He had trouble waking up the next morning. His mother was
not a morning person, as evidenced by her groggy demeanour and the way she
staggered aimlessly about the house preparing the boys to go to school. Her dishevelled
appearance implied she had either just woken up or not gone to sleep at all.
The boy looked at his brother intently to discern any wounds
on the neck or any unusual paleness in the face or cheeks. The more intently
the boy looked, the less indication he saw that something was wrong. This
obviously indicated that his brother was indeed a vampire and that a powerful
magic was hiding this fact.
The boy left for school earlier than his brother because he
was older. He also walked alone because he was a big boy and could take care of
himself. Despite being a grown, independent boy, his mother insisted on him
wearing a purple sweater that he detested.
In the first place, he grumbled to himself as he walked past
Mia’s house, the colour was ugly. The form was appallingly ill-fitting as well.
Thirdly, it was scratchy and made his arms, wrists, and neck itch. Lastly, it
didn’t even keep him warm since the sweater was full of holes. He walked past
Robert’s house and waved to his friend as they merged paths.
Robert was a small boy with wire-rimmed glasses and short
shaggy brown hair. Robert was fond of long shorts and button-down shirts. The
boy dolphin complained about the sweater and pulled at it uncomfortably. The
boys agreed to take off the sweater and hide it in the hedge along one of
Robert’s neighbour’s houses.
While the boy dolphin stashed his sweater, Robert commented
that this neighbour was rarely at home during the day and that the neighbour
left their TV on all day. Robert related that he often went into his neighbour’s
house to sit in the recliner and watch TV. He had never been caught, so it was
all harmless fun.
The two boys continued down the hill and past the trivium
with the palm trees and grass. Robert explains that rabbits’ feet are lucky,
which is something the boy dolphin had no known. Robert explained that he had
one his parents gave him. Robert showed how the small, furry object was
attached to a belt loop with a small chain and how it could be held and rubbed
for good luck.
On a sudden inspiration, the boy dolphin asked his friend if
he knew how to defend against and dispel a vampire. Robert nodded gravely and
said he did. Robert asked the boy who the vampire was. The boy dolphin repeated
the story of his brother being turned into a vampire.
Robert listened carefully and formulated a plan, seemingly
as if he knew what he was doing and had studied the topic for a long while.
Robert said that the vampire could only be driven away with a sharp piece of
bark found near the trees in the forest next to the school. The bark needed to
be impregnated with a toxic stew of orange water from the a pile of metal
barrels near there. Finally, the blades must be blessed with an incantation.
The boys agreed to make the vampire weapon as soon as they
got to school. Going down the hill, the boy dolphin explained how the newest
structure at the dump was built. Large mongooses working together had piled up
large white stoves and ovens to form a ship that could actually sail on land.
The ship’s prow could be seen just over there, the boy noted, except that from
this vantage point they had lost sight of it.
The two boys continued along the sidewalk just before the
left hand turn and spotted a stray dog trotting toward them. They eagerly ran
toward the dog to pet it, but the dog stopped dead in its tracks and froze. The
boys froze briefly too, but then continued running forward. The dog turned an
bolted, darting out in to the street.
The two boys nearly reached the curb when a large car drove by
and ran over the dog. They watched in horror as the dog turned too late to see
the wheel coming and disappeared under the car. The tyres bumped twice, front
and back, as if going over a speed bump. The car continued on to their shock as
if nothing had happened. It disappeared around the corner.
Meanwhile the dog lay whimpering and spasmodically shaking
in the street on its side. Its head pointed backward queerly as if still
looking out for the car. One hind leg stuck straight up and tremored
uncontrollably.
The boy dolphin recovered his senses and darted down the
sidewalk. He called over his shoulder for Robert. But Robert was rooted to the
spot, insistent that they help the dog somehow. The boy dolphin ran back to his
friend and pulled him by his arm to go away, get away, now. They would surely
be blamed for the dog being run over, and besides, the dog was bound to die anyway.
There was nothing they could do.
Reluctantly, Robert moved away and the boys trotted, then
galloped, then ran away toward the bridge. Crossing the bridge, the boy dolphin
poked his head through the concrete slats of the to look down at the stream. He
started when he saw a white chicken egg sitting causally in a nook. The boy
touched the egg and it was warm. He picked it up and felt how warm it was as he
cupped it in his hands.
To the boy, it seemed this was a bird egg that a mother bird
had left behind. Obviously, the mother bird had laid the egg in the bridge nook
but had not yet built a nest for it. The bird would be back soon with some
twigs and grass to make a nest. Robert looked curiously at the egg and decided
it was someone’s breakfast they had left behind.
Either way, the egg could be used for the vampire ritual,
the boy dolphin reasoned. Reminded of their original intent and glad to push
the horrors of the dog out of their minds, they continued on to the forest. The
two boys took the second path that led into the forest past the school gate.
They reached the area with the pieces of bark and pile of barrels. They scoured
the area, selecting and then discarding knife-shaped pieces of wood.
Robert decided he also need a vampire knife in case the
vampire decided to go down the street and visit his house. They agreed this was
a sound idea. Each boy selected a piece of splintery bark that fit their hands
comfortably. The next step was demonstrated with extreme confidence and
competence by Robert. He placed the knives into a puddle of orange-coloured
water that sat puddled on top of one of the rusting barrels.
They had to wait for the magic sauce to soak into the wood
for at least three minutes in order to repel vampires. Neither boy had a clock,
nor knew how to measure three minutes, so they wandered aimlessly along the
path, looking for anything interesting to spot. The boy dolphin decided to head
back a ways so that he could go to his favourite clearing with the car.
As he cracked and crunched through a poorly defined pathway
toward the clearing, he spotted two large darkly coloured Samoans standing next
to his car. He moved as silently as possible to get a closer look. The two
adults were apparently naked and stood twined together. The smaller one that
was a female upon closer inspection was leaning against the car while the
larger male leaned heavily on her hips.
The boy was revolted and terrified at the strange ritual.
Perhaps they didn’t know how to drive a car, he reasoned. He continued to watch
in revulsion as the large bodies were stroked by seemingly detached autonomous
arms. The boy heard Robert calling him from a distance and suddenly remembered
the knives. As quietly and as quickly as possible, he retreated, making loud
noises the whole way.
Reaching the barrels, Robert was frantic. He said that the
knifes had soaked “thirty seconds” too long, but that was okay because there
was some room for error in the formulation.
Robert started the incantations, motioning the boy to repeat
after him.
Oonda boonda loonda…
(Oonda boonda loonda…)
Kanda binga banga!
(Kanda binga banga!)
And so forth.
They boys heard the bell ringing at the school in the
distance. It was the long bell that signalled the start of classes. They were
late.
In a panic, the dropped their knives near a tree for safe
keeping and ran along the path back to the school yard. They started walking
again halfway to the buildings. Robert grabbed his rabbit’s foot and stroked
it. The boy dolphin grabbed it as well and they walked together awkwardly,
holding onto the good luck charm, praying and hoping for some miracle so they
wouldn’t get in trouble.
The rabbit’s foot had clearly worked because they got to the
classroom and walked inside to find that there was no teacher in the classroom.
The other students told the two boys that the substitute teacher would be there
soon because the regular teacher had a day off.
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