty young woman stepped out.
He frowned a bit as he noticed her blonde hair was now worn in a closely cut upswept style instead of in her customary peekaboo cut, so-called because of a carefully placed lock that covered one eye of the wearer.
“Yoo-hoo! Hi, there, Herbie!” she called as she paid the cab driver and blew a kiss to Toughy.
“How’s it goin’, Kelly!” he said even as he glanced left and right to be sure none of the guys heard her use his hated proper name.
“Fine!” she said. “I just finished my swing shift at the factory! See my new hairstyle? I had to cut it. They say the government’s even asked Veronica Drake to do the same thing as a good example for all the gals in the factories!”
“Yeah?” said Toughy. “Well, you can’t work on airplane engines with long hair. You still look peachy!”
Kelly giggled and said, “Got to scoot! Toodles!” She walked up the drive and started to open her door when she realized it was already unlocked. ”Oh, my! The door lock is broken!” she gasped.
Toughy heard her cry and turned around to check out the scene. ”What’s up wit’ dis?! Somebody done broke in the joint!” he cried.
He picked up a rock and pushed past the upset blonde to barge into the house, only to find a scene much like the one that had greeted Tommy the day before at the Rutherford home. Toughy said, “The mugs cleaned her out but good! I’d sure like to get my hands on dem!”
Kelly sobbed as she followed the boy around the now-empty-but-forever-altered home. ”Herbie, I only started working the swing shift four days ago! I could have been here asleep when they broke in otherwise!” she said in a t
rembling tone.
Toughy nodded and said, “Yeah, dat’s no lie! It’s a good thing you was working!” He wanted to comfort her, but even a knowing boy like Toughy could only do so much for an adult woman. He helped her get some water and then called the police.
After the cops arrived, Toughy made himself scarce, as he put it. He finished delivering the papers and managed to intercept Tommy and Tubby as they made their way to school.
“We got trouble, fellas! There’s been a robbery at Kelly’s place!” he said as he gasped for breath.
“Kelly?” asked Tommy. “You mean Miss Walton? That makes two robberies! I was just telling Tubby here about one that happened yesterday at the Rutherford place!”
“Gosh!” said Tubby. “Was Miss Walton hurt?”
“Nah!” said Toughy. “She started working at the factory. You know how they are takin’ on dames now that so many Joes are in the Army and Navy!”
“Ma invited her over for dinner around a week ago,” Tommy said. “She wasn’t working then. She told me that she was applying for work, though.”
“I guess she just started, and then this happened!” said Tubby.
Toughy rubbed one slightly grimy hand over his mouth and then spat. ”Say, you got that egghead look in your eyes, pal. You got some kind of plan?” he asked.
“Well, first Mrs. Rutherford’s place was robbed in the middle of the afternoon when she just happened to change her routine and go to the hospital due to illness,” said Tommy. “Now, right after Kelly Walton started a night job, her place was robbed. It sounds like this gang knows everyone’s comings and goings, all right!”
“I guess they are locals, or maybe they cased the places!” added Tubby. “I saw that in a movie at the Bijou!”
“Let’s think this over some more after school,” said Tommy. “We’ll meet up at the clubhouse.”
***
That afternoon, on the way to the clubhouse, Tommy and Tubby made one brief stop in front of the windows of Griffith Jewelry.
“You thinking about getting your Ma a necklace or something?” asked Tubby as he munched on a candy bar.
Tommy gazed up at a gold necklace and said, “Look, you won’t rib me about this, will you?”
Tubby shook his head and said, “No. You know you can trust me!”