Beyond the Firefly Field (22 page)

At school, the guys worked on their other movie-related task. They plotted ways for Mike to overhear talk of a big fairy-celebration event scheduled for Saturday afternoon. When the boys knew Mike was listening to their conversation and caught just enough to get interested, they lowered their voices or quickly changed the subject. They took great pride in their award-winning acting talents, which improved each day as they mastered the fine art of embellishment.

The boys tasted success when Mike started strutting around like he knew everything. They could tell by his attitude that Mike was buying their story. He heard what they wanted him to hear, and he had taken the bait. Every day at school they gloated as they shared the latest “Mike took the bait” episode. Hopefully, Mike would talk his TV-reporter cousin and a camera crew into scooping the story for their station.

By Friday afternoon, the kids were convinced Mike had not only taken the bait, but he was already boasting to his friends about his cousin wanting to get the story. Now all they needed to do was wire the fairies in place in the morning. With preparations complete, it was the first chance the kids had to visit the real fairies. But, of course, the skies opened and a hard rain pelted the earth. They met at the tree house for a final planning session. They didn't want anything to go wrong with their production the next day.

“Did you see the way Mike was busting at the seams today?” Clayton gloated. “He's definitely planning something. He can't wait for tomorrow.”

“I can't wait for tomorrow!” Penny said. “We planned everything, so can we go home now?”

“Penny's right, we should all go to sleep early so we can get an early start. Besides, Ron and I have an extra-long walk to get to our houses,” Brian complained.

They went their separate ways, walking through a thick, misty fog that hinted an end to the rain.

Saturday morning came quickly, and everyone was up early to complete their never-ending chores. Fortunately, the rain stopped, and everyone hurried through their chores so they could set up things at the elaborately fake fairy tree. By the time they met at the tree house, they were already tired and wet from sweat, and the mist still moistened the morning air. After a brief rest, they gathered up the fairy dolls and headed to the tree at a brisk pace. They were glad Penny wasn't along to slow them down.

The trail was so muddy and puddled that they frequently slipped and slid on their way. Between trying to keep their balance and mud sucking their shoes, they were tiring quickly. After a while they slowed down, relaxed, and enjoyed walking the trail as the mid-morning sun shone through wherever the tree branches allowed. The woods were quiet, except for birds singing and the occasional scurrying noises of animals as they trekked along. Deer were increasing in number as the summer was ending. The kids looked at these animals differently after experiencing their full attention at the fairy tree. It was as if deer were now magical woodland creatures worthy of wonder.

When they approached the area where they had first heard the old farmer's chainsaw, all was quiet there, too. After a few minutes, they arrived at the field just before the firefly field.

“We need to make a new path,” Clayton ordered after looking at the original path across the field.

“Oh, no, not another one,” everyone moaned in unison. “We're going to get all wet again.”

“The path in this field goes into the woods leading to the firefly field. We don't want Mike and the TV people near that, so we need to flatten a wider path across this field to the tallest tree near the lake. There are many big bushes in this field, so we have to make as straight a path as possible through them. Let's get all wet again,” Clayton said, already walking through the tall grass and flowers.

Although grumbling, the others quickly joined him, and a new path was trampled across the field. After arriving at the big tree, but seeing its lowest branches were almost twenty feet above the ground, they searched for a shorter tree to fit their scene-setting needs. The third tree closest to the lake was just perfect.

Soon they were busy wiring the dolls to the lower branches. The tree was dead, so they had no problem finding places to wire the first dozen dolls so they could be easily seen.

After they stood back and looked at the higher collection of branches, Karl said, “We should have brought ladders with us.”

“Well, we didn't,” Clayton replied. “So Paul and I will climb the tree, and you guys can toss the dolls to us when we need them,” he added, starting his climb up the tree.

“We will?” Paul dissented.

“I'll climb too,” Brian offered.

When they scrambled far enough out on the branches, Clayton called for the dolls. It was difficult to balance and catch at the same time, so this plan took much longer than they thought. Each boy came close to falling several times, but managed to grab a branch and hang on for dear life. Finally, all the dolls were wired to the tree, and the boys descended quickly to the ground where they all stood to admire their work.

The fairy scene looked almost real. Some fake fairies were gathered in groups, as if talking to each other. Others looked like they were walking along the branches. A few were hung from branches to give the impression of flying.

“It looks very fairy-like to me,” Phil said in a satisfied tone.

“It will have to do,” Clayton said with finality. “Let's go. We have to finish chores so we can get back here early this evening. We have to make sure Mike and the TV crews are gone before the start of the firefly show. Some of their light might be seen flickering through the woods.”

“Maybe we should let them see that show,” Ron suggested. “All by itself, the thousands of firefly lights would make a good news story, and they would leave satisfied.”

“But they might catch a glimpse of the real fairies. It's too risky. Like I said, let's go so we can get back here early.”

“It's supposed to rain again tonight, so I hope we can get this show over with before it pours,” Karl said with a shrug.

“It's always raining,” Brian complained.

“Some years it rains all the time, and other years it doesn't rain at all,” Karl added stoically. “Hopefully, the rain will hold off until after we visit the fairies.”

They headed back along the new path after a final glance at their theatrical handiwork. They made sure the new path was the widest, with the most used and traveled appearance in the field. With the path complete, they made the trip home a quick one.

Brian and Ron stayed with Clayton and Karl for a while to help them complete their chores. The twins headed home, arguing about who would do which chore. Everyone agreed to meet at the tree house at four thirty, hopefully with Mike and his cousin close behind.

When Clayton and Karl's chores were almost finished, Brian and Ron went home. They both had a few minor chores to finish themselves and agreed to meet in the woods by the old two-track road at exactly four o'clock. They were also the two in charge of making sure Mike followed.

“You're late!” Clayton shouted as he saw Ron and Brian coming up the trail at four-thirty.

“Sorry,” Brian said. “Right when I was leaving, my mom asked me to overturn the flowerbed, so I was running late to begin with.”

“Are you being followed?” Clayton asked in a low voice when they joined the others at the base of the tree house.

“Well, we did what we were supposed to do,” Ron said. “Brian and I met up and walked past Mike's clubhouse. We talked loudly about where we were meeting, and even louder about the fairies. Hopefully, he overhead.”

“Good,” Clayton said. “Do you think they heard?”

They shrugged their shoulders as if to say “How should we know?”

Showing annoyance, Clayton picked up a backpack loaded with snacks, water, and a movie camera.

“Let's get going,” he ordered and headed for the trail.

“Hey, wait a minute! You know we have to wait for Penny,” Karl reminded him.

Clayton stopped, seemingly more annoyed, and turned to come back. He looked at the sky through the leaves and didn't see any blue. It looked like it would rain soon, and he worried the trip would be washed out. Wondering where Penny could possibly be, he walked back to the others and set the backpack on the ground. They sat on the tree house bench and the gnarly tree roots, waiting impatiently as anxiety grew with every passing minute. Finally, they spotted a tiny Penny starting her trip across the field.

“Are we ready to go?” Penny asked as she sauntered up to them. She noticed the annoyed look on their faces, especially her brother's.

“We are now,” Clayton said as he got up from the bench, grabbing the backpack, and flinging it over his shoulder. “What took you so long?”

“Mom was brushing my hair. I couldn't just get up and leave.”

The others stood, stretched, and headed for the trail. They figured Mike would probably keep to the lake road and hide somewhere along the trail, waiting for them to pass again. They walked along the trail, talking loudly about the fairies. At other times, they spoke in whispers, wondering if they were being followed, hoping it wasn't a wasted trip. By the time they arrived at the fake fairy field, they still couldn't tell if Mike was shadowing them. They fanned out as they crossed the field on the new path, widening it even more. Once on the other side, they stopped, stood motionless, and listened.

“Shouldn't we have heard them by now?” Brian asked impatiently.

“Why would we?” Clayton snapped back, equally impatient. “They're sneaking up on us, dummy,” he reminded him.

“Penny, go stand by the lowest branch. And Karl, crouch down under the branch near the trunk, since you have to make the fairy voices. The rest of us will stand around while Ron records our performance with the video cam.

“Okay, Penny, start asking the fairies questions,
now.”
Clayton played the part of movie director quite well, but since they hadn't rehearsed their opening act, it played awkwardly.

Penny uttered too many hesitant “ums” since she didn't know what to say, and Karl threw a squeaky, scratchy voice, very un-becoming a fairy. They were on the verge of a giggle fest and almost couldn't continue their show.

After Clayton reminded his friends they were doing this to save the fairies, they settled down and began recording. Penny asked questions she remembered actually asking SeeLee, and Karl's voice strained into a more acceptable imitation of fairy conversation. They played their roles for what seemed like a long time, but nothing happened. Just when they were about to give up, the action started.

As Paul was complaining, “This isn't working,” a person backed out from a bush along the edge of the field where the first big tree stood. The reporter was speaking into a microphone and facing a cameraman. The sudden, bright light mounted on the camera caused the kids to squint, but not before they saw Mike and his friends, arms crossed with satisfied smiles smearing their faces.

Mike's cousin turned out to be a young woman of twenty-five. She had perfectly combed dark hair that looked like a helmet, and she was way overdressed for tramping in the woods. She wore a dark-blue business suit with matching high-heeled shoes. A pearl necklace completed her TV-reporter look.

She was talking to her electronic audience about an ancient secret about to be revealed. Without warning, the light on the camera extinguished, and the cameraman started laughing. Mike's cousin finally looked at the kids for the first time. A bewildered look filled her face until she saw the faux fairies in the tree. Her face quickly turned red, and she clenched her teeth in rage.

“Mike!” she screamed in a ragged voice, contorting her pretty face.

Mike ran from his hiding place in the back, and his smug look of satisfaction turned into one of confusion. She stormed up to him and thumped him on the nose with her microphone.

“You said they were
real!”
she screamed. “You
promised
this would be the
biggest
story of my career!” she screamed even louder. “You said you
saw
them,” she raged in a horribly loud voice full of reprimand and accusation.

“Well, I didn't actually
see them,
as in
me
see them,” Mike stammered. But I did see
them
seeing them,” he lied defensively, pointing at the group standing by the tree.

As the reporter whirled around and looked at the crew of movie-making kids, they shrugged in unison and pointed at the fairies on the branches. Karl's high-pitched fairy voice squealed, “Hi, people!” before he took a bow under the fairies bobbling in the wind.

She turned again to Mike and thumped him repeatedly with the microphone. Every time she connected, a roaring din blasted from the mic. Mike stumbled backward, warding off thumps until he tripped over a log, landing on the ground.

In her eagerness to continue attacking her cousin, the overdressed reporter tripped and sprawled on top of him. With renewed fury, she continued her assault. When she tried to stand, burrs and leaves ravaged her hair, and her suit ripped in several places. This made her even angrier, much to the cameraman's amusement.

They finally left the tree, with Mike receiving a constant thumping on the back of his head as they marched along. The trailing cameraman reported in a pompous voice, “That is Kimmy McAlister signing off, on special assignment in the land of the fairies, someplace just to the left of the middle of nowhere.”

As the yelling grew faint in the distance, the kids broke into uncontrollable laughter. “I had the camera rolling the whole time,” Ron proudly announced as soon as he could speak.

“I think the cameraman did, too. All he turned off was the light,” Brian added.

Again, they rolled in hysteria until they felt the first sprinkles of rain pattering their faces and arms.

“Oh, no! Bummer,” they all groaned.

“You guys have to take those dolls down before they get wet,” Penny demanded. “You promised,” she insisted as the boys groaned even louder.