Artrobbery
by
Ellis Flipse
Published by Ellis Flipse at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Ellis Flipse
http://www.ellisflipse.com
Artrobbery
Jet has to pedal really hard to get to the top of the hill. She always goes home through the park. Never over the path. That is for boring people. This way it is shorter as well.
Yes! Finally she reaches the top and looks over her shoulder. Her dog Bertus is on his way. Good! Now they will be able to race down the hill together. Today she will hopefully succeed in reaching the other end of the park without peddling.
‘Ouch!’ Her front wheel hits a big rock, slams her around and she lands in the long grass.
Her knee hurts a lot. Carefully she gets back on her feet and slowly moves her leg. Good, she thinks, I can still bend it.
‘Oh no! Not again!’ she shouts out in terror. Another hole in her jeans. If I had only put on my old ones. Now mum is really going to be angry. Through the hole she can see a drop of blood run down from her knee.
‘No Bertus don’t.’ He is right beside her and pokes his wet nose in the hole in her jeans. She pushes him aside and climbs back on her bicycle. Like a rocket she races downhill.
Once down she looks again over her shoulder. No Bertus. Now she must stop to wait for him and won’t make it to the other end non-stop. Where is he! Everything seems to be going wrong today.
Usually he loves to race her down the hill. It seems as if he knows it is a speed match.
Her mother says it is not possible, dogs do not think that way. But, Jet knows better.
Jet stops and shouts out: ‘Bertus! Bertus!’ She is annoyed that she cannot whistle trough her fingers like her dad, Bertus always comes immediately when he does that.
She can hear the dog barking in the distance. He probably has found something disgusting to roll in. When he does that, he sniffs it first and then aims really careful so that he lands exactly with his shoulder in the filth. The last time he did this, mum made her clean him up. Yuk!
Mum did say before she left: ‘Make sure he stays clean otherwise you are in trouble, lady.’
Jet calls for him again, but he still does not show up. Angrily she throws her bike on the ground and stumbles back up the hill. The going is tough, because of her sore knee. Then she spots him.
Bertus is digging madly and he does not hear her at all.
‘What are you doing?’ He is standing under low bushes and there is something laying in front of him.
What is it? Jet thinks. It looks like a package.
Carefully she crawls through the bushes. Branches are scratching at her face as she gets down on her knees and tries to grab it, but she cannot reach. On her belly she works her way further towards Bertus. He is standing with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, drooling all over whatever he found. He looks at her playfully wiggling his tail.
‘No, Bertus, we are not going to play, I just want to see what you found.’ Jet worms her way further into the bushes.
‘Yes! Got it.’ Leaning on her elbow’s she crawls backwards until she can stand up again. She feels smooth paper, it crackles when she squeezes it. It is also heavy for such a small package. On one side the paper is ripped and she can see something glistening. Carefully she opens the package.
‘Oh wow!’ In her hand lays a yellow statue which seems to be a cat. Its glistening eyes look at her. With her finger she strokes its head. Never has she seen something so beautiful.
Did somebody lose it? she wonders. But who would lose something so beautiful?
Gently she puts it into her pocket and brushes the mud off of her clothing. She has to run, otherwise she will be home too late.
‘Hi mum!’
‘Your late.’
‘Sorry mum, I fell with the bike.’ Jet runs upstairs to her room. Once there she gets the statue out of her pocket and admires it again. For a moment she holds it against her cheek, it feels cold and smooth.
‘Are you coming for lunch!’ yells her mum from downstairs.
‘Coming!’ Quickly she glances around her room. Nobody should see it, otherwise she will not be able to keep it. That much she knows, and she hides it under a pile of stuffed animals on the shelf above her bed and runs downstairs to eat her lunch.
‘Oh no! You have a hole in your jeans again!’ cries her mother.
Jet does not dare to look at her mum. She takes her place at the table and moves her plate closer.
‘Jet? Show me that knee.’
Jet gets up and lowers her pants.
Her mother checks her knee and cleans the wound. ‘You look like a boy, the way you behave. Always falling and getting into trouble. How often do I have to tell you to be careful?’
‘I know mum, but I could not help it.’
‘Of course, it’s always something. Go throw your jeans into the washing basket and I'll see if I can fix them.’
Phew! She got away lucky there.
That evening, when Jet is in bed, she holds the statue. It is so beautiful that it seems that it can only belong to someone who is rich. She falls asleep with it in her hand.
‘Jet, are you paying any attention to what is happening here?’ She looks up. Master John is standing in front of her. ‘You have been staring out of that window all morning. I looked as well and there is really nothing out there. Maybe it would be better to pay attention in class so you will understand these calculations too?’
Everyone in the room is staring at her. Jets feels her cheeks glowing. ‘Yes master.’
But soon her thoughts are with the statue again. What can it be? she wonders.
From the corner of her eye she sees her best friend Sandra. Should I tell her? Mmm, better not. She can never keep a secret. Just like that time when Jet emptied old Pete’s tires. Sandra of course had to run and blab to the headmaster. No, she should never tell anybody about it.