a pirates field trip by ray rebmann (chrome ebook reader .txt) š
Download in Format:
- Author: ray rebmann
Book online Ā«a pirates field trip by ray rebmann (chrome ebook reader .txt) šĀ». Author ray rebmann
/> the back of the bus and bribes the kids to be quiet with some candy.
The bus slowly lurches forward until it reaches the bridge. About a thousand police cars
are lining the bridge, lights flashing all over. The kids crowd the windows to get a look.
Thereās Mr J in the thick of things talking to one of the police officers, showing the cop
something he had in his wallet.
The cops are crowded around talking to him. Iām the only one who sees this because Iām
the only one on the bus looking everywhere, the way I always try to in strange situations.
So I see what the problem is.
A woman had climbed out onto one of the platforms on the pedestrian path across the
bridge. She was threatening to jump. No one went too close for fear of scaring her into doing
something stupid.
And suddenly, thereās Mr J talking to her. I donāt say anything to anybody else on the
bus. I watch Mr. J. Everyone else on the bus is too busy looking at the cop cars, wondering of
somebody was shot, or checking out the boat traffic on the river or making faces at the cars
around the bus.
Suddenly, Mr Jās swinging across the bridge on a cable from the other side
of the bridge. He lands on the platform beside the woman and before she can react, he sweeps
her up in his arms and goes swinging back to the side of the bridge where all the cops are
waiting.
The two of them are suspended in the air a long time waiting for the paramedics and Mr.
J is really talking to her, like heās giving her a really hard quiz. She starts crying and talking to
Field Trip Pirates --46
him and heās giving her that disapproving look that mom gives me when I do something sheād
expect Huey to do.
Then he talks to her some more and sheās nodding her head and agreeing with everything
Mr, J is telling her.
Finally, she seems okay with whatever the old guyās telling her so Mr. J swings down
to the ground and the paramedics carry her off, her holding his hand tight until the ambulance
doors close and it takes off.
āDid you see that?ā I finally have to shout.
Of course no one saw it. Huey was busy poking Maryann Seavers in the arm. He had a
huge crush on Maryann and Maryann knew it so she was always getting Huey to do stupid stuff
that would get him into trouble. Which was easy since Huey did enough stupid on his own that
having a girl around to egg him on was just āfuel on the fireā. Thatās what the teacher called it in
the lunchroom last week before she sent Huey to the principalās office.
Mr. J quietly rejoins the group as Ms. K is separating Huey and Maryann and getting
the seating arrangement on the bus all confused with three kids in one seat in one row and one
kid in three seats in the next and everyone is pushing and shoving which leads to giggling
followed by more pushing and shoving until Mr. J bellows in a loud voice that makes me jump
in my seat.
āAvast shipmates. All hands on deck and belay that behavior or itās the plank for you
master Hubertā
āMaster Hubert.ā
Louis and Dewey go hysterical. Huey fumes and his buds are rolling in the aisle
Field Trip Pirates --47
laughing.
āAs for you two swabs,ā his voice resumes its Mr. J tone ātell me what keelhaulinā is or
you might suffer the experience.ā
Louis and Dewey donāt know a keel haul from a u-haul. For that matter, Huey doesnāt
understand what the J had meant about āthe plankā. I see that right off because I know the
three of them hadnāt read āTreasure Islandā and didnāt know the first thing about pirates.
But Mr. Jās loud growly voice had shut them up.
āWhat did you show the policemen? What did you say to that woman?ā I canāt help
asking Mr J after the bus resumes moving.
āI told them I was a crisis intervention counselor.ā Mr. J reaches for his pouch. āI showed
them my card.ā
When he opens the bag, I am not sure I shouldnāt expect vampire bats or pterodactyls to
fly out but all that happens is a few cards fell to the floor.
āPIRATE RESCUES, INCā specializing in damsels in distress in high places.
Lost boys restored. Villains foiled. Treasures found. We are bonded.
That may or may not have been what was written on the card but thatās what I read.
The pouch is thick with cards. I spy another before Mr. J scoops them back:
HEADLESS HORSEMAN EXTERMINATING: naughty children scared back to good, Neighborhood hooligans routed, patented fear technique guaranteed.
Halloweāen tricksters a specialty.
āPick a card. Then rub it. Absorb its meaning and become whatever it allows you
imagine.ā Mr. J whispers as he shuts the pouch before anything inside can escape. āBut be
careful what you wish forā¦you might just get it.ā
Field Trip Pirates --48
Mrs. J comes up to us then. Sheād already come up several times during the ride. Funny, I
think sheās more worried about what heās doing than the kids.
āAnd what are you two conspiring?ā she asks with a smile, but with a real
concerned look on her face as she watches how the old man reacts.
He just smiles and doesnāt answer. Thatās fine with her, she doesnāt seem to want to
know what weāre doing just as long as we stay out of trouble. I say āweā because I swear
sheās more worried about him than me.
āItinerary.ā She says to him in the same tone of voice she uses on us kids in class when
sheās about to pile on the homework.
āBus arrives museum. Bus unloads. Group enters museum together. Group eats lunch
together. Group breaks down into smaller groups and tours exhibit. Groups reunite in museum
lobby. Bus reloads. Bus returns to school. We go home.ā
āAnd they all lived happily ever afterā¦ā he adds.
He smiles at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye. I choke, trying not to laugh. Mr. J
looks like one us kids, caught in the middle of doing some mischief.
āNo detours. No adventures.ā She nods briskly, hoping the idea sinks in
She pats me on the shoulder and returns to her group in the back of the bus. Later, she
calls me back to her seat. She has a real serious look on her face like the time she caught Barry
Wooster cheating on an exam and he lied to her face about it. I canāt figure out what I did wrong.
āEver since he had the strokeā¦the third one I believe, and he fell and had that nasty
bump on his head, I worry. I watch and I worry. Heās always had a lively imagination. When he
was teaching, he liked to re-enact whatever book or scene from history he was teaching. Students
Field Trip Pirates--49
loved it and itās one of the many things I love about him butā¦ā
She pauses, embarrassed, suddenly realizing that she is talking to a kid. But Mrs. J had
always liked me and I like herā¦for a teacher. We were pretty comfortable talking to one another
as long as the three stooges arenāt watching.
āSometimes he gets too much into the spirit of the occasion and thenā¦watch out!ā
Great, Iām sitting next to a crazy old guy who could flip out and go on a murderous
rampage any minute. Or maybe heāll start falling apart like the old people mom takes care ofā¦
bits and pieces of himself sliding up and down the aisle every time the driver hits his brakes.
So instead of MrJ watching over me and the other kids, I get to watch over him.
The bus arrives at the metropolitan museum with Huey still wondering if
Mr. J is going to spank him with that plank heād been talking about. I even overheard him asking
His buds if they saw any splintery looking planks sticking out of the Jās pouch
* * *
Field Trip Piratesā50
The quiet man had appeared a few days before, as the museum was getting ready for the
new exhibit. He hung around the museum every day, sometimes just sitting in the lobby looking
at nothing in particular. He didnāt bother anybody and he always bought a ticket so nobody said
anything to him.
When he wasnāt exploring inside the museum, he wandered the streets around the
museum, becoming acquainted with the secluded alleyways and dark cubby holes, all the
shadowy places that might offer concealment or escape in a pinch. Every now and then, heād
stop and talk to one of the street vendors whoād set up in front of the museum to take advantage
of the expected high turn out for the new exhibit.
But mostly, he wandered about the āold townā which is what the locals called the island
on which the museum was located.
āThe old town.ā He thought. āPlenty a dark narrow place. Just right for settlinā an old
score.ā
Back inside in the midst of the excitement of the opening of the pirate exhibit , he
carefully examined each exhibit for sign of anything that might be useful to his
purpose. Slowly, methodically he moved from room to room, then floor to floor never venturing
too close to the area where workers busily set up the new exhibit. No need to arouse their
curiosity and with it suspicion, he thought. No need to get too close. One might be tempted to act
rashly.
The only ones to get hurt will be them who need to get hurt, if plans are laid deep and
true and carried out to the letter.
Heād been rash before to be sure. Hot blooded and quick tempered and where had it got
Field Trip Pirates --51
him? Still waiting for his chance.
āToo long.ā He muttered. āThis time, wait for the right moment and then strike with all
the hot iron Iāve got.ā
Finally satisfied that he knew every inch of the building, he set his marks in place to be
there when he was ready to return āto get what was rightlyā his.
He scanned the list of groups scheduled to view the opening day, It had been easy to
peach the list. People would be fearful knowing just how easy it was for a man of his peculiar
talents to
The bus slowly lurches forward until it reaches the bridge. About a thousand police cars
are lining the bridge, lights flashing all over. The kids crowd the windows to get a look.
Thereās Mr J in the thick of things talking to one of the police officers, showing the cop
something he had in his wallet.
The cops are crowded around talking to him. Iām the only one who sees this because Iām
the only one on the bus looking everywhere, the way I always try to in strange situations.
So I see what the problem is.
A woman had climbed out onto one of the platforms on the pedestrian path across the
bridge. She was threatening to jump. No one went too close for fear of scaring her into doing
something stupid.
And suddenly, thereās Mr J talking to her. I donāt say anything to anybody else on the
bus. I watch Mr. J. Everyone else on the bus is too busy looking at the cop cars, wondering of
somebody was shot, or checking out the boat traffic on the river or making faces at the cars
around the bus.
Suddenly, Mr Jās swinging across the bridge on a cable from the other side
of the bridge. He lands on the platform beside the woman and before she can react, he sweeps
her up in his arms and goes swinging back to the side of the bridge where all the cops are
waiting.
The two of them are suspended in the air a long time waiting for the paramedics and Mr.
J is really talking to her, like heās giving her a really hard quiz. She starts crying and talking to
Field Trip Pirates --46
him and heās giving her that disapproving look that mom gives me when I do something sheād
expect Huey to do.
Then he talks to her some more and sheās nodding her head and agreeing with everything
Mr, J is telling her.
Finally, she seems okay with whatever the old guyās telling her so Mr. J swings down
to the ground and the paramedics carry her off, her holding his hand tight until the ambulance
doors close and it takes off.
āDid you see that?ā I finally have to shout.
Of course no one saw it. Huey was busy poking Maryann Seavers in the arm. He had a
huge crush on Maryann and Maryann knew it so she was always getting Huey to do stupid stuff
that would get him into trouble. Which was easy since Huey did enough stupid on his own that
having a girl around to egg him on was just āfuel on the fireā. Thatās what the teacher called it in
the lunchroom last week before she sent Huey to the principalās office.
Mr. J quietly rejoins the group as Ms. K is separating Huey and Maryann and getting
the seating arrangement on the bus all confused with three kids in one seat in one row and one
kid in three seats in the next and everyone is pushing and shoving which leads to giggling
followed by more pushing and shoving until Mr. J bellows in a loud voice that makes me jump
in my seat.
āAvast shipmates. All hands on deck and belay that behavior or itās the plank for you
master Hubertā
āMaster Hubert.ā
Louis and Dewey go hysterical. Huey fumes and his buds are rolling in the aisle
Field Trip Pirates --47
laughing.
āAs for you two swabs,ā his voice resumes its Mr. J tone ātell me what keelhaulinā is or
you might suffer the experience.ā
Louis and Dewey donāt know a keel haul from a u-haul. For that matter, Huey doesnāt
understand what the J had meant about āthe plankā. I see that right off because I know the
three of them hadnāt read āTreasure Islandā and didnāt know the first thing about pirates.
But Mr. Jās loud growly voice had shut them up.
āWhat did you show the policemen? What did you say to that woman?ā I canāt help
asking Mr J after the bus resumes moving.
āI told them I was a crisis intervention counselor.ā Mr. J reaches for his pouch. āI showed
them my card.ā
When he opens the bag, I am not sure I shouldnāt expect vampire bats or pterodactyls to
fly out but all that happens is a few cards fell to the floor.
āPIRATE RESCUES, INCā specializing in damsels in distress in high places.
Lost boys restored. Villains foiled. Treasures found. We are bonded.
That may or may not have been what was written on the card but thatās what I read.
The pouch is thick with cards. I spy another before Mr. J scoops them back:
HEADLESS HORSEMAN EXTERMINATING: naughty children scared back to good, Neighborhood hooligans routed, patented fear technique guaranteed.
Halloweāen tricksters a specialty.
āPick a card. Then rub it. Absorb its meaning and become whatever it allows you
imagine.ā Mr. J whispers as he shuts the pouch before anything inside can escape. āBut be
careful what you wish forā¦you might just get it.ā
Field Trip Pirates --48
Mrs. J comes up to us then. Sheād already come up several times during the ride. Funny, I
think sheās more worried about what heās doing than the kids.
āAnd what are you two conspiring?ā she asks with a smile, but with a real
concerned look on her face as she watches how the old man reacts.
He just smiles and doesnāt answer. Thatās fine with her, she doesnāt seem to want to
know what weāre doing just as long as we stay out of trouble. I say āweā because I swear
sheās more worried about him than me.
āItinerary.ā She says to him in the same tone of voice she uses on us kids in class when
sheās about to pile on the homework.
āBus arrives museum. Bus unloads. Group enters museum together. Group eats lunch
together. Group breaks down into smaller groups and tours exhibit. Groups reunite in museum
lobby. Bus reloads. Bus returns to school. We go home.ā
āAnd they all lived happily ever afterā¦ā he adds.
He smiles at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye. I choke, trying not to laugh. Mr. J
looks like one us kids, caught in the middle of doing some mischief.
āNo detours. No adventures.ā She nods briskly, hoping the idea sinks in
She pats me on the shoulder and returns to her group in the back of the bus. Later, she
calls me back to her seat. She has a real serious look on her face like the time she caught Barry
Wooster cheating on an exam and he lied to her face about it. I canāt figure out what I did wrong.
āEver since he had the strokeā¦the third one I believe, and he fell and had that nasty
bump on his head, I worry. I watch and I worry. Heās always had a lively imagination. When he
was teaching, he liked to re-enact whatever book or scene from history he was teaching. Students
Field Trip Pirates--49
loved it and itās one of the many things I love about him butā¦ā
She pauses, embarrassed, suddenly realizing that she is talking to a kid. But Mrs. J had
always liked me and I like herā¦for a teacher. We were pretty comfortable talking to one another
as long as the three stooges arenāt watching.
āSometimes he gets too much into the spirit of the occasion and thenā¦watch out!ā
Great, Iām sitting next to a crazy old guy who could flip out and go on a murderous
rampage any minute. Or maybe heāll start falling apart like the old people mom takes care ofā¦
bits and pieces of himself sliding up and down the aisle every time the driver hits his brakes.
So instead of MrJ watching over me and the other kids, I get to watch over him.
The bus arrives at the metropolitan museum with Huey still wondering if
Mr. J is going to spank him with that plank heād been talking about. I even overheard him asking
His buds if they saw any splintery looking planks sticking out of the Jās pouch
* * *
Field Trip Piratesā50
The quiet man had appeared a few days before, as the museum was getting ready for the
new exhibit. He hung around the museum every day, sometimes just sitting in the lobby looking
at nothing in particular. He didnāt bother anybody and he always bought a ticket so nobody said
anything to him.
When he wasnāt exploring inside the museum, he wandered the streets around the
museum, becoming acquainted with the secluded alleyways and dark cubby holes, all the
shadowy places that might offer concealment or escape in a pinch. Every now and then, heād
stop and talk to one of the street vendors whoād set up in front of the museum to take advantage
of the expected high turn out for the new exhibit.
But mostly, he wandered about the āold townā which is what the locals called the island
on which the museum was located.
āThe old town.ā He thought. āPlenty a dark narrow place. Just right for settlinā an old
score.ā
Back inside in the midst of the excitement of the opening of the pirate exhibit , he
carefully examined each exhibit for sign of anything that might be useful to his
purpose. Slowly, methodically he moved from room to room, then floor to floor never venturing
too close to the area where workers busily set up the new exhibit. No need to arouse their
curiosity and with it suspicion, he thought. No need to get too close. One might be tempted to act
rashly.
The only ones to get hurt will be them who need to get hurt, if plans are laid deep and
true and carried out to the letter.
Heād been rash before to be sure. Hot blooded and quick tempered and where had it got
Field Trip Pirates --51
him? Still waiting for his chance.
āToo long.ā He muttered. āThis time, wait for the right moment and then strike with all
the hot iron Iāve got.ā
Finally satisfied that he knew every inch of the building, he set his marks in place to be
there when he was ready to return āto get what was rightlyā his.
He scanned the list of groups scheduled to view the opening day, It had been easy to
peach the list. People would be fearful knowing just how easy it was for a man of his peculiar
talents to
Free ebook Ā«a pirates field trip by ray rebmann (chrome ebook reader .txt) šĀ» - read online now
Similar e-books:
Comments (0)