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A second short story for light holiday reading
(it would not add on to the first and so this second thread was created. I present ‘Quackery’)
<font size=”3″>A couple were in Australia visiting friends for a few weeks. The friends were hosts to a couple of 14 year old girls from Europe, not anyone we know. The girls were somewhat musically inclined although it was uncertain if they would ever really amount to anything. Their school presented short informal band concerts on a weekly basis and the hosts and friends attended. The girls were in the school’s band playing percussion, and rather loudly, on opposite sides in the far back row against the wall. They would have been placed out in the hall if that were possible. The word ‘scamp’ was invented to describe these two. During moments between songs they practiced their duck calls. These were not so much ‘quacking’ but rather the sort of ‘wreh-wreh-wreh’ sounds ducks make when talking closely to each other and others nearby while feeding or cruising around. The girls would trade off sounds, ‘Call and Response’, ending with a frenzied chorus of genuine quacking. Anyone looking back at them saw only two heads sticking up wearing fatuous innocent grins. The audience loved it, the band director not so much. Somewhat of a grouch, the director after that concert lowered the boom baseball style. “Yer out!” Sadly, they shuffled off stage. “It wasn’t like we did it during the music!” “He’s just a” (insert rough Aussie slang term they hoped the mom-and-dad hosts didn’t hear or know was in their vocabulary. If caught out, they had planned their response: Mom: “where did you hear that!!” “From dad.” Dad: “where did you hear that??” “From mom”).</font>
<font size=”3″>And then a strange thing happened. The host dad was somewhat of a trickster himself but he swore he had nothing to do with it. Suspicion immediately fell upon one of the visiting friends who innocently said “I had nothing to do with whatever it was, guys!” But they remembered that one time about a year ago, when….. At the next concert there arose an orchestrated chant: “ducks, ducks, quack, quack, ducks, ducks, etc”. Repeated several times, yes, and louder each time. This was as the band was warming up for several minutes. The director caved and faced the crowd. “I will see what can be done, folks. But the ducks are not here tonight”. “Oh yes they are!” Band member, thumb over shoulder, points back. Director sighed and walked back to their positions, where the two sat with heads hanging low. He spoke quickly, indicating he would signal and they were to watch and obey, <or else>. It went great. Big round of applause for their first time. The director signaled several times more during the concert and at the very end someone from the audience, it couldn’t have been the host dad could it? (the girls had to get there somehow, after all), loudly called out “hunting season’s coming!” Frantic “Quack,quack,quack,quack”, plus several more. Huge laughter and round of applause with cheers and thank-yous for the director for allowing it to continue. </font>
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