Belvedores

A short story in replace of killer pens.
-Belvedores-
CHAPTER 1
A 19th century story tells of a man who kept having itches all over his body.
He explained he had been bitten,by a rather large rat.He saw many doctors and took many forms of medication,including tails of newts,a small dose of mushrooms mixed with herbs and oak leaves.Witch doctors believed it was a certain curse while medical doctors thought it was a skin disease.None of these seem to fit the good fellow with no enemies or without allergies other that milk,cheese and butter.
The man suffered all day.And little did he know the animal he was bitten by,was a Belvedore,not a rat.A creature that has green eyes and a large tail,like a rat but was not a rat.The creature's population wasn't big then.
The man suffered...till his grave.At least it cured.
That chap was lucky.He didn't experience the slow painful death caused by the poison of the Bulvedore.He just caught itchiness all over his body.
He some how felt dizzy at times where he read books or studied certain things.
He only knew one thing about the rat:it had green eyes.
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CHAPTER 2
"Haven't you heard of the dog that bites the head off kids?" asked Taylor.
"Never," replied James. "Isn't that gross?" said Bailey,turning green.
"Dogs biting off children's heads?Well,I never heard of such nonsense!" Mrs Brown told Taylor,feeling disgusted as she overheard Taylor.
The group headed towards home,where they had to take a bath and attend piano lessons at seven o' clock.James headed down 5th avenue,where his big apartment was.He walked up to the 3rd floor,placed his keys into the key hole and unlocked the door.He then,closed the door behind him.He walked into the kitchen and took a look at the fridge.No notes.Great!James thought.
No chores or errands to attend to.He opened the fridge door and took a can of soda out.He placed his lips to the cool drink that he opened.As it just touched his lips,he remembered about the homework he had to complete and groaned.
Maybe he wasn't all that lucky.
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CHAPTER 3
After slurping the soda down his throat,it helped James a little better,but not as good as drowning out the thoughts about homework!"Alright,let me go shower first," he told himself.He threw the empty can into the dustbin and headed for the bathroom,took of his clothes and turned the tap on.He didn't turn the heater on as it was hot.
"Ahhhh,"James relaxed a bit but was careful not to slip and fall.
He continued to have his 'sauna' for fifteen more minutes before doing his homework.He stepped out of the bath and grabbed a blue towel to dry himself.
He had to towel his hair the most as he had thick hair.But it isn't really thick.
He then wore a clad clean T-shirt and and a pair of shorts.
"Okay homework,here I come," yelled James.He took out his pencil box and his worksheets and started doing them one by one.
The clock on the wall displayed five o' clock already.It took him two whole hours just to finish 3 worksheets,considering he was released from school at two.
"Ah!I still have about one and a half hours to until I go for piano lessons."
James happily told himself.
James wasn't really good at the piano.He wanted to play the guitar first.
His parents always told him to start off with simple instruments,but the piano was hard to him,so he didn't really tried his best.His friend Bailey wanted to become a famous painter while Taylor,an author.
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CHAPTER 4
James started to channel-surf as soon as he turned on the TV.There was an old horror movie showing.He stared at the screen in interest and shook a little.
Bats flew out from a cave and a woman walked into it."Don't go in there!" yelled a man behind her.She continued walking through darkness and the animals accompanying her were bats,tarantulas and cockroaches.There was a loud roar and the whole cave shook.James trembled and changed the channel.
He looked at the clock which showed five-thirty.He decided to be early for his lesson so he could chat with his friends more.His friends were always early.
James put on a green sweatshirt and blue jeans.He wore his lucky sneakers as well.Grabbing the keys and walking down the stairs,he hoped he wouldn't suffer from nightmares or insomnia.
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CHAPTER 5
The room smelt of perfume as James entered the his piano class.
Only Bailey and two other kids were in the room,waiting for their music teacher,Mrs Dame to enter."Where's Taylor?" asked James. "It's boring without Taylor," "I don't know," Bailey shook his head.There were no clocks in the room,maybe because the teacher did not want any distraction during their plays on the piano.The two chatted away,as time flies.More and more students entered the room.Only three,just entered,in fact.Soon,their teacher arrived and everyone stood up to greet her."Class,let's start with Beethoven's "Fur Elise" please," she told everyone. "You should know how to play everything on the piano.You've been studying for three whole weeks!"
Bailey,James and a student didn't play well and received a B minus.
Only two received an A. The other two received a C plus.
"Class,I hope you will practice Fur Elise for two whole hours today," Mrs Dame announced. "No more excuses!"
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CHAPTER 6
James started to ring up Taylor as soon as he went home.
"Hello?" asked James. "Is this Taylor Watson?"
"Taylor?Oh,he's sick.He caught a disease that caused him to be itchy all over.I'm his parent."
"That's terrible,hope he recovers!"
"Thank you,"
The boy and the parent exchanged their "good-byes".
James hung up the phone and breathed heavily.It was exactly eight-forty five.
His parents were supposed to be home by now.Feeling hungry,James went into the kitchen and checked the fridge.He made himself a jam sandwich and stuffed everything in his mouth.It certainly made him feel better.
How could he suffer from such a terrible itch?
"It certainly is strange," murmured James to himself.
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CHAPTER 7
The doctors found the man's disease strange and would not believe him being bitten by a large rat.They just classified it as skin disease.
That didn't prove his dizzy spells,though.They did not dissect the man's body as one,the disease might be contagious and two,it was rude not to have the man's permission to do so.His grave was a simple gravestone and his coffin was made of wood as people were not rich back then.His grave was dug up twenty years later,and his coffin was full of holes.But not bullet holes.Holes that were made by a creature that bored through the coffin.The holes were not big and it could fit anyone's little finger.This puzzled everyone."Worms can't burrow through wood,they're not strong enough.Or are they?" one man told another at the sight of the coffin with holes. "Maybe," the other replied. "Or maybe not,"
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CHAPTER 8
"Ding...Dong...." rang the door bell. "I'm coming!" yelled James.He reached for the knob and opened the door.His parents stood as the doorway and came into the house.
"Taylor is sick," James told his parents. "That's bad news.He'll recover," replied his father.
Dinner was steamed fish and pasta.James quickly wolfed his food down and went to bed early.He was indeed,tired.He changed into his pyjamas and fell onto bed.He was so sleepy that when he touched the pillow,he began to snore.
He dreamt about rats crawling around his legs and saw Taylor's bloody body on the ground.
As he was about to yell in horror and disgust,he was bitten by a rat."Aargh!" yelled James.He looked around his room and to his relief,there were no rats.Or belvedores.James sat up and wondered about his dream for fifteen minutes.
"Maybe that's what my friend has been bitten by," he said softly to himself.
"A rat...."
After that,James went back to sleep,he dreamt that rats swarmed the whole city,Burger King was swarmed with dead bodies and rats feeding on the bodies.Heaps of corpses were found all over the city and even a few stray dogs were reduced to the bone.
James yelled in disgust and horror.He was frightened and chilled to the bone.
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CHAPTER 9
In the 12th century,a doctor who was alone,studied this 'rat'.He had caught two of these creatures and wanted to exterminate them,but noticed it's green eyes.
He dissected it and found out that this 'rat' had venom stored in the roof of it's mouth.
It also carried a disease that caused itchiness.The doctor had another 'rat' bite a deer and minutes later,the deer was as dead as a doo doo.This stunned the doctor.
He was glad of this amazing discovery and he named it "Belvedore".
Since he was lonely,no one knew of this certain rat that lived a long way underground when he died.
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CHAPTER 10
"James!Wake up," yelled his mother."Huh?" groaned James. "What time is it?Is it Monday yet?" "No!You had a nightmare!" his mother replied.James wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.He sighed.He decided to get out of bed,brush his teeth and eat breakfast.
James kept on thinking of his dream.Then,the telephone rang.James walked to the phone and picked it up."Hello?" asked James. "Taylor is dead,James!Taylor is dead..." the phone then clicked and the line was cut.James stared emptily in space,and his shaking hand dropped the phone.The phone hit the floor with a loud noise.
"James?What happened?" his mother asked.
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CHAPTER 11
"I feel sorry for your friend,"said mother.James continue to sob.How could a strong person like Taylor die from a certain disease?He went to the phone and dialed for Taylor's mum.
"Hello?" asked the voice. "Is Taylor really dead?" asked James tearfully.
"Taylor?I've never been to the hospital to check on him yet,"the voice told him.
"Huh?I thought you called me earlier this morning to tell me that Taylor had died!" James nervously spoke into the phone."What?"the voice seemed to sob.
James placed the phone back.He found it strange now,and it didn't seem right.
Then,the phone rang again,and told him that Taylor had passed on.
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CHAPTER 12
"Did I just have a premonition,a ghost that told me the news or do I have a doppelganger?"
James questioned himself.Everything did not seem right about the mysterious caller,his dream,his dead friend...all added to his problems.
What solution did James have?Not much,I guess.
-End-

"Holes" by Louis Sachar

-"HOLES"-
"Holes" is an interesting book by Louis Sachar,author of the Marvin Redpost series.
Stanley Yelnats was given two options:Go to jail or Camp Green Lake.
He was sent to Camp Green Lake for a crime he never commited.
Stanley comes from a poor family and he blames his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather for the curse he's under.
Camp Green Lake was a camp nobody would ever go to.And it was a place for bad boys.In Camp Green Lake,thirst was what you had to get used to for there was really no lake neither was it green.
Scorpions,rattlesnakes and yellow spotted lizards roam the place.
And yellow spotted lizards are the most dangerous lizards ever.
One bite and nobody can do anything.
Anyway,at Camp Green Lake,you just dig holes 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep.
The worst of all,is the Warden.She hits anyone who upsets her.Anyone.
Stanley meets new friends there,each with a nickname.
What treasure is the Warden looking for?Why is it that Green Lake was named after a desserted,sandy place?Find out in this ground-breaking book.
-END-

Singapore Art Museum

-A trip to the Singapore Art Museum-
Yesterday,I went to the Singapore Art Museum with my aunt,uncle and brother.
There was an "Indian Art" exhibition displaying lots of interesting art.There were lots of sculptures made of clay,stone,wood or recycled objects.Then,there's this "The Big Picture Show" exhibition,displaying huge pieces of art.It was really interesting.