Read Online Once Upon a Midnight Eerie: Book #2 (Misadventures of Edgar/Allan) by Gordon McAlpine - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Gordon McAlpine
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trick she employed whenever she was stumped by a question, something that both enlivened and cleared her mind?
But what
was
it?
“Chess pie!” Edgar exclaimed.
The director looked at them as if they had spoken in a foreign language. “What?”
“We mean—um, chess!” Allan said.
“Yes, we were”—Edgar slowly rose from the divan, playing for time—“we were playing chess on a beautiful luminescent board.”
Mr. Wender snapped to attention. “Go on.”
“Naturally, the chess game was very symbolic,” Edgar continued. “The black versus the white, representing the two sides of our famous great-great-great-great granduncle.”
Mr. Wender pursed his lips and then shook his head. “That’s been done before. It’s overworked.”
“But there was more to the dream!” Allan insisted.
They knew Poe’s life as well as they knew their own.
The director sighed as if disinterested, but indicated with a wave of his hand for the twins to continue.
“See, as we moved the pieces on the board, we didn’t talk about good and evil, as in the script, but about how much we missed our mother and father,” Edgar said.
“Hmmm,” Mr. Wender mused, growing more interested. “Yes, Poe
was
orphaned at a young age.”
Like us,
the boys thought.
“And then, at the very end of the dream,” Allan continued, infusing his voice with drama, “we realized that both the black and the white chess sets were missing their kings and queens and had been missing them
all along
.”
Mr. Wender’s eyes widened.
“Naturally, this prompted us to wonder: ‘Exactly what kind of chess game have we been playing?’” finished Edgar.
The twins waited for the director to answer the question.
“A mysterious chess game,” Mr. Wender muttered. He looked up, inspired. “A game that could be neither won nor lost!”
“Because it lacked the king and queen,” Allan said.
Mr. Wender whispered in German,
“Die Mutter
und der Vater . . .”
“Exactly,” Edgar and Allan answered in unison.
The boys’ famous ancestor hadn’t been lucky enough to be adopted by loving relatives who accepted him for who he was.
Edgar and Allan thought of Uncle Jack and Aunt Judith.
The Poe twins knew they’d been luckier than their great-great-great-great granduncle.
“By the end of our dream,” Allan said, “we understood a lot more about Edgar Allan Poe’s life.”
“All the ups and downs that are in your movie, Mr. Wender,” Edgar added.
Mr. Wender nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I could cut to a close-up of the chess board,” he said to himself. Then he opened his eyes. “Yes, the final shot of the movie!” A wide grin spread across his face. He slapped the Poe brothers on their shoulders and then turned to the crew, raising his voice. “Call the prop master! I need a luminescent chess board. And we’ll be changing the whole lighting setup.”
The crew snapped to action.
Mr. Wender turned back to Edgar and Allan. “That was quite a useful dream, boys.” He squinted suspiciously. “Wait a minute. Did you say you
shared
a dream?”
This was no time to get into all that.
Besides, there’d been no dream.
“No big deal,” the boys said in unison.
“Aren’t they little geniuses?” Cassie commented, hovering about the set.
Mr. Wender nodded and turned away, starting toward the lighting crew, calling out his new directions.
Edgar returned to the divan.
Allan returned to the chair.
Zzzzzz . . .
That afternoon—after Mr. Wender shouted, “Cut and print! That’s a wrap!” and the crew cheered and clapped Edgar and Allan on their backs—the Poe twins stopped in the lobby of the Pepper Tree Inn to send a postcard to their school friends.
WHAT THE POE TWINS DID NOT KNOW . . .
A RECEIPT IN CASSIE’S HANDBAG:
JACKSON DRUG STORE
3211 W. Diego St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
225-555-4938
----
1 bottle Rat Poison
$6.49
1 pack Syringes
$7.74
- - - - - -
But what
was
it?
“Chess pie!” Edgar exclaimed.
The director looked at them as if they had spoken in a foreign language. “What?”
“We mean—um, chess!” Allan said.
“Yes, we were”—Edgar slowly rose from the divan, playing for time—“we were playing chess on a beautiful luminescent board.”
Mr. Wender snapped to attention. “Go on.”
“Naturally, the chess game was very symbolic,” Edgar continued. “The black versus the white, representing the two sides of our famous great-great-great-great granduncle.”
Mr. Wender pursed his lips and then shook his head. “That’s been done before. It’s overworked.”
“But there was more to the dream!” Allan insisted.
They knew Poe’s life as well as they knew their own.
The director sighed as if disinterested, but indicated with a wave of his hand for the twins to continue.
“See, as we moved the pieces on the board, we didn’t talk about good and evil, as in the script, but about how much we missed our mother and father,” Edgar said.
“Hmmm,” Mr. Wender mused, growing more interested. “Yes, Poe
was
orphaned at a young age.”
Like us,
the boys thought.
“And then, at the very end of the dream,” Allan continued, infusing his voice with drama, “we realized that both the black and the white chess sets were missing their kings and queens and had been missing them
all along
.”
Mr. Wender’s eyes widened.
“Naturally, this prompted us to wonder: ‘Exactly what kind of chess game have we been playing?’” finished Edgar.
The twins waited for the director to answer the question.
“A mysterious chess game,” Mr. Wender muttered. He looked up, inspired. “A game that could be neither won nor lost!”
“Because it lacked the king and queen,” Allan said.
Mr. Wender whispered in German,
“Die Mutter
und der Vater . . .”
“Exactly,” Edgar and Allan answered in unison.
The boys’ famous ancestor hadn’t been lucky enough to be adopted by loving relatives who accepted him for who he was.
Edgar and Allan thought of Uncle Jack and Aunt Judith.
The Poe twins knew they’d been luckier than their great-great-great-great granduncle.
“By the end of our dream,” Allan said, “we understood a lot more about Edgar Allan Poe’s life.”
“All the ups and downs that are in your movie, Mr. Wender,” Edgar added.
Mr. Wender nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I could cut to a close-up of the chess board,” he said to himself. Then he opened his eyes. “Yes, the final shot of the movie!” A wide grin spread across his face. He slapped the Poe brothers on their shoulders and then turned to the crew, raising his voice. “Call the prop master! I need a luminescent chess board. And we’ll be changing the whole lighting setup.”
The crew snapped to action.
Mr. Wender turned back to Edgar and Allan. “That was quite a useful dream, boys.” He squinted suspiciously. “Wait a minute. Did you say you
shared
a dream?”
This was no time to get into all that.
Besides, there’d been no dream.
“No big deal,” the boys said in unison.
“Aren’t they little geniuses?” Cassie commented, hovering about the set.
Mr. Wender nodded and turned away, starting toward the lighting crew, calling out his new directions.
Edgar returned to the divan.
Allan returned to the chair.
Zzzzzz . . .
That afternoon—after Mr. Wender shouted, “Cut and print! That’s a wrap!” and the crew cheered and clapped Edgar and Allan on their backs—the Poe twins stopped in the lobby of the Pepper Tree Inn to send a postcard to their school friends.
WHAT THE POE TWINS DID NOT KNOW . . .
A RECEIPT IN CASSIE’S HANDBAG:
JACKSON DRUG STORE
3211 W. Diego St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
225-555-4938
----
1 bottle Rat Poison
$6.49
1 pack Syringes
$7.74
- - - - - -
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