7
– Conflict Abounds
The sun rose on another gorgeous day in the small village of Trouble Valley.
It was such a gorgeous day that Libby Barrett, of the Barrett family, was walking the family dog, Xerxes, down the street without complaint.
Xerxes may seem like quite a strange name for a dog, and Libby was quite inclined to agree. However Xerxes was himself quite a strange dog, so the name suited him perfectly.
At least, that was Libby’s personal understanding of things.
She had been walking Xerxes since the crack of dawn, and even though she was still enjoying herself, her feet were growing quite tired. So she sat down and reclined over the picnic bench, and lay there for a while, thinking about a girl she had a crush on...
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that Xerxes had gotten loose of his leash.
Xerxes ran down the street and tripped up poor Luke, who fell face-first into a nearby cream-pie.
Libby finally realized her mistake and was now running down the street, leash in hand, calling after Xerxes.
But, luckily, she was able to get Xerxes back on his leash before he could do any more damage.
And then, the minute he was back on his leash, he pushed over a garbage can all over her skirt.
Meanwhile, in a small forest clearing, Matt and Andrew were chilling out with Eve, the Hesean alien they had rescued some time ago, and who was effectively marooned here on planet earth, her own space ship having been completely destroyed.
Matt was rubbing his forehead and trying to focus, as Andrew sat around looking bored.
Matt took a deep breath, and sighed immensely. He then turned to look over Eve, who, as per usual, had a most serious expression across her face.
“OK, Eve, explain this to me again in plain, basic English.”
Matt said.
“As you know, Matt, lately I’ve been conserving my energy, and only been using a tenth of my powers. But my energy levels are running low, and if I don’t receive more energy soon, I will most certainly die.
You know I have remarkable powers, but those powers come with a cost; the cost being my life force. I need to get more energy from the Abel Berry; it’s a berry that only grows on my home planet of Hesea. It is the life-source of all Heseans such as myself.” She explained.
“But how can we possibly get you home?” Matt asked, “Your spaceship was completely destroyed in the wreckage, when you were shot down by Queen Oizys!”
“There is one hope, Matt… we can go back to the
Impenetrable Cavern; we may be able to salvage some parts from Queen Oizys’ Spaceship and build a communicator, which I can then use to get back in touch with my own people.” Eve said.
“I suppose it’s worth a shot.” Andrew said.
“If it’s all the same to you, Andrew, I’d prefer nobody gets shot,” Eve said.
“No, I just meant… ah, never mind. Come on, first we should go and pack.” Andrew said.
As Matt and Andrew packed, they thought about who else they should bring.
“Some of us should stay here, in case something happens”
Andrew said.
“I agree,” Matt agreed.
“I think we should bring Monica with us; she knows more about the forest than anyone else in Trouble Valley. She can guide us through safe passageways and tell us which foods are alright to eat if we come across some wild berries in the middle of the forest.” Andrew said.
“She’s a bit of a sissy, but you have a point, she could be useful.” Matt said.
Andrew looked at Matt solemnly like he was deeply offended.
“Monica isn’t a ‘sissy’, she’s simply quite sensitive.” Andrew said sternly.
“Whatever, I don’t care either way.” Matt said truthfully.
And so, after they had finished packing, they hurried over to Monica’s home and knocked on the door.
Monica opened the door for them almost immediately, and then Andrew and Matt explained their situation, and the plan they had for her.
“You want me to WHAT? No way!” Monica exclaimed.
“Come on, Monica, you have to come, we need you. You’re an expert on Trouble Valley’s surrounding wild-life. In fact I’d go so far as to say you’re more knowledgeable on the subject than anyone else in Trouble Valley.” Andrew said.
“I’m not going back in that forest!” Monica exclaimed,
“Remember Blake? Daddy says he got eaten by some kind of crazy wolf!”
“You know it wasn’t a wolf, Monica.” Andrew said. “It was the wicked Queen Oizys, but we defeated her, remember?”
“I was kind of hoping that whole ‘Queen Oizys’ thing was just a really bad dream…” Monica said shivering all over;
sometimes, when she closed her eyes, she could still hear Queen Oizys’ loud, terrifying voice.
“Come on, Monica, it’s not like you’re any safer here in the village from other-worldly happenings!” Said Matt.
“Thank-you, Matt, that’s very reassuring.” Monica said sarcastically.
“It’s for a good cause though,” said Andrew.
“Yeah, it’s for the ‘Get the purple chick the heck off our planet’
fund,” said Matt. He laughed at his own joke, but then turned to Monica, his face suddenly serious.
“So, what do you say?” Matt asked.
Monica thought for a while, biting her lip, then biting her fingernails. She turned to Matt with a more confident face.
“OK, I’ll do it.” Monica said.
“Come on, guys, we’d better head out before it gets dark.”
Andrew said, looking at his watch unusually nervously.
And with that, they headed onwards towards the Kingston Mansion.
Today at the Kingston Mansion Jack was doing some
‘Innkeeper Training’, which meant he had to do whatever Julia told him to.
At first, Julia was most pleased with having her own personal butler, and she considered it a bonus that this butler was a close friend of hers too.
He had already cleaned the entire mansion without a single word of complaint, and was waiting for more orders from Julia.
As nice as it was to have a man about the house, particularly a man who always did as he was told, she was starting to get bored of it quite quickly. Jack, however, had not and was still quite interested in doing any chore Julia asked of him.
Julia admired that enthusiasm, though she had no idea where it came from. Julia was happiest when she was doing her own thing without anyone telling her what to do, so Jack being happy following orders puzzled her greatly.
“So what do you want me to do now??” Jack asked.
“Uh, well, I think I’d like you to take a break.” Julia said.
“A break?” Jack asked.
“Yeah; you know, do something for yourself.” Julia said.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to alphabetize your library?
Or I could make you a sandwich!” Said Jack.
“Why don’t you make yourself a sandwich?” Julia asked.
“Make ME a sandwich? Are you sure you don’t mind me using your kitchen just for myself? I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset you…” Jack said.
“Aww, my snuggly-wuggly Jackie-poo could never upset me!”
Julia said, as she rubbed his cheeks, “Now, I order you to get into the kitchen and indulge yourself!”
Jack nodded excitedly. “Yes ma’am, right away!” he said, and then hurried off to the kitchen.
Julia then proceeded to relax with some crossword puzzles.
She did this for a few minutes, and then decided to check on Jack to see how things were going.
As she opened the kitchen door, she asked “Hey Jack, how’s it going on the sandwich front?”
But she was greeted with an unpleasant site, as the kitchen was quite a mess.
“Wh…what have you done??” Julia asked.
Jack gave a weak smile and said, “Making sandwiches is more of an art form than an exact science; it doesn’t work if I think about how I do it.”
“What’s all this mess, Jack?” Julia asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry I made such a mess! I’ll tidy it up right away!”
Jack said.
Just then the doorbell rang.
“Right after I answer the door!” Jack said and ran out the kitchen and towards the front door.
Jack opened the door and there before him were his good friends, Andrew, Monica and Matt.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Jack asked.
Andrew briefly explained the scenario to his younger brother.
He was sad that he was not going to be involved.
“You guys are going on a super-exciting mission and neither Julia nor I can come?” Jack asked.
“We need someone to protect the village of Trouble Valley while we’re gone.” Said Andrew.
“If you ask me, it’s more of a Hamlet than a Village, though maybe it could pass as a borough.” Julia said.
“Either way, there have been too many weird things happening here in Trouble Valley lately, like the evil alien Queen Oizys,”
Andrew said.
“The dreaded Fear Gurtha,” Matt said.
“Apples growing out of season,” Monica said, “that counts, right?”
“Anyway, the point is, we need you here to protect Trouble Valley.” Andrew said.
“You really think we can do that all by ourselves?” Julia asked.
“Yes, I do.” Andrew said. “Now, we’d better get going; we’re hoping to reach the Impenetrable Cavern before nightfall.”
But Jack hadn’t given up yet.
“Couldn’t you have me pull you all along in the horse carriage like last time?” Jack asked.
“Last time you did that, you nearly got us all killed by crashing into a ditch. No offense.” Said Andrew.
“Oh come on, that was just the one time!” Jack complained.
“I’m sorry, Jack, but I think it’s best if you stay here. Now we really have to go, guys.” Andrew said, as Matt and Monica prepared to grab their packs.
“Well, alright, I suppose.” Jack said, as Andrew, Matt and Monica grabbed their bags and began to leave.
“So long!” Andrew shouted back behind him as they walked away from the Kingston Mansion, leaving Jack and Julia to their own devices.
Of course, Andrew, Matt and Monica didn’t go to the forest straight away. First, they took a detour at The Wolf Down Inn, for drinks.
The three of them walked into the tall building and Andrew ordered them all fresh, tall frosty glasses of lemonade, with extra froth. Each of the glasses had a slice of lemon and a paper umbrella sticking out on top of the ice cubes.
Matt licked his lips as the bartender poured the refreshing beverages into the drinking receptacles, and then handed a glass to each of them. Matt noticed that all the paper umbrellas were pink.
There was a nearby little boy on a barstool nearby, and he was upset he had not gotten any lemonade, despite not having paid for any.
“That’s not fair! I want lemonade too!!!” Little Timmy whined.
“I think you’ve had enough,” the bartender said.
“I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough, you… you… fruit!” Little Timmy exclaimed. He then turned around to face Monica.
“Hey there baby, what’s say you come back to my crib and play a little twister??” Little Timmy said in what he thought of as his most seductive voice.
Monica mumbled shyly. Andrew gave Little Timmy a Look, and Little Timmy returned to his own barstool.
So, after that, the three enjoyed their lemonades and then paid for them, and then the three proceeded to leave the Wolf and Craftsman Inn.
“OK then everyone, time to go to the Impenetrable Cavern.
Now, we’ll meet Eve on the edge of the forest. Everyone got everything?” Andrew asked.
“Yes, Mother…” Matt replied sarcastically.
“Don’t make me come back there!” Andrew replied.
And with that, Andrew, Matt and Monica walked off into the horizon. Little Timmy watched them walk away, thinking to himself how he could get his hands on some more lemonade.
Meanwhile, back at the Kingston Mansion, Jack and Julia tried to think of ways to whittle away the time.
They had already cleaned up Jack’s big mess he’d made in the kitchen, it taking up very little time at all, and now they were lying about on the couch doing nothing.
Julia watched the Grandfather Clock pendulum going back and forth rhythmically, as the sounds of birds chirping and dogs barking played outside as they always did.
She tapped her fingers on the end-table. She fiddled her thumbs. She even hummed the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Finally she decided she’d had enough and chose to announce it to the world.
“Ugh, I’m so bored,” Julia said, “How long have they been gone, Jack?”
“About ten minutes, I think” Jack replied.
“Great. What are we supposed to do now?” Julia wondered.
“Maybe we could invent a new word, like Zeekbort! Or Dogwit!” Jack said.
“I like the sound of Dogwit. What does it mean?” Julia asked.
“I don’t know; I just invented it.” Jack answered.
Julia pondered for a few moments.
Then she began to speak.
“Hmm, Dogwit…Dogwit… maybe ‘Dogwit’ could refer to that feeling you get where you’re in the middle of doing something productive and you’re wondering if you’re really being productive and making a difference or if you’re just mucking around and trying to justify it by making it look like something productive.” Julia said.
“I think ‘Dogwit’ should refer to shiny purple shoes.” Said Jack.
“Eh, I don’t care either way.” Julia said.
“Um, ok.” Jack said.
“Ugh, I’m bored again. What can we do, Jack?” Julia asked.
“We could go out and ride our bicycles!” Jack said.
So Jack and Julia got onto their bicycles and rode around the village. They rode past the Delacroix Church, and noticed that the sign outside the church today read ‘REVELATION 7.14. ’.
Julia loved the feel of the wind in her hair as she biked down a slope and she and Jack returned back to the Kingston Mansion.
As they walked back inside, Julia turned to Jack.
“How long was that?” Julia asked.
“About five minutes.” Jack replied.
“We need to do something that takes more time!” Julia said.
“How about a foot massage?” Jack offered.
“Hm? Yeah, that could be nice. Go ahead.” Julia said.
And so Jack went ahead and began to massage Julia’s feet, rubbing along the creases with a little oil.
“Hmm, not bad, Jack. Looks like I didn’t make a mistake inviting you over to be my personal butler for the day.” Julia said, smiling. She pulled Jack up to her height and hugged him.
Jack smiled, surprised.
“What’s this for?” Jack asked.
“You’ve gone to so much trouble just to make me happy, Jack, so I think you should feel happy, too,” Julia said.
“Aww, thanks, Julia! Of course, if I were really your butler, I’d want more than just hugs; it’s a rough economy out there, you know…” Jack said.
“So what do you wanna do now?” Julia asked.
Jack beamed from ear to ear and said,
“Let’s prepare a big chocolate cake for the others for when they get back!” And so, they did.