Sunday, December 21, 2008

Chapter 38: Thackery Witnesses A Capsizing Ship

Tues, November 17, 2074 2:49 pm: Dewilliker Prepatory Academy- Rawling Hills, Pleasantview

381

There was a trick to it. Something about rabbit ears that Thackery never could quite catch. Maybe he would always need a grown-up to tie his shoelaces. Or maybe he should just stop wearing shoes altogether. They always slowed him down, making him last to join the other kids' games. Naomi was clever enough to tie her own stupid shoelaces.

382

No sooner had he thought her name than Naomi went whizzing by, a bright cardinal streak across the front lawn. She was followed by Donnie who almost succeeded in tackling her to the ground but missed by several inches. He doubled over in his attempt. Naomi turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. Thackery thought with pride that his sister could out-run any boy. Even big boys like Donnie.

383

Roan and Rhiannon rounded the house, throwing the most pitiful snowballs imaginable. Naomi crouched down to build one of her own. It was about the size and shape of a robin's egg. Thackery jumped down from the steps. He clasped his hands behind his back and swayed from side to side.

384

"Can I play too?" No one even looked up at him. They were all staring at Donnie who hesitantly dabbed a snowball on his outstretched tongue.

"Eww Donnie! That was on the ground," Rhiannon moaned.

"So what? Vegetables grow in the ground and you still eat them," he challenged. Rhiannon put her hands on her hips, flashing Donnie her most acidic glare.

"Yeah but you wash them first."

"Well you can't wash a snowball."

"That doesn't mean you have to eat it."

"Guys, is it ok if I play too," Thackery interjected, exasperated. Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Of course you can play. You don't have to ask. Just don't whine like a baby when you get hit."

"I'm not a baby," Thackery whimpered.

"I didn't say you were," Naomi sighed. The sudden squabbling had turned everyone's attention away from Roan who, most uncharacteristically, had not spoken a word.


385

Thackery caught him out of the corner of his eye, slipping down slowly and gracefully like a capsizing ship. Once on the ground, Roan began wheezing in long, sharp gasps, his face veiled with clouds of his own breath. Thackery wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Roan's jokes were usually funnier than this. A powerful shriek escaped from Rhiannon's lips, splitting the air and leaving Thackery's ears ringing. He wished that girls wouldn't do things like that. Roan heaved only once, vomiting up an oatmeal-colored mush. Tears streamed down his face. Even on all fours, he was teetering, struggling to stay upright. Thackery's mother raced down from the doorway just as Roan's arms gave out from under him and his body went limp on the frozen ground.

13 comments:

  1. What?! What?!! WHAT?!! No you didn't leave it hanging like that! What's wrong with Roan? It sounds horrible!

    I had to laugh at Thackery though! The thing about the shoes killed me! Something about a rabbit...that's how I learned to tie my shoes! Haha!

    I got all kinds of excited when I clicked and saw an update! And right after work too?! YAY!! :)

    Love the new post comment box too! So much easier!

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  2. You know, I myself never learned the rabbit thing. When I wear shoes with laces (though these days, I usually wear ballet flats, pumps and boots that don't lace) I usually make two loops and tie them together. LOL!

    You won't have to wait too long to find out about Roan. 39 will be up by tomorrow morning. Or sometime tonight, depending on how spry I'm feeling.

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  3. Oh by the way, please ignore the very unseasonable Foxglove and Million Bells blooming behind Naomi's head. *shifty eyes* I wanted some color to break up the monotony so i just left them there.

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  4. As someone who doesn't have seasons and therefore has characters walking around on green grass and in light clothing when the date at the top of the post clearly states "January", and in addition to that grew up in volatile Western Canada, flowers in snowy November are not a problem or even very noticeable :)

    Poor Roan. Does he have some sort of chronic thing? It might explain why he acts so tough. And Thackery... brings back so many memories with the shoe-tying.

    Now, I must hurry to the family tree and see who Rhiannon belongs to!

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  5. One word for you, little buddy: Velcro.

    I was never taught anything about this "rabbit ear" business but I do remember freaking out towards the end of the kindergarten year, because we were supposed to know how to tie our shoes by the end, and I was quite hit-and-miss with the technique. It's so cute how just the first couple sentences of this chapter got us all rolling around with reminiscences.

    OMG ROAN HAS CHOLERA! Or maybe it's just a seizure.

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  6. Van:
    Ooooo flowers in winter. I'm moving to Canada! I'm a plant person. A huge, huge plant person.

    Roan's illness will be explained in the next chapter when we meet up with Siren and Troy in the emergency room.

    Look no further for who Rhiannon is! She's Sabina's little sister. Therefore, Lillith and Dirk's daughter.

    Lothere:
    Troy wouldn't allow the velcro, were the subject ever to be broached. "How is he supposed to learn how to tie his shoes if we give him those? Do you know what this will say to him? It will say that Mom and Dad don't think that he's capable of figuring out simple tasks on his own." And blah blah blah.

    I like the idea of kindergarten final exams. I don't remember much of the kindergarten experience except for what went on on the playground.

    Cholera?!? That would be one way to end a story. The only person left alive in Pleasantview would be Adelaide who never gets sick. And maybe her baby. And Kvornan, if he's in town. So three people.

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  7. Come to Victoria if you want flowers in the winter! Come, come! *strews flowers on Pen's path*

    (Except, perversely, right at this freaking instant, for lo, we have been up to our cankles in snow for the past week, and it's still falling. Don't laugh, rest-of-Canada!)

    A plant person. I never would have thought it of you, Pen. Shucks.

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  8. We've got tons of snow in Calgary now too :(

    No flowers right now, unfortunately. But in November, definitely.

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  9. And most unusually, there is not a snowflake in sight here in Pittsburgh. But I still have to go to the local conservatory to look at pretty flowers. Everything is dead! Hmmm I think I'll start volunteering at the conservatory's special events so I kin gets in fo' free.

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  10. Question. Why is Donnie wearing a snowsuit while all the other kids are in period dress? I know, kind of a weird question for such a serious post :(

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  11. I ran out of boys' period outerwear! hehehehe

    Which was OK since modern clothes exist too in Pleasantview. But yeah, you're right. If I could have helped it, Donnie would have been dressed like the others.

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  12. Out of season flowers notwithstanding, I thought the first two pictures were extra pretty. They really brought a smile to my grouchy morning-time face.

    Gross, what makes a person fall down and throw up an oatmealy stuff? I looked up his symptoms on WebMD (LOL, seriously, I did!) but I didn't have enough information to figure out what he has.

    It reminds me of when my cat has a hairball.

    Is Roan secretly a cat?

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  13. hehehehe

    My thought was that he had actually eaten some oatmeal not too long before. I could just see Miss Dewilliker shoving it down his throat before letting him go outside. She's a cooky old bat. Maybe one day, she'll make a story appearance. But I highly doubt it. I like the idea of her being semi disembodied like the grown-ups on Peanuts.

    Man, I love snowy sim pictures. Must. Take. More.

    Yikes, I'm scrambling to get 39 up now because I have to leave to catch a flight at 2:00 and yadda yadda yadda.

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