Friday, August 13, 2010

Chapter 21

Roy found out that the boy's real name was Napolean Bridger.His mother made a comment about it and then Roy headed out. The morningn didn't feel different from any other, except, during breakfast there was a knock at the door. When Roy answered, there was an interviewer, standing right in the doorway. She introduced herself, and started throwing questions at him. Roy went to his father, who handed him the missing folder from City Hall. There was no E.I.S in it, (Environmental Impact Statement) which his father explained.
When Roy came back to the door, he simply handed the interviewer the file and explained it to her. She thanked him, and left.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Chapter 20

By the time Beatrice and Roy showed up, half of Mr. Ryan's history class had already showed up. When they got off the bike, Beatrice's soccer team showed up, holding signs. They were talking amongst each other, when Kimberly Dixon came out dressed as Mother Pauala. She was escorted by a man with a black suit, dark sunglasses, and slick, silver hair and the Mayor of Coconut Cove.
They all walked to a marked off space on the site. The silver-haired man introduced himself as Chuck E. Muckle, and started to speak. During the speech, Roy interupted once, but Mr. Muckle didn't hear him. The second time he interupted, he was louder than expected, and Mr. Muckle heard him.
They started to argue, and everyone else started raising their signs, and chanting. Roy showed the digital camera, with 1 fuzzy picture of an owl. Even though Mr. Muckle didn't believe him, they continued to protest.
As the protest went on, a voice from the ground took everyone's attention. When they looked down, Mullet Fingers was sitting in the ground, with only his head showing. Mr. Muckle ran at him with a shovel, to dig him up. The protesters blocked him. They all locked arms, to keep Mr. Muckle out, and guard the boy. Mother Paula eventually joined in, and linked arms as well. Lonna eventually showed up, acting so proud at her son, and tried to get to him. She couldn't break through the chain of arms, though. A little later, there was a strange noise, and Mullet Fingers laughed. Everyone turned around, and on top of his head, was a Burrowing Owl.

Chapter 19

It was Wednesday, the day for the ground-breaking ceremony. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and Officer Delinko was tired. He had taken the last 2 shifts watching the site, and now he was incredibly tired. Just as he was leaving, a large limo pulled up. A tall man with dark sunglasses and silver hair stepped out, and called for Delinko. But, he was so tired he didn't even notice. When he yelled, Delinko finally noticed. The man started to chew out Delinko, but the officer didn't even care, since he was so tired. Finally, he introduced himself as Chuck Muckle, Vice-President of Coporate Relations for the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House Inc.
He ordered the officer to escort his guest, who was still in the limo. As Kimberly Lou Dixon came out of the limo, she asked where she could change. She had a husky voice, which seemed strange. Delinko directed her to the trailer, just as Curly came out in a tuxedo. He moved aside for the actress, and she went in to change. When she came out, she looked just like the Mother Paula from the commercials.

Chapter 18

The next morning Roy came down for breakfast. While eating, he noticed an article on the back of the newspaper. It was an add for the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House Groundbreaking Ceremony. Roy was enraged. How could they just bury those poor owls? He remembered that he had a current events class with Mr. Ryan today, so he asked if he could borrow the newspaper and his mother's new digital camera, and headed out to Beatrice's house. Roy had a plan.
When he arrived there, he was afraid to answer the door, to think that Lonna might answer. But, luckily, it was Beatrice who answered. Roy quickly showed her the article, but she brushed it off at first. When they got on the bus, Beatrice started talking with her team mates about the last game. After which, she wanted to see the article again.
When Ry got to school, he was immediately summoned into the Vice-Principal's office. The Vice-Principal had heard about Mullet Fingers. She kept asking him about the boy and telling him it was illegal not to go to school. Roy finally convinced her just enough that he didn't know who he was, where he is, or what he does, to let him go.
At lunch, Roy borrowed a kid named Garret's bike and headed out to the Junkyard to find Mullet Fingers. He went into the Jo-Jo's Ice-Cream truck, and showed the boy the article. In addition he gave him the digital camera, and told him to take some pictures of the owls. He also offered to help, but Mullet Fingers pushed this idea aside and threw him out of the truck.
When Roy got back to school, it was Current Events period. When it was his turn, he went up, talked about the article, the owls, and permits. The other kids were amazed, since the new kid never talked so much. At the end of it, the class fell silent, and the sound of it was hurting Roy's ears.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Chapter 17

Curly was waiting to hear Mr. Muckles' voice. He was expecting a congratulations, since he told the story of how he captured the vandal for the site. Of course, it wasn't what really happened, Curly decided to tell his version of the story instead. Mr. Muckle wasn't really impressed, as relieved that there would be no more delays. But, even thought Curly did help catch the vandal, he still warned him that if there were any more delays, he would be fired.

Officer Delinko was sitting in the Captain's office once again, just for a different reason; and a better reason. Delinko was getting a commendation instead of a talk. The Captain also took Delinko off desk duty, and put him back on the street. Before they left his office, he also told him that he was on a surveillance team for watching the Mother Paula's site.

Roy had read on the internet that Burrowing Owls preferred insects to meat. So, Roy went to a store and bought some crickets for the Owls. He got on his bike and rode to the Mother Paula's site. He got right next to the fence, and opened the box. Just then, a truck came up behind him and the angry, bald foreman came out of the truck yelling and screaming. Roy quickly got on his bike and rode away. He imagined he was in Montana, riding up the mountains, and peddling as fast as he could. Going up, and then down the mountains.

Chapter 16

When curly returned home that night, he entertained his wife and her mother with the story of the previous night's events. He over-exaggerated his role in it, and reduced Officer Delinko's role, causing applause from both women.
The next morning, though, was more disappointing. He realized that he had lost his gun in the scuffle. A lost, loaded gun is very bad, so he searched the entire lot for it. He didn't find it. He began to search the bushes, carrying a heavy rock just in case he came upon one of the water moccasins. He still didn't find it. Finally, when he went next to the bulldozers, he noticed that the seats were missing. And, even worse, when he checked the porta-potties, he found his gun, submerged in the dark blue liquid. It was going to be a long day for him.

It was a nice Sunday morning, and today Roy's father promised that he would take him to see the Everglades. His mother brought her new digital camera to take pictures. When they got there, they rented a fan boat. They went skimming across the water at 30 mph. The driver would frequently stop for pictures. Although it was incredibly hot, the wind from the boat ride kept him cool.
When they got home, Roy immediately took a shower and ate. And he was so tired, that right after, he just went straight to bed. After a little bit, though, he heard something. Something saying his name. He got so scared he was shivering under the covers. When he looked over the bed, he saw Beatrice. He nearly screamed. When she explained what she was doing there, Roy was sympathetic. So, he let her sleep over. 

Chapter 15

When Roy got home, he went upstairs and changed. Mullet Fingers had invited him to the Mother Paula's site that night. He thought up a plan for him and Mullet Fingers to do whatever they had planned, and not get caught. But, first Roy had to go to Dana Matherson's house.
When Roy arrived there, he looked through the windows until he found Dana. When he did, he knocked on it, ran back a little ways, and mooned him. Dana's draw nearly hit the floor, but it wasn't long until he came outside. He chased after Roy, even though Roy was faster. Roy gradually slowed down, to make it seem like he was getting tired. Dana grabbed him by the throat, and fell on him. When Roy surrendered, he made up a story about how if Dana didn't kill him, he would tell him where some cigarettes are. Dana agreed. Roy told him on the corner of East Oriole and Woodburry,(Mother Paula's site) there are Gladiator Golds in the trailer. Dana believed him, and set out.

Curly was still watching the property, since the dogs didn't work out. He was all set for the night, Blockbuster movies, tuna sandwich, and a .38 Revolver in case anyone tried to trespass or vandalize the property again. Half-way through the movie, he heard a noise. It sounded like grunts followed by a "SNAP", which must have been the mousetraps. When the voice got closer to the door, he kicked the door out, causing Dana to fall down the stairs. Curly put up his magnum, but Dana put up a fight. Dana started to run, but didn't get far before Officer Delinko spotted him on his route home. He through Dana in the back of his car, and Curly came along to file the report. 

Chapter 14

It was a Saturday afternoon, and a kid from school, Garett came by to go skateboarding with Roy. The real reason he came over though, was to find out what happened to Dana. Apparently after Beatrice took care of him, she hog-tied him to the flag pole in his underwear.
After a little bit, Roy came home. He ate lunch and got on his bike and rode to Beatrice's house. The man who answered the door must have been Leon, her father. When he asked for Beatrice, Lonny, her mother came along. Roy didn't like her at all. While she was yelling at Roy for whatever reason, she was also smoking. When Beatrice finally showed up, he tried to talk to her. But, Lonny kept cutting in until she told him to scram.
The next house Roy went to was Dana's. When he knocked on the door, a skinny, ashamed man answered. He kept thinking that Roy was there to do Dana's homework. In the middle of it, Dana finally showed up, and tried to hit him. He instead hit a metal bucket. Roy explained how every time he tried to hurt Roy, he ended up hurting himself. Finally Roy just left, and headed for the Ice-cream truck in the junkyard.
When he arrived there, he entered to check on Beatrice's stepbrother, who she calls Mullet Fingers. He said he was OK, and that he needed to show Roy something. They set off, and arrived at a creek with a boat in it. They swam out to the boat. Roy thought it was all so perfect, then Mullet Fingers saw a "V" shaped wake in the water. He told Roy to hold his feet. When the boy went over he held his hand in the water. When he came up, he had a mullet. 

Chapter 13

Everyone was confused. The doctor mostly, though. The doctor told Roy to get back in bed, seeing as the boy used his name to get into the hospital. He told them that it was a lie, and that he didn't know the boy's name. His parents were relieved that he was OK, but there was still a missing patient. Officer Delinko, who was with them the whole time, was ready to call in backup. Instead, he just offered them a ride home. But, when he got out there, he noticed a shirt tied to the antenna of his car. He took it off, and kept it as evidence.

When Roy and his parents got home, they ate dinner. After which, they had a serious talk about right and wrong. At the end of the night, Roy went to bed, and had another talk with his mother. Then, his parents left, and he slept. 

Chapter 12

Roy and Beatrice were sitting in the ER waiting room. While they were waiting, a doctor came out and introduced herself as Dr. Gonzalez. She asked them many questions. Roy let Beatrice answer most of them since she was better at lying than him. She didn't really believe it at first, until Beatrice added the part where he runs away a lot. She then walked off, back into the ER. After a little bit, Beatrice realizes how late it's getting and heads home to make dinner.
Roy was sitting in the waiting room. Not much was happening, until he heard sirens. He remembered when he was 7 the sight of a drunk driver hitting a tree. He didn't want to see it again, so he went looking for a Coke machine. He wandered around the halls of the hospital until a doctor found him and guided him back to the waiting room. He didn't see an ambulance, just a police car. Then, he heard mumbling from behind the doors leading to the patients' rooms. He ran through the door to his parents.

When Mr. and Mrs. Eberhardt got to the hospital, they asked which room their son was in. The attendant told them, and they hurried through the doors. When they were about to enter the room, another attendant told them he was in critical care and no visitors were allowed. They got into an argument, until Dr. Gonzalez came out. She allowed them to see their son. But, when they pulled the curtains from his bed, no one was there. There was much chatter, and then Roy came running through the door to his parents. 

Friday, August 6, 2010

Chapter 11

Officer Delinko had taken his usual route from his house to the department. When he passed the pancake house site, he stopped. Earlier he had noticed dogs, but now there were none. As he walked around the perimeter, he found a piece of green cloth...

Roy and Beatrice were racing to the ER on the bike Beatrice had taken from their school. They had the boy sprawled over the bike, in agony. When they reached a crossroad, Roy said that he needed a doctor. Beatrice refused to send him to a hospital. As they were arguing, a cop car came around the corner. Beatrice rode off on the bike, leaving Roy to follow shortly.

As Officer Delinko rounded the corner for the pancake house site, he noticed 3 teenagers. One was a girl, with another boy slung over her shoulder, and the other was a boy that looked like that kid Roy he met the other day. When they all ran off, he stopped at Roy's house to talk to his parents. Half-way through the talk, they got a call from a local ER, saying that a boy by the name of Roy Eberhardt was in the hospital. Officer Delinko gave Roy's parents a ride to the hospital. 

Chapter 10

Beatrice told him to get on the handlebars of the bike she had. They rode to his house, where he got medical supplies, and hamburger meat. They then rode to the junkyard. Once they got there, they entered the ice-cream truck, where the boy was. He had a few puncture wounds on his leg, but nothing bad. Unfortunately, none of their medicine could help it. He decided it was safe to explain what he was doing, and when the boy realized that they brought the hamburger meat, he told them to follow him. They got on the bike and rode to the pancake house site, where they spread the meat. As it got dark, tiny heads started to poke up from holes around the property. The boy told Roy that they were Burrowing Owls. This was why the boy had been doing what he was doing.

Chapter 9

Curly awakened to an angry German rounding up the guard dogs. It turns out, while he was sleeping water moccasins made their way onto the site, scaring the dogs. As the man left, he tripped in an owl hole, and twisted his ankle. He threatened to sue Curly before leaving. This scared Curly, because he was afraid of snakes. He saw a snake earlier on the step of his trailer. It was gone, but he didn't want to take any chances, so he entered through the window.

Roy was apprehensive all through school. He was told Dana was going to get him after 7th period. As it ended, Roy took a walk with the teacher, Mr. Ryan. When they reached the teacher's lounge, Roy looked both ways down the hallway before leaving, then made a bee-line for the door. He almost made it too.
Dana came and pulled him into the supply closet, but without the light, he couldn't see a thing. Roy ducked, and did his best to find the door. When he did, he opened it, but Dana pulled him back in. He lifted Roy up, pinning Roy's arms to his sides. Roy kicked frantically, hitting Dana. He fell to the ground groaning, but then grabbed Roy again. he was about to hit him when he was dragged out by someone. Roy didn't see him anywhere, so he ran for the bus. He almost made it too. 

Chapter 8

Roy desperately wanted to go searching for Beatrice's step-brother. But, their deal wasn't the only thing keeping him inside. There was also a storm, that had been going on for days. Roy hasn't been able to do much because of the storm. Just another boring day...

"What is the delay?!"screamed Chuck Muckle, Vice-President of Corporate Relations for Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House Inc.
"There have been multiple vandalism problems, and trespassing, plus the storm!" hollered Curly over the phone.
It was true. The multiple vandalism events and weather had set back the ground-breaking ceremony 2 weeks already, and Mr. Muckle was getting angry.
"Well, Ms. Kimberly Lou Dixon, who is our Mother Paula, has to go to New Mexico in 1 week to shoot her new movie. That means next Wednesday is the last day we have her. No more delays, or you're fired!"
Needless to say, Curly wasn't to happy about that. He decided that the site needed more than a policeman that dozes off in the middle of his watch. He called a guy and hired him, and his 4 Guard dogs to guard it. By the look of them, no one would get passed them.

Roy's suspension from the school bus had been lifted, even though the 2 weeks weren't up yet. His mother had convinced the Vice-Principal to lift it, mainly because she was missing her morning yoga at the local college to take Roy to school. Roy was uneasy about riding the bus again, seeing as Dana Matherson's main goal in life was to kill him now.
When he stepped on the bus, he didn't see him initially, at least until he threw his hands around him again after he sat down. But, suddenly, he stopped. Roy turned around to see what happened, and there was Beatrice, sitting right next to Dana. 

Chapter 7

Beatrice ordered Roy to get on the handlebars of his bike and hold on. She peddled all the way to some junkyard and stopped. Lightening was flashing everywhere and the thunder ground-shaking. Rain was coming down in sheets and the wind didn't help. Beatrice quickly brought Roy to a car in the junkyard with "Jo-Jo's Ice Cream" printed on it. When they both were in there, she started to interrogate Roy. She asked Roy what the shoes were for. He responded saying that they were for the boy, and Beatrice said that she would make sure that he got them, only as long as Roy minded his own business. She than told him that the boy was her stepbrother and sent Roy off.

Officer Delinko's shift was over but the paperwork was still piled on his desk. Normally his shift ends at 4:30, but he had to stay an extra hour and a half to finish the work. There was a storm outside so he just stood under the "P" in Coconut Cove Public Safety Department. It was a change from Coconut Cove Police Dept. to supposedly give the department a friendlier face. Just then there was a strike of lightening on a utility pole adjacent to the department. He walked in, deciding it was not safe outside. The lights inside flickered twice, then went out.

Roy had no idea what excuse he was going to use for being so late home. Just then, Beatrice picked up his bike, and to his amazement, bit a hole in his tire. She said it was to be used as an excuse for being late. Roy said "Thank you, I guess..." and walked off. On the way home, a police car came up behind him and the officer asked if the was Roy. Then offered him a ride home.

When the storm finally passed, Officer Delinko got in his car and drove back home. On the way, he made a habit of stopping by the Mother Paula site, hoping to catch the vandals. On the radio, the dispatcher called out a missing person, Roy something. He didn't think much of it, until he saw a boy, fitting the description, walking with his bike. He asked if his name was Roy, and gave him a ride home. He asked Roy if he has heard anything about the vandalism. Once they got to his house, he talked with Roy's father and headed out. 

Chapter 6

Roy came down to breakfast that morning still thinking about the boy. He asked his parents if it was against the Law not to go to school. His father told him it was, and that it was called Truancy. As breakfast continued on, his mother found an add in the newspaper for the new Mother Paula's Pancake House. Along with it, news of Officer Delinko's acts at the site of the pancake house reached the newspaper. He wasn't named, and it said that he was taking medication for the flu which made him drowsy. Everyone at the table was laughing.

At the Coconut Cove Police Dept., Officer Delinko was being chewed out for his stunt at the pancake house site. The captain said that the chief was getting enough grief for it, and sentenced David to a month on desk duty. He took it, but he wasn't happy about it.

At school, Dana was still absent. Kids were placing bets on how many times Dana would beat Roy up. He was even given advice to leave town before Dana got back. After school, Roy took a pair of shoes and put it in a shoebox. He rode first to the pancake house site. But, the instant he stopped, some crazed bald man rushed out of the trailer yelling at him. Roy sped off in the opposite direction. He parked his bike by a street lamp, and started walking to the golf course. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far because of a storm and had to stop in a kiosk next to the forest. He decided just to walk back to his house, but when he got to where he left his bike, it was missing. While thinking what could have happened to it, a voice behind him startled him. It was the girl with the red framed glasses. Beatrice. And she had his bike! 

Chapter 5

It was a nice Saturday afternoon meaning, Roy didn't have to do anything. But, he decided to look for the boy. He retraced his steps from their last encounter, going through the back yards, and even the golf course. He ran across it, and made it to the woods on the other side. He didn't notice anything at first. It was just some woods. He kept going though, hoping to find him. As he got deeper in the woods, it started to drop off. He noticed a small camp fire with ashes around it. thinking this was made by the boy, he just kept going. He later came across 3 trash bags. One was full of clean clothes. The other, more clothes. The third he couldn't figure out. It was bulky, but he just didn't know. When he dumped out the contents his heart nearly stopped. Untangling themselves at Roy's feet were, by his count, 9 Cottonmouth Water Moccasins. But, there was something odd about the cottonmouths. Their tails were blue and glittery! Suddenly there was a voice behind Roy. He would have jumped, had there not ben 9 deadly, venomous snakes at his feet. The voice told him to jump back at the count of 3. On three, he didn't budge. Whoever was behind him then pulled him into the brush, threw a bag over his head, and tied his hands behind him. It turned out to be the boy he was trying to find. After questioning, he let him go, but not until after the count of 50 or he would find a moccasin in his bed. After that, Roy just ran, got on his bike, and peddled home. he was not scared, anxious, or worried. Roy was as excited as ever. 

Chapter 4

In the early grey hours of morning, Officer Delinko dozed off. He woke up a couple hours later with his windows painted in. At first he thinks that he actually slept until the next night, until he gets out of his car. When he saw his windows his jaw nearly hit the floor. And right next to him was Curly, the bald foreman yelling at him for dozing off. David was incredibly nervous about the Captain finding out about this. He just didn't know what to do.

Roy submitted his final draft of his apology letter to his parents. They thought it was a little edgy, but Roy didn't mind. He didn't think Dana would either. Roy took his bike and peddled over to Dana Matherson's house. When he knocked on the door, a person resembling Dana answered. It turned out to be his mom. When Dana came to the door, he was furious. Roy handed him the apology letter and left, with the sight of him and his mom fighting over it in his mind. 

Chapter 3

As the day progressed, news of Roy's fight reaches his parents. They had mixed feelings. They weren't to thrilled about him getting in a fight his first week of school, but on the other hand, Dana did start it by strangling Roy. Roy and his parents had a talk about appropriate behavior when it came to things like this. After that, Roy just went up to his room.

Officer Delinko was called out on another act of vandalism at the Mother Paula site. The same foreman, who called himself Curly, was ranting on about the vandalism again. Turns out, the vandals came back and pulled out the survey steaks again, along with popping some tires and putting live alligators in the porta potties. The officer filed a report and went back to the headquarters to talk to the chief and his sergeant. They decided to have a team of officers watch the Mother Paula's site around the clock. David volunteered to do the first round of surveillance. 

Chapter 2

After he saw the boy, he looked out the window every day to see if he could spot him again. Time and again, he didn't show; Until Friday. As Roy was reading his comic, he saw the boy from the corner of his eye. When the bus came to a stop, he got up and was about to run after him when Dana grabbed him by the neck. he wouldn't let Roy go, so Roy threw a punch over his shoulder, and hit Dana square in the nose. The he just ran out the bus and after the boy. During the chase, they went through back yards, and eventually on to a golf course. Roy watched the boy run right across it into the trees on the other side. When Roy tried to, though, he was hit right in the temple by a golf ball.

He was checked out OK by his parents and sent off to school the next day. He was then immediately summoned to the Vice-Principal's office for a talk. During the meeting, he found out that the punch he threw broke Matherson's nose. In the end, he was given a 2 week suspension from the bus and had to write Dana a letter.

At lunch he was confronted by a girl with red framed glasses and blond hair. He saw her before on the bus, or, when she was getting on the bus and he was running after the boy. She was the star soccer player for the girls' soccer team. She started to yell at him and chew him out for almost nocking her off the bus. 

Chapter 1

Roy Eberhardt had recently moved to Coconut Grove, Florida from Montanta. This made him the new kid in school, and as usual, the new kid gets picked on. He was just minding his business when someone thought it would be funny to take his head and shove it the window of the bus. This jerk was Dana Matherson. But, had Dana not done that, Roy never would have noticed the boy running along the bus. This was very odd, because he didn't look like he was going to school. The boy wore an old basketball jersey, some dirty khakis, and no shoes. Roy wandered what the boy was doing...

Meanwhile at the construction site for a new Mother Paula's All-America Pancake House;

The foreman of the site had called the Police for a vandalism report. Officer David Delinko was the responding officer. When he asked what happened the foreman hollered," Just look at it! They dug up all the survey stakes and filled in the holes!" Unfortunately for the foreman, nothing was damaged so the officer couldn't write a report. 