Ivy's Tangle (Legend of the White Sword - Book 1)

Chapter 11 (Part 1) - Bows and Arrows

Gran's vegetable garden thrived, and I was continually amazed by the rapid growth. Ivy showed me how to thin the good plants, cutting them back to encourage fewer, but larger fruits and vegetables. Even so, the garden only required a couple days attention each week and we spent most of our afternoons on computer 'lessons'.

What my parents lacked in love and affection, they'd made up for with material crap. I'd been getting substantial allowances from both for years, but not needing much of anything—and never having friends to go places with—my bank account was sizable for a boy my age. I didn't know how many other kids got their allowance by direct deposit... I guessed very few.

I ordered a sixty-inch flat panel TV/monitor and a surround-sound system online to allow us to watch movies in style. Showing Ivy TV and movies was like taking an alien on a tour of Earth. I'd be staying at Gran's for all of high school, so I thought it made sense to make improvements. Mr. Ryan helped me borrow two overstuffed chairs from other empty bedrooms on the third floor, and I set up a modest theatre in my bedroom. It was only missing a concession stand.

I hadn't told Ivy about the modifications, and the next time she came for a lesson her eyes were as big as saucers. She examined the new equipment, settled herself into one chair, and stared up at the screen.

"Is that a computer too?" she asked.

"No, just a second screen attached to the laptop. It has a small computer of its own inside that lets you surf the internet and stream stuff, but that's all it can do."

She pointed to the speakers, "And these boxes?"

"They produce better sound than the speakers on the laptop. This will give you something closer to a proper movie theatre experience."

"Did you get this for me?"

"For both of us. Watching on the laptop is crappy."

"It's been wonderful!" Ivy said.

At first, I was taken aback by her intensity. Then I couldn't help laughing.

"Why don't you give this a try and see what you think?" I said.

"What are we going to watch?"

"The Fellowship of the Ring movie. It seemed wrong to show you on the laptop."

"What's that?" Ivy asked, pointing at the other new addition to my room.

I'd had pieces of my model airplane out on my desk before, but that was the first time she'd seen the whole thing together. She inspected my plane from props to tail.

"Is this a mechanical bird?" she asked.

Really, airplanes too? I thought. She must have driven to Gran's house.

"It's a model airplane," I said. "I'm ready to try flying it."

Ivy was fascinated by the paper and balsa WWII bomber I'd built. It was the only project I'd brought with me to Glastonbury Manor. I'd barely started the model when I found out about the move, and the pieces had packed easily enough. The finished plane had a four foot wingspan, the flight controls worked, and I'd painted it to accurately resemble the real deal. My plane was pretty awesome. One thing Gran's house had in spades was level lawn, giving me my pick of one-tenth-scale landing strips.

"How long did this take you to craft?" Ivy asked.

"Since I got here, plus a few more weeks. I'd already bought the parts and supplies. Most people buy the pre-built ones these days. You basically just snap on the wings and you're ready to fly."