Chapter 18.4 - February 2024 - Snakes in the schoolyard (continued)

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Her next find was a common white caps mushroom. She had seen that one before at the grocery store, and as an ingredient in omelettes, so she knew it was edible and decided to pick it up as well.. but there was no sign in the grass or under the bushes of what she really wanted to find.. that's when she remembered that just the other day Robert had said the other day that he had gotten bitten by a snake behind the slide in the school yard.. of course!

 

However, just to make sure she wasn't missing anything she still walked one round around the park before running across the road towards the school yard to look for snakes...

It turns out Robert wasn't just telling stories, because there was a snake behind there, and not just one, there were two of them! A mini python and a krait – they were so adorable! They would be just perfect for her collection of animals! She was a little shy to pick them up though, and decided to watch them for a while to make sure that these snakes were of the calm and friendly kind.. after all, she didn't want to get bitten... but if she could pick them up, and sneak them home without being noticed, she was sure she would make best friends with both of them...

"Ok little mini python... be kind with me.." she spoke softly as she extended her left arm to gently grab the snake gently by its tail, all the time speaking quietly to it in hopes that her voice would soothe the snake enough to make it think of her as a friend...

Success! The mini python remained calm enough for her to pick it up and sneak it away into her pocket.. for now.. and her goal for today to catch a snake was already complete, but why stop there..she couldn't just pick up the mini python and then leave its buddy krait out here all alone.. so she repeated the process by calmly gazing at the krait while trying to soothe it by speaking softly.. "Don't worry little krait.. I won't hurt you... I'm only here to bring you and your friend to a better home... don't worry little krait..."

Now with the two snakes tucked firmly away into each of her front pockets it was time to go home and hope that her mom was still hanging out at the park with Thomas.. after a quick stop by the store to grab a couple of terrariums for them. Obviously she couldn't have them crawling around the house.. that would be like asking for them to be found, or worse, to escape back out again...

 

Monica was still in the park, but Thomas had in the meantime found it a little boring and hopped on his new bike to head back home, so there would be one obstacle to pass before the snakes could be secretly tucked away in her room..

However Lise Veronica might need to hurry, because Monica just got a phone call from her brother Eivind who was wondering if Thomas would like to play with his son Walter.. Of course, Monica thought this was a good idea, why wouldn't she? Cousin Walter was only one year older than Thomas, and he would be a perfect new friend for Thomas to hang out with.. and since Thomas had just left to go home she told Eivind that they could just come over, and that she would be there shortly as well to meet them...

At the house Thomas was no major obstacle as he sat in the living room nose down in a book and she managed to sneak by him with both snakes and the terrariums, no problem... still unaware that both her mom, her uncle and her cousin was soon on their way..

Actually, they were already there... atleast Eivind and Monica... and Eivind just being Eivind had already tried to take a peak through their bathroom window (!) to see if anyone was home, instead of ringing the doorbell like a normal person... but he didn't see anything, because it was to high up on the wall and he had forgotten to bring a ladder..

 

To make room for the terrariums in her room Lise Veronica had to place some of her furniture out in the hallway.. that was a problem because sooner or later mom and dad would notice and probably begin to ask questions about why she had done that..

Lise Veronica was startled when the doorbell finally rang, though.. oh no! Visitors! This was absolutely the worst moment.. she couldn't go downstairs to greet whoever it was.. she hadn't even put the snakes in their terrariums yet..

 

It was of course Walter who rang the doorbell, having a little more sense than his oddball father.. and Monica went over to greet him and they stopped to talk on the porch for a while, which was lucky for Lise Veronica..

She didn't know who was ringing the doorbell, or that her mom and Eivind was outside, but figure that whoever it was would have to wait as quickly closed the door to her room to gently put the snakes in each their terrarium..

A moment of happiness amidst all the anxiety of being caught as she watched the mini python settle down in its new home.. now it just needed a name, and she decided to call it Petrucci after one of the names she remembered seeing on one of the covers from her fathers record collection.. and also because it was a python snake, so it needed a name starting with a p...

She followed the exact same line of thought for the krait whom she named Kuoppala, and then it was feeding time..

..and then pretend that everything is just like it always has been and go downstairs to pick another book to read from the bookshelf..

Speaking of books, Lise Veronica wasn't the only one reading books she was perhaps still a little to young to read, as Thomas had picked up Monicas old copy of "A Magnetic Attraction".. not that there's inherently anything wrong about it, its just debatable what a six year old boy would get out of reading trashy romance novels...

However he never got far enough to open the first page as Monica called for him to come outside and play with his cousin. In this fair weather young boys like him should be outside, not inside all day with their nose in a book, she thought.. She wanted him to socialize with other kids so that he wouldn't become a reclusive loner..

Thomas then has no choice but to get up from his chair and walk outside to meet his cousin, and they greet each other under moms watchful eye..

..then she turns away to leave the boys to it, when Walter points towards the road saying "Look! It's the ice cream truck!". Thomas has never been subject to that trick before, so of course he falls for it..

Splash! He was quick to realize then that it wasn't an ice cream truck, but a water balloon.... maybe with time he will learn not to get fooled by this trick, or maybe he won't..

Walter being the slightly older kid knows about all the gossip of the other kids and school, and happily shares it with Thomas, before he is invited inside because Thomas has an idea that he wants to entertain everyone by telling the scariest and most terrifying ghost story he can think of..

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Walter sits down to listen with curiousity and interest and is joined by Eivind, as well as Monica who does her best to pretend to be scared. Lise Veronica, however, couldn't care less about her younger brothers so called scary story, and chooses to play video games instead..

Eventually Eivind loses interest to as soon as Ivar comes home and both of them join her in playing. Monicas acting is more than good enough, and Walter is in good hands... there's no need for Eivind to watch his sons every move...

Then its time for a late supper and Monica and Lise Veronica gathers around the table with the guests, while father and son have their meal on the couch.

Thomas still thinks his idea of telling a ghost story was absolutely brilliant. He scared the living daylights of both his mom and Walter. You should have seen the look on their faces! His father, of course, agrees...

After supper the boys retreat to Thomas' room to play, and Monica follows them upstairs to continue talking.. Lise Veronica notices her mom walking up the stairs and has to follow her as well... not because she wants to play with or talk to the boys, but because it makes her a little uneasy... mom can't go up to her room now!

 

..but luckily for Lise Veronica that wasn't the case. Her snakes are safe for now, and she quietly walks downstairs again to talk to her uncle, but still makes sure to keep one ear listening to hear if her mom walks up to the floor of her bedroom... just in case.. but she isn't. Monica hangs out in the room to talk with the boys for a while, before she decides to leave them alone by heading out on their veranda to practice chess..

That's when playtime begins for the boys – with the adults out of the way – and Thomas is a dangerous fire spitting dragon, threatening to destroy Walters Kingdom... but Walter seems to be more interested in gaining the admiration of his people rather than protecting them from this deadly threat... ;)

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"Yes, my people... I know there's a dangerous dragon out there destroying our cities, but you have to stand and wave for the daily appraisal of your most beloved king....."

Thomas is not to pleased however.. this is not how they play 'Dragons and Kings'! Walter has to understand the rules of the game... when a dragon attacks, he mest send out his knights to defeat the dragon! That's how it works! Haven't he heard the stories!? What kind of king wants to watch his own people burn!? Yeah, what kind of king indeed....

And as always, when the kids are having the most fun – or perhaps is just about to get into a very serious argument on medieval politics – an adult always has to ruin the moment by saying something boring like how its probably bedtime soon and the guests need to go home...
 

The king is forced to comply – there's a bigger queen in the room that now walks him out of her castle – and apparently he can keep the costume. It's always boring to leave, but he really enjoyed the visit and to hang out with both Thomas and even Monica... she was almost more terrified than he was at Thomas' ghost story!

Surprisingly – or maybe not – Lise Veronica is the first one to go go bed, without any of the parents having to tell her to do so. Maybe she was just feeling tired, or maybe she was just thinking about her snakes... and would feel much better if she could be in the room with them, to watch over them and to make sure her parents stayed out.. this is her room and they have no business in there anyway! She is a big girl now...

 

..and the mighty, fierce and very, very dangerous dragon was in need of the big monstrous father dragon to read him a bedtime story, because if he didn't, the little, but very dangerous dragon would burn the house down! Big dragon didn't want any of that, its not nice to burn down houses.. its not very smart either, especially if that house is your own... "Where are we going to live, if our house is burnt down?" the big dragon asked the little dragon.. "We'll just move in with Walters parents of course!" said the little dragon... because of course, its just that easy! No problem, just buy some new beds and move right in! They don't live right across the street for nothing....

Oh, he's so sweet.. little dragon still has a lot left to learn. Big dragon wasn't to keen on the idea of having his house burnt down, nor did he want to move in with his neighbours.. sure enough, he wanted to make friends with Sofie.. and her family.. but given her flirtatious behaviour earlier in the day, it was probably best for everyone to stay under seperate roofs...

Of course they would.. what a far fetched idea... why is he even thinking about this childs imagination stuff.. and then everyone went to sleep and live happily ever after..

 

..or perhaps not yet, because of course someone had to wake Lise Veronica up with a phone call...

It wasn't a prom invitation this time, but it was another of the towns teenagers, Otto Hillestad, asking Lise Veronica out on a date.. she had two reasons atleast for saying no... calling her so late, after bedtime, was more than enough of a reason right now, but the most important one was of course that she's already in a relationship and has absolutely no interest in this Otto.. what a geek... "No, no, no!" she said "Don't call me again!" before abruptly hanging up on him..

 

..and then finally everyone in the household could get a good nights sleep.. even Pelsdott, the little kitten, sleeping calmly in her own little castle outside... good night.. ;)

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Other happenings:

Lisa Bunch and VJ Alvi moved in together. They'll probably be a good couple.. Lise 'the local klepto' and VJ 'the troublemaker'....

Miraj and Kathrine Langerak-Alvi became parents of a little girl named Thea.

Chapter 18.4 - February 2024 - Snakes in the schoolyard

 

A regular february morning in the Motorsen-Notesen household.. Ivar had gotten up early to go and sit outside on their balcony in the cold rain to practice chess in order to keep his body and mind sharp, while indoors at the brekafast table Monica was giving another speech about science to Lise Veronica - a speech which went in one ear and out the other...

 

One things for certain, Lise Veronica didn't feel like any of her parents.. nor did she share their interests.. and though her mom was acting much more like a normal person these days, she still had her oddities.. such as when she got lost in thought considering the amazing designs and functionality of everyday household items, and the geniuses that once upon a time invented them... or something along those lines.. 

 

Lise Veronica never really understood what went through her moms head in those moments, it really did seem like she was from another planet, and she had figured it was probably best to leave her alone until she snapped out of it... 

She wanted to go hang out with Margrethe at the arcade, but it was still a few more hours left before it opened, so she went towards the bookshelf to find something to read just to kill some time.. She had read through most of the fiction books in there already, but there was one book she had never really touched, a book with perhaps the most boring cover she had ever seen - black and white and easy to overlook... but for some reason or other, browsing with her finger across the book spines this was were her finger landed. Totally Preggers: An Expecting Mother's Tale was the name of the book, and she decided to give it a go and atleast read through the first page to see what this was about..

Pregnancy wasn't something she had given much thought, atleast not by her own impulse - it was still a thing that was far away and then some. She wasn't even sure if she wanted children, and if so she would need to be atleast 25 or older to even think about it. It just seemed like the right age for some reason. She had noticed the date on the book said it was printed in 2009, so this must have been the same book her mom probably read when she went pregnant with her...
    The book was written in part like a diary and in part like some kind of educational book, and it answered all kinds of questions she had never thought about.... what foods were safe to eat, what foods to avoid, whether or not one could work out and for how long, thoughs and feelings, physical and mental health while pregnant, and she even noticed with part curiosity and part disgust that there was even a chapter in there about woohoo during pregnancy...

 

This book with the boring cover ended up being unexpectedly so intriguing she hadn't heard that her father had come downstairs to have breakfast and that her mom had exclaimed "Noo.." when her cute little pet kitten - tiny Pelsdott - had relieved herself on their carpet...

She started to think that when her mom came over and said she wanted to have a word with her, that it was because of this book she was reading.. and that it wasn't a good idea to read it downstairs.. This was the kind of book she probably should have snuck away to read alone in the privacy of her own room.... but it was to late, now she was busted...

 

Well... though Monica may have noticed what her daughter was reading, she didn't say a word about it.. Lise Veronica feared the worst for a while, though, as Monica sat down to watch her eye to eye as if to say something of great impact and importance.. but was relieved to hear that all she wanted was for her to clean up the mess her pet kitten just made.. "You brought it into the house.. you clean up after it.."

Well.. that was close.. maybe she really didn't notice what book she was reading, or maybe she was just fine with it.. either way, whether she had seen it or not, now was the time she thought, to show her mom that she could be a responsible.. pet owner.. that knew how to discipline kittens to let them know that next time she will use the litter box, not the carpet...

 

..but not without giving her some positive reaffirmation afterwards. She didn't really want to yell at her, she was just much to cute, and tiny..

She wasn't an expert on how to raise little kittens, she thought, but she did have an idea that a kitten should probably atleast receive as much love as it should discipline, preferrably much more...

..but anyway, afterwards it was back to that book again. Once she had started reading through it, she kind of had to finish it.. and it wouldn't be a problem now that her father was upstairs taking a long shower and her mother had gone to be complete a nerd again by the science table... and her brother who had just finally gotten out of bed was probably to young to notice..

She didn't get far enough into the book to start reading the chapter about woohoo (it was towards the end of the book) before she noticed how much time had passed and she could finally call Margrethe to agree to meet over at the arcade on the Hermansen lot, just behind the book store..

It wasn't far to go there, it was just up the hill... no need to use the sidewalk, sidewalks are for old people!

Unfortunately shortly after arriving she received a phone call from Margrethe that she couldn't hang out, because she had more important business to do.. she should have figured that Margrethe being two years older than her wouldn't want to hang out with such a junior kid... so instead she called her girlfriend Kristina to come over, and she would be there in a heartbeat..

Meanwhile her father Ivar had gone over to ring the doorbell of their neighbours house. Since Thomas' birthday he had wanted to make better friends with his neighbour and parent of Thomas' cousin Anton. He was greeted with a friendly smile and a welcome before being invited in, however for a split second it was clear that Sofie wasn't to appreciative of getting a visit this otherwise peaceful saturday...

 

She had really hoped to spend this day without being pestered with anyone outside of their family, but Ivar was her neighbour.. and they both had kids in the same age groups and she was married to his wifes brother... so keeping a good and friendly tone would probably be beneficial...

At the arcade Lise Veronica had been killing some time once more playing games until Kristina showed, and once she did she quickly turned to greet her with a shy kiss... while both of them simultaneously thought about swimming pools for some reason or other.. This was not their first kiss, that happened at the school ball which led to them being a couple in the first place, but this was the first one that could be recorded...

 

Back at their house Monicas nerding by the chemistry table had finally paid off as she was happy to have discovered how to make the sleeping elixir. It might be useful if she should struggle to fall asleep some time, though she thought those days were luckily long gone now that both of her kids were no longer babies or toddlers sometimes needing attention almost 24/7.. not that she would want to sleep when her babies were crying, but.. still...

A sleeping elixir probably wouldn't be very useful for the research she was doing at work, though where she was doing research on making trees more effective in capturing carbon dioxide.. Though the trees actually have their own rest cycle, they do not sleep the same way as humans, so it she figured it wouldn't work on them.. unless maybe someone found a way to merge humans and trees into some kind of plant sim, but she had since long rejected that idea for the insanity she thought it was...

 

Now it was time to relax and get some fresh air, so she walked downstairs to take Thomas out to the park for some playtime...

 

At the arcade Lise Veronica and Kristina had paid no interest to the arcade machines, but more to each other, and eventually Lise Veronica had convinced Kristina they should probably head to the park for the very same reasons her mom had just told Thomas, to get some fresh air.. atleast that's what she told Kristina, though the real reason was something else, something she wanted to find and bring back home.. and that's also why she wasn't to happy about her mom having the same thought, because she was sure that if she had told her, she would not get her wish approved...

So... while Monica did what she wanted to do – to have a water balloon fight with Thomas – Lise Veronica and Kristina went roller skating, while Lise Veronica waited (and hoped for) her mom to get tired of playing and going home so that she could begin her search...

The couple wasn't perfectly in tandem here, and Kristina was a little envious of Lise Veronicas skills on the skating rink. She did find it a little more boring, but didn't want to give up.. one day she would match her girlfriend in skill, she hoped, and they would be able to do pirouettes together.. and it would be beautiful...

Let's not forget about Lise Veronicas father, Ivar. He has now retreated into Kleopatras room to relax on her bed reading one of her sports books...

 

Sofie didn't find this inappropriate at all, that he was resting on her teenage daughters bed, and walked into the room to greet him with a smile, her grumpiness from earlier now all gone.. Ivar was a little shameful and tried to excuse himself that the bed was the closest furniture to relax on as there were no chairs in the room, knowing very well that he shouldn't have entered the room in the first place...

..but whatever he said made no difference, as clearly Sofie wasn't having any shame in this moment, as she shifted the conversation to talk about the flowers in her garden, and how maybe she should have picked him a bouqet of flowers, just because he was such a handsome man....

This wasn't what Ivar expected to hear, and he wasn't particularly impressed... both of them was married, and Sofie was even married to his wifes brother. Their children were cousins for crying out loud, he thought, and almost wanted to shout it at her, but still kept it to himself.. it wasn't like him to raise his voice, and after all he come over to visit to make friends not enemies... he still made it clear what he thought, by giving a sigh and looking away in disappointment.. yet Sofie had to try three more times, before he finally succeeded in shifting the conversation to reading books...

It took her a while to get the memo, that he wasn't interest in that type of relation... given his experience with his former bandmates, he knew very well what it meant to feel cheated and then some, even if it wasn't romantically.. and he just didn't want to be the contributor and cause of someone else feeling like that... If they both had been single, he might have gone for it, but.. no...

 

He was happy to have been able to get out of that slightly awkward situation and end the visit on good terms and having made a new friend, before it was off to work at the theatre..

Sofie still followed him all the way with his eyes until he was out the door... he wasn't really sure why all of a sudden nearly every woman in town wanted to flirt with him, from young to old, and he wasn't sure if he should be happy about it either, as he was a happily married family man.. and though some bitterness still remained in him from the treatment he had received from his former bandmates – being kicked out from the band in the most horrible way, left alone in this town with nothing but a suitcase and a guitar – he was now happy with.. or atleast accepting of it, knowing that if it hadn't happened in this way, he would never have met Monica, his wife, and he would not have been a father of the worlds most wonderful children...

..and as soon as he was out the door, Sofie did the right thing and instead handed the bouquet of flowers to her husband.. She should know better, and she did, about how a cheating spouse can ruin a relationship and a family... There were still times where she felt some resentment towards her own mom, even if was close to 38 years ago now.. She had worked so hard to set a good example for her own children, she couldn't let it slip now... she had to be strong to not let the chain reaction continue...

Back at the park just up the road, the kids were now doing home work again.. even Thomas wasn't getting away from it..

Lise Veronica was getting impatient, because she had something she wanted to find and decided to take advantage of her mom still being there and ask her for advice to get it done as fast as possible..

Having a genius nerd for a mom did sometimes pay off...

..and not having a part time job pays off too.. not in cash of course, but in having more free time to finish ones homework and so on.. Kristina was unfortunate to not get to finish hers before she had to leave to go for her shift at the spa..

 

Lise Veronica couldn't wait any longer, so after she after she was done with her homework she decided to risk go searching for it anyway, even if her mom was still in the park... and if she found what she wanted, she would probably also find a way to sneak it into her pocket and bring it home without her mom noticing... she had to..
Now the first thing she found was a simple seed. She didn't recognize what kind it was, nor did she have any interest in it, but decided to pick it up anyway. Her mom is into gardening, so the seed might still prove useful to make her happy, or maybe some kind of bargaining point to let her keep what she really wanted to find...

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