27.12.2006
Eight
Vlll
http://www.netsaga.is/media/files/Boogaloo.mp3
"Laugardalur (hotspringvalley) is a rural community just above Grimsnes in Arnes-county. Laugardalur isn´t a real valley as such, but a garland or an
inlet into the mountain range between Mt. Laugarvatn (602 m.a.s.) and Mt. Efstidalur (627 m.a.s.). Further away there is Mt. Middalur (681 m.a.s.) The slopes are steep, there are trees far and wide, but many look badly, because of reckless treatment. On flat country The Laugarvatn ( 2,14
squarekm) is most obvious, mostly shallow, much vegetation on its bottom and lukewarm far and wide. Its defluent is Hola -river into Apavatn (Apelake).
Subterranean heat is great far and wide in Laugardalur.Laugardalur is a popular summer place of residence for people from thickly populated areas. Many summerhouses and trailers are placed there and in
summer-weekends hundreds of people dwell in tents. "
Sveinn closes Arbók Arnesinga (yearbook) and drops it on the blue linoleum floor. How can I use this information for my essay? He speculates for a
moment, while lying flat in the built-in bed in his private room in Kos. The room is white-painted; the couch on one side, but the built-in desk, drawer and shelf on the other side, with a light beech-film. On the walls he has taped posters showing his heroes; Neil Young and Rolling Stones; clippings from English football-magazines honour his walls; mostly of
players from Manchester United.Sveinn or Svenni attends The Menntaskoli at Laugarvatn (junior college) as do almost two hundred other youngsters. The pupils come from allover the
country, but understandably mostly from the south of Iceland, but he just as a few others from Keflavik have chosen to seek the quietness in the countryside, where there is adequate space for the lively teenagers. In
Svenni´s case the closeness to the Athletic Teacher Training school isn´t all bad, but he´s a real football fan like most men on Earth. Some kind of friendship is between him and some of the nation´s most promising footballers who attended the school and amongst them was Asgeir Elíasson
who later became Iceland´s national football team´s trainer. The friendship never became closer, than greetings on a street, in the only store or when the schools´ football teams dealt with each other. Their principal was very strict when it came to out-door and sleeping rules for the pupils who
all were about twenty years of age.Svenni hears someone dealing strongly with the doorknob resultlessly, but then Holmi´s high rusty voice presses itself through the door.
-Svenni have you seen the weather? Let´s play fussball, you swot!
-Not now Holmi. Svenni´s gentle voice usually has a soothing influence on those who listen... I have to finish an essay for teacher Halli Matt before morning..., but not on Holmi who is the only pupil from Thorshofn in far north-east Iceland. Medium height, fairly athletic built, blond, happy and noisy lad.
-Don´t do this to us, Svenni! The boys are waiting for us out on the field, man.
-I have postponed my essay two times already and haven´t yet read the book I build it on.
-What´s the tattered old book´s name, the high rusty one out in the corridor implies, perhabs I can help you out?
-The Laugarvatn-school thirty years old, replies the room´s owner with his gentle voice, and I´m sure not going to accept your offer, Holmi. Holmi is noted for being one of those who think he knows everything, until there comes the moment.
- I´ll join you in a little while, when I ´ve looked
into the book, Sveinn concludes their conversation through the door this
time.-OK then, you bloody swot, Holmi shouts greetingly when he turns to the stairs which he takes in two giant steps in his football-shoes.
-Where´s Svenni, six boys yell harmoniously from where they´re waiting in suspense on the field with the ball between them.
-He´ll join us later. Has to finish some essay for teacher Halli Matt, Holmi answers with his high rusty voice and kicks the ball towards the wester goal. The post rattles loudly when the ball hits it after Holmi´s
thunder. -Did you see that, boys! But they had not, because they were thinking about who could be the eight player in their coming game.
-Loki! Couldn´t you get Gardar to join us, just until Svenni arrives. It´s quite impossible not having at least four players in a team; you used to be his room-mate, Gudjon says and nails the ball to the post and right inside the goal, when the ball had returned with high speed from Holmi´s thunder.
Loki who has really changed a lot in appearance and behaviour since he was freed from his parents´ protecting arms in Keflavik, doesn´t think it
feasable trying to get Gardar to join them in a football match, being aware of Gardar´s low opinion on this silly game, where people run after a ball on a wide field. He has a whole different opinion on volleyball, which he practises with good results.-You are the most able to get him, Loki. You were his roommate three winters.
-I´ll try, but I can´t promise you a positive result, he replies reluctantly, before he runs towards Kos, a student´s quarters.
At the Menntaskoli at Laugarvatn there are two student´s quarters for pupils who live far away. They are in two double-wing buildings a small distance from the village; in the one that road-travellers see first when they come from Selfoss or over the cliff from Thingvellir there are only boys except a few girls in the forth class and are thus privileged with a single room, but in the other, Nos the ladies´quarters are in one of the two wings.
He runs to the left into the dark corridor on the upper floor, where there are two-room bedrooms on the left side, but single rooms for fourth class students on the right.
He knocks on Gardar´s door, but when no-one replies
he enters. Perhabs he´s taken a nap? Loki walks to the bed, lifts the bed-clothes, but there´s no Gardar there. Where might he be? he´s thinking; best to ask Svenni he decides when he hears the sound of Neil Young´s After the Goldrush through the thin white-painted wall. He gets startled when he turns to the door. Standing in the doorway is nobody else but Jon his tormenter Jonsson. This can´t be happening, he tries to close
his eyes and reopen them, but... Jon is still there.
-Wha...what are you doing here, Loki asks freightingly maybe because it´s like his foe´s voice is coming from inside himself. I sure hope he´s not
a new student in my school!-Don´t be afraid, dear friend. I´m not here to do you any harm, but instead I have a message for you. Your parents want you to give them a call
immediately!-Has something happened back home, he groans finding the message a little peculiar, because he´d spoken to his mum just last evening.
-No, no, there´s nothing the matter. I just wanted to prove something for them, Jon informs soothingly his freightened victim.
-You´ve hardly travelled all this way, just to prove something to people who don´t really concern you! Eventhough I´m wet behind the ears, I can´t
believe any such nonsense, please tell me what´s your real purpose, Jon, son of Jon, son of Jon!!! Loki Fownisson speaks like the man in control,
feeling at home. He´s quite certain that his friends and school-chums would stand by his side if and when his ancient enemy was going to try some
dirty tricks on him.Having overcome his freight of the wretch Loki´s about to show his unwelcomed guest who´s the master, primarily because the guest doesn´t really look like anything at all, so small and thin. When he tries to take hold of his scruff Loki gets astounded......