Breathless: The Adventures of A Gymnast (Marci Book 1) Read online

  Breathless:

  The Adventures of a Gymnast

  J. M. Wilson

  Cathy Zolkowski

  Verona Publishing. Edina, Minnesota

  Copyright 1998 by J.M. Wilson. all rights reserved'

  ISBN 0-9667037-0-7

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware

  that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and

  destroyed,, to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher

  has received any payment for this "stripped book."

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, incidents, and dialogues are

  products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as

  real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons living or dead, is

  entirely coincidental.

  Published by Verona Publishing, 3300 Edinborough Way, Suite 209,

  Edina, Minnesota 55435

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmission any form

  or by any means, electronic or mechanical including but not limited

  to photocopying, recording or by any information storage and

  -

  Retrieval, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

  First Verona Edition

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1…Good Morning Wolfee

  Chapter 2…The Flight

  Chapter 3…Germany

  Chapter 4…The Chase

  Chapter 5…The Castle Cat

  Chapter 6…The Haunted Castle

  Chapter 7…The Spider

  Chapter 8…Escape From the Castle

  Chapter 9…Flight or Fight

  Chapter 10 …A very Special Spider

  Chapter 1

  Good Morning Wolfee

  The hot amber sun rose slowly in the east at

  six in the morning. An anxious young girl awoke

  to the rattle of her venetian blinds vibrating in a

  cool gust of wind. The breeze filled her room with

  the damp, sweet smell of earth and grass. It was

  the start of a perfect day. Like a kid on Christmas

  Eve, the little girl could hardly contain her excitement.

  She giggled uncontrollably while unraveling

  herself from white flannel sheets and burgundy

  cotton blankets. Too excited to make her bed, she

  left it in a jumbled mound.

  For Marci, it was one of the happiest times in

  the world. It was that special moment that kids all

  over the world looked forward to with joy and expectation.

  Why was she so excited? Because it was

  the first day of summer break, and Marci' like all

  fifth graders, had every intention of making this

  the "best vacation ever." It was to be the adventure

  of a lifetime. Today, she and her brother would

  travel to a faraway place, a small town in Europe

  by the name of Andernach. It was Marci's first trip

  without her parents. She was finally " a big girl'"

  Marci and her brother with careful attention

  to detail, had meticulously planned for this vacation

  for two years. Finally after much hard work'

  the trip which two years ago was considered to be

  an impossibility, was now on the eve of becoming

  a reality. The whole thing rested on a simple bet'

  Her parents, seeking to motivate their daughter to

  do better in school, offered her the opportunity of

  her dreams.

  "Marci, your father and I would like to make

  a deal with you," said her mother' "We know how

  much you enjoy spending time with your cousin

  Inga. so we decided that if you receive B's or better

  for the next two years, your dad and I will let you

  and your brother visit your relatives in Germany

  for an entire month."

  Marci remembered all the fun she had with

  her cousin Inga, whenever she came to visit. In years

  past Inga, a strong-willed ten year old, and Marci

  had developed quite a relationship. While mountain

  biking, climbing trees, and exploring mysterious

  abandoned places in the city, they had become

  best friends. Though a tempting offer, only one

  thing was needed to make the deal perfect.

  "Can we go by ourselves?" asked Marci, not

  really expecting a favorable response. To her surprise

  after a brief pause her mother spoke.

  "Yeah, sure!" said her mother. "If you get B's

  or above," she stressed, "you can go by yourselves."

  From that day forward, the bet was on. Of

  course her parents never really expected to have to

  fulfill their end of the bargain. Marci's highest grade

  up until that point had been a B- and that was in

  gym class. They just wanted to motivate the little

  girl to study and stop getting so many D's.

  The following year Marci, motivated by the

  future promise of unsupervised exploration, began

  treating school seriously.

  She started to study two hours every night.

  During the rest of her time she would dream about

  her trip to Germany. As a result, her grades showed

  remarkable improvement and her dream of vacationing

  in Germany was becoming crystal clear.

  Unwilling to go back on his promise, Marci's father

  Reluctantly bought the tickets and made Preparations

  for the trip. As planned, Marci and her

  brother would have an entire month to themselves.

  For Craig, there would be no more getting up early

  on Saturday morning to deliver Papers, and for

  Marci no more gymnastics practice. Her only responsibility

  for thirty days was to visit relatives and

  have fun.

  Excitedly, the little girl climbed from her bed

  and hurried to the window. Her room, small and

  cluttered, was the room of a true gymnast. Posters

  of well-known gymnasts plastered every wall but

  one. This special wall was reserved for all the ribbons,

  medals, plaques, and trophies she had won

  at gymnastics competitions. Her biggest and favorite

  award was a first place floor exercise trophy she

  won at the state meet last year. The big, shiny trophy

  was located to the right of her window as she

  looked out over the backyard from the second floor.

  In the middle of the yard was a large elm tree.

  Its branches, knotty and twisted, supported a tree

  house which Marci and her brother had built the

  previous summer. Marci's "castle in the sky" was

  like a second home. Sometimes she would pretend

  the house was her own private gymnastics club.

  She was the coach while her brother suffered as

  the hard working gymnast. Other times Marci

  would give in and play some of Craig's favorite

  games like chess or cards. But most of all" when

  her parents weren't looking, she enjoyed climbing

  as high as she could and swinging from its coiled

  branches. She would then proclaim herself, "Marc
i,

  Bars Champion of the World."

  Below the tree house was a blanket of green

  and yellow grass, and tiny little armies of white

  mushrooms surrounded the base of the tree. To the

  far left was her mother's garden' Deep furrows of

  corn, tomatoes, and carrots encouraged all sorts of

  insects and. animals to come and feed at will' Marci

  smiled as she caught a glimpse of a baby rabbit hiding

  among the tall green stalks of corn'

  "Look Wolfee! He's hiding in the same place

  I found you," she said while turning around to look

  at her spider cage.

  The spider cage was originally a five gallon

  fish tank that she bought at a garage sale' Marci

  felt that it was time for Wolfee to have a bigger

  home than a small pickle jar. In order to transform

  the tank into a home for Wolfee, she placed some

  wire mesh on top and decorated the bottom with

  broken twigs and rough rocks' Two spiny branches

  were then positioned to make a wide letter V. Dispersed

  throughout the center, she saw an intricate

  maze made of silken, crystal-like web. At the base

  of the V in the shadows, was a beautiful, large, dark

  spider. As if waking from a long night's sleep' the

  spider slowly stretched its eight hairy legs one by

  one. Then, with its eyes darting to and fro, it crept

  to the top of the web and waited.

  Wolfee was an unusual spider; whereas most

  tiger spiders are frightened of people, Wolfee was

  not. Marci, a connoisseur of spiders, recognized her

  uniqueness and treated the spider as her prized possession.

  Occasionally, Marci would find a large

  black ant crawling on her window sill and would

  toss it on the spider's net. Wolfee, of course, would

  bite the ant and wrap it in a sticky blanket of web.

  After eight months of Marci's pampering, Wolfee

  had grown nearly two inches. Her pet spider was

  in the middle of eating its usual morning black ant

  when Marci interrupted.

  "Good morning Wolfee," said Marci in her

  typical raspy voice. "How's your breakfast this

  morning?" Marci continued, "I have some bad

  news. Today's the day I leave for Germany," sand

  the little girl.

  "Oh, don't worry. I'll be all right" she continued.

  "I'll only be gone for the summer and mom

  said she'd be happy to look after you until I return.

  I'll even bring back a present for you! Would you

  like to eat German? I could bring back a German

  bug for you. Just think, you could tell all your

  friends that you've eaten German food"' Marci

  giggled, "what do you think about that?"

  The spider Paused for a brief moment, then

  continued about the business of wrapping and storing

  the ant. The pause, though short, was all Marci

  needed to imagine the spider had spoken' In an

  instant she was swept away into a fantastic world

  where spiders could talk. When Wolfee finished eating,

  she quickly climbed up to the top of the cage'

  Then from the apex of her webbed city, as if she

  were an owl perched high above the forest' she

  spoke.

  “Why Germany?" said the spider' "I hear you

  can get juicier bugs from the Brazilian rain forest."

  "That may be so," said the little girl' "But

  we have no relatives in Brazil, at least none that I

  know of. And my parents won't let me go anywhere

  if I can't stay with relatives."

  "l see," said the spider' "So you will go by

  yourself? Your parents will not accompany you?"

  "Of course my parents aren't coming. That

  would be no fun at all," she said with a playful look

  of disgust.

  "Besides, I won't be alone, my geeky brother's

  coming with me."

  Though it would be easy for one to get the

  impression that Marci didn't like her parents and

  thought little of her brother, it was not true. In fact,

  Marci loved spending time with her parents, and

  her relationship with her brother couldn't be closer.

  She was just showing off and pretending to be old

  enough to take care of herself. Recognizing she was

  showing off, Wolfee responded.

  "Germany is a long way away, and you're still very

  young. I don't think you should go," then sounding

  like a concerned parent the spider added. "Why

  don't you delay your trip for a year or two until

  you and your brother are a little older?"

  "You think I should wait for another year?

  No way! I..."

  Marci was interrupted by a disturbing noise,

  that penetrated the walls of her room and jolted

  her back to reality. It was the sound of her brother's

  alarm clock, and instantly, Marci knew what it

  meant. It was seven in the morning and if she didn't

  hurry, her brother would beat her to the bathroom'

  She quickly pulled on yesterday's pair of jeans' The

  jeans, faded and worn, were soiled from an intense

  game of jungle gymnastics she had played the night

  before. Then she sprang to the door and opened it

  as fast as she could. Her brothe4 on the opposite

  side of the hall, had done the same' They met in

  the center.

  "What-ch-ya doin' Rat?" asked her brother

  Craig in a knowing and cocky voice'

  "Rat" was a pet name Craig called her in reference

  to her large dark brown eyes' pointy nose

  and freckles that resembled whiskers from a distance.

  It wasn't because she looked bad' in fact she

  looked rather cute in a mousey sort of way'

  "Are you ready for the big trip?" he added'

  "Yeah, Mop head,' she retorted with a smile' "I'm

  ready for the big trip," Marci mimicked his voice

  as she hurried past him and pushed her way into

  the bathroom. Then giggling she asked,

  " Are you ready for a long wait, Mop head?"

  "Mop head" was a name Marci coined in retaliation

  to describe Craig's hair. His disheveled

  hair bleached by the sun, long and spindly, gave

  him a distinctive California "rebel, surfer dude" appearance.

  Taken altogether, "mop head" was a fitting

  description.

  After taking a showe4 Marci dawdled in the

  bathroom for another thirty minutes. When she

  could think of nothing else to waste time on, she:

  opened the door and headed downstairs. In the

  hallway, she passed her brother and flashed him a

  sassy grin.

  "Ha, I got it first," she teased after sticking

  her tongue out. " And I used up all the hot water!"

  Craig watched a wispy cloud of steam pour

  from the open doo{, and dissipate into the hall.

  Then he chuckled to himself like any older brother

  would do when his kid sister tries to get the upper

  hand. At fourteen, he considered himself too old

  for childish bantering over taking baths.

  "Rat! I took a shower on Friday' I don t want

  to take another one!" he said while running his fingers through his hair.

  He headed toward the bathroom.


  It only took him about five minutes' After

  Brushing his teeth and washing his face, he joined

  his sister, father, and mother at the breakfast table.

  Craig wore black cotton pants, and a gray

  sweatshirt. Marci, on the other side of the table'

  wore her favorite clothes, a faded pair of blue jeans

  and an oversize "Mickey Mouse" tee shirt' She

  watched in amusement as Craig hurried into the

  kitchen, and loaded his plate with pancakes and

  scrambled eggs. He sat down opposite his father

  and began cramming food into his mouth as fast

  as he could.

  "What took you so long?," asked his father' "Are

  you all packed?" "Yeah, I'm all packed," said Craig

  as he glanced across the table at Marci' "I had to

  wait for the Rat ... I mean Marci, to get out of the

  shower. You know how long it takes to wash her

  fur ... I mean ham."

  Marci snickered and then tried to hide behind

  a tall glass of milk.

  "He should get up earlier," she said with a

  giggle. "Then he'd have more time to glue his hair

  down."

  After a few more jokes the children settled

  down to breakfast. While they ate, their father rehearsed

  the travel itinerary. They would travel by

  plane from Rhode Island to Philadelphia and then

  to Frankfurt. The last leg of the trip involved a train

  ride from Frankfurt to the train depot in Andernach.

  There, they would be picked by their uncle.

  He concluded by saying, "Now if you have

  any problems while on board, look for the conductor.

  They are required to be able to speak English

  and I think they wear blue coveralls or maybe ...

  green."

  It was a long speech. Craig watched the

  kitchen clock as the minutes ticked away. Unable

  to resist and fearing the plane would leave without

  them, he interrupted.

  "Yeah, yeah ... that’s a good point dad. If we

  have any trouble we ‘Il look for the conductor," he

  said impatiently. "We have to get going. If we don't

  rock and roll, we'll miss the flight."

  Time was wasting. The plane would leave in

  thirty minutes, with or without the kids. The children

  and their dad hurried to pack the car. Concerned,

  Marci called to her mom before leaving.

  "Don't forget to check on Wolfee!"

  "I won't. I'll take good care of him," said her