The Gardens at Weatherbury : C3 - A Little Bit of a Tantrum by Y. M. Roger Create a chapter contest entry |
I was still unsure how my standing in the shed could make it light up. I stepped outside and then back inside, and, sure enough, it lit again.Well, wasn’t that something? I wondered if the lighting would follow me deeper into the shed, but Constantine stomping his feet on the cabinet interrupted my thoughts. “Hey!” he interjected excitedly, waving his hand back and forth. “What are you doin’ with the ‘in and out’ there, Keeper? We’ve got work to do!” Tilting my head, I narrowed my eyes at him. I hadn’t thought the plants and shrubs were that ‘out of shape’. In fact, curiosity had been the real reason I'd opened the shed in the first place – specifically, curiosity about the cabinet Sir Phillipe had spoken of. And, of course, Constantine was standing on it. Stepping closer, I saw the cabinet was scratched and dented, as though someone had tried to break it open. “Did you beat this up, Constantine?” The sassy gnome caught his breath and looked horrified. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again, saying nothing. He huffed, obviously annoyed, and then went through the whole routine again until he found some words. “I cannot believe you think I would do this!” He grabbed his hat and shook it at me in exasperation. “Do I look like the kind of fella that would beat up an unsuspecting cabinet?” He spluttered some more, held his arms out, and spun around in a very ungraceful circle, presumably for me to take a look at him. Then he shoved his hat back on. “Huh, Keeper? Do I?” I swallowed my laugh, remembering his stomping a few moments ago. “Umm, well, you are the only other one in here…” I let my words trail off, knowing they would probably set him off again. He didn’t disappoint. “Arrrrrrrggh!” Constantine exclaimed, pitching his hat in the air. But its trajectory had a backward angle such that it disappeared behind the cabinet. He shoved one hand in his pocket and pointed at me with the other. “Now you listen to me, Keeper Nicholas! You need to know that if there’s anyone around here with a level head, it’s me!” I smiled. “I can see that.” “G-Trash made all the dents in this here cabinet because it quit lettin’ him in when he showed up sloshed a while back!” “Okaaaay…” I smiled again. My goodness he was excited. “Constantine?” “What!” “Can I get your hat for you?” I asked gently, my grin uncontainable. His hands immediately went to his head – he didn’t realize he’d tossed it. He grinned sheepishly, his tirade derailed. “Uhhh, yeah.” He looked around. “Where’d it go? I squatted down to slide the cabinet. “Wait, no!” Constantine warned from above, but it was too late. A pink, armored ball rolled out from a hole revealed there. Before I could react, the ball exploded into a pink armadillo in a comical ninja-like stance. “Halt, you heathens!” “Oh, brother,” Constantine murmured. To be continued…
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Y. M. Roger
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