The Day Of Infamy

by Bastian Taylor, 11

Chapter 1

It was usually sunny in Hawaii. Even in late November. Xavier and Koa were at the beach, playing with the sand beneath their toes in the water. “Race you to my house!” said Xavier.  Xavier was tall, friendly, and keen, he had green eyes and short brown hair. His buddy, Koa, was smaller, had brown eyes, and was the best friend Xavier could ever ask for.

 The sky was blue, with the smell of the ocean in every corner of where you went. It was a tropical paradise. They got out of the water and got on their bikes to go to Xavier's home. Koa pedaled as fast as he could and slowly got ahead of Xavier and won. 

“Let's go!” Koa said as he stopped in front of his friend's house. 

“Dang it! See you tomorrow!” 

“Bye Xavier!” Koa said as he rode toward his house. 

Xavier walked inside his own. 

“Hey mom! What's for dinner?” 

“Chicken nuggets I found at the market!” 

“Yay!” Replied Xavier.

 “Look Xavier,  I am worried about your dad. After he got on the USS Arizona, it feels like we have not seen him since.”

“When will he be back?” Said Xavier. 

“In a few weeks. Hopefully he will be the same as he used to be.” replied mom. 

By now Xavier was done with dinner and went upstairs to take a shower. That night Xavier looked at the photo of his dad in bed. He sighed, and then fell asleep. 

Meanwhile, Koa was reading when he heard his parents talking.

“We have to leave!” said his father.  

“But what about Koa? He has so many friends here.” 

Koa’s father looked frustrated and sad. “If we don't leave we will be stuck here in a place that does not have any of us left in it! We have to move.” 

The words hung in the air for a moment before Koa’s mom said “Fine, but Koa will find out sooner or later. We should start packing tomorrow.” 

Koa screamed into his pillow. He did not wanna leave Xavier and his home to start a new life! Koa slowly calmed down and went to sleep. 

Xavier biked to school the next day. He waved to his next door neighbor Jim. Jim was a veteran in World War One, but he was very isolated and it felt like he was hiding something. So when Xavier waved to him he frowned and walked away. Xavier rode his bike to Koa’s house where his friend was waiting for him. 

“Hey man! Ready for the test today?” 

Koa nodded and stayed quiet for the rest of the ride to school. 

Xavier later in the school day, asked Koa, “What's bothering you?” 

Koa said, “Oh, my parents have made a big decision to lea-” Koa paused. “It's nothing,” 

Xavier walked away with his mind pondering countless questions. What's wrong? Why is he not himself? Though the thing that was really in his head was that he hoped he was okay.

Chapter 2

At school, Xavier and Koa knew that a war was going on in Europe. Germany was invading other countries and the Allies were trying to stop them. “Good that we are not in that war,” said Xavier’s mom. Xavier longed to see his dad. It had been a month since they had seen each other and it felt like he was invisible since he went to the USS Arizona. Xavier knew what his friends were thinking and feeling.  Xavier went down to the sea to play. He splashed around but it did not feel good without Koa. Then he saw him walking. Koa saw Xavier but he did not say hi. He just walked away.

Later that day, Xavier said, , “I saw you today at the beach! You wanna play sometime?”

“No… but you can come over any time.” 

Xavier biked to his house but came to a stop at Jim's house. “I hope he likes this,” Xavier said. He dropped some mangoes that he had from his mango tree.

Then he biked to his house as Jim went to pick them up. “That's an interesting boy,” he said. He was carrying a photo. It was of a man in World War One, and he looked similar to Xavier. 

It was finally December and it felt awkward when you were on this tropical island. Koa was reading his favorite book when he heard noises. He saw his parents carrying boxes. “It is hard to say this but we will be…” Koa’s father paused as he said this. “Going somewhere” 

“What your father means is that we are moving,” said his mom. 

“I will be in my room.” Said Koa. He sighed. How was he going to admit that he was moving to Xavier? Koa sat in his bed thinking. He was moving, and he couldn't stop it. 

Koa’s mind was racing, with his parents talking about leaving Hawaii and going to live a new life. 

Meanwhile, Xavier looked at the newspaper. It said, “Germany strikes again!“Oh no…” Said Xavier. The war felt like it was coming closer to the USA, but it wouldn't happen right? 

Chapter 3

Xavier looked outside. It was a nice sunrise. Meanwhile Koa did not get any sleep and was nervous. Xavier looked at the photo of his dad as he got dressed. He decided to walk to school to think about helping Koa. Xavier was not very happy that his friend was not himself, so he had to help him before it was too late. In the back of his mind there was a feeling that the USA would get in the war. Xavier’s grandpa had died in World War One and Jim was a silent reminder of him, although Xavier never got to see his grandfather. Koa’s family had made the decision to stay in Hawaii even after it was annexed, and with Xavier being very keen, he knew that it was something about this that was bothering Koa.

Xavier realized something that that was the thing bothering him. Xavier then was at the school doors. He was ready to help his friend even though he didn't know exactly what his future was going to hold. Xavier and Koa sat through the school day as it went on, waiting for recess to save them.

When it was time to go outside Xavier decided to ask Koa then. Xavier asked him, “Koa, you have been acting strange lately, does it have to do with your family?” 

“Yes, but I would rather not tell…” replied Koa. 

Xavier gave a silent nod and walked away. He was one step closer to finding out what Koa was hiding and to help him.

Chapter 4

Koa was devastated about what his parents had decided and was worried about everything happening in the world with him at that point. He had not admitted to Xavier about this and was depressed. Reading was not fun to him anymore with him knowing he would have to leave his best friend. Koa’s family knew in the back of their mind that they would have to leave Hawaii someday, but he was not ready to leave when a war was going on and with having a great best friend! Koa was depressed with everything going on in his life, and he wished he could cancel out of the world and not have to worry about life's problems. He had to tell Xavier sometime, and he was going to tell Xavier now.  

Our main character was walking on the street, thinking about life. He did this every time he was worried about something to get his feelings out of him and be more relaxed. Koa was speed walking, anxious to see his best friend. Koa saw Xavier and ran toward him. “Xavier! I have something to tell you.” 

“What?” replied his friend. 

“I am moving away.” 

There was a long silence, as if the world had stopped. Xavier was very surprised at the moment, but he also realized that it made sense. The way Koa was acting, why his family felt nervous when he was around for the past few weeks. It all made sense. Xavier did not know what to say, but the only words that he could find were, “I'll see you tomorrow.” Then he ran away. Xavier could not sleep that night because he was thinking about Koa. Little did he know, the next day would be a crazy day.

Chapter 5

Xavier woke up and loved the day, and it felt great, but he did not feel great knowing Koa was going to leave. He went outside to play and bike around. He was feeling great, but something was wrong, really wrong, and he felt that when he heard a sound. 

“Rat tat tat, Rat tat tat.” And then he saw them. They were planes. Xavier was used to seeing planes because of the drills performed by the army, but these were different planes, they had a scarlet circle on each side. Xavier remembered his history teacher. They said that a red circle represents the country of Japan, and now Xavier knew what was going to happen. Japan was going to invade the U.S.!  Xavier got on his bike and pedaled as fast as he could. 

 The problem was that the noise kept getting louder. “Rat tat tat, rat tat tat.” Xavier heard it in his ears. “Rat tat tat, rat tat tat.” An explosion behind him that hurt his ears just hearing it. Xavier smelled oil and while going by some ships he felt heat as one of the vessels became a blazing inferno. He tried to find Koa to help him. Having a friend would be super important to staying safe. It was pure chaos, no one expected this to happen.  Xavier ran to the beach hoping to find his friend. Planes were in flames, bullets firing from all sides, and ships were on fire. That's when Xavier realized something. Dad! He was on the USS Arizona. That's when he found Koa. 

“What is going on!?” said Koa. 

“Why are you asking me?” said Xavier, who was as confused as Koa was. “No time to talk! We gotta go!” 

They ran as fast as they could as bombs came down and when torpedoes were coming from all sides. 

Koa looked back to see even more planes appearing and coming closer to them. “We have to hurry!” He cried. 

Xavier heard screaming, explosions, and planes, but the sound that was in his head was, “Rat tat tat, rat tat tat.” The sound of torpedoes. Xavier saw ships on fire. Luckily, The ship Dad was on was still safe but he would not be for long. A plane closed in on the two boys. The sound got even louder, “Rat tat tat, Rat tat tat” No! Xavier couldn't die here!  Boom! An explosion knocked Xavier and Koa off their feet! 

“Ow!” said Xavier.  “Are you alright, Koa?” he asked. 

“I’m good.” Said Koa. 

The plane had left, thinking it had gotten the two boys.  They got up, brushing themselves off before observing their surroundings. Xavier saw ships on fire. 

Then he saw it. The USS Arizona was on fire! 

“Dad!” Said Xavier. He was on the ship, and Xavier was going to have to save him. Explosions rang out, soldiers were screaming, and more were on the ground, injured and frozen in fear. This had been a surprise to everyone and no one had expected it. 

“Japan could not invade the U.S, No!” Said Koa. Another plane came out of the sky. 

“Run!!!” Said Xavier. The pilot looked at the kids. Xavier looked back. He looked like a man with something to prove. He looked like he was afraid to kill and had good in his heart. Then he had the chance, he was right with Xavier and Koa. Though he saw Xavier, He was just a kid, and then he flew away. 

“That was weird. Why did he not kill us?" said Koa.

 “I don't know…” said Xavier. “We need to hurry!” 

Just then, The USS Arizona exploded into flames. “Dad!!!” Said Xavier. “I have to swim to save him, you find someone to get help.” Xavier said. 

“You got it.” Replied Koa, as Xavier got ready to plunge into the water.

Chapter 6

Xavier started swimming with all his might. He heard screaming, explosions and more. But he ignored all of them and kept swimming. 

Meanwhile, Koa was trying to find help. “Please! My friend needs to be saved!” 

Jim heard him and pulled over. “What is your friend’s name?” Said Jim. 

“Xavier.” replied Koa. 

Jim remembered his days in World War One. In the trenches. He had one friend there. He knew his surroundings so well, and he always knew what was going on. He was Jim's best friend, but he went out of the trench for a mission, and Jim never saw him again. Xavier was just like him, aware of everything, and then Jim realized then and he should not lose someone like that again. He dived into the water and started swimming, but he was old, so he could not go far. 

Xavier had to finish the job. He kept swimming, even as he was getting tired, he kept going, even as he couldn't feel his legs, he kept going, and now, he had finally reached the sinking USS Arizona. Now he had to find his dad. 

Xavier took a big breath, and went down in the water. The waters were murky because of the oil from the ship that had spilled in the ocean. A piece of metal almost hit Xavier, but he dodged out of the way just in time. Then he saw Dad! His leg was stuck under a piece of metal, preventing him from escaping. Xavier swam to him and tried freeing his dad from the steel bar. It wouldn't budge! Xavier tried again, but it didn't work. Xavier looked around, he saw another metal pipe, it was smaller and could hold up long enough for Dad to escape! Xavier when he was about to run out of air used it to lift up the bar and give enough room for his dad to escape. Xavier helped get them up to the surface and they headed for land. 

“My leg!” Cried Xavier’s dad. He was hurt. They had to get him to a hospital. “Thanks for saving me kid, you're a real hero.” 

Chapter 7

The battle was not over yet though, as it was still raging on. Xavier had to dodge explosions to make it onto land, and when on there he had to find everyone. “Koa! Help!” screamed Xavier, it was hard to find his friend in all the chaos but eventually, he saw Koa and Jim hiding behind a car. 

“We need to save my dad! Get him to the hospital!” Xavier said. Jim got ready to drive with Xavier’s dad in shotgun, and the two kids got in the back of the car. Jim expertly drove through the chaotic streets while picking up other injured soldiers. They finally reached the hospital and got everyone out of the car. They stayed in the hospital for a week to help people out. Xavier’s dad had a broken leg and other injuries that had to make him stay at the hospital for a month. Xavier thanked Jim for his help, and he discovered that Jim's friend in World War One was his grandpa! Xavier was shocked when he found this out and he smiled knowing that the person that had saved him was a former friend of his deceased relative. In the days after what had happened, the U.S declared war against Japan. 

Xavier’s dad could not be in the fight because of the injury, and Xavier was happy to get more time with his dad.  Xavier looked at Koa. 

“Will you be leaving now?” asked Xavier, 

“No, I don't think we will.” Xavier quickly forced Koa into a hug.“Thanks dude.” He said. 

They had survived an event that shook the world, with help from others and by using their skills, they had survived an event that devastated America, and by saving each other–they had survived the day of Infamy.

The End