Alexander and the folk next door ~ Part
One
Janet Baldey
Chapter One
The dog was howling again. The mournful sound woke Alexander up. For a moment, he couldn’t think where he
was. He blinked and lifted his head
from the pillow, his eyes squinting in the sunshine that poured through the
window. He frowned, wondering why he
was in bed in the middle of the day, then he remembered. That morning, when he’d tried to eat his breakfast,
his stomach had gurgled and rolled and he’d felt sick. His mother had put her hand on his forehead
and sighed.
‘You’d better go back to bed. I’ll let your teacher know.’
Now, Alexander lay, listening to the
dog. He felt sorry for it. Day after day, it was chained to its kennel
at the bottom of the overgrown garden next door. He’d never seen anyone go near it and it must
be very lonely. He got up and walked
over to the window. The dog was quiet now. Through a gap in the hedge, he could just see
its nose resting on its paws and the glint of the thick chain that was fastened
to its collar.
All of a
sudden, Alexander had an idea. He didn’t
feel ill any more so he would take the dog out for a walk. The dog would like that and if he was quick,
he’d be back before his mother realised he’d gone.
He started to feel excited; this was
going to be an adventure. He’d been
given a pair of combat trousers and matching shirt for his birthday; he would
pretend he was a soldier, on a mission to rescue the dog from the enemy. His first task would be to get out of the
house without his mother hearing him.
He opened his bedroom door and tiptoed out onto the
landing. Downstairs, his mother was in
the kitchen washing up, he could hear the chinking sound of china as she
stacked the plates in the drainer.
Slowly, Alexander re-traced his steps. His mother had very sharp ears. She would be sure to hear the stairs
creaking as he crept down them. Somehow,
he would have to think of another way to get out of the house.
He opened his bedroom window and stuck his head out. The ground looked so far away, it made him
feel dizzy but when he turned his head, he could see a drainpipe. It was fixed to the wall very close to his
windowsill and ran all the way down to the ground. He suddenly had a great idea. He would climb down it. It couldn’t be that difficult, they were
always doing it in films. Taking a deep
breath, he stepped out onto the window ledge and shuffled along until he could
wrap both arms and legs around the rough metal pipe. Clinging on tightly he wriggled his bottom
until he started to slide downwards.
Cool air whizzed by him as he went faster and faster until his arms
ached and he couldn’t hold on any longer.
He yelled, let go and dropped like a stone towards the ground.
Chapter Two
Oof. All
Alexander’s breath was knocked from his body.
He lay flat on his back, gasping.
When he got his breath back, he moved his arms and legs gently. He didn’t seem to be hurt. He was lying on something soft and suddenly
he realised what it was. It was the pile
of sand left behind after the builders had built the patio. He grinned with relief. It could have been a lot worse. He could have landed on the concrete.
He
gazed up at the bright blue sky spreading like a huge umbrella above him. Then, he remembered the dog and rolled onto
the ground. His legs felt shaky as he
walked towards the fence. It was old and
worn and the planks leaned against each other as if they were tired. There were plenty of spaces big enough for
him to squeeze through.
As he got near to the kennel, the dog
sat up and watched him. Its tail
started to thump the ground, sending little puffs of dust up into the air. Alexander thought its eyes reminded him of
the buttons sewn into the face of his little cousin’s teddy bear. He decided to call the dog Button.
‘Hi, Button.’
The dog opened its mouth and licked
Alexander’s hand with its wet tongue.
Alexander laughed and wiped the slobber
onto the back of his trousers.
He patted the dog’s bristly fur and it
whined with delight and tried to jump up but the chain held it firmly. Alexander examined its clasp and decided it
wouldn’t be too difficult to undo but he would need some sort of lead. In the end, he looped the belt of his trousers
through the dog’s collar. That should
work, as long as his trousers didn’t fall down.
The dog started to yelp with
excitement. Alexander put a finger to
his lips.
‘SSh, Button. We don’t want anyone to hear us?’
Alexander looked at next doors’ house
at the far end of the neglected garden: every one of its windows was covered by
a thick, dark, blind. It looked as if
it was sleeping. There were no signs of
life. He had never set eyes on the
people who lived there. Nor, had his
parents. They called them ‘Our
mysterious neighbours.’
He glanced
down at Button. The dog’s eyes were
fixed on him adoringly. He noticed that
its thick golden fur was covered in a greyish fluff.
‘They don’t even bother to groom
him.’ Alexander thought. He bent down to undo the chain.
Chapter
Three
As soon as Button was released, he was
off. Alexander just had time to grab the
lead as Button tore past him, down the driveway and out of the gate.
‘Button, slow down!’
But Button took no notice and pulled Alexander
along behind him. They were heading
towards his house and Alexander started to panic. He’d never meant to go this way. It would be awful if his mother happened to
look out of the window and saw him. His
legs barely keeping up with the dog, Alexander bent his head and stared at the
ground as they raced past. He fully
expected his mother to give a yell and bang at the window but to his relief, there was silence apart from the thud of his feet on the pavement.
Soon, his house disappeared
from sight and Alexander could see the park in the distance. Bordered by high metal railings, its winding
paths trailed across brown grass withering in the sun.
‘Oh, so Button wants to go
to the park,’ he thought.
But, to Alexander’s surprise, Button ignored
the park gates. He zoomed past them and
shot down a side road. Alexander had
never been that way before. Alexander’s
legs started to ache, he began to puff and sweat rolled down his face. As
he struggled to keep up with Button, he noticed the
neighbourhood had changed. The houses on
this road looked as if they needed painting.
They were crammed close together, separated only by chain-link fences
that sagged in the middle.
All of a sudden, Button
changed direction and whizzed down an alleyway between two houses. The narrow passage eventually led on to a
path bordered by thick clumps of ryegrass.
Nestling between the coarse grass, discarded bottles and cans shone in
the sun and Alexander sighed. Button
seemed to have a taste for rough places.
But soon, they left the rubbish behind and the path became a winding
track. As they charged along
Alexander’s mouth dropped open in horror as he suddenly saw a thick mass of
stinging nettles blocking his way.
‘Button. Stop!’
Alexander hollered at the
top of his voice but Button took no notice.
Before Alexander had time to think he was being pulled straight through
the nettles.
‘Ouch! Ouch!
Ouch!’
Tears of pain ran down
Alexander’s face. Then, just as he was
thinking he couldn’t hold on any longer, Button stopped so suddenly that
Alexander ran slap bang into him. They
both fell sprawling onto the ground and for a moment Alexander saw stars as his
head hit the ground. Button turned his
head, gave Alexander a sloppy kiss and wriggled out from beneath him. He plonked his bottom down and sat staring
straight ahead, his whole body quivering with excitement.
Alexander struggled to his feet. The path led to the edge of a steep
slope. At the bottom of the slope, there
was a field of maize stretching as far as his eyes could see. The tall heads of the corn were swaying in
the light breeze. They shone a metallic
purple in the sunshine. He thought they
looked like the massed spears of Roman
warriors waiting to go into battle.
Chapter
Four
As he stood looking down at
the field, Alexander heard the harsh sound of heavy breathing. He looked around. No one was in sight but now he could hear
footsteps and his heart began to beat very fast. Somebody was following them.
Scary thoughts flashed through Alexander’s
mind. He and Button were all alone and
a long way from home. Who could it
be? Perhaps it was the Police coming to
take him back to school, or it might be the stranger that he had been warned
never to talk to. He looked around
for somewhere to hide. The only place
that he could see was the field of maize and quickly he slid down the steep
slope, his feet skidding on the pebbly surface.
He
was just in time. No sooner had he
crouched amongst the tall stems, than a huge figure appeared. Alexander’s father was tall but this man was
even bigger. He was also very
hairy. His head, and most of his face,
was covered by thick tufts of coarse brown hair, and he had a long jutting
nose. Without glancing to right or
left, the man rushed on down the path and crashed his away along the side of
the field. Alexander held his breath
until the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.
‘Phew. That was close.’
He
pulled on Button’s leash.
‘Come
on boy. Time to go home.’
Button
gave a low whine. Without warning, he
lunged forward and the lead was wrenched out of Alexander’s hand.
Alexander gasped. Button was streaking into the field as if
powered by a motor.
Alexander
opened his mouth to yell but then closed it again. If he made a noise, the strange man might
hear him.
He didn’t know what to
do. He could go home alone but then he
would worry in case Button couldn’t find
his way back and he knew that even a bad home was better than no home. He realised he would have to follow Button
into the field.
He stood for a moment
trying to remember which way the dog had gone.
Very faintly, he could hear the sound of stems being crushed as a furry
body bounded through them. He took a
deep breath and took a step in what he hoped was the right direction.
Chapter
Five
The further Alexander went
into the maize the darker it became.
Broad, green leaves twined around stems, much taller than he was,
blocking out the light from the sky.
Alexander was reminded of the church his Mother took him to every
Sunday. It was dark and gloomy but also
quiet and peaceful. He soon realised
that one corn stalk looked very much like another and even worse, he couldn’t hear
Button any more. Just as he was
starting to worry that he was lost, he tripped over something and landed with a
bump on the cool earth.
The ‘something’ gave a
squeak and sat up.
Alexander stared. A white face with enormous eyes stared back
at him. Alexander sighed with
relief. A small girl was huddled
amongst the corn looking at him. She
looked very scared.
‘What are you doing here?’
he said.
‘Hiding.’ The girl said in a tiny voice.
‘Why?’
‘Some boys from school were
chasing me. They said they were going
to put a mouse down my dress.’
‘Why would they do that?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t
think they like me. They’re always
pulling my hair’.
Her eyes began to shine
with tears.
‘What’s your name?’
‘Becky.’
‘I’m Alexander. I came into the corn because I’ve lost my
dog. But now I think I’m lost too. Do you know the way out?’.
Becky shook her head. Her tears overflowed and trickled down her
face.
‘I’ve been trying to find
my way out for ages. It’s getting late
and my mum will be worried.’
Alexander realised the girl
was right. The little bit of the sky he
could see above the corn was a very dark blue.
It was starting to get chilly too and he realised the sun must have gone
down.
He made up his mind.
‘We’ll go this way.’
It was almost as if the
corn didn’t want to let them go. Their
thick stalks crowded together making it difficult for them to squeeze through
and their rubbery leaves twined around their legs. After Becky had fallen over for the third
time, Alexander started to worry. It
seemed to him as if they were walking round in circles. He was sure they had passed that oddly
shaped stone before. He knew what it
was, his father had told him. It was
called a puddingstone and Alexander thought it was because it had tiny pebbles,
like raisins, embedded in it.
‘What’s that?’ Becky cried in a scared voice.
Alexander heard a crashing
sound that was gradually becoming louder and louder. Something was coming. Alexander just hoped it wasn’t the hairy
giant.
To be continued tomorrow
Copyright
Janet Baldey
