Riley, Teddie, and Coco Hutchinson discover the true meaning of Bravery, Resilience and Tenacity as they transform from ordinary kids into determined heroes, proving that even kids can make a significant impact on the world. When their father is rapidly deployed at the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War, these steadfast Army Brats band together to orchestrate a secret mission to save their friend's endangered Ukrainian family, showcasing their extraordinary ingenuity and unwavering grit. BRATS is a middle-grade novel (~60,000 words) with the chaotic family fun of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street set in the Military.
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Chapter One
December, 2021
Fort Bragg, NC
Saturday, December 25th
“Alright, you three, there’s just one more present you haven’t opened yet…” Mom said, looking over her shoulder and winking at her husband, signaling it was time for him to bring in the gift.
Maggie Hutchinson’s eyes sparkled with a secret, as she clasped her hands together under her chin and grinned at her three children. Riley, Teddie and Charlotte scooted together, making excited eyes at each other.
“Whatever it is, I call opening it,” muttered Charlotte under her breath, so that only her siblings could hear.
Six year old Charlotte was petite for her age. She had dark blue eyes and wavy blonde hair– so blonde it was almost white and turned green in chlorine pools in the summer. She was often compared to the Coppertone baby on the sunscreen bottles. But behind all that sweetness was some spice. Her dad loved to quote Shakespeare when describing Charlotte, “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”
“Coco, that’s not fair. You always get to do things, because you’re the youngest! It’s not right!” grumped Teddie.
Theodore Roosevelt Hutchinson was named after the 26th U.S. president with whom he shared a birthday – October 27. So far in his nine years of life, he greatly lived up to his namesake in his love for nature, knowledge and country. A typical Teddie day involved him squeezed into his now too small soldier costume his Nana had bought him when he was five, perched at the top of a tree, reading a book about bugs. While often described by his teachers as easy going and level-headed, as the middle child and the only boy of the Hutchinson children, Teddie was used to sticking up for himself.
“Guys, it’s fine. We don’t need to fight about it. We can just open it together,” said Riley.
As the eldest of the three children, eleven year old Riley took her role of second mother very seriously. She knew how to keep her brother and sister in line, often to the relief of her parents.
Riley’s siblings turned toward the voice of reason and nodded. Mom raised her eyebrows and mouthed a silent “thank you” to Riley, as Dad walked into the family’s living room, carefully kicking aside piles of crumpled up wrapping paper and boxes that had been cast aside in the chaos of the Hutchinson family’s Christmas morning.
His arms were filled with a meticulously wrapped, shiny silver box with a huge red bow on top. If you looked carefully, you could see three slits cut out on each side of the box. He gingerly set the box down in front of the kids and took a step backward. The box moved a fraction of an inch. THE BOX MOVED!?!
“Dad?” Riley looked up at her father, her face horror-stricken.
“Go ahead, guys. Just open it up!” he said laughing.
“Don’t have to tell me twice!” shouted Coco, jumping to her feet and reaching down to tug at the bow.
Teddie grabbed her by the arm attempting to slow her down.
“Get off, TheoBORE!” she whined.
“Don’t call me that!”
“If you can hear me, put your hands on your head!!” Riley shouted, setting her hands on top of her brown hair, which had been pulled neatly back into a ponytail.
The room fell silent and six hands shot up to their heads. Coco put her hands on her hips and scowled.
“If you can hear me, put your finger up your nose.”
Coco’s eye’s softened, and she started giggling. Mom rolled her eyes.
“K. On the count of three, we’re going to take the top off together,” said Riley.
The three kids all put their hands on the sides of the lid, their eyes darting back and forth between each other.
Then they all chanted together, “One…two…THREE!”
The lid was off and Coco started to scream. Riley covered her mouth with her hands. Teddie started to tear up.
“Are you for real? Is this for real!?” Riley asked, looking at her parents.
“This is for real,” Mom said smiling, wiggling over and putting her arm around Teddie’s shoulder.
Inside of the box, sat a very small and very fluffy German Shepherd. The puppy’s large eyes, one brown and one blue, were gazing up sweetly at the family.
“You got us a puppy!? OMG! Thank you, thank you, thank youuuuu!” Coco squealed, wrapping herself around her father’s leg in an intense hug.
“Teddie are you okay?” Mom asked, pulling back from her weeping son.
“It’s just…I can’t believe…we got a…he’s so cute, and I love him and thank you so much, Mom and Dad,” said Teddie, swatting the back of his hand at his eyes as a fresh crop of tears streamed down his cheeks.
“It’s not a he, it’s a she. Or maybe a they? I’m calling them Princess!!” Coco shouted. “Who’s a fluffy baby puppy Princess baby doggie doo?”
“It’s a he,” said Dad. “And we’ll all have to decide on a name together.”
Coco pouted a bit, as Dad picked up the puppy out of the box and set him on the floor. The small dog sniffed the area rug Dad had brought back from his deployment to Iraq. He turned in a circle three times. And then…
“OH! OH MY GOSH! Honey, he’s peeing!!!! Pick him up! PICK HIM UP!!!” Mom yelled.
Coco burst into fits of giggles, while Teddie looked on, shocked, wiping the tears from his eyes. Dad scooped up the puppy, who continued to spray a small fountain of pee onto his owner’s undershirt, and ran to the back door, all the while shouting, “BAD DOG. THAT’S A BAD BOY!”
Riley beat him to the door and ran through, opening it for her father. He dropped the puppy onto the grass of their fenced in backyard. “GO POTTY.”
The puppy sat down in the grass, and looked up at Dad.
“GO POTTY! This is where you go potty. GO POTTY!”
The puppy blinked. Riley’s lips turned up at the corners, “Um, Dad. He already went potty. I don’t think he has to go anymore. It’s ok, buddy. You’ll get it next time. Come on back inside.”
She picked up the new pup and cradled him in her arms, all the while whispering into his ear what a very good boy he was and that Dad wasn’t so mean and scary once you got to know him.
Dad tipped his head up to the sky and heaved a huge sigh, then pulled off his undershirt and started back inside.
“What have we gotten ourselves into…”
