Godwin Okojie II

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my reaction series, where today I am going to reacting and breaking down Chapter 4!

Fair warning: this might be a longer post than usual!

Let’s get into it!

FULL CHAPTER WITH COMMENTARY

October went back to the convertible with us, and on the way to Mrs. Gridbes’ house, remarked, “Such a pity that the mansion we saw burned down.”

“The intruder could have burned the house,” George said.

“Good observation, Captain Obvious!” Aidan added in disgust.

Ok, pretty good opening dialogue so far…I feel like we’re heading in the right direction.

“Yep, it’s no surprise,” seconded October, slightly frowning. “He didn’t want us to go to Mrs. Gridbes.”

“But, for Pete’s sake, why in the world wouldn’t he want us to go to Mrs. Gridbes? Who is this guy?” I exploded. “I mean, she doesn’t have a mystery yet, does she?”

“Well, probably not, but we can check, just in case, and we will check,” October declared firmly. “I’m not about to let some dumb warning stop me from solving this case.”

“Suppose she doesn’t have a mystery, October? Will you go home? Can I go home? Does anyone want to get something to eat?” David asked.

“Not on your life. She may not have a mystery, but still I’m not going to leave until I find a mystery, solve it, and find out who did all these things,” October asserted. “Furthermore, that man may be involved in the mystery.”

Never mind. WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING ABOUT FINDING A MYSTERY?!

“Great Batman’s cowl! I never thought of that!” I exclaimed. “Well, if what October said is true, then let’s be really careful that…”

“Ok guys…” Aidan interrupted. “I just want you all to hear me. He threw…a bomb…at us. He tried to kidnap me in a house that he burned down. He nearly attacked us at the mall. He stood in front of our car on an open road in the middle of nowhere – and all of this happened in different parts of the country – the fourth largest country in the world! Does he even have a car? This guy is nuts! How could he not be a part of the mystery? We can’t even tell if we are following him, or if he is following us. Does anyone else see what I am seeing?”

Pretty good recap, Aidan, and a summary of how ridiculous this broken excuse of a plot has been so far!

No one answered. The boys kept driving. Two minutes later October reached a sign: ROAD CLOSED. Detour in half a mile.

“By jingo!” October cried out.

“Just our luck,” George said in disgust.

“Now what do we do?” Chase asked worriedly.

October did not answer but simply turned toward the detour.

Things seemed great for a while, but a few minutes later it was pretty clear October was lost.

“Oh, come on!” George muttered.

“I hope we’re not lost!” Chase exclaimed.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” October stated grimly, “but I think we are lost.”

“Great stars!” Chase exclaimed. “Now what?”

“Wait a second,” George realized. “I see a house!”

“Oh…my…goodness, not again,” Aidan sighed.

“Finally,” October exulted.

To everyone’s relief, it was Mrs. Gridbes house. It was only five minutes before we arrived, and when we got out of the car, October exclaimed, “Great Caesar’s musket! Why, by golly, what a beautiful mansion!”

That detour issue was resolved way too quickly. What was the point of this if it was just going to get resolved.

“You said it! I have to admit, Mrs. Gridbes must be rich!” George remarked.

The mansion was neatly painted with coats of pink paint, and it was probably 9000 square feet.

“I see Mrs. Gridbes across the yard!” I raved. “Let’s go meet her!”

Ok, maybe there should have been an actual narration or description of Jake or October actually seeing Mrs. Gridbes instead of it being communicated entirely through dialogue.

As they drew closer to the shadowy figure, they realized that it wasn’t Mrs. Gridbes.

“Rats! It’s only a mirage!” I frowned in disgust and disappointment.

Why did they have a mirage?

“But if she’s not here, then where the dickens is she?” October asked. “She couldn’t just vanish into thin air, could she?”

“Maybe she’s in the house,” George suggested. “Suppose we check to make sure?”

“That’s a good idea,” October agreed, and we hurried into the house. The front door was open.

NO ONE IS GOING TO QUESTION WHY THE FRONT DOOR IS JUST OPEN?! HAS NO ONE IN THIS GROUP SEEN ANY HORROR MOVIES AT ALL?! OR LEARNED ANYTHING FROM THE PREVIOUS THREE CLOBBING CHAPTERS?!

When we got inside, we looked at the house closely.
“I’d have to give this house ten stars!” George remarked.

“Of course, she has an amazing house. She’s a teacher!” October laughed.

The interior part of her house looked more attractive than the exterior part. The smooth texture of the walls got in touch with October’s joyous feeling.

October could smell the breath of the beautiful home the teacher dwelled in. It was as sweet as a sunflower. October not only thought it was beautiful but also interesting as well.

Ok, this is a nice attempt at sensory detail.

Scarcely had October thought everything was fine when suddenly, there was a dashing in the distance.

“Guys, did you hear that?” October asked warily.

“I don’t know, but what the dickens was that? Is Mrs. Gridbes exercising or something?” Chase queried.

“Or something,” murmured October, shrugging. He knew Mrs. Gridbes wasn’t running because of one thing: That noise was deeper than Mrs. Gridbes’ running, for all he knew.

“But if she is the one who didn’t run, then whodunit?” said October as he started to laugh nervously.

Ha ha ha ha.

“Great goodness! Could it be the intruder…again?” guessed October.

The thought was so nonsensical, illogical and downright lacking sense that he could just slap himself in the face just about now, but his detective instinct stopped him. As a detective, he knew that no theory could be illogical, especially after this past week! Then, a dog entered the room.

Before October could say anything, the dog barked and flashed a look that seemed to say, “Don’t you wanna know who that is?”

October was as surprised as a jack-in-the-box. He pondered, “Hmm, that dog is right. Well, the theory may be crazy and all, but so what? Besides, we may find out where Mrs. Gridbes is if we listen to this hound.”

Giving Buster a “Yes, I do” smile, October announced, “Well, boys, I think we have a teacher to find.” Then, he started running with the mysterious, but very helpful dog.

What. The Clob. Was This? This is how they’re going to find Mrs. Gridbes?

At this moment, Mrs. Gridbes was alone. Well, not exactly alone. She was with her two dogs, Charlie and Cooper, in the living room. Everything was pretty normal. Unaware that some teenagers were trying to find her, she thought everything was where they should be. At any minute now, the other former teachers would arrive.

Suddenly, the bell rang.

“Well, good gracious!” she exclaimed to herself. “They’re here!”

She quickly came to the door, and the other teachers, Mrs. Garls, Mrs. Lail, Mrs. Sawdler, Mrs. Hundle, and Mrs. Nell came inside.

Ok, why haven’t she seen October and his friends during this point? They just left the front door!

“Hi, Mrs. Gridbes!” chorused the other teachers.

“Hello!” Mrs. Gridbes replied.

When Mrs. Gridbes invited them to sit down, suddenly Buster ran up to the living room as fast as a speeding rocket.

“Good heavens!” Mrs. Lail exclaimed. “Where did that beagle come from?”

She didn’t know anything about this mystery dog.

“It’s a…beagle?” Mrs. Gridbes reiterated skeptically.

“Well, it looks like it might be 3 and a half years old,” Mrs. Garls remarked.

Well, you’d expect Buster to know what to do, but this time Buster was skeptical as Mrs. Gridbes was. But Cooper growled at Buster, and Cooper’s look said, “Back off, pal, or else!”

Just because Buster was curious and determined didn’t mean he wasn’t defensive, and his look retorted, “Look, I don’t know who you are, so you back off!”

Cooper frowned but stepped away.

Dogs are having conversations with clobbing looks. This is a clobbing stupid chapter. CAN WE GET BACK TO THE PLOT, PLEASE?

At that moment October had noticed that Buster, his newfound canine friend wasn’t at his side.

“Buster!” he exclaimed. “Buster, where are you? Houdini’s underwear! I hope he didn’t get lost!”

How does he know that dog’s name is Buster?

“This place is a forest,” George remarked; “maybe Buster did get lost…”

“Let’s think positively,” October cut in. “Hmmm, where could he have gone?”

Suddenly there was an excited bark in the distance. Bark! Bark! Bark!

“Oh my crow! That was Buster!” October exclaimed.

Dashing quickly and excitedly, we hurried toward Buster.

The running felt like an earthquake to Mrs. Gridbes and the other teachers.

“Maybe the owner’s coming!” Mrs. Nell observed, hearing running feet.

At this moment, October stopped running when he reached the living room.

“Oh, good afternoon, Mrs. Gridbes,” he said politely. “Is my dog bothering you?”
WHY are you saying that’s your dog?

“Who are you, and what is your dog’s name?” Mrs. Gridbes queried. “And how do you know my name

So she has literally no idea who you are and why you’re coming. ‘

12-YEAR-OLD ME, this is not how this would work in real life. Trust me.

“Well, my name is October Johnson, and this is my dog, Buster,” October replied. “And I know your name because I’ve heard it from my friend, Jake Harling. You’re his teacher.”

“You’ve heard it from Jake? Is…is he here?”

“You better believe it!” called a familiar voice. David, George, Chase, Aidan, and me — Jake, approached the living room.

“Hi, Mrs. Gridbes,” I greeted her pleasantly. “These are my friends David Wayne, George McStevenson, Chase Norwell, and Aidan Johnson. Guys, these other teachers are Mrs. Garls, Mrs. Sawdler, Mrs. Lail, Mrs. Hundle, and Mrs. Nell.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said the other teachers as they all exchanged pleasantries.

“Well, as you see, Mrs. Gridbes and Mrs. Garls were my fourth grade teachers, and Mrs. Hundle was my second grade teacher,” I explained.

Interesting. I can’t wait to see how this becomes relevant later.

“Really?” October asked incredulously.

“You bet your boots they were,” I replied.

Mrs. Gridbes smiled, Mrs. Garls grinned, and Mrs.
Hundle chuckled.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Hiss! Hiss! There was a sound coming from another room.

“Good night! What was that?” Chase exclaimed.

“Was that popcorn or something?” asked October.

“No, I haven’t cooked any popcorn,” Mrs. Gridbes replied.

October looked out the window warily and frantically, and he saw something terribly horrifying. Something dark and sizzling was plummeting toward Mrs. Gridbes’ lawn. It was a bomb!

“Great balls of fire and krypton! It’s a bomb!” October cried out.

Yes, October, we know that already.

“And it’s rolling onto Mrs. Gridbes’ lawn!” Mrs. Nell gasped.

“Dear me! Not my lawn!” Mrs. Gridbes wailed.

“Not my lawn”? Mrs. Gridbes, you have guests! The whole house could explode!

The sizzling sound of the fuse, although it wasn’t popcorn, was like hot fire on a mansion, and it burned shorter and shorter. There was little time to act. The beautiful Alice-in-Wonderland lawn was at stake, and there was nothing the team could do to save it. This was going to hurt, as Mrs. Gridbes took great pride in her lawn. Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise that shook the entire house. Smoke and dust filled the room. Dust was everywhere. Everyone groaned in disgust, but they were only mildly injured, as most of the explosion happened on the lawn. It wasn’t as bad as we thought.

This was a better ending than anything in the previous chapter.

SO WHAT WAS UP WITH THIS CHAPTER?

Chapter 4…another disappointing entry.

Most of this chapter is incoherent filler.

The detour portion could have been interesting sorta.

October and his friends are acting like idiots the way they’re handling the Mrs. Gridbes’ situation.

And the overall chapter, in my opinion, is just so boring. The most exciting part of the story is the ending where a bomb blows up Mrs. Gridbes’ lawn!

Which in itself is just repetitive from the ending of chapter 1/the beginning of chapter 2!

But that’s what I think.

Comment on what you thought of this chapter. Did you like it? Hate it? How do you think it could be better?

Stay tuned for Chapter 5: The Bomb Threat, which will be coming next week!