Ortega Family Adventure: Part 5

Adventures of Banu And Selena
The Race

         

W

hile they waited for the Hartnus to arrive, Helena organized the race.
         "OK, we have the route. Who is going first?" Helena asked, looking at the children.
         "Me, me, me," Selena said as she readied her bike.
         "OK, Selena," Helena said as she drew a line in the dirt with the toe of her shoe.
         "Line up on the line and get ready to go. I will time your loop. You are competing against yourself. So, I expect each time around to get faster. Are you ready?"
         Selena move her front tire to the line and said, "Yes."
         "Get set."
         "Go!" Helena said.
         Selena ran alongside the bike then jumped on and started pedaling. It was slight uphill to the first turn. She picked up speed as she came to the corner and turned out of sight behind the trees.
         Sheena was standing next to Issolya. The boys were grouped around a large stone in the ground, talking about it.
         "So, do you go to school here?" Sheena asked.
         "Yes. We go to Meleas Elementary over that way," Issolya waved in the general direction that Selena pedaled off in, then added. "I don't know exactly where it is because a bus takes us to it. Only Max goes to a different school because he is only four and a half. When he turns five he will go to our school, too."
         "Oh. My sisters will probably go where Max goes. My brothers ..." Sheena started then stopped.
         "Brothers? I don't see them," Issolya said while she looked around.
         "Yeah. They aren't here. They didn't make it through. I miss them," Sheena said.
         "Oh that's terrible. I am so sorry," Issolya said then impulsively hugged the young Hare-girl. Issolya is four and a half feet tall. The top of Sheena's head only came to the middle of her chest.
         A muffled "Thank you" could be heard from the Hare-girl.
         "OK, Harris you are up next!" Helena said loudly.
         Harris walked his scooter over to the starting line and got ready to go.
         "Are you ready?" Helena asked her brother.
         "Yes!"
         "OK. Get set."
         "Go!" Helena said.
         Harris ran alongside his scooter then hopped on and started kicking the ground with his left foot. He reached the corner and turned a little wide but got back on the trail quickly then disappeared behind the trees.
         The Hare triplets, Mynna, Ollna, and Cylna, joined Max, Banu, and Yuri at the rock. It was a dark black rock with a white stripe running just off center around it. It was as big as Max's head. The black part sparkled.
         "I think that is a quartz streak running through it," Yuri said as he reached down and ran his fingers over it.
         "What is quartz?" Max asked.
         "It's a type of crystal, only it doesn't usually have any power. Although my brother Huuni said some concentrated quartz can be charged up, but it doesn't hold the charge for long," Yuri answered.
         Max nodded as did the other children.
         "We use blue crystals to light up our home," Mynna said then added. "Well, we used to anyway."
         "Do you have any sisters?" Cylna asked Yuri.
         "Yes. I have two older sisters. They are old like Helena. I don't see them very often."
         "Why not?" Mynna asked.
         "They have jobs. Ruby works for a company that makes wands for wizards. Garnet works in the movies in Lost Angeles ... or something like that."
         "Your sisters are named after gemstones?" Cylna asked.
         "Yes. Our grandparents worked in a gem mine before we moved here. It's kind of a tradition."
         "Neat," Ollna said.
         "OK, Issolya you are up next. Then Banu, Yuri ..."
         "I wanna run too," Sheena said.
         "OK, you can go right after Banu, then Yuri. Max do you want to go?"
         Max looked worried and shook his head.
         Issolya wheeled her bike to the starting line.
         "There is Selena!" Banu said pointing down the trail. Selena was pedaling hard up the trail at them.
         "Focus on your run, Issolya."
         Issolya nodded and gripped the handle bar of her bike and set her feet.
         "Get set."
         "Go!" Helena said.
         Issolya ran and jumped on her bike. It wobbled a bit, but she got it back under control. She was halfway up the trail when Selena crossed the finish line.
         "Yay!" Banu and Max shouted when Selena crossed the line.
         Selena stopped, set her bike down, and dug a water bottle out of her backpack. After she drank some water she asked, "How was my time?"
         "You took 2 minutes and 14 seconds," Helena said.
         One by one the older children took turns racing around the track. Harris took almost three and a half minutes. Issolya took two minutes, she arrives just a few seconds after Harris. Banu took almost four minutes. Sheena passed him during her run. Sheena was the fastest. Even faster than the bicycles. Her lap only took her one minute and twenty-two seconds. Yuri was just slightly slower than Banu.
         The children all took their second run around the track after getting water. Max, Mynna, Ollna, and Cylna cheered everyone who ran. They all shaved a few seconds off their time on the second lap.
         On the third lap a couple of minutes after Banu started everyone heard him yelp and yell "Hey, gimme those back!"
         Selena didn't hesitate. She leaped on her bike and took off. Sheena was right behind her. Then Harris and the rest. Helena took off along the other leg of the track.
         When Selena rounded the first corner, about halfway down she could see Banu just getting up and confronting three older boys. One, a half-elf, held Banu's goggles over his head. She peddled really hard and came to a sliding stop next to Banu. She yelled at the half-elf, "Give those back, Elmo!"
         "Ha, what're you gonna do about it?" Elmo sneered at her.
         Sheena leaped and landed both her feet in the taller Elmo's chest, snatched the goggles out of his hand and landed on her feet. She hopped over to Banu and handed him his goggles. Elmo staggered back from the Hare hitting him. He had two bunny prints on his T-shirt where she'd hit him.
         "Don't mess my friend, jerk" Sheena said to Elmo.
         "Hey!" was all Elmo got out before Harris tackled him landing on the other two older boys that had been standing next to him. Harris rolled to his feet with his fists balled up and confronted the older boys.
         They untangled themselves and stood up again. It was a half-troll, a human-boy, and Elmo.
         "Ha. Gotta have a bunch of girls stick up for you," the human-boy said with a sneer.
         "I ain't no girl, Marcus," Harris said taking a step forward. He as tall as Marcus and only slightly smaller than the Troll-boy and Elmo. Marcus took a step back.
         Yuri rolled up and said, "Me either, Morris. I don't care if you're half Troll. I will still kick your butt."
         Helena had quietly stepped up behind the three bullies and said, "Well, a Troll is about twice as strong as a human of the same size. And a dwarf is twice as strong as a human that is bigger than they are. Morris, Elmo, and Marcus I'd say you little jerks are in a spot of trouble, right now. I might be forced to mention this to your older sisters next time I see them."
         The three bullies jumped, and turned to look at Helena.
         She stepped up closer, and continued, "And, seriously, it's really stupid to antagonize a bear person like Banardu. They have retractable claws. I would love to hear your explanation to your mother why you have bear claw marks on your face.
         "Then there is my little brother, Harris; both of our brothers are over eight feet tall. You really want to be on the bad side of someone that in a few years be able to pick you up by your head and throw you, Marcus?"
         The three bullies started backing away.
         The half-Troll boy said, "We didn't mean nothing. We ..."
         "Save it," Helena said then added. "I suggest you find your way out of here before Sergeant Ortega gets here. She is not as nice as I am to bullies. Especially those that bully her children."
         The bullies wasted no time running off in to the apricot orchard.
         "Sheena, you got some moves, girl!" Helena said with a smile. She then walked up to Banu and said. "That was unpleasant. Let's get these back on you, and I'll race you to the finish line."
         Selena asked, "Who is Sergeant Ortega?"
         "That's your mother, Selena. She was a Master Sergeant in the California Army. She taught unarmed combat."
         Helena knelt next to Banu and helped him put his goggles back on. Once she stood up she said, "Ready?"
         The children sorted themselves out and all started back together.
         Once back at the starting line, they gathered around the moms and the Classnus and started all talking at once. Mrs. Ortega knelt and hugged Banu and asked, "Are you alright?"
         "Yes. It was Morris, Elmo, and Marcus being jerks again," he answered.
         She sighed, brushed him off with her hand, stood, and said, "Those little pests. I am of a mind to speak with their parents, but I know it would do no good."
         Just at that point a new group of Hares arrived. When they saw the Classnus they hugged and nuzzled.