Stephen Baxter
November 15, 2005 12:31 AM
To the wagon, Batman! by Stephen Baxter
The problem with over-excitable crups was that when they were associated with over-excitable boys things tended to get noisy. Even when the over-excitable boy was after some quiet and stealth."Shh Rover," didn't work. Probably as Stephen was still running, and the words were belied by the way this all seemed a wonderful game to the cruppy, although to tell the truth, in his heart of hearts, Stephen didn't like to try and put a stop to Rover's exuberant enjoyment anyhow. "Come on then," he challenged the crup. "If we hurry they'll be too late to stop us anyhow."
The grounds were busy for the first day of midterm. All the work that still needed to be done for the cleanup, Stephen summised. The grounds had been covered in a pristine layer of snow, but there were brown trails through it where others had passed - the white only covered the mud, freezing the top layer, but there were still patches where an unwary step could see you up to your knees in muck.
Stephen's trail was the exception to the rule. It was churned up by his own speedy passage, by the bumpy passage of his trunk, but most of all by the rushing back and forth, round and round and round again, ahead and behind and everywhere else of Rover. The crup was almost unrecognisable under the snow and mud which had attached itself to him, which Stephen decided was good. Less chance of happening across Profski and having her recognise her missing lesson subject.
Actually it was probably only thanks to the excitement of late that no one had linked the crup's disappearance to Stephen at this point anyhow.
Across the grounds they ran, circling around the school building to the front, where the wagons would be waiting as they did every holiday, and spotting an empty one which looked to be set to go in the right direction Stephen hefted his trunk inside, tossed Fido onto one of the seats and whistled Rover in after him before closing the door.
As the crup settled onto the seat opposite him, and directly on top of Fido, for a moment Stephen could have sworn he heard a sigh emminating from his broom. "Nah," he said to himself, then ducking down slightly, he checked out the window, trying to work out if anyone was planning on coming on over before the wagon could leave.\n\n
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Stephen Baxter
To the wagon, Batman!
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