Post by yrdeni on Oct 6, 2012 21:34:49 GMT
Hi all,
I actually intended this to be a dialogue test. I've had trouble with dialogue in previous stories I've written and usually shy away from it, but I thought I'd have a go at writing some heavy dialogue just to get some practice in... Anyway, it sort-of got out of hand and I've ended up with what I now think are the beginnings of something bigger.
I haven't chosen a title for this story yet, because I'm still not 100% sure where it's going.
Comments very welcome - please let me know if I'm using bad grammar, or if I could improve any dialogue elements. Also, let me know if you enjoy it, or not! LimeBirds exclusive:
George, Beth and Connor were playing with a ball in the field. Well, they were partly playing with the ball and partly just chatting to each other.
“I heard…” Connor said, indicating with his head the fence next to them. “I heard that the woman who lives behind that fence is a witch and that she has tentacles for eyes and that she can grow as tall as a house.”
“That’s rubbish.” Said Beth, matter-of-factly, throwing the ball to George. “I’ve never seen anyone with tentacles for eyes. You would’ve thought you’d have seen someone with tentacles for eyes at some point if something like that existed.”
“Not necessarily.” Said George, carefully. “I mean, I think it’s rubbish, too…” He said, bouncing the ball to Connor, “But just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist…”
“Well it’s not rubbish!” Connor growled. “My brother said she’s lived there forever and she’s always had tentacles.” With that, Connor kicked the ball, hard.
“Hey!” Beth dodged the ball as it sailed towards her, and past her, and over the fence.
For a few moments, the three of them just stared at the fence.
“You’d better go and get that.” George said, breaking the silence. “You kicked it over, so you go and get it.”
“I’m not getting it! That’s the tentacle woman’s garden!” Connor seemed a bit shaken.
“Hey, rules are rules, Connor. We’ve all had to do it at some point. Remember the time you made me ask those senior boys for the ball back, when it landed in their hockey game?” Beth had her hands on her hips.
Connor glared at George, as though he was somehow at fault. “Fine.” He said, turning towards the fence.
“Hey, are you not going to go ask her if you can get it from her garden?” George asked.
“What? No! I’ll be over and back again before she even realises I’m there.” Connor, now accepting the task, seemed more sure of himself and, taking a little running jump at the fence, climbed over.
“Do you think she can grow as big as a house?” George asked Beth, whilst Connor was gone.
“Don’t be silly! What would she fill herself up with in order to grow?”
“I dunno… I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” Conceded George. And then, a few moments later “Well she could kind-of puff herself up with air…” He pondered, uncertainly.
“Well that wouldn’t be very scary anyway because she wouldn’t be able to chase you.” Said Beth, in a knowing way.
“Right. Yeah. Of course…”
Connor landed on something hard on the other side of the fence. This side of the garden was in shadow and his eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. After which, Connor spotted the ball, square in the middle of the vast lawn. It was technically a lawn, but actually it looked like it hadn’t been cut for years and there were weeds growing all over it.
Connor slowly started to creep towards the ball. His eyes were scanning the house, looking for signs of a massive house-sized woman with tentacles for eyes. But all he could make out through the dusty windows were the backs of curtains that looked to be all pulled shut.
Eventually, Connor reached the ball. He’d had to step over a couple of garden gnomes and a small mole hill to get there, but there was no sign of the woman.
However, it was as Connor reached for the ball that he heard a sound… A deep growling sound that seemed to climb up his back and tickle the hairs on his neck before sliding down into his belly… And it was getting closer!
In a moment of panic, Connor forgot all about the ball. He launched himself towards the fence, faster than he’d ever moved before. But just as he jumped up to climb over, something grabbed his ankle.
Connor screamed. Although, fortunately for him, it came out as more of a yelp, as he was still using all his strength to try and climb over the fence as fast as he could.
“What is it?!” Shouted George from the other side “What’s going on? Where’s the ball?”
“Ball? No! Tentacles! She’s … Argh!” With the last “Argh”, Connor’s grip slipped. He scrabbled with his other hand to prevent himself from falling back and just managed to hold on. Then, in a heroic effort, he pulled himself up and over the fence, breaking the grip of the thing wrapped around his ankle as he did so.
Connor landed with a thud, but got up immediately, as though his underpants were on fire, and ran, and ran, and didn’t stop running until he was on the other side of the field they’d been playing on.
Beth and George watched him go, bemused.
“Do you think we should follow him?” Asked George.
“I don’t see any house-sized woman, or any tentacles,” replied Beth. The look on her face was one of mixed annoyance and pity as she watched Connor collapse and start panting on the other side of the field.
“Come on, let’s find out what he saw.” George loped after Connor and Beth followed, walking.
By the time they reached Connor, he’d gotten his breath back and was just sitting, staring at the ground. He looked up when they arrived. “Did you see them?”
“See what, Connor?” George slumped down opposite him “We didn’t see anything – What did you see?”
“I didn’t see… I mean, there were tentacles everywhere, all wrapped around my ankles!” Connor stared alternately at Beth and George with wide eyes. “I’m lucky to be alive!” He declared.
“You didn’t even manage to get the ball.” Said Beth, still standing and looking less than impressed.
“Didn’t you hear me?!” Connor’s voice cracked a bit and sounded shrill. “There were tentacles everywhere. And the noise…” He shuddered.
“What noise? You didn’t mention a noise.” George asked, lying down and spreading out to make the most of the sunny Saturday afternoon.
“It was horrible.” Uttered Connor. His eyes danced in his head as he described the rumbling, growling noise that had caused him to flee.
After Connor had relayed the story to George and Beth, they sat in silence for a few minutes. George had his eyes closed and his hands behind the back of his head. Connor was sitting, slumped over and miserable. Beth had listened to the story with a disbelieving scowl on her face, tapping her foot. Eventually, Beth said “Well, we have to go and get the ball back. That’s my sister’s ball and she’ll kill me if I lose it.”
Connor looked up. “I am not going back over that fence!” His voice cracked again and came out in a squeak.
“I’ll go.” George declared, sitting up. The others looked at him.
“What?”
“I’ll go.” He repeated. “I read a book once where there was this big dragon guarding a cave full of treasure. Anyway, loads of knights went to fight it in order to get to the treasure, but the dragon just crispified the lot of them – then one day a squire, which is like a knight’s helper” George explained to Beth, “This squire went up and spoke to the dragon and asked him his name (only it turned out to be a girl) and stuff…”
Connor shared a look with Beth. George was always coming out with crazy stories of dragons and ancient Gods and mermaids – although not usually at the same time – they’d learned to tune out. Beth rolled her eyes.
“So anyway, then Tanya just let the squire go in and take some of the treasure.” George finished, grinning.
“Who’s Tanya?” Asked Connor, mystified.
“The dragon, silly – weren’t you listening?” George looked hurt. “Anyway, you want that ball back, or not?”
“Yeah, I need it back, George. My sister’s already annoyed at me for breaking her bike last Tuesday…”
With that, the three of them made their way back to the other side of the field. Except when they got a bit closer, George veered off to the left.
Alarmed, Beth grabbed George’s arm “Hey, I thought we were going to get my sister’s ball back!”
“We are, but I’m not going over the fence to do it.”
“Well, how you gonna to get it back then?”
“I’m gonna ask the woman if I can get it from her garden. I’m sure she won’t mind if I ask nicely.”
“WHAT?!” Connor and Beth stopped walking. “Haven’t you heard anything I said?!” Connor shouted “Tentacles, man! Big as a house!”
“Yeah, but Beth doesn’t think that’s very likely, so…”
“Hey, I just said I’ve never seen it…” Beth sounded uncertain now. “I mean, you said yourself that just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t know it doesn’t exist…”
“Yeah, but it’s just like Norman and Tanya. Stands to reason that if we try and sneak in over the fence she’ll set her tentacles on us, but if we go and actually speak to her then she might just let us get it anyway.”
“Who’s Norman?” Asked Connor.
“The squire, you nonce!” George replied, making his way towards the stile at the corner of the field.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Asked Beth. The trio were huddled behind the hedge outside the old woman’s house. “I mean, I could just go and get a new ball – I got some pocket money spare from last weekend – I really wouldn’t mind.”
“It’s my fault.” Declared Connor, suddenly. “I kicked it over in the first place.” In an unusual moment of generosity, Connor offered to pay for the ball out of his pocket money.
“No. It’s fine, I’ll be back in a sec – don’t you worry!” With that, George disappeared through the gate.
George wasn’t sure what made him do it. He had a vivid imagination, and was usually the first to be scared of ghost stories or tales of monsters in the woods. Not at all like Beth, who was very practical-minded. It was just like her not to believe in something just because she hadn’t seen it herself; unless it was something that was well-documented, like giraffes and elephants and yetis and things. And Connor pretended to be all macho, but really he was just a bit of a coward. And that was OK, because George and Beth knew Connor didn’t mean it when he lost his temper or picked fights with them. Whatever it was, something made George sure that he was doing the right thing.
George reached up and tugged on the old-fashioned doorbell. It had a shaped wooden handle, fixed to a rusty iron chain that went round a pulley into the wall. Behind the large wooden front door, George could hear the faint sound of a bell clanging.
It seemed like an age before he heard anything else, but then suddenly George heard a faint rumbling sound on the other side of the door. Something slow and heavy and massive was getting closer to the entrance. George felt the slight flutter of fear in his belly, but held his ground on the stone.
The lock clicked with a crack and a bolt sprang back on the other side of the door, making George jump; slowly, the door crept open.
The door opened to give way to a wide open hallway. Sitting in the entrance, with a big smile on her face, sat an elderly lady in a bright pink wheelchair. The wheelchair was filled to bursting with cushions of all shapes and sizes. With her right hand, the lady was winding a small wheel, fixed to the wall, which looked to be attached to a wire that was somehow connected to the door. On seeing George she said, in a warm voice “I was wondering when you’d come around.”
George started. “Me..? But…”
“Don’t worry, young man, there’s nothing to be afraid of – come in! And invite your friends, too.” The lady indicated behind George. He glanced over his shoulder and could see Connor’s and Beth’s faces peering around the hedge. He waved to them, hesitantly; still a little unsure. The faces disappeared for a moment and then reappeared, along with Connor and Beth, who cautiously approached the front door.
“Come in, come in. You’re letting the heat out now.” The lady said as she wheeled her chair out of the way to let them in. The hall was well lit and full of bright colours. “If you could be so kind as to flick that lever, young lady. That’s the one.”
Beth pulled a small brass lever situated just below one of the windows by the front door. There were a series of clicks and some jiggling of wires and then the door began to close. The three of them watched in amazement as it swung shut, serenely.
“Right, now I’ve got you trapped…” The lady began. Three heads snapped back to look at her with shocked faces. Connor made a noise a bit like a mouse. “Haha, I was only kidding,” she laughed, warmly, with a big grin on her face. “I expect you’re here about your ball.”
George stepped forward. “Please may we have our ball back? We promise we won’t let it come into your garden again.” He said, clearly.
“Of course you can have your ball back, young man. But you shouldn’t make promises that you can’t keep, you know.”
“Sorry, miss, I…”
Connor cleared his throat and cut George off “Ma’am, please, we are very sorry for causing you trouble, but we’re really just hoping to get our ball back and be on our way.”
George and Beth exchanged a look – “Ma’am?” This was very unlike Connor…
The lady leaned forward. Connor leaned back. “Please, all of you, call me Margaret.”
“George,” said George, immediately.
“And I’m Beth, and this is Connor,” said Beth, indicating Connor with her head.
“Connor,” the woman addressed Connor, directly, “You must be the one who jumped my fence earlier.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Connor replied, hanging his head.
“Margaret. Please. Enough with this ma’am nonsense. And don’t worry, Connor. I should think that ivy could do with a good beating anyway. I’m too old and too…” she indicated her pink wheelchair with a shrug “… too lazy…” she winked at George “… to have a go at it myself these days.
“Follow me, gentlemen, and lady.” Margaret wheeled round. “To the ball!”
George, Beth and Connor followed Margaret’s trundling wheelchair across the hallway, down a corridor, through a spacious drawing room and then another corridor, before ending up in a vast conservatory overlooking a small patio and the huge lawn.
As they made their way through Margaret’s house, George noticed the wooden floor throughout and nudged Beth. “Hey…” he whispered.
“What?”
“Look at the floor…”
“What am I looking for?”
“It’s made of wood!”
“So?”
“So… the noise…”
Beth’s face lit up as she realised what George was getting at. Sure enough, as the procession entered the conservatory, the wheels on Margaret’s chair started to make a loud rumbling noise as it rolled over the floorboards.
Connor realised it too, but just glowered when he noticed the other two looking at him. He was clearly embarrassed at his foolishness in thinking the rumbling sound he’d heard earlier was some enormous monster bearing down on him, when actually it was nothing more sinister than the wheels of Margaret’s bright pink chair rolling over the conservatory floorboards.
Margaret stopped, turned her chair around and faced the three. Behind her, reflecting the afternoon sun off its plastic blue and yellow cover, in the middle of the enormous lawn, lay Beth’s sister’s ball.
“Right. First things first…” With a grin, Margaret pulled a lever embedded in the floor. A huge section of the wall to their right slid open, revealing what looked like a kitchen on the other side. Through the open hole appeared some metal tracks that seemed to be being pushed through from a large brass-coloured box.
The tracks wound their way across the room, bouncing up and down gently as they extended from the opening in the wall.
Connor had to duck as the tracks passed his head, eventually coming to a stop next to Margaret’s chair. At various points along the track, small legs had extended to take the weight, with the last leg popping out of the end. The end of the tracks also had a panel on it, with a few small toggles and buttons. Margaret pulled one and then turned back to the astonished three.
“I have a small proposition for you.” Margaret declared.
“Proper what?” Asked Connor, still staring at the hole in the wall.
“A proposition, dear. A deal, if you wish.” Margaret explained, gently.
“OK…” Beth, who seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of the mysterious contraption quicker than the other two, didn’t like the sound of where this was going.
“Don’t worry, young lady, this deal is entirely optional. If you want, you’re very welcome to take your ball right now and be off… However, you might find that you’d prefer to hear me out.
“You see, I used to love playing outside when I was your age.
“Yes, believe it or not, I was as young as you once. But I’m not that young anymore and as much as my little contraptions help me to get around, I’m afraid I can’t get out and do as much gardening as I used to. My lawn is now so overgrown that I can’t get this thing outside!” With that she gave the arm of her chair a light tap. “What I propose is that I pay you three to do a bit of tidying up in the garden for me. I’ve got tools and whatnot, so you don’t need to worry about that, and I’ll pay you handsomely for the help. To tell the truth, the three of you would be doing me a favour just keeping me company – I don’t get many visitors these days.” The three exchanged a look and seemed to be unsure what to say. Margaret continued “I know what you’re thinking; That you shouldn’t speak to strangers, or you’re wondering what your parents would think. Well I wouldn’t want to make any sort of deal without you letting them know first.” Margaret turned to George and gave him a smile. “George, I believe I know your parents, or your mother at least… Pat Cooper?” George nodded in assent. “And you, young lady,” she said, turning to Beth, “You wouldn’t happen to be a certain Elizabeth Peterson, would you? Daughter of Arthur Peterson?” Beth looked shocked and Margaret patted her arm, softly “I was sorry to hear about your Great Uncle, Ralph. He was a good friend of mine for many years.” Margaret’s voice was quiet as she said this.
“That’s OK, we didn’t see him much,” Beth replied, quietly.
“You, Connor, are a mystery to me. But you sure made good work of that ivy earlier – if you’re interested, then do please ask permission from your parents.”
Connor’s cheeks turned a ruddy beetroot red as he realised the tentacles he’d had wrapped around his ankles earlier today had, in fact, been nothing more sinister than ivy and brambles. “Yes ma’am… I mean Margaret.”
“Great, splendid. Well, before you make up your minds. Time for some tea!
“Ah!” Margaret turned, “Here we are.”
There was a snackering sound from the kitchen and the metal tracks that had appeared earlier began to wobble. Then, through the hatch, running under the track in single-file, came four enormous trays, suspended by tiny wires linked to little metal wheels. The trays were filled to bursting with all manner of tasty-looking goodies.
George, Beth and Connor watched in amazement as the trays made their way down the track to Margaret. “Well don’t just stand there gaping, tuck in!” Margaret reached forward and retrieved a small cup and saucer from the first tray, and a tiny tea pot from one of the others and proceeded to fill her cup with tea.
George was the first to move forward. He spied a ginger biscuit on the third tray.
“Wait…” Beth said, and then stopped herself.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well we can’t just go accepting food from strangers…” she finished, lamely.
“But this is the treasure!” George was munching on his ginger biscuit. He instantly regretted saying this, as Connor started laughing at him, through a mouthful of cupcake.
Margaret leaned forward and said “So, that would make me the dragon then, eh George?” Just loud enough for him to hear. She winked at him.
Beth gave in and selected a glass of strawberry milkshake and some caramel sweets, before sitting down on one of the big, comfortable sofas in the conservatory.
The four of them were chatting for a while about all sorts of things and they all felt pretty full after their impromptu meal of biscuits, chocolate and milkshakes. Margaret told them she used to be an inventor, but an accident had meant she could no longer use her legs as much as she would like. She didn’t seem to be too bothered by this, though, as she could still use her hands and her head.
In the end, Beth was the first to stand up. “Thank you so much, Margaret, it’s been a pleasure to meet you and thank you for the food, but we really must be going.”
“Of course, Beth, my dear. I’m so sorry to have kept you – how silly of me. Your parents must be wondering what’s happened to you! That’s the trouble with old age, you know; time doesn’t seem to work in the same way.” Outside, the sun was low in the sky as the afternoon waned into evening. “Why don’t you nip out and grab your ball. If you give me your parents’ numbers now I’ll give them a call and let them know you’re safe. Silly me.”
Margaret called each of their parents in turn. First apologising for keeping them, then discussing the proposal with them. George, Beth and Connor had all agreed to help Margaret out, if only to see what other crazy contraptions were hidden about the house. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all three sets of parents were also very happy to let their children visit Margaret’s house on Saturday afternoons.
“It’ll keep him out of mischief!” George’s mother, Pat had said. “He’s always filling his head with fantasies and it’ll be good for him to learn something useful, like gardening.”
“Gardening? Yes, of course – and I’m sure you’ll welcome the company, Margaret.” Beth’s father, Arthur said he’d come and pick them all up and drop George and Connor back home.
The shortest conversation Margaret had was with Connor’s father. “You’ll pay him will ya? Well make sure you get yer money’s worth with him, mind – that good-for-nothing boy’s as lazy as his mother!” This was followed by a muted outburst and the phone was hung up on the other side.
And so it was settled. George, Beth and Connor had gone from playing in a field to being employed as gardeners in one afternoon, and the funny thing is they willingly agreed to do it. But if they knew what was in store for them in the next few weeks, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so keen…
To be continued…
I actually intended this to be a dialogue test. I've had trouble with dialogue in previous stories I've written and usually shy away from it, but I thought I'd have a go at writing some heavy dialogue just to get some practice in... Anyway, it sort-of got out of hand and I've ended up with what I now think are the beginnings of something bigger.
I haven't chosen a title for this story yet, because I'm still not 100% sure where it's going.
Comments very welcome - please let me know if I'm using bad grammar, or if I could improve any dialogue elements. Also, let me know if you enjoy it, or not! LimeBirds exclusive:
=============================================
George, Beth and Connor were playing with a ball in the field. Well, they were partly playing with the ball and partly just chatting to each other.
“I heard…” Connor said, indicating with his head the fence next to them. “I heard that the woman who lives behind that fence is a witch and that she has tentacles for eyes and that she can grow as tall as a house.”
“That’s rubbish.” Said Beth, matter-of-factly, throwing the ball to George. “I’ve never seen anyone with tentacles for eyes. You would’ve thought you’d have seen someone with tentacles for eyes at some point if something like that existed.”
“Not necessarily.” Said George, carefully. “I mean, I think it’s rubbish, too…” He said, bouncing the ball to Connor, “But just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist…”
“Well it’s not rubbish!” Connor growled. “My brother said she’s lived there forever and she’s always had tentacles.” With that, Connor kicked the ball, hard.
“Hey!” Beth dodged the ball as it sailed towards her, and past her, and over the fence.
For a few moments, the three of them just stared at the fence.
“You’d better go and get that.” George said, breaking the silence. “You kicked it over, so you go and get it.”
“I’m not getting it! That’s the tentacle woman’s garden!” Connor seemed a bit shaken.
“Hey, rules are rules, Connor. We’ve all had to do it at some point. Remember the time you made me ask those senior boys for the ball back, when it landed in their hockey game?” Beth had her hands on her hips.
Connor glared at George, as though he was somehow at fault. “Fine.” He said, turning towards the fence.
“Hey, are you not going to go ask her if you can get it from her garden?” George asked.
“What? No! I’ll be over and back again before she even realises I’m there.” Connor, now accepting the task, seemed more sure of himself and, taking a little running jump at the fence, climbed over.
#####
“Do you think she can grow as big as a house?” George asked Beth, whilst Connor was gone.
“Don’t be silly! What would she fill herself up with in order to grow?”
“I dunno… I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” Conceded George. And then, a few moments later “Well she could kind-of puff herself up with air…” He pondered, uncertainly.
“Well that wouldn’t be very scary anyway because she wouldn’t be able to chase you.” Said Beth, in a knowing way.
“Right. Yeah. Of course…”
#####
Connor landed on something hard on the other side of the fence. This side of the garden was in shadow and his eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. After which, Connor spotted the ball, square in the middle of the vast lawn. It was technically a lawn, but actually it looked like it hadn’t been cut for years and there were weeds growing all over it.
Connor slowly started to creep towards the ball. His eyes were scanning the house, looking for signs of a massive house-sized woman with tentacles for eyes. But all he could make out through the dusty windows were the backs of curtains that looked to be all pulled shut.
Eventually, Connor reached the ball. He’d had to step over a couple of garden gnomes and a small mole hill to get there, but there was no sign of the woman.
However, it was as Connor reached for the ball that he heard a sound… A deep growling sound that seemed to climb up his back and tickle the hairs on his neck before sliding down into his belly… And it was getting closer!
In a moment of panic, Connor forgot all about the ball. He launched himself towards the fence, faster than he’d ever moved before. But just as he jumped up to climb over, something grabbed his ankle.
Connor screamed. Although, fortunately for him, it came out as more of a yelp, as he was still using all his strength to try and climb over the fence as fast as he could.
“What is it?!” Shouted George from the other side “What’s going on? Where’s the ball?”
“Ball? No! Tentacles! She’s … Argh!” With the last “Argh”, Connor’s grip slipped. He scrabbled with his other hand to prevent himself from falling back and just managed to hold on. Then, in a heroic effort, he pulled himself up and over the fence, breaking the grip of the thing wrapped around his ankle as he did so.
#####
Connor landed with a thud, but got up immediately, as though his underpants were on fire, and ran, and ran, and didn’t stop running until he was on the other side of the field they’d been playing on.
Beth and George watched him go, bemused.
“Do you think we should follow him?” Asked George.
“I don’t see any house-sized woman, or any tentacles,” replied Beth. The look on her face was one of mixed annoyance and pity as she watched Connor collapse and start panting on the other side of the field.
“Come on, let’s find out what he saw.” George loped after Connor and Beth followed, walking.
#####
By the time they reached Connor, he’d gotten his breath back and was just sitting, staring at the ground. He looked up when they arrived. “Did you see them?”
“See what, Connor?” George slumped down opposite him “We didn’t see anything – What did you see?”
“I didn’t see… I mean, there were tentacles everywhere, all wrapped around my ankles!” Connor stared alternately at Beth and George with wide eyes. “I’m lucky to be alive!” He declared.
“You didn’t even manage to get the ball.” Said Beth, still standing and looking less than impressed.
“Didn’t you hear me?!” Connor’s voice cracked a bit and sounded shrill. “There were tentacles everywhere. And the noise…” He shuddered.
“What noise? You didn’t mention a noise.” George asked, lying down and spreading out to make the most of the sunny Saturday afternoon.
“It was horrible.” Uttered Connor. His eyes danced in his head as he described the rumbling, growling noise that had caused him to flee.
#####
After Connor had relayed the story to George and Beth, they sat in silence for a few minutes. George had his eyes closed and his hands behind the back of his head. Connor was sitting, slumped over and miserable. Beth had listened to the story with a disbelieving scowl on her face, tapping her foot. Eventually, Beth said “Well, we have to go and get the ball back. That’s my sister’s ball and she’ll kill me if I lose it.”
Connor looked up. “I am not going back over that fence!” His voice cracked again and came out in a squeak.
“I’ll go.” George declared, sitting up. The others looked at him.
“What?”
“I’ll go.” He repeated. “I read a book once where there was this big dragon guarding a cave full of treasure. Anyway, loads of knights went to fight it in order to get to the treasure, but the dragon just crispified the lot of them – then one day a squire, which is like a knight’s helper” George explained to Beth, “This squire went up and spoke to the dragon and asked him his name (only it turned out to be a girl) and stuff…”
Connor shared a look with Beth. George was always coming out with crazy stories of dragons and ancient Gods and mermaids – although not usually at the same time – they’d learned to tune out. Beth rolled her eyes.
“So anyway, then Tanya just let the squire go in and take some of the treasure.” George finished, grinning.
“Who’s Tanya?” Asked Connor, mystified.
“The dragon, silly – weren’t you listening?” George looked hurt. “Anyway, you want that ball back, or not?”
“Yeah, I need it back, George. My sister’s already annoyed at me for breaking her bike last Tuesday…”
#####
With that, the three of them made their way back to the other side of the field. Except when they got a bit closer, George veered off to the left.
Alarmed, Beth grabbed George’s arm “Hey, I thought we were going to get my sister’s ball back!”
“We are, but I’m not going over the fence to do it.”
“Well, how you gonna to get it back then?”
“I’m gonna ask the woman if I can get it from her garden. I’m sure she won’t mind if I ask nicely.”
“WHAT?!” Connor and Beth stopped walking. “Haven’t you heard anything I said?!” Connor shouted “Tentacles, man! Big as a house!”
“Yeah, but Beth doesn’t think that’s very likely, so…”
“Hey, I just said I’ve never seen it…” Beth sounded uncertain now. “I mean, you said yourself that just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t know it doesn’t exist…”
“Yeah, but it’s just like Norman and Tanya. Stands to reason that if we try and sneak in over the fence she’ll set her tentacles on us, but if we go and actually speak to her then she might just let us get it anyway.”
“Who’s Norman?” Asked Connor.
“The squire, you nonce!” George replied, making his way towards the stile at the corner of the field.
#####
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Asked Beth. The trio were huddled behind the hedge outside the old woman’s house. “I mean, I could just go and get a new ball – I got some pocket money spare from last weekend – I really wouldn’t mind.”
“It’s my fault.” Declared Connor, suddenly. “I kicked it over in the first place.” In an unusual moment of generosity, Connor offered to pay for the ball out of his pocket money.
“No. It’s fine, I’ll be back in a sec – don’t you worry!” With that, George disappeared through the gate.
#####
George wasn’t sure what made him do it. He had a vivid imagination, and was usually the first to be scared of ghost stories or tales of monsters in the woods. Not at all like Beth, who was very practical-minded. It was just like her not to believe in something just because she hadn’t seen it herself; unless it was something that was well-documented, like giraffes and elephants and yetis and things. And Connor pretended to be all macho, but really he was just a bit of a coward. And that was OK, because George and Beth knew Connor didn’t mean it when he lost his temper or picked fights with them. Whatever it was, something made George sure that he was doing the right thing.
George reached up and tugged on the old-fashioned doorbell. It had a shaped wooden handle, fixed to a rusty iron chain that went round a pulley into the wall. Behind the large wooden front door, George could hear the faint sound of a bell clanging.
It seemed like an age before he heard anything else, but then suddenly George heard a faint rumbling sound on the other side of the door. Something slow and heavy and massive was getting closer to the entrance. George felt the slight flutter of fear in his belly, but held his ground on the stone.
The lock clicked with a crack and a bolt sprang back on the other side of the door, making George jump; slowly, the door crept open.
The door opened to give way to a wide open hallway. Sitting in the entrance, with a big smile on her face, sat an elderly lady in a bright pink wheelchair. The wheelchair was filled to bursting with cushions of all shapes and sizes. With her right hand, the lady was winding a small wheel, fixed to the wall, which looked to be attached to a wire that was somehow connected to the door. On seeing George she said, in a warm voice “I was wondering when you’d come around.”
George started. “Me..? But…”
“Don’t worry, young man, there’s nothing to be afraid of – come in! And invite your friends, too.” The lady indicated behind George. He glanced over his shoulder and could see Connor’s and Beth’s faces peering around the hedge. He waved to them, hesitantly; still a little unsure. The faces disappeared for a moment and then reappeared, along with Connor and Beth, who cautiously approached the front door.
“Come in, come in. You’re letting the heat out now.” The lady said as she wheeled her chair out of the way to let them in. The hall was well lit and full of bright colours. “If you could be so kind as to flick that lever, young lady. That’s the one.”
Beth pulled a small brass lever situated just below one of the windows by the front door. There were a series of clicks and some jiggling of wires and then the door began to close. The three of them watched in amazement as it swung shut, serenely.
“Right, now I’ve got you trapped…” The lady began. Three heads snapped back to look at her with shocked faces. Connor made a noise a bit like a mouse. “Haha, I was only kidding,” she laughed, warmly, with a big grin on her face. “I expect you’re here about your ball.”
George stepped forward. “Please may we have our ball back? We promise we won’t let it come into your garden again.” He said, clearly.
“Of course you can have your ball back, young man. But you shouldn’t make promises that you can’t keep, you know.”
“Sorry, miss, I…”
Connor cleared his throat and cut George off “Ma’am, please, we are very sorry for causing you trouble, but we’re really just hoping to get our ball back and be on our way.”
George and Beth exchanged a look – “Ma’am?” This was very unlike Connor…
The lady leaned forward. Connor leaned back. “Please, all of you, call me Margaret.”
“George,” said George, immediately.
“And I’m Beth, and this is Connor,” said Beth, indicating Connor with her head.
“Connor,” the woman addressed Connor, directly, “You must be the one who jumped my fence earlier.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Connor replied, hanging his head.
“Margaret. Please. Enough with this ma’am nonsense. And don’t worry, Connor. I should think that ivy could do with a good beating anyway. I’m too old and too…” she indicated her pink wheelchair with a shrug “… too lazy…” she winked at George “… to have a go at it myself these days.
“Follow me, gentlemen, and lady.” Margaret wheeled round. “To the ball!”
#####
George, Beth and Connor followed Margaret’s trundling wheelchair across the hallway, down a corridor, through a spacious drawing room and then another corridor, before ending up in a vast conservatory overlooking a small patio and the huge lawn.
As they made their way through Margaret’s house, George noticed the wooden floor throughout and nudged Beth. “Hey…” he whispered.
“What?”
“Look at the floor…”
“What am I looking for?”
“It’s made of wood!”
“So?”
“So… the noise…”
Beth’s face lit up as she realised what George was getting at. Sure enough, as the procession entered the conservatory, the wheels on Margaret’s chair started to make a loud rumbling noise as it rolled over the floorboards.
Connor realised it too, but just glowered when he noticed the other two looking at him. He was clearly embarrassed at his foolishness in thinking the rumbling sound he’d heard earlier was some enormous monster bearing down on him, when actually it was nothing more sinister than the wheels of Margaret’s bright pink chair rolling over the conservatory floorboards.
#####
Margaret stopped, turned her chair around and faced the three. Behind her, reflecting the afternoon sun off its plastic blue and yellow cover, in the middle of the enormous lawn, lay Beth’s sister’s ball.
“Right. First things first…” With a grin, Margaret pulled a lever embedded in the floor. A huge section of the wall to their right slid open, revealing what looked like a kitchen on the other side. Through the open hole appeared some metal tracks that seemed to be being pushed through from a large brass-coloured box.
The tracks wound their way across the room, bouncing up and down gently as they extended from the opening in the wall.
Connor had to duck as the tracks passed his head, eventually coming to a stop next to Margaret’s chair. At various points along the track, small legs had extended to take the weight, with the last leg popping out of the end. The end of the tracks also had a panel on it, with a few small toggles and buttons. Margaret pulled one and then turned back to the astonished three.
“I have a small proposition for you.” Margaret declared.
“Proper what?” Asked Connor, still staring at the hole in the wall.
“A proposition, dear. A deal, if you wish.” Margaret explained, gently.
“OK…” Beth, who seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of the mysterious contraption quicker than the other two, didn’t like the sound of where this was going.
“Don’t worry, young lady, this deal is entirely optional. If you want, you’re very welcome to take your ball right now and be off… However, you might find that you’d prefer to hear me out.
“You see, I used to love playing outside when I was your age.
“Yes, believe it or not, I was as young as you once. But I’m not that young anymore and as much as my little contraptions help me to get around, I’m afraid I can’t get out and do as much gardening as I used to. My lawn is now so overgrown that I can’t get this thing outside!” With that she gave the arm of her chair a light tap. “What I propose is that I pay you three to do a bit of tidying up in the garden for me. I’ve got tools and whatnot, so you don’t need to worry about that, and I’ll pay you handsomely for the help. To tell the truth, the three of you would be doing me a favour just keeping me company – I don’t get many visitors these days.” The three exchanged a look and seemed to be unsure what to say. Margaret continued “I know what you’re thinking; That you shouldn’t speak to strangers, or you’re wondering what your parents would think. Well I wouldn’t want to make any sort of deal without you letting them know first.” Margaret turned to George and gave him a smile. “George, I believe I know your parents, or your mother at least… Pat Cooper?” George nodded in assent. “And you, young lady,” she said, turning to Beth, “You wouldn’t happen to be a certain Elizabeth Peterson, would you? Daughter of Arthur Peterson?” Beth looked shocked and Margaret patted her arm, softly “I was sorry to hear about your Great Uncle, Ralph. He was a good friend of mine for many years.” Margaret’s voice was quiet as she said this.
“That’s OK, we didn’t see him much,” Beth replied, quietly.
“You, Connor, are a mystery to me. But you sure made good work of that ivy earlier – if you’re interested, then do please ask permission from your parents.”
Connor’s cheeks turned a ruddy beetroot red as he realised the tentacles he’d had wrapped around his ankles earlier today had, in fact, been nothing more sinister than ivy and brambles. “Yes ma’am… I mean Margaret.”
“Great, splendid. Well, before you make up your minds. Time for some tea!
“Ah!” Margaret turned, “Here we are.”
There was a snackering sound from the kitchen and the metal tracks that had appeared earlier began to wobble. Then, through the hatch, running under the track in single-file, came four enormous trays, suspended by tiny wires linked to little metal wheels. The trays were filled to bursting with all manner of tasty-looking goodies.
George, Beth and Connor watched in amazement as the trays made their way down the track to Margaret. “Well don’t just stand there gaping, tuck in!” Margaret reached forward and retrieved a small cup and saucer from the first tray, and a tiny tea pot from one of the others and proceeded to fill her cup with tea.
George was the first to move forward. He spied a ginger biscuit on the third tray.
“Wait…” Beth said, and then stopped herself.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well we can’t just go accepting food from strangers…” she finished, lamely.
“But this is the treasure!” George was munching on his ginger biscuit. He instantly regretted saying this, as Connor started laughing at him, through a mouthful of cupcake.
Margaret leaned forward and said “So, that would make me the dragon then, eh George?” Just loud enough for him to hear. She winked at him.
Beth gave in and selected a glass of strawberry milkshake and some caramel sweets, before sitting down on one of the big, comfortable sofas in the conservatory.
#####
The four of them were chatting for a while about all sorts of things and they all felt pretty full after their impromptu meal of biscuits, chocolate and milkshakes. Margaret told them she used to be an inventor, but an accident had meant she could no longer use her legs as much as she would like. She didn’t seem to be too bothered by this, though, as she could still use her hands and her head.
In the end, Beth was the first to stand up. “Thank you so much, Margaret, it’s been a pleasure to meet you and thank you for the food, but we really must be going.”
“Of course, Beth, my dear. I’m so sorry to have kept you – how silly of me. Your parents must be wondering what’s happened to you! That’s the trouble with old age, you know; time doesn’t seem to work in the same way.” Outside, the sun was low in the sky as the afternoon waned into evening. “Why don’t you nip out and grab your ball. If you give me your parents’ numbers now I’ll give them a call and let them know you’re safe. Silly me.”
Margaret called each of their parents in turn. First apologising for keeping them, then discussing the proposal with them. George, Beth and Connor had all agreed to help Margaret out, if only to see what other crazy contraptions were hidden about the house. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all three sets of parents were also very happy to let their children visit Margaret’s house on Saturday afternoons.
“It’ll keep him out of mischief!” George’s mother, Pat had said. “He’s always filling his head with fantasies and it’ll be good for him to learn something useful, like gardening.”
“Gardening? Yes, of course – and I’m sure you’ll welcome the company, Margaret.” Beth’s father, Arthur said he’d come and pick them all up and drop George and Connor back home.
The shortest conversation Margaret had was with Connor’s father. “You’ll pay him will ya? Well make sure you get yer money’s worth with him, mind – that good-for-nothing boy’s as lazy as his mother!” This was followed by a muted outburst and the phone was hung up on the other side.
And so it was settled. George, Beth and Connor had gone from playing in a field to being employed as gardeners in one afternoon, and the funny thing is they willingly agreed to do it. But if they knew what was in store for them in the next few weeks, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so keen…
To be continued…
