Sunday 12 May 2019

Day 12 - Back to school for the Bumchin

Today's writing prompt was 'Dialogue'. I went with that as I was a bit stuck on what to write. The below dialogue is a build upon a story I did on Day 7 of last years challenge day-7-bumchin.html

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'Pssst! Mr Bumchin. Mr Bumchin!'
Jelex was madly searching for the Bumchin. It was baffling, how could he always be turning up when she least expected him, and now that she needed him he was nowhere to be found.  
She had already been down the back yard and lifted the tin over the tunnel cubby, thumped, scratched and dug at the earth with no luck. 
Half an hour of trying to persuade Nutmeg to go find him, everything; treats, tug-o-war, hide and seek in the backyard. Nutmeg had loved it, but the dopey dog was no help whatsoever. What was she going to do?
'Jelex! Dinner!'
'I'll be up in a minute!'
Standing still in the middle yard, the orange tree its branches sagging to the ground under the weight of the ripening fruit. The forlorn and unused clothesline she had seen him hang from while Nutmeg tried to nip his feet. It was all still, where could he be?
'Mr Bumchin, please.' her voice wavering, chin quivering, on the verge of tears. 'Please Mr Bumchin please.'
'Jelex! Dinner, I won't ask again.' 

He watched her as she went up the stairs, shutting the glass door behind her. Jumping up onto the lower verandah railing he watched as she turned the lights off and stepped onto the stairs.
Quickly scampering up to the upper verandah he sat in the shadow's on the rail watching the milieu unfold in front of him. Jelex put on a brave face and helped her mother set the table, her father came from the back room, and they all sat down to their meal.
Feeling sorry for himself, the Bumchin watched for a few minutes and then lowered himself down of the rail dropping soundlessly onto the lower verandah and scampered into the dark.
Why hadn't he yelled out? It had been days since he'd seen Jelex, he liked her, she was kind and curious and active, she could be a true friend to him. Just he'd had friends before, and they all left him, he didn't want to go through that pain again, so he stopped himself.
Stopped himself from popping into the tunnel cubby when she was thumping and scraping looking for him. Stopped himself from stepping out of the shadow's moments before she went upstairs.

'Hey, Mr Bumchin.' 
It was Jelex, she was outside, downstairs. In the dark, quietly, urgently calling his name. She never came out in the dark by herself.
'Jelex.' Stepping out from underneath the worm farm, his little hardhat slightly askew, his paunch as paunchy as ever. 'What are you doing?'
'I'm feeding the worm's, but I really wanted to see you.'
'But. But. You're scared of the dark!'
'I really need to talk to you, quick out of the way, I just need to feed the worm's' Lifting the brick of the lid of the worm farm, Jelex lifted the top of the worm farm folded back the mesh and spread out the mesh as her mother had told. 'Nutmeg No!'
The only reason Jelex had been brave enough to come outside in the dark by herself was that Nutmeg would go with her. The only issue is Nutmeg as odd a dog as she is had the curiosity of the cat and was, of course, sniffing about the worms.
Replacing the lid and weighing it down with the brick Jelex turned towards the Bumchin. 'I need you to come to school with me tomorrow.'
'What? Go to school with you! How, why? I've not been there in years.'
'I need you to, I think I've found some of your family, and they're in danger.'
'Oh, them! They banished me years ago for getting too friendly with the school children, said we were Bumchin's and that little humans were beneath us. Pffft to them I say.'
'No seriously, they are digging up the grass areas again, moving the demountable, all sorts of stuff. It's bad enough that us kids aren't going to have any grass to play on, but your family is going to be displaced.'
'All the better.  Well if they didn't want me to play with the children why would we live in a playground, those Bumchin's they're dumb.'
'Come on Mr Bumchin, that's not very nice, that's not the Bumchin I know. You're friendly to Nutmeg and me. Maybe they've changed.'
He looked at her, She'd be a good friend, if only he could trust her to be a good friend, one that wouldn't leave him alone again like all of his other friends had; Like his family had. He turned on the spot and ran deeper into the backyard, into the darkness, tears forming in his eyes. How could he be a friend with her, it hurt so much.
'Mr Bumchin please!' Jelex stood there, forlorn, the food scrap bucket hanging limply from her hand, Nutmeg poking her for attention. He'd gone. What was she to do, she knew the other Bumchin's where there, she'd seen them, but they kept avoiding her. He was her only hope to save them.
'C' mon Nutmeg!' She turned, it was no good.



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