27.12.2006
Fourteen
XlV
http://www.netsaga.is/media/files/Satan%C2%B4s%20Choice-Skrattans%20Val.mp3
Out of each classroom students come running. The crowd streams down to the cellar, where the dining -hall is located.
As usual the door´s closed. Therefore everyone sits down on the floor or in the stairs that goes in circles all the way up to the tower which is on the fourth floor.
At moments when the food-smell tickles the senses enormously, the hungry pupils sit in all steps. Today the scent is unusally delicious and creeps throughout the large building making the students almost insane of curiosity and anticipation.
The youngsters try to control their lust waiting in the stairs, chatting and whispering, until Gauja the pretty cook´s assistant who comes from Sandgerdi, a village close to Keflavik and had been in the
district´s high school last winter, opens the double-door. She makes the heels save the head when the crowd comes rushing in and runs straight through the hall up on the stage, where the delicious lunch is waiting in large grey steel-pots.
The chef pours out the maindish, minced meat on the plates held by the customers, but an assistant-girl on each side gave the spaghetti.
The pupils with overfilled dishes lick their lips as they turn to a seat at some of the tables lying in four rows in the hall which is used for all kinds of recreation when school´s out each day.
At a time when there´s almost nothing left of the enormous cue, and most pupils are sitting eating their food (with a lot of ketchup) in an unusual quietness, teacher Olafur enters the hall accompanied by another teacher with even a bigger
belly, Egill who slakes the pupils´ thirst for mathematic. When these elegant sirs and examples enter a loud clatter runs through the hall, when Olaf´s joke gets transferred to each ear and the latter looks in sheer
surprise on his co-teacher, when the hall almost explodes in jolly laughter, but Olafur only gives a sarcastic smile. At a table closest to one of the center of the three windows Simmi, Bjorn and Ingvar who´s knicknamed Julli among friends. They had met each other first time when they came to the school in the fall of 1971.
Ingvar who is medium in height, has coal-black, long and smooth hair and a nose like an indian chief, quite a handsome, but very shy teenager lives with his parents in the north-west of Iceland, in the Westfiords. He´s extremely intelligent and therefore he skipped a class in elementary school and is a year younger than his friends. And for that reason he´s
somewhat naive and innocent and gets easily tamed into all kinds of nonscense. .. Bjorn (Bear) on the other hand is neither naive nor innocent, rather the opposite always having to lead others. The girls find him extremely good looking
and therefore he´s quite a giggolo. The guys who have seen him naked don´t find it strange at all how easy it is for him to make use of women´s forbidden fruit, the one that most men can only dream of.
-Bjorn is always on their shoulder blades, is usually the refrain of the boys, who return alone to their beds after school-dances. But Baldur who´s a local farmer´s son reduces their discontent with themselves by the quoting:
"Small dicks enlarge more."
-I just don´t understand myself, not having already examined those caves, Sigmar says to his friends, where they´re all busy sucking up the chinese
worms which the Italian Marco Polo introduced to his countrymen. I who am such an investigator... He flinges his raven hair from his right shoulder to
the left one. -Well.. I don´t find it peculiar Simmi, because you´ve been really busy; entertaining yourself, drinking alcohol, playing soccer and bridge, Bjorn says with his mouth so full that the worms make a bridge to the plate.
-And studying, Ingvar adds awkwardly, while sucking up the little monsters.
-Not everybody does what you do, my dear Julli, Sigmar teases him a little- he himself is of the kind that selfdom has time for the school-books. And
then he carries on: Aren´t you going to join me on Saturday?
-Of course, they answer at the same time they swallow the last ones.
XV
For the reason the three friends have decided now being on their fourth year on Laugarvatn to make come true the plan to go on a field-trip up on Laugarvatnsvellir where they are going to see these caves, they prepare themselves the evening before; long knickers, wool jumpers, wool socks and travel shoes.
They had tried to get Oddur´s russian GAZ jeep and himself of course, but that wasn´t possible because of a troubled low drive, besides Oddur had planned on going up on Mt. Laugarvatn trying to shoot some rjupa (ptarmigans) that same morning along with Siggi, Kristjan and Loki Fownis.
Oddur is a farmer´s son from Borgarfiord and a particular pupil in some ways; he´s both older than his classmates, has long hair and a full beard. Besides what he´s the only pupil that owns a car. He often goes up on the mountains, either walking or on the jeep and usually has his shotgun alongside.
-Simmi my friend, Oddur begins with his amusingly ticklish high-pitched voice, I´d certainly like to join you in this cave-journey, but I´ve been planning and waiting for a chance like this to go on a good hunt. Halfdan Omar biology-teacher was informing me that this is an excellent year for shooting rjupa. He´s coming along with us with his gun.
Feeing a bit disappointed over Oddur´s reply Simmi returns to his future travelling-partners, who are waiting patiently for the answer in Bjorn´s room. The room´s lord is sitting in his bed, while Ingvar is on the only chair, leaning it dangerously back.
-Well lads! The decision has been made, that is, we´ll use our feet; Oddur is going to shoot some birds tomorrow elsewhere,
Sigmar announces while pointing outside on the majestic slopes of Mt. Laugarvatn. The thin cover of snow on the mountain side isn´t worth worrying about, giving high hopes that tomorrow´s journey will be fairly easy up on the moor of Lyngdal (lingvalley).
When Sigmar bends a little over Ingvar, where he´s leaning back by the window he loses his balance and tumbles harshly on the bed´s hard side. His friends have a fit of laughter, a custom which is usual for many who witness the disaster of others.
The neurosis laughter comes to an end just as quickly when they notice the gaping wound on the back of their friend´s head.
-Jesussss, Bjorn moans. I´m really sorry, Ingvar, I didn´t reckon it was so serious.
-It´ll need some stiching, I reckon, Sigmar says calmly, just like the accident were some daily routine. He stretches for the towel that´s hanging by the sink, whilst he tells Bjorn that in his opinion it would be right to give the local nurse a ring.
He puts the dirty towel on the wound thus stopping the blood, which has already colored the collar.
While they´re waiting for the nurse, who´s a proxy for the doctor who visits the village once a week, they carry on planning the supposedly light trip.
-This should teach you not to ride the chair like you do, Ingvar, Bjorn lightly scolds the boy whom he has decided to protect from the evils of the world. -This means presumably that you won´t be able to come along with us in the morning. We´ll go, won´t we, Simmi.
Simmi nods being abscent minded because he´s having this strong whispering feeling at the same time, that they should check whether Loki Fownis is willing to take his place.
-Loki Fownis? Simmi asks with a confused voice.
-Loki Fownis! ?? Bjorn repeats somewhat confusingly. -What about him?
-Ya...Sigmar didn´t want to admit anything about the whispers in his head. I was just speculating whether Loki would like to come along, because of Julli´s accident, Sigmar lies coldly.
-I had already asked him but he told me that he´d rather go look for them birds with Oddur because he´d been dreaming about it for a long time.
Sigmar turns and twists his head when the whispering-voice tells him, that if they would borrow the cook´s gun, then Oli would come along, for he was just as eager to visit them caves.
Being very confused he shakes his head once again, thus making his shoulder-length hair twist about, until he comes
to a decision.
-Look Bjorn. The cook and I have come to like each other in such a way, that I´m certain he´ll lend me his shotgun, if I promise to bring him a few rjupur (ptarmigans).
-It´s worth the try, Bjorn approves with higher hopes.