Toddler Town
Thursday Family Fun Night
Outdoor Stage
Art for Art's Sake
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“Vandalism!” boomed Mr. Cranberry as his voice echoed through the halls. “The beautiful mural of our school’s history was purposefully defaced and possibly damaged beyond repair.”
Driskol and Joop were at their lockers as the announcement thundered throughout the school. They were yanking their books and homework from their backpacks and ramming stuff into the lockers trying to jam the door closed.
“WOW! He’s really angry,” declared Driskol as he leaned heavily into his locker door.
“”I’ve never heard him this angry before,” responded Joop. “His voice gives me goose-bumps.
“Goose-bumps!” exclaimed Becky. “Mr. Cranberry is giving me double, triple goose-bumps!”
“Did anyone see what happened?” asked Kat.
“Not yet,” answered Driskol. “And we don’t have time because if we don’t hurry we’re gonna be late for class.”
“I’m not going to be late on a day that Mr. Cranberry is in this kind of mood,” stated Becky.
“Can someone please help me,” pleaded Joop. “I can’t get my locker closed.
All four students pressed hard against the locker door. Finally the two holes lined up on the latch and Joop slipped his combo-lock through and slap-clicked it secure. With a quick unconscious flick of his thumb, the tumblers were sent spinning. The four friends headed off to their first class with a quick-step-plus.
“Thanks for the help,” called out Joop.
“Let’s do something at recess,” replied Driskol.
“Where should we meet?” asked Kat.
“At the mural,” suggested Becky as they entered the classroom.
Becky, Joop and Driskol have been together since kindergarten. Kat joined the group in grade one. They were always together during school. The four students were in the same classroom. They sat a couple of rows apart from each other so it was difficult to talk without getting caught. Sometimes if they were lucky, the teacher would put them into the same group for projects and assignments.
Today was going to be a rough day for the four friends. They were not used to having such a serious announcement begin their morning. Becky was having a hard time concentrating. She kept wondering what had happened to the mural. What part got damaged and if it could be repaired.
The mural was one of Becky’s favourite things. It was a huge floor-to-ceiling painting that welcomed you at the front door and stretched around the corner and quite a distance down the main hall. It must have been over thirty meters in length. It was a project that a local artist spent almost six months painting. The title of the mural was “Our Place, Our Friends, Past, Present and Future.” It had hundreds of images of the community, the people and the school. It was a complete history, right from when it was just a single house in a huge farmer’s field until now. Becky always enjoyed making up stories for all of the characters that lived in the mural. She was very sad to hear that it had been damaged.
It seemed like a lifetime, but recess finally appeared. The students had a snack and then were released to go outside for some fresh air. Becky and the other three were very curious about the mural and wanted to see it. When they came around the corner there was nothing to see. A large section of brown paper was hung over the vandalized area. Becky was very upset. She wasn’t mad at the principal for covering it up; she was disappointed because she couldn’t remember the images that were now underneath the paper curtain.
“Well, we can’t do anything here,” said Joop. “So let’s go outside and play.”
“Joop’s right!” popped Driskol. “I wanna run.”
“Ok, let’s go,” suggested Kat.
The group turned to head outside when Becky stopped and questioned, “Did you hear that?”
“What?” chorused the other three.
“I heard a noise,” stated Becky. “And it sound like it was coming from right over there.”
Becky was pointing towards the brown paper covering the damaged mural.
“What did you hear?” asked Kat.
“I’m not sure,” replied Becky. “I think I need some fresh air.”
Driskol, Joop and Kat responded immediately and started for the door. Becky paused for a split second to listen again and to think about what she might have heard. As her friends headed outside, she moved towards the mural. She walked up to the paper and peeled off the tape that secured it to the wall. Becky slowly lifted the paper away from the wall. She tried to sneak a peak when…
“Becky!” whispered Mr. Cranberry firmly.
Becky was startled. She released the paper and pulled her hand away from the wall. As the paper fell back against the wall, a sent escaped. Becky noticed the smell. It was strangely sweet and fresh. It was not like the smell of the school hall. Then it disappeared.
“Becky!” repeated Mr. Cranberry. “Please go join your friends outside. I’ll take care of the mural.”
Becky quickly followed the principal’s instructions and joined Driskol, Kat and Joop. Becky told her friends what had happened. By then recess was almost over so they slowly wandered towards the doors. The girls hated entering these recess doors. This was where all of the elementary students switched their out-door shoes for in-door shoes. It smelled really gross. The first bell sounded. The students lined up. The second bell rang and everyone entered in an orderly fashion.
The girls noticed the smell immediately. Joop and Driskol didn’t think it was all that bad. Kat and Becky stepped quickly through the shoe switch to try to escape the gross smell.
Once past the crowd the group of four started back to their class. This time Kat stopped and declared, “I just heard something.”
“What was it?” asked Joop.
“What did it sound like?” questioned Becky.
“I’m not sure,” answered Kat. “But it came from over there.”
Kat found herself pointing at the door that led to the basement of the school. As the four friends stepped closer, they noticed that the door was ajar. The door to the basement was always locked.
They approached the door with great care. As they got closer, Kat declared softly, “I just heard the sound again!”
The boys huddled close and froze in silence.
“I don’t hear anything,” stated Joop.
“Neither do I,” agreed Driskol.
Kat signaled everyone to gather closer to the door. They stood silent until Becky called out, “NOW!”
They each grabbed for the door and pulled it open. They shuffled back around it to see where the sound was coming from. Becky, Kat, Joop and Driskol stood motionless as they found themselves starring at a young boy huddled in corner of the stairwell. He sighed and faintly called out a name.
“Are you alright?” asked Becky.
“We can help you, if you let us,” said Kat.
The boy did not answer.
“What’s your name? My name is Joop.”
“Hi, MY name is Driskol,” he said as he bravely stepped forward extending his hand.
Becky followed close behind. The boy remained motionless, even when Driskol offered his hand. Then something happened that drove Becky back out into the hall. Her face became pale and a cold sweat developed on her forehead.
“Becky, what’s wrong?” asked Kat.
“The boy,” Becky struggled with the words. “The smell.”
“What is it, Becky?” demanded Joop.
“That boy smells the same as the mural,” blurted Becky.
“Mural?” questioned the young boy. “You know about the mural?”
“Did you vandalize the mural?” questioned Joop. “Was it you?”
“Do you know about the mural,” the boy continued to ask.
Becky signaled to Joop, Kat and Driskol to back away and move down the hall towards the mural. The young boy followed. The friends noticed that the boy was dressed quite differently.
“What do you know about the Mural?” demanded Driskol.
“It’s close,” said the boy. “I can smell it.”
“What does the mural smell like?” asked Kat.
“What did you do to it?” questioned Driskol.
“I didn’t do anything to it!” answered the boy.
“What does the mural smell like?” questioned Kat again.
“It smells like home,” said the boy. “It smells like sweet hay and a fresh light breeze.”
“Why are you here?” asked Joop. “Are you lost?”
“I’m not lost,” answered the boy. “I know I’m in the right place, but it’s all wrong. Mixed up sorta. I’m lookin’ for my best friend. I know he’s here or somewhere there,” continued the boy as he pointed at the mural.
“Who are you?” asked Becky.
“My name is Arthur. My best friend’s name is William. I call him Spider cuz he can climb like one. When the artist painted me in that mural, she used an old photograph. When the picture was taken my friend Spider was hiding behind me. He was supposed to jump out just as the photograph was taken. It was a joke. But he never jumped out. So he’s been stuck behind me all these years and I guess he decided to finally jump out. He’s just jokin’ around.”
The four friends couldn’t believe their ears.
“Are you trying to tell us that you are from that mural?” asked Driskol.
“As best as I can understand, yes,” answered Arthur.
“Where do you think your friend is?” questioned Kat.
“He’s not here,” indicated Arthur pointing at the school floor. “So, I think he’s back in there somewhere.”
“You think he’s gone back in the mural?” asked Joop.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Through the cracks in the paint,” said Arthur. “You can usually find paint cracks around ears, elbows and the back of knees. You just push you hand in and swoosh your in.”
“In what exactly?” asked Driskol. “When you go in, where do you end up?”
“You end up in the place that the photograph was taken,” answered Arthur. “But you gotta be careful not to spend much time in one place or you will become part of the mural.”
“How much is too much?” asked Kat.
“Sorry, I don’t know,” said Arthur.
“How do you get out once you’re in?” asked Becky.
“The same way you got in,” said Arthur. “You look for cracks in the paint. But, when you find one, you’re never quite sure where in the mural it’s gonna take you.”
“Are you real?” asked Joop.
“No, I don’t think so,” answered Arthur. “I’m pretty sure I only have so much time before I start to dry or chip or something. I’m only a painting.”
“But you’re not flat,” said Becky.
“That’s true,” answered Arthur. “Now, come here and I’ll show how this works.
The four friends and Arthur walked up to the mural. They stood close to the paper that covered Arthur’s section. Arthur peeled back some tape and held the paper out from the wall.
“You see,” continued Arthur. “When I put my hand up towards the mural I feel a small pull. Just a small one. So I have to look for a crack in the paint and push a bit, then swoosh, I’m in.
“But this area has no paint because you’re not there,” said Driskol. “So it should be a lot easier for you to get back in.”
“I can go back in,” volunteered Arthur. “But without Spider behind me, it’s not a complete picture. Then I don’t know what would happen.”
All of a sudden, and without any warning, Mr. Cranberry stomped up behind the four friends with Arthur and shouted, “Becky! I told you to stay away from the mural!”
Everyone was startled. Becky tried to explain, “I think we have an answer to the vandalism of the mur…
Arthur was so frightened by Mr. Cranberry that he fell back against the papered part of the mural. The paper tore, the tape gave way, and Arthur, Kat, Joop, Driskol and Becky were sucked into the mural, swoosh!
As the five children were pulled into the mural, they were enveloped in a whirlpool of light, sounds, and smells. Becky felt a warm and cozy feeling wash over her and she felt it quickly disappear when she found herself laying in an empty field. She lifted herself off the ground and looked around. It seemed like everything was spinning. She saw Joop and Driskol stumbling along with Arthur. Kat was kneeling and she had cupped her hand around her ear as if she was listening to an unheard melody.
“What’s up Kat? Becky questioned
“That singing,” replied Kat “I’ve heard it before.”
“What singing?” challenged Joop.
“The song, it’s a lullaby or something. I’ve heard it before, I know I have,” Kat explained.
Becky was going to question Kat again, but she saw something from the corner of her eye. She looked that way and saw a dark figure up in a tree by the gravel road beside the field.
“Spider?” Arthur exclaimed as he dashed towards the tree.
Clouds of dust rose from the ground as Arthur sped across the field. Joop and Driskol followed him but the two girls stayed behind. Arthur was now at the base of the towering oak that his friend was perched in. Arthur reached his arms out and tried to get them around the tree trunk so he could climb it. It was quite obvious that he was attempting an impossible task. It looked like he was hugging the tree like a little boy would hug his grandpa. Becky heard Joop let out a giggle as he watched Arthur trying to climb the tree.
"Look Arty, you can't climb a tree that way," Driskol exclaimed. "To climb a monster like that you'll need ropes." stopped and his jaw dropped.
Arthur had climbed halfway up the tree!
"H..h..how...d..did...y..y..you? Joop stuttered.
Becky saw that Driskol was equally amazed as Joop. When she looked up at Arthur, he was hanging from a branch 3/4's of the way up the tree with a look of disappointment on his face.
"What's wrong?" she called up to him.
"Spider has gone and climbed down this tree and now his in the field across that there road." Arthur replied.
"Now how are you going to get down?" challenged Joop.
"Well now, I dunno. I could climb, but I'm not as good as Spider quite yet." Arthur replied.
Arthur had a worried look on his face when he examined the ground from high up the old oak tree. Arthur’s branch started to break.
“Arthur wait I’ll come help you down,” shouted Driskol terrified.
Becky interrupted, “I’ll find something for you to land on!”
I have a great idea! Let’s gather up a pile of leaves!” said Kat.
The branch felt Arthur’s weight and it started to buckle. He quickly jumped to another branch and it snapped sending Arthur soaring down, screaming at the top of his lungs. It ended suddenly with Arthur landing safely into the giant pillow of leaves. After Arthur brushed himself off, he started to sprint across the flowery field towards the gravel road where Spider was patiently waiting. Arthur assumed Spider didn’t want to go back into the painting because he dashed into the school house. Arthur quickly ran after Spider to try to speak with him about the painting.
”Stop! It’s dangerous for us to be out here,” said Arthur.
“I don’t want to go back!” yelled Spider in a squeaky voice.
Becky zoomed across the gravel with Joop and Driskol by her side. She saw Arthur enter the school house and leave the door hanging open. Joop passed her and raced into the small building letting his friends come in before slamming the door.
"We got him cornered!" she assured her pals.
The door was shut, so Spider couldn't get out. There were 3 kids trying to catch him and the school house was very tiny so he had no where to run. Spider was just as good as caught. Then Becky thought. Where was Kat? She hadn't followed them when they had gone into the school. Becky had to go find her.
"Boys, can you handle this?" she asked as they approached Spider.
"Yup!" said Joop not even looking at her as he spoke.
Becky sped back across the road to find Kat. To her great dismay, she found the huge oak and the pile of leaves where Arthur had fallen, but no Kat. Then she saw a trail of bent stubble and realized that Kat must have made it.She followed it for about 30 seconds and soon she saw a small dip in the land. Nestled in the shallow valley were a small farm house, a barn and a larger field with cows grazing in it. She started to run and as she got closer to the farm, she saw a couple running toward her. Becky soon recognized one of them wearing blue jeans and tee-shirt to be Kat. The other girl had the same flowing blonde hair as Kat but she was a bit taller. Becky was very close to Kat and her friend. She heard the pair giggling and laughing as they approached her.
Becky met up with them and looked at the other girl. Her green eyes were hauntingly familiar to Becky. She looked at Kat and saw the same emerald glint in her eyes. She ignored the resemblance that the two children shared and asked, "Who is this?"
Kat smiled and gestured toward the other girl, "This is Katheryn. I know this seems odd and impossible but this is my great, great, grandmother and she knows how to get Spider and Arthur back into the mural."
Becky felt her jaw drop. This whole day had been a weird. Becky felt dizzy, almost like she would pass out.
"Um Becky,are you alright?" said Kathryn with the same country accent as Arthur.
Becky was jarred back into reality.
"Yep, I'm fine."
"Um, Kat can you explain to me how you realized that this was your great, grandmother?" Becky asked.
"Actually, she’s my great, great, grandmother," Kat corrected. "Do you remember when I heard that song and you guys thought I was going crazy?"
Becky nodded her head.
"Well, I remembered that my Grandma used to sing it to me when I was like 3. I followed the noise and I came up to that house." said Kat pointing to the farm-house behind her, "I saw Kathryn walking around the yard singing to herself. I approached her and when she told me her name I figured out that she was my great, great, grandmother that I had been named after. You know that I live really close to our school and I realized that this is my house about 80 years before our time."
"That school-house on the hill is the school that Kat and you go to school in now. From what my great, great, granddaughter has told me, I learned that it is quite a bit bigger in your time." Kathryn paused. "I'll be right back!"
Kathryn scurried away picking up her long skirt.
"How exactly did you get her to believe your story?" asked Becky
"Well, I told her that we were from the future and I showed her my ipod. She believed that it was a time-traveling device instead of a music-player. I figured it was better to just tell her that then to say the whole story."
Becky saw four shapes on the top of the hill. She tugged on Kat's sleeve.
"Look! It's the boys and they've got Spider!"
Kat and Becky started jumping up and down waving their arms to the boys.
Soon the boys were there and Becky saw Spider for the first time. He had curly brown hair and a nose like a bumpy potato. His eyes were a dark hazel and his rigid chin stuck out like a viola. He was a thin boy and his fingers were long and dexterous. Becky could tell that this boy could climb like a monkey. She was about to introduce herself to Spider when Katheryn tapped her on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, William please come in with Arthur so I can take your picture." she said.
"Really, I can't wait to see her camera! Come on Arty we got to plan what we're going to do in the picture!" Spider said taking Arthur's hand and pulling him towards Kateryn's house. Now just the four children were left.
"Hi Kat! Who was the girl that looked like you?" Joop questioned.
"She is my great, great, grandmother and her name is Katheryn!" Kat replied.
"What?" Driskol challenged.
Kat opened her mouth to explain but Joop threw his hand over it.
"Tell us later, right now we gotta make sure that Spider jumps out in time. Cause if he doesn't we have to do this all over again and Arthur says that if we don't get out of the mural soon we'll be painted on our school's wall forever!"
The foursome followed the other childrens' trail of dust and they came toward Katheryn's house. They saw Arthur sitting in the chair and Spider ducked behind it. Arthur saw them and sharply gestured for them to come in. Joop thrust open the heavy door and the other children burst in. Driskol strolled over to Katheryn where she was setting up a tripod for her mother's large black box camera.
"What's that? he inquired.
"Why it's a camera of course!" she laughed.
Driskol was thoroughly confused. "Where's the USB plug-in, why isn't there a delete button, and how come it's so huge." he stuttered.
"Don't forget that we're in the past Driskol. Their camera's had to be huge to contain all of the film and they didn't have computers to plug their cameras into." Kat told him.
"I know! It just seems so strange." he replied.
"Okay boys, get ready! This is my mom's last piece of film so make sure it's a good photo. It has to be put into the album by tomorrow so the painter can put it on the wall our school. If it’s not in the album, then the picture won’t be found."
Joop elbowed Becky. "They're taking a picture so it can be painted on the wall."
"Yeah!" Becky replied, "and now that I think of it, the mural was repainted on our school wall after it was renovated a couple decades ago."
Arthur smiled and Kathryn fiddled around with her camera.
"Three, two, one. Say Cheese!"
Time seemed to slow down as Katheryn's finger approached the shutter-button. The four students yelped in unison and Spider leaped up to see what was going on.
"Click!" went the button.
"Why in heaven's name were you people bellowing like that?" Kathryn inquired.
"Because if we didn't Spider wouldn't have jumped out and the painting wouldn't have been complete!" Joop replied.
"Wait, this picture is for the painting!" Spider exclaimed, "You guys told me it was for the school year-book!"
"I'm sorry Spider; we had to tell you that so the picture was right!" Arthur explained, "Why did you jump out in the first place?"
"Cause I didn't want to spend eternity behind a chair! I figured if I leaped out I could just get out of the picture but I got sucked into this weird place so I jumped back in but you were gone!"
All seven kids bickered with each other but soon they piped down.
"Okay, I won't jump out of the mural this time. When we're painted on the wall I'll stay." agreed Spider
Becky glanced at her wrist and to her terror she saw that her skin started to peel. She looked at Kat and saw the tip of her nose was starting to crack.
"We gotta get back to the future!" she exclaimed.
"You can say that again!" agreed Joop. "We gotta find a crack somewhere. Remember, we are IN the mural.
Becky eyes darted around the room looking for a hair-line crack.
"Over here!" Driskol reported, as he pointed at a small flaw in Katheryn's hand.
"What are you doing?" Katheryn yelped
"Please, they need to use the crack in your palm! It will let them go home!" Arthur urged as he turned to his new found friends. "Thanks for the help. Now the mural is complete. Now get out of here!"
“Why aren’t you using Kat’s ipod time travel machine?” questioned Kathryn.
Kat ran up to Kathryn.
“It’s hard to explain,” said Kat as she held Kathryn’s palm and gently sniffed the air. “It smells like the school!” she declared. Kat looked at Kathryn and added, “I’m so happy to have met you and I’m very proud to be your great-great granddaughter.”
Kathryn smiled as Kat leaned into her palm and disappeared. Then Joop dove towards the crack, followed by Driskol after he said goodbye to Arthur and Spider. Finally Becky dove and fell into the shower of light that had greeted her when she had first entered the mural. She was tossed around in the air for a while and when the sensation was gone she found herself lying in a pile with all of her friends. Mr. Cranberry was standing down the hallway with his jaw gaping in front of the mural.
"W...w...w...what happened to you kids?" he stumbled. "I told you to stay away from the mural and you disappeared for a second and then you popped out of the mural way over there. Now this part of the mural is fixed, it's miraculous!"
"I hope the rest of you day is just as magical. Have a good day Mr. Cranberry!" Kat giggled as she and her friends quickly headed back to class before Mr. Cranberry could respond.
When they got into class they were greeted by a strangely familiar face with dark hazel eyes, a large nose and very long fingers.
"Everybody, we have a new classmate today, his name is Will." announced their teacher.
Will sat down beside Driskol and Becky and whispered something into their ears.
"Do you want to play with me on the monkey-bars at recess? I just love to climb. Mom says I get it from Great-Great-Grampa William!"
"We would love to! I have a feeling we'll be great friends." Becky replied winking at her friends.
"As the five kids headed to the playground, something caught Becky's eye. She looked at the mural on the wall beside her and she saw Katheryn's smiling face. She had her hand outstretched in a wave. That was where the kids had come out! As Becky ran to catch up with Will and her friends she saw Arthur and Spider ginning on the wall. Now she and her friends could see their buddies from the past whenever they wanted.
The End
