Chapter Six
Breakfast at the Bandernaths
As he remained hidden in the Bandernaths’ hallway, Jack pressed a hand against the back of Nibbler. Being a wise and obedient Labradoodle, Nibbler remained quiet, sensing that he mustn’t give away his presence. His tail thumped slowly against Jack’s leg, while his ears quirked about in contradicting angles.
Leaning against the wall in the hallway, Jack could smell many delicious aromas, drifting up from the first floor. A grand breakfast was being enjoyed below, which included pancakes, fresh strawberries, and juice. He felt his belly rumbling, as the delicious scents drifted his way. Nibbler also smelled the food, and he softly whined for want of pancakes in his belly.
“Shh, boy,” Jack whispered. “The Bandernaths don’t know that we spent the night here. We’ve got to stay hidden!”
It was unlikely that Neil’s parents would be upset, if they discovered that Jack had spent the night in their home. After all, the Bandernaths cared a great deal for Jack, and they had even volunteered to serve as his guardians while his father was away.
But Neil and Jack had decided that they would have a hard time explaining his presence. It would result in many questions as to what they had been up to. The last thing Neil needed was for his parents to be worried about his adventuring, and start intervening in his investigations.
Jack could hear the voices of the Bandernaths, drifting from the first floor. It was Neil, his father, and his mother. Together, they formed the intangible essence of family, a thing that Jack held a great deal of appreciation for. As they went about their morning routine, they discussed things that might be considered terribly mundane to outsiders, but were significant to them.
Neil’s dad (otherwise known as Big Bob Bandernath, and Coach to the Green Beans of the Hollow Oak Baseball League) commented on articles that caught his eye as he perused the newspaper, including the performance of his favorite teams. He also mentioned current issues of business at his sneaker factory, to which his wife, Loretta, offered her thoughts and insights.
Neil talked about what awaited him at the elementary school. Although he had to stifle a yawn or two, due to his late night adventuring, he maintained a genuine enthusiasm for the day that lay ahead.
Yes, these things might have been considered boring to those who were not members of the Bandernath family. But to Jack, the seemingly mundane was quite interesting. He would not mind having a bit of such normalcy in his own life (although he could never do without his regular doses of adventuring).
As if sensing Jack’s thoughts, Nibbler leaned against his leg, pressing all his weight upon him. Jack looked down at the Labradoodle, who was nuzzling his hand with a warm tongue and a cold snout.
“Hey, Nibbler,” Jack whispered, scratching the dog behind his ears. “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you!”
Jack tiptoed his way back to Neil’s bedroom, with Nibbler following close behind. He would have to sneak out through the window, and shimmy down the trusty maple tree.
Jack had borrowed some clothes from Neil, because he very well couldn’t show up to school in his pajamas and slippers. The friends were close to the same size (lean and wiry from endless hours spent adventuring and playing baseball), so finding clothes that fit Jack was no problem.
Just as he reached the window and slid it open, Jack heard Neil tell his parents, “Oh, I forgot something! I’ll be right back.”
“Brush your chompers while you’re up there,” his mother reminded him.
Seconds later, Neil sprinted up the staircase, and met Jack in his room. He slipped his backpack off of his shoulders, and opened it up, revealing its contents to Jack and Nibbler. Inside, there was an impressive stack of fluffy, blueberry-laden pancakes, complete with syrup. The pancakes did nothing to improve the condition of his textbooks, but they sure did look delicious.
“Hah!” he whispered. “Look what I smuggled out for you guys! Pretty sweet haul, huh?”
Nibbler wagged his tail in appreciation, and immediately tried to dive into the backpack, snout first.
“Whoa, not so fast, boy,” Jack whispered. “We’ll eat those on the way to school. First, we’ve got to get you down to the ground.”
Nibbler obediently went to the window, more than ready to be hoisted into the wooden barrel that awaited him. The barrel was attached to a rope, which was slung over a large branch of the maple tree. On his first trip in the device, he had been quite dubious about the process, but he was getting used to it by now.
It was, however, an operation that was best performed with the combined strength of Neil and Jack. This was the reason Neil had sought an excuse to sneak back to his room: so that he could help Jack smuggle Nibbler outside with the lift.
Knowing that they only had a few moments before Neil’s parents would grow suspicious, they quickly went to work. Together, the two of them managed to pull it off in short order, while Nibbler happily enjoyed his ride in the makeshift elevator.
Once that was done, Jack clambered out the window, and began scurrying down the tree. He had climbed up and down the old maple so often that it had become second nature to him, and his hands and feet automatically found the best spots.
“Meet you on the street,” Jack whispered, as he monkeyed along.
Neil gave him the thumbs up before departing from the window, pausing only to retrieve his pancake-filled backpack.
The Green Beans, Volume 2: The Strange Genius of Lefty O'Houlihan Page 6