Justin and the Key ~ Chapter 2

     The smell of bacon was strong in the air as Justin woke up from his dreams into reality. As he walked through the hallway it seemed as if the fragrance was pulling him to itself.

     Aunt Ruthy’s smile was warm and cheerful when Justin came into the kitchen. “Did you sleep good last night?” she asked Justin.

     “Oh fine” he answered absentmindedly.

     “Uncle Bert is gone to work for the day and you don’t have to do school because the curriculums aren’t here yet. Bert wanted to get you a real pocket knife, so before he picked you up from the airport he stopped by Wal-Mart and got It.” said Aunt Ruthy.

     Justin thought about this for a moment then answered “I’ve never had a pocket knife, so I’m afraid don’t know how to use one.  It will be fun to learn.”

     After they finished breakfast Justin went outside to explore. Aunt Ruthy had given him some food and a GPS.  He saw many birds he knew and some he didn’t know. He even saw two squirrels fighting over something on a branch above him. He sat down to take a break in the shade of one of the larger trees and ate a pack of raisins.  Then he set down his backpack, pulled out his pocket-knife, and started carving a stick he found on the ground.  The branch turned out to be rotten so he picked up a stick about as tall as himself and started over.

     Justin hiked along an old deer trail for a while until he came to the top of a thirty foot cliff.  He found a trail which led around to the bottom of the bluff.  He started to try to climb to the top but only got about half way and had to turn back around.  As he did, he looked down and saw a cottage off in the distance that the settlers must have made in the early 1800’s.  He descended once again to the base of the cliff and looked around the area, trying to see the old cabin but the thick brush was obscuring his vision. 

   He decided to walk in what he thought was the direction of the cabin. Getting through the dense foliage was a challenge, but he caught a glimpse of the cabin.  Getting closer, he saw that the windows and doors were still intact. As he crept slowly into the cabin, he saw that there was something on the floor.  Hesitating for a moment, he was filled with curiosity as he bent down to pick it up. The skeleton key now resting in his palm was nearly the length of his whole hand.  The handle of the key had three holes in it like the Olympics sign, and he marveled at its unique shape.  He wondered what it unlocked, imagining pirates, or dragons and princesses.

     Justin had always liked fairy tales of faraway lands, but this was like holding one in his hand.  An entire story of good and evil was already building up in his mind until he looked at his watch. It was already almost lunchtime.  

     He put the skeleton key in his backpack and dashed out of the old abandoned cottage without even a second glance, running through the forest. His stomach growled at the sudden reminder of lunch.

      

Magnet Car

This battery-powered, Eco-friendly, super-cool, red, car is my own invention and is so energy efficient, that it is almost completely free to drive!  

Warning!  Only drive this vehicle behind people you don't like or don't know ‘cause it decreases their driving mileage by a lot... like a whole super-dang-did lot.   

Now, on how to use:  First, you must wait for a car to pass in front of your Magnet Car and then you must push the gas, or magnet pedal in this case, to trigger the electrical flow and pull you out of the driveway and into the traffic.

If the subject you’re sucking gas from turns the wrong way, simply let go of the magnet pedal so you won’t roll sideways into oncoming traffic.

You get the idea; a simple magnet car made for simple you by smart me!   

Enjoy!

Justin and the Key ~ Chapter 1

     As the plane landed in Missoula, Justin thought he saw a glimpse of another plane just taking off.  But just as he saw it, his plane turned into the taxi lane and made its way to the smallest airport he had ever seen.  He came into the airport and a man, oddly enough, handed him his luggage. 


     When he had first heard that he was moving from Orlando, Florida to Paradise, Montana he wasn't entirely sure what to think but now he hoped he would stay there for at least a while. Justin’s parents had both been killed in a car crash when he was seven, and now he was ten. His mother's parents were in Orlando so he stayed with them for 3 years until they decided to move to Hawaii to spend the rest of their golden years.  They thought it best for him to stay with their son, Bert.

     Seeing his uncle other than at his parents' funeral was odd, but he thought he would like his Uncle Bert.  As the sun set, he looked out the window with amazement at all the views and animals.  Seeing an atlas of Montana's roads, he picked it up with interest and started trying to look for where they were in Montana.  When they pulled into the driveway, he saw a squirrel dash up one of the many evergreens that surrounded the large log house.  


     Justin’s Aunt Ruthy ran out to meet them carrying a newborn baby in one hand and hugging Justin with the other. His uncle's house was roughly 1,900 square feet in construction language, but in English it was a comfortable house.  It had a nice sized master bedroom with a master bath, a pretty big living room, a spacious dining room and kitchen.  There were two bedrooms, one for Justin, and a bathroom.  


     When they came in, there was food ready on the table.  He carried his backpack into his new room and then went out to eat.  Justin looked up from his food and, trying to strike up a conversation, said, "So, when do you usually go to Wal-Mart?" looking for a time of day.


     "It's about an hour away, down in Missoula, so probably about every two weeks" said Uncle Bert. 


     Justin was shocked.  It had never occurred to him that in a town of eight-hundred there wasn't a Wal-Mart, but that would explain the thirty boxes of cereal in the closet and three bags of cheese in the freezer.  Without thinking he asked in a rudely loud voice "When was the last time you went to Wal-Mart?" 


     "Today, when I picked you up from the airport" replied Uncle Bert in a nonchalant voice. Justin thought it would be strange to not go to Wal-Mart for another two weeks but he never really needed to go to Wal-Mart anyway.  So he finished his food in silence, as did everyone else at the table accept Bobby-Joe who had just learned to say “dadadadadada!” and was doing so profusely.

     After Uncle Bert read aloud the first couple chapters of “Mark Twain’s short stories”, Justin went back to his new room and started to unpack his stuff.  In his backpack were a couple pairs of socks, underwear, and pants, ten or eleven shirts, a tooth brush, tooth-paste and a couple of odds and ends that he brought along to entertain himself on the ten hour plane ride.  At first he liked flying, looking at the fields and cities below, but then it got less exciting and more monotonous as the day kept progressing until the plane landed.

     He went to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth. As usual, in a different house he couldn’t figure out how to work the shower and had to ask Uncle Bert to show him how.

After his shower he brushed his teeth and headed back to his room to go to bed. What he hadn’t noticed before was there was a desk in his room, and on the desk there was a pocket knife and a note that read:

                                   Justin,

This pocket knife is for you, and the desk

is for you to do your home schooling on.

P.S. You are going to have to do home schooling 
instead of going to school

since the nearest school is in Missoula.

Uncle Bert

     After reading the note, Justin carefully put all of his clothes into the drawers beside his bed, except for the ones he changed out of that day which he put into the laundry bin on the inside of his door.  As he was doing this, he thought about how he had just left both his friends and the city he knew to go somewhere completely alien to him.  It gave him a sad feeling but he was so excited for what was ahead that it kind of overwhelmed the sadness.

Eldridge-Speak

     "WHERE ARE MY SHOES", Sister #2 said in her usual 60-decibel-no-volume-control setting.  


     She seemingly teleported across miscalaneous parts of the house apparently looking for her shoes.  Sister #3 kicked at the dog from under the table (I don't know why Sister #3 was under the table).  Then Dad walked in shouting "Has anyone seen the keys to the 'Red Truck'?".

     Suddenly, without warning, Sister #3 jumped out from under the table and rushed to the bathroom where she would take a second shower, do her hair, and stay until peace on planet earth was restored and her father was in good humor once again.  I woke up with a start, mathbook in one hand, pen (which is illigal) in the other, and started to mutter math problems quietly to myself but loud enough for others to just hear me. Dad finding his keys shouted a triumphant song that sounded more like a war bellow.  Sister #3, finding it was safe, came out of the bathroom with a suprisingly good hair-doo.  "What problem are you on?" Dad said, directing his voice toward me.

     "U se mae um well I'm on problem seventeen," he said sitting up from his slumped position into a more favorable one.  


     "Are you on your first or second lesson for today?"asked Dad "My second lesson", I answered with a confidence that I hoped wouldn't get me in trouble.