CHAPTER TWO
None of your brothers stayed in school much past the age of 12 or 13. This is your chance to be different, so you go to school early for extra lessons.
Sitting at that desk feels like being in the gaol — so dull! Far away, you hear boys playing with hoops and sticks. You groan. This better be worth it.
At home, Peter laughs, “Look at little Jacob! You are a doctor soon, yes?”
“No,” says Abraham, “he will be a minister, with little spectacles.”
“He can’t lift anything heavier than his books!”
“Take that back!” You leap at Peter, he shouts, and a tussle ensues in the kitchen. No one bats an eye.
When you finally finish school, there’s another problem: you’re ready to farm, but there isn’t much land left. Typical. Your brothers claimed it all first.
You could move away from your family to find a farm of your own. Although farming alone sounds … well, lonely.
Your teacher wants you to take a job as a clerk nearby. Being close to your parents and grandparents sounds good: you’ll be close to your grandmother’s gingerbread!
Which do you choose?
