Still reading my novel for fun
Five months after publishing my debut novel Falling Up, and I'm still enjoying reading it for the fun of it. I'm in chapter 18: Armoury right now, one of my favourite chapters. Peter's new friend Jack is a gun lover, and it was such a pleasure writing his kid in a candy store delight.
“Do you have your shopping list ready?”
“Yes, right.” Jack's eyes moved across the shelves and stacks of crates, walking briskly up one row and down the next. “I don't see them. Ah, they must be in the back room. Care to unlock another door for me?”
Peter focused on the lock mechanism, but this time saw it was a simple spring-loaded handle on the inside. No key required to get out of the room, so he just rotated the handle, then pushed the door open from the other side. It was fully open by the time he and Jack walked up to it.
Jack looked from the now open door to Peter and grinned. “Keys to the kingdom! You're a real handy guy to have around, you know that? Yes, this is it! We need to open this crate to make sure it's not empty.”
“From here, I can already tell it has guns in it — big guns. Neatly racked, and no empty slots.”
“Oh, right. Um, I'd still like to see them with my own eyes.”
Nodding, Peter said, “It's screws, not nails, so we'll have to unscrew them if you want to keep the crate intact.” Then, half to himself, he said, “I might be able to turn them if I shape a shield to fit.”
While Jack went to a tool bench to find screwdrivers, Peter focused on the star shape in the head of a screw, filled it with a shield, then rotated it. It was tricky because not only did he have to rotate the shape, but he had to raise it as the screw backed out of the hole. He got the first screw out and started on the second by the time Jack got back with two screwdrivers.
Jack held the other screwdriver out for Peter, saw he didn't need it, and put it in his back pocket to leave his hands free for his own. Then he applied his screwdriver to the screw closest to him.
Peter found the movement of the screw was predictable enough he could speed up removing the next one. And sped up even more on the next one. He had three out by the time Jack had his first out, and his fourth screw came out so fast it made a creaking noise. Then he found repeating the pattern in the next screw was easy enough that he could start on another before it was finished. Soon there was a chorus of creaking screws.
As Jack was laboriously finishing getting his third screw out, he saw Peter had finished all the rest. With a laugh, he said, “Hey, thanks for helping me with these screws. You're so fast, you nearly kept up to me!”
Peter chuckled and smiled back.
Putting the other screwdriver in his back pocket with the first, Jack lifted the top off the crate and peered in. He stroked the closest weapon. “Barrett M107A1! I'm in heaven! Look at all those beauties!” Turning his head toward Peter, he said, “I'm going to need scopes and ammo for these! And extra mags too!”
He set the lid back down almost reverently, then he practically ran from shelf to shelf, looking for accessories for his prized guns.
“Do you have your shopping list ready?”
“Yes, right.” Jack's eyes moved across the shelves and stacks of crates, walking briskly up one row and down the next. “I don't see them. Ah, they must be in the back room. Care to unlock another door for me?”
Peter focused on the lock mechanism, but this time saw it was a simple spring-loaded handle on the inside. No key required to get out of the room, so he just rotated the handle, then pushed the door open from the other side. It was fully open by the time he and Jack walked up to it.
Jack looked from the now open door to Peter and grinned. “Keys to the kingdom! You're a real handy guy to have around, you know that? Yes, this is it! We need to open this crate to make sure it's not empty.”
“From here, I can already tell it has guns in it — big guns. Neatly racked, and no empty slots.”
“Oh, right. Um, I'd still like to see them with my own eyes.”
Nodding, Peter said, “It's screws, not nails, so we'll have to unscrew them if you want to keep the crate intact.” Then, half to himself, he said, “I might be able to turn them if I shape a shield to fit.”
While Jack went to a tool bench to find screwdrivers, Peter focused on the star shape in the head of a screw, filled it with a shield, then rotated it. It was tricky because not only did he have to rotate the shape, but he had to raise it as the screw backed out of the hole. He got the first screw out and started on the second by the time Jack got back with two screwdrivers.
Jack held the other screwdriver out for Peter, saw he didn't need it, and put it in his back pocket to leave his hands free for his own. Then he applied his screwdriver to the screw closest to him.
Peter found the movement of the screw was predictable enough he could speed up removing the next one. And sped up even more on the next one. He had three out by the time Jack had his first out, and his fourth screw came out so fast it made a creaking noise. Then he found repeating the pattern in the next screw was easy enough that he could start on another before it was finished. Soon there was a chorus of creaking screws.
As Jack was laboriously finishing getting his third screw out, he saw Peter had finished all the rest. With a laugh, he said, “Hey, thanks for helping me with these screws. You're so fast, you nearly kept up to me!”
Peter chuckled and smiled back.
Putting the other screwdriver in his back pocket with the first, Jack lifted the top off the crate and peered in. He stroked the closest weapon. “Barrett M107A1! I'm in heaven! Look at all those beauties!” Turning his head toward Peter, he said, “I'm going to need scopes and ammo for these! And extra mags too!”
He set the lid back down almost reverently, then he practically ran from shelf to shelf, looking for accessories for his prized guns.
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