Tandar always won everything, which he said was because he tried hard. That was what his mother said. He could run the fastest, and stand up on a runner-sled the longest, and throw the farthest. After Molly Garrett died, he missed her the most.
The three of them were close, really and truly close in their childhood. Every day they played together; and always it was knights, the boys wanted to be knights of the round table. They didn't always want to let Molly Garrett be a knight, and she flatly refused to be in distress, so usually she was the queen. Sometimes they convinced her to be Queen Guinevere but she preferred Queen Molly.
And off they would run through the woods that lined all the backyards on Joshua's side of the street, carrying out missions for the Queen that always required her direct supervision. Most of the time her Majesty would be accosted by a Black Knight and Sir Joshua would leap to her defense. Tandar, as the Black Knight, would put on a fierce display at first but then lose ground pretty quickly. After all it would never do for a knight of the Round Table to be defeated.
Tandar was the sweetest boy. Once, when they were six, he told Molly Garrett that he loved her, and for the rest of his life he believed it. And she kissed him one time, when they were eight. A little kiss right on the mouth. He had big teeth, and when he smiled it was so bright made all the rest of his face look even darker.
When Joshua found out what Tandar had said, he made sure to tell Molly Garrett he loved her too, which was nice.