3. Arrivals
Before Shari and Giovanni could recuperate from their stupefaction, several things happened at once: The Suburban behind them gave a cough mixed with a whine, and belched a blue-black cloud of smoke from the front grill. A tiny old man in greasy coveralls trotted towards them from the far side of the cabin. An impressively tall and brawny lumberjack, with a huge ax on his shoulder and encased in flannel, emerged from the forest behind them. The front door to the whimsical log building in front of them opened and three matronly old women rushed at them with smiles on their face and hands knotted in their bosoms. A small window above them opened up and an elfin face framed by straight dark hair peeked out for a second or two. And, unnoticed by all of them, a pair of eyes glared hungrily from one of the cellar windows for a moment, before receding back into the shadows.
A round of welcoming ensued, with Shari and Giovanni buried under hugs, handshakes and many pats in the back by everyone involved. And as sudden as it had begun, it was over: The lumberjack went into the house, the three ladies pulled out all of Giovanni's belongings from the Suburban and retreated into the cabin, and the tiny old man in greasy coveralls opened the Suburban's hood and practically disappeared inside of the engine well, all the while muttering angrily under his breath. In a matter of moments, Shari and Giovanni again stood alone in front of the cabin. Except for the old man, who was still cursing under his breath at the state in which he found things inside the Suburban. With a huff of disgust, he looked over at them, and then muttered:
"Some folks ain't takin' care of they stuff, I guess… Goan' get me tools!," and then ran back towards the side of the lodge.
Just then, one of the matronly ladies came back out, and Shari was able to finally recognize her as old lady Adelaide, and she was beckoning them towards the entrance.
"We are soooooo glad you've finally arrived!," she said while patting both their shoulders nervously. "Come in, come in! Are you hungry? Would you like some tea? You look absolutely exhausted, let me show you to your quarters, young lady! Did you find us alright, Shari? My, my, you are a handsome boy! And your mom is so pretty! Your picture does not do you justice, neither of you! Let me show you to the parlor!"
Old lady Adelaide wouldn't let them squeeze a word in sideways, so they gave up after a few unsuccessful tries. At the parlor, the other two old ladies were waiting for them, barely containing their enthusiasm.
"Well then, introductions all around: This is Agatha," Adelaide pointed at the old lady with the really thick eyeglasses, "and that one is Tabitha," she now pointed to the old lady with a white beehive hairdo.
"And she's Bagatha!," Agatha and Tabitha squealed at the same time, and then they all giggled like schoolgirls.
Giovanni's sneer on his face was a clear indication that he was about to say something rude, so Shari just elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a warning look. He just rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything, yet.
"Sorry, we always have our little joke…" Adelaide wiped away a tear, and while the other two continued gently chuckling, she waved for Shari and Giovanni to follow her through another hallway. "Come with me. I'm sure you both are famished after such a long trip. Let me take you to the kitchens and we'll get you squared away proper. Then, we'll get you settled down for the night already, because we begin the day pretty early around here."
So, while Giovanni wolfed down a small pile of hot-dogs and French fries, Shari asked all the adult questions about which classes were scheduled, and about buying any last minute supplies, or scheduling meetings with teachers, and other things like that. But Adelaide kept waving all those things off, as if none of it really mattered.
"Look, Shari, we understand you had to drive a long way, all the way from South Texas, so we know you must be absolutely bushed. Why don't we talk about all this tomorrow, after you have a good night's sleep? For tonight, we'll have you stay in one of the guest rooms. It has its own bathroom, so it ought to be quite comfy. We'll take care of settling down mister Giovanni, here, and get him ready for tomorrow. Mister Wozniak, the gentleman with the ax, did you see him? Yes? He will be in charge of Giovanni's orientation, since he is the Group Leader for Giovanni, and… Oh, speak of the devil…"
If Mr Wozniak had seem big and tall outside, by the forest, the enclosed space in the cabin made him look only slightly less massive than a grizzly bear. And almost as hairy. He placed a huge paw of a hand on Giovanni's shoulder, which made both the boy and the stool where he sat list to one side. But when he spoke, a curiously high and delicate voice emerged from his cave-like mouth, making both Shari and Giovanni listen open-mouthed.
"Well, well, well, you've finally made it here! Welcome! Are you done with your little snack? You still hungry? No? Fine! Say your goodbyes to your mom, because tomorrow at dawn you are starting in The School, and you won't see your mom again until the Christmas break. Adelaide and I will wait for you in the hallway, to give you a little privacy."
Wozniak and Adelaide retired to the hallway, where they immediately engaged in an intense, whispered conversation.
Meanwhile, Shari and Giovanni, veterans of many boarding schools, had their goodbye routine down pat.
"You've got my cell number, so call if there's anything you need," Shari said, knowing full well that Giovanni would never call.
"Alright, mom. Bye, then…" Giovanni tried to get up and walk away, like always, trying to avoid his mom getting all gushy and gooey on him. And, like always, he never made it… Shari pulled him back and gave him hugs and kisses, and squeezed his face in her hands. Giovanni pretended to feel embarrassed by the affection, like always…
"I'll send you whatever money I can afford, so you can buy stuff you need, okay?"
"It's alright, mom, don't worry about it, okay? They said all expenses were being taken care of, right? So don't worry, okay?" Giovanni didn't want his mom to go and get yet another part-time job.
"Okay, be good, ya hear?"
With the goodbye ritual completed, Giovanni gave a half-hearted wave and walked toward the whispering hallway, where his new teachers waited for him.
"Well, they can't possibly be any worse than the last five drill sergeants…" Giovanni thought.
And he was right. And wrong.
Before Shari and Giovanni could recuperate from their stupefaction, several things happened at once: The Suburban behind them gave a cough mixed with a whine, and belched a blue-black cloud of smoke from the front grill. A tiny old man in greasy coveralls trotted towards them from the far side of the cabin. An impressively tall and brawny lumberjack, with a huge ax on his shoulder and encased in flannel, emerged from the forest behind them. The front door to the whimsical log building in front of them opened and three matronly old women rushed at them with smiles on their face and hands knotted in their bosoms. A small window above them opened up and an elfin face framed by straight dark hair peeked out for a second or two. And, unnoticed by all of them, a pair of eyes glared hungrily from one of the cellar windows for a moment, before receding back into the shadows.
A round of welcoming ensued, with Shari and Giovanni buried under hugs, handshakes and many pats in the back by everyone involved. And as sudden as it had begun, it was over: The lumberjack went into the house, the three ladies pulled out all of Giovanni's belongings from the Suburban and retreated into the cabin, and the tiny old man in greasy coveralls opened the Suburban's hood and practically disappeared inside of the engine well, all the while muttering angrily under his breath. In a matter of moments, Shari and Giovanni again stood alone in front of the cabin. Except for the old man, who was still cursing under his breath at the state in which he found things inside the Suburban. With a huff of disgust, he looked over at them, and then muttered:
"Some folks ain't takin' care of they stuff, I guess… Goan' get me tools!," and then ran back towards the side of the lodge.
Just then, one of the matronly ladies came back out, and Shari was able to finally recognize her as old lady Adelaide, and she was beckoning them towards the entrance.
"We are soooooo glad you've finally arrived!," she said while patting both their shoulders nervously. "Come in, come in! Are you hungry? Would you like some tea? You look absolutely exhausted, let me show you to your quarters, young lady! Did you find us alright, Shari? My, my, you are a handsome boy! And your mom is so pretty! Your picture does not do you justice, neither of you! Let me show you to the parlor!"
Old lady Adelaide wouldn't let them squeeze a word in sideways, so they gave up after a few unsuccessful tries. At the parlor, the other two old ladies were waiting for them, barely containing their enthusiasm.
"Well then, introductions all around: This is Agatha," Adelaide pointed at the old lady with the really thick eyeglasses, "and that one is Tabitha," she now pointed to the old lady with a white beehive hairdo.
"And she's Bagatha!," Agatha and Tabitha squealed at the same time, and then they all giggled like schoolgirls.
Giovanni's sneer on his face was a clear indication that he was about to say something rude, so Shari just elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a warning look. He just rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything, yet.
"Sorry, we always have our little joke…" Adelaide wiped away a tear, and while the other two continued gently chuckling, she waved for Shari and Giovanni to follow her through another hallway. "Come with me. I'm sure you both are famished after such a long trip. Let me take you to the kitchens and we'll get you squared away proper. Then, we'll get you settled down for the night already, because we begin the day pretty early around here."
So, while Giovanni wolfed down a small pile of hot-dogs and French fries, Shari asked all the adult questions about which classes were scheduled, and about buying any last minute supplies, or scheduling meetings with teachers, and other things like that. But Adelaide kept waving all those things off, as if none of it really mattered.
"Look, Shari, we understand you had to drive a long way, all the way from South Texas, so we know you must be absolutely bushed. Why don't we talk about all this tomorrow, after you have a good night's sleep? For tonight, we'll have you stay in one of the guest rooms. It has its own bathroom, so it ought to be quite comfy. We'll take care of settling down mister Giovanni, here, and get him ready for tomorrow. Mister Wozniak, the gentleman with the ax, did you see him? Yes? He will be in charge of Giovanni's orientation, since he is the Group Leader for Giovanni, and… Oh, speak of the devil…"
If Mr Wozniak had seem big and tall outside, by the forest, the enclosed space in the cabin made him look only slightly less massive than a grizzly bear. And almost as hairy. He placed a huge paw of a hand on Giovanni's shoulder, which made both the boy and the stool where he sat list to one side. But when he spoke, a curiously high and delicate voice emerged from his cave-like mouth, making both Shari and Giovanni listen open-mouthed.
"Well, well, well, you've finally made it here! Welcome! Are you done with your little snack? You still hungry? No? Fine! Say your goodbyes to your mom, because tomorrow at dawn you are starting in The School, and you won't see your mom again until the Christmas break. Adelaide and I will wait for you in the hallway, to give you a little privacy."
Wozniak and Adelaide retired to the hallway, where they immediately engaged in an intense, whispered conversation.
Meanwhile, Shari and Giovanni, veterans of many boarding schools, had their goodbye routine down pat.
"You've got my cell number, so call if there's anything you need," Shari said, knowing full well that Giovanni would never call.
"Alright, mom. Bye, then…" Giovanni tried to get up and walk away, like always, trying to avoid his mom getting all gushy and gooey on him. And, like always, he never made it… Shari pulled him back and gave him hugs and kisses, and squeezed his face in her hands. Giovanni pretended to feel embarrassed by the affection, like always…
"I'll send you whatever money I can afford, so you can buy stuff you need, okay?"
"It's alright, mom, don't worry about it, okay? They said all expenses were being taken care of, right? So don't worry, okay?" Giovanni didn't want his mom to go and get yet another part-time job.
"Okay, be good, ya hear?"
With the goodbye ritual completed, Giovanni gave a half-hearted wave and walked toward the whispering hallway, where his new teachers waited for him.
"Well, they can't possibly be any worse than the last five drill sergeants…" Giovanni thought.
And he was right. And wrong.
To Be Continued…
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