Vernon the vampire & Spencer the spider
“I can’t believe the sun is shining again! I don’t feel like doing anything. I hope at least my lunch is red. I really don’t get why I have to go to school. I guess just to meet my friends.”
Hi! I’m Vernon the vampire. My friends say I’m always in the darkest of moods, but what can I do? I’m a vampire, after all. They also say I have the most amazing parties with special themes and music which is true. I plan them very carefully to the tiniest detail to make sure that everyone has a great time. Including me. Well, sometimes I manage to get a thrill out of it.
But definitely not on a morning like this. I haven’t even opened my eyes yet and I’m one hundred percent sure that it’s a sunny day again. I’ve got to go to school. Why? Oh, why?
Anyway, I’d better get ready. My outfit must reflect my mood, so today, as always, I’m wearing my black cape. Do I see it correctly and there are dark clouds gathering in the distance? Well, I might get lucky after all.
Let’s see what’s in my lunchbox. Pasta with tomato sauce. No garlic. Perfect! Now I have one reason to go to school. The other is to plan my birthday party with my friends. I can’t wait! Ollie the octopus will make a special mix for me. Originally, I wanted the theme to be “Welcome to the dark side”, but Rosie said it was totally not OK and I should be more positive about my birthday. I wonder how much more positive she means?
I hope everyone being there and having a good time will make me feel better, too. I need it, because studying in a sunlit classroom won’t make me happy.
OK, let’s go to the bright side and get this school day over with.
Charley the chameleon & Sam the snake
“Atishoo! Oh oh! I’m sure I’m ill. I’ll visit the school nurse. In the meantime, I’ll eat some veggies and fruits to get better. And I’ll go for a hike after school. That will keep me healthy.”
Hello there! I’m Charley the chameleon. My friends say that I worry too much about my health, but actually I just make sure to exercise enough and of course, whenever I have the slightest suspicion of an illness, I rush to get it checked by a doctor. I hope you agree that being healthy is very important. I hike a lot, because I think there is no such thing as too much exercise. Not to mention too much healthy food. I just love munching on vegetables and snacking fruits. I always start my day with a nice breakfast.
This wonderful morning is not different! Or is it? Hm-hm. I have a sore throat. It must be the flu. I’d better get it checked once I get to school. In the meantime, I’ll drink some mint tea.
Today we are going to write a Maths test, so I need to be there. Everyone’s freaked out about it, except Ollie the octopus, who hasn’t even started studying yet. Anyway, I’ve revised so much, I’m sure I’ll do fine.
Let’s take a look at my lunchbox. Carrot, cauliflower and cucumber. Yummy! My kind of lunch!
I’ll definitely go for a hike after school today. I’ll take my pet snake, Sam with me. He enjoys being outdoors, too. I might also ask Rosie and Harper to join me. They like being active, just like me. And fortunately, they are never ill, so I won’t risk catching something from them. By the way, I don’t have a sore throat anymore. Maybe it’s not the flu, but just in case, I’ll visit the school nurse. Better safe than sorry.
Harper the fitness horse & Rosie the rabbit
Harper: “Let’s do it! Let’s go! Life’s a race! Classes are over so we can finally go riding with Rosie. This way she doesn’t sit in front of her computer gaming all day. And I’ll get my veggie straws.“
Rosie: “I want to win this race! And every competition. But I know you can do it, too. I challenge you. Don’t worry, I’ll help you. Can someone time us, please? Ready, steady, go!”
Hello! I’m Harper the horse. If you ask me, the essence of life is running. I will never ask you to slow down. I won’t tell you not to rush it. I won’t stand and watch. I’m in my element when I’m on the move.
My best friend Rosie is the same. The only problem is that she’s a gamer and after classes I have to wait for her to finish or more specifically, to win her games. But we meet every day and she always comes up with exciting competitions. She has a timer and she checks how long it takes to get to school, to ride along the beach or to finish homework. Her favorite race is to ride with me around the park, trying to beat the bulldog twins on their skateboard. Well, actually, the boys don’t really stand a chance, but Rosie never lets me go at full speed and we all have great fun.
Until the afternoon, I still have all day! How many cool activities can I squeeze into this lovely day?
I’m planning to trot to school, because it’s wiser to start out the day easy. Then some running before lunch. I’m having lunch with Rosie, obviously. After that, while she’s gaming, I’m going for a gallop on the beach and we’re closing this amazing day with a race. I can’t wait for my veggie straw reward and I know she will also enjoy her protein bar.
I couldn’t imagine a better day. Well, I can’t wait to compete. Actually, I just can’t wait at all. Let’s go.
Sloan the shark & Soren the seagull
“Where’s my surf board? And my lunchbox? Oh, they’re here. OK, I’m ready. I wonder if Rosie is on the beach today. I’ll show her my new tricks, then she might get a crush on me. I’d love that!“
Hi! I’m Sloan the shark. You can always find me on my surf board on the beach. I just love riding huge waves. I practice new tricks all the time, because I want to win competitions. I hope that Rosie will like me more then, because winning is the most important to her. Unfortunately, I cannot time my tricks to impress her and honestly, I have problems with time. I never know what time it is. Or what day.
But today is different. I can relax, as it’s finally Saturday, my favorite day! I’ll surf all day. But why have I set the alarm on a weekend? Oh, no! It’s only Friday! Another boring day at school. Now that I think again, it’s not a totally useless day, because I can see Rosie at school. She’s always so beautiful and happy. She’ll make my day, even if it’s not a Saturday. I’ll offer her some of my sushi for lunch, then I’ll have a chance to talk to her. And then I’ll invite her to the beach to amaze her with my new tricks. I’ll show her how brave and strong I am. We will end the day watching the sunset. How great it would be if she had a crush on me! I have a feeling that today anything is possible, after all, it’s a Saturday. I mean, a Friday.
Anyway, I’ve still got a lot of surfing to do. I’ll go right after classes. Which reminds me, where is my schoolbag? And my surf board?
Oops, it’s getting late! I’ve got to run.
Delilah and Dylan the dachshunds
“As soon as classes are over, we’ll go for a drive. Most probably to our favorite ice cream place, because the only thing we love more than each other is ice cream. Or maybe cruising. Tough choice.“
Hi! I’m Dylan the dachshund and this is my beautiful love, Delilah. We’ve been going out for a year now. We go to Bento High School and have lots of friends there. Fortunately, everyone lives in our neighborhood, so we can hang out after school. At weekends, we go cruising with Delilah, because she can drive. She’s a fantastic driver and we love going fast. Honesty, she loves going fast and I love being with her, so I put on a brave face and don’t tell her how terrified I am.
Today we’re writing a test at school, which I was really worried about, but Delilah helped me a lot with studying this week and Rosie also promised to go through some exercises with me before the class.
I’ve already packed my lunchbox. I’m taking some grilled sausages for lunch and I’ll obviously share them with Delilah. I haven’t packed any sweets and not because she’s sweet enough already, but because we’re going for a drive in the afternoon to our favorite ice cream place. We need to let off steam after such a stressful school day. We love ice cream more than anything. OK, not more than each other.
On the way back, we might stop at the park to meet up with the others. I’m sure most of them will be there hanging out, skateboarding, riding, jumping or just chilling to Ollie’s music. That will be an awesome way to end this day.
I have to go now, can’t wait to see Delilah. We haven’t met since yesterday and I miss her already.
Ollie the octopus & Cosmo the crab
“Wait a minute! What’s the rush? Chill! Enjoy the music. I’m already preparing my next set for the weekend. But what’s this noise? Oh, my stomach is grumbling. I think I’ll have a hamburger first.“
Hi, everyone! I’m Ollie the octopus. Wait a sec! I’ll start some music. OK, it’s much better this way. My friends are overexcited to hear the new set for Vernon’s birthday party, but I have just started working on it. Why rush it? I’ve still got a few days until then. And after all the studying and hanging out with my friends, I need to relax a bit, too.
My friends tell me it usually takes them an hour to get ready in the morning. I wonder how they can do it in an hour… I can imagine all the hassle and hurrying they put themselves through. I couldn’t do that. I take my time. Most things can’t be rushed. Like breakfast. First, while I’m still in bed, I think about all kinds of food to decide what my tummy wants. Unfortunately, I can’t start my day with a hamburger, because then what would I have for lunch and dinner?
Today I’ll have bacon and eggs, pancakes with maple syrup and to be on the safe side, I’ll put some snacks in my lunchbox. School makes me really hungry.
Charley texted me yesterday about a Maths test we’re writing today and he certainly told me not to eat any unhealthy food. I was really surprised about the test, but not about his health advice, because he is always nagging me. As I still had this morning to review, I didn’t open the Maths book yesterday. But I think it is too late to prepare thoroughly now, so I’d better let it go.
It’s definitely more important to fill up my stomach before I head to school. I’ve still got half-an-hour before the first lesson, so I’m going to enjoy every moment of my breakfast.
Tyler and Trevin the tigers
“Today we’re playing an ice hockey game! We give 100 %, that’s why we win, but we couldn’t do it without each other’s support. After a tiring match we devour huge steaks. We’re tigers, after all.“
Hey, there! I’m Tyler the tiger. I got up before the alarm because I was just tossing and turning all night. I’m really nervous about tomorrow’s ice hockey match. I’ve been doing pushups all morning to be fitter. I’m afraid I won’t be good enough to help my team win the match. My best friend Trevin tells me I shouldn’t worry and I’m stronger than him, but I think he’s just kind and tries to support me. Anyway, I’ll do my best and give 100 %.
I met Trevin on the hockey team and we became friends immediately. He’s really cool. He wants to try new things all the time and comes up with the most incredible ideas. I love hanging out with him.
It’s a shame that today’s a school day. I’ll have to suffer through a Maths test before I can go to hockey training. I’m not sure I’ll do fine on the test, but I have definitely revised more than Trevin. I texted him last evening to see if he was prepared, but he wasn’t even home, he was in the park with Blake and Benjamin skateboarding! He invented a weird sport when you play hockey while rolling on a skateboard and he wanted to test it right away with the twins. Unbelievable!
I’d better get ready for school before Trevin arrives. My lunchbox is full of meat, exactly how I like it. I’m a tiger, after all.
Yep, I can hear him bang on the door. I think he wants to hurry to catch up with Camill and Chloe on the way to school. I’d better not keep him waiting.
Blake and Benjamin the bulldog twins
“Oh, no! We’re writing a Maths test tomorrow. We’d better go home and revise. But you know what? Let’s just go for one more round. And then maybe for a cheese sandwich.“
Hello! We’re Blake and Benjamin the bulldogs. We’re twins so we are always together. We spend most of our free time on our skateboard. After school, we head to Green Hills Park and dive into skateboarding tricks. We still need to practice a lot to perfect our moves, but we just love it!
Our friends live in the neighborhood, so we can also hang out with them while we skateboard. We often race with Rosie and Harper. It’s so much fun and we can improve our skating speed, too. But the best part of this month is definitely going to be Vernon’s birthday party. Everyone is going to be there, Ollie is preparing a special set of music… or knowing him, he isn’t not going to start working on it until the day before the party. Still, it’s going to be really cool.
But until then, we’re having this nasty Maths test at school. We honestly wanted to revise for it yesterday, but then we decided to go for one more round in the park and then it got late and we got tired, so we put it off till this morning. Now we’re sitting at the kitchen table doing exercises. We had this idea to eat a big breakfast while studying, just to give the necessary energy to our brains. So we had scrambled eggs with cheese and some cheese cake, but instead of dynamizing us, this huge amount of food just made us exhausted and the homework is not going so well anymore.
But we have no choice, we have to step on the skateboard and roll to school, otherwise we’ll be in trouble. Fortunately, just thinking about skateboarding makes us fresh again.
Camill and Chloe the cats
“We want to jump, jump, jump! Can’t wait for cheerleading practice! This is going to be such a great day! And the best thing is that we can be together after classes. Have you got some sweets?“
Hey, I’m Camill the cat. What a wonderful morning! I had already jumped out of bed by the time the alarm went off. I’ll quickly pack my bag and get ready, because my best friend Chloe can be here any minute. We have been besties since we were kittens. She hops in every morning and we head to school together, because we need some time to chat about all the things that happened since last evening when we said goodbye.
The best thing about school is that we are together in all our classes and then, in the afternoon, we go to cheerleader practice. And that’s when the jumping starts. We leap and bounce and enjoy every minute of it. But we need a lot of energy to be able to spring that much, so we eat a lot of sweets. I’ll go and check my lunchbox right now. Caramel candies, jell-o and peanut butter cups. Couldn’t be better!
It’s going to be a long day, because we need extra training. There will be two matches during the weekend where we’ll do our cheerleading performance. I mean, we will jump and jump.
I just can’t stand still while waiting for Chloe! I think I’ll run up and down the stairs until she gets here. Great warm-up for the day and while I’m running, I can think up new cheerleading choreographies.
Finally, I can see Chloe skipping up the street. I’m going to hop in my trainers and leap through the door to greet her.
Bento High School – Where you can meet extraordinary friends
Bento High School is a totally ordinary school. The two-story building is surrounded by a big yard and a basketball field. Students spend long and exhausting days in the various classrooms, while they cannot wait for their crowded timetable to end. They listen to their teachers, learn and then, around noon, they open their lunchboxes which are hopefully full of their favorite foods.
There is Vernon the vampire who hates sunshine and is only willing to eat red food. He takes his tiny pet spider Spencer for walks on a leash. Charley the chameleon is a hypochondriac and in order to stay healthy, he regularly goes hiking with Sam the snake. Harper the horse wants to race all the time and she nags Rosie the rabbit to stop gaming and to go riding. Sloan the shark spends most of his time on his surf board on the sea. He is really shy, so we’ll have to wait till Rosie realizes his crush on her. Soren the seagull often joins him on the waves. Delilah and Dylan the dachshunds are madly in love and go everywhere by car. Ollie the octopus is the school DJ whose life is about chilling. Cosmo the crab is his partner in doing nothing and making music. Tyler and Trevin the tigers both play on the hockey team. Camill and Chloe the cats are always jumping and never tired, that’s why cheerleading fits them perfectly. Blake and Benjamin the bulldog twins are the skater boys of the school.
But when classes are over, their lives become extraordinary. They can finally do what they like the most. Some hurry to training, while others hang out with their friends while enjoying their hobbies in Green Hills Park that is in their neighborhood.
If you want to find out more about what they are up to, join them in their exciting adventures.
Charley on and off the skateboard
On a cloudy day the group of friends from Bento High School sat down to have lunch in the park, because unusually they didn’t have any classes in the afternoon so they didn’t have to stay at school. Everyone opened their lunchboxes enthusiastically and started to eat. Vernon the vampire was worried that the sun might start to shine, but the others reassured him that the weather forecast promised cloudy, grey skies for the whole day. Vernon cheered up. He was walking up and down happily, while his tiny pet, Spencer the spider skittered after him on a leash.
‘Sit down, Vernon. Let’s chill,’ sighed Ollie the octopus. ‘I’m finishing my lunch and I’m starting the first mix right away,’ he said.
‘You know, I’ve been thinking about something,’ said Charley the chameleon.
‘I hope about finally giving up hiking and looking for a more relaxing hobby,’ said Ollie.
‘When you stop eating junk food,’ replied Charley laughing.
‘No chance,’ smiled the octopus.
Vernon interrupted determinedly. ‘Let him tell us what he’s been thinking about. Talk, Charley.’
‘Well, I’ve been thinking that I should learn to skateboard,’ the chameleon said. ‘I can’t always hike, but it’s important to exercise every day for the sake of my health. I can see that Blake and Benjamin go everywhere on skateboard and they feel great, so it can’t be bad.’
‘It’s fantastic!’ cried Blake. He was really glad that one of their friends was interested in their favorite hobby.
‘We’ll teach you right now,’ added his twin brother, Benjamin. ‘Come, you can give it a try on the promenade,’ and he grabbed the skateboard and pulled the chameleon with him. ‘Er…I’m quite afraid,’ said Charley.
‘That’s exactly why you should chill instead,’ said Ollie the octopus, and he started to mix the music for the afternoon.
‘Ah, don’t worry! Start slowly and when you’ve found your balance, you can speed up,’ Blake encouraged him.
Charley put one foot on the board and pushed himself a bit with his other foot. He was rolling smoothly for a few seconds, then suddenly he began wobbling, flailing his arms and then fell flop. That’s when Rosie the rabbit arrived riding on Harper the horse.
‘I think I’d rather not learn to skateboard,’ said Charley sadly.
‘Come on! Don’t give up,’ begged Harper. ‘I’ll trot next to you, it’ll be fine.’ She stomped her hoofs.
The chameleon kept on trying. The two bulldogs ran next to him, so that they could catch him if he fell. Harper trotted after them. Even Vernon, who is otherwise never keen on anything, curiously followed his friends. In the meantime, poor Charley fell a few more times and then he got so afraid that he was scared to put his feet on the board.
As he was not going fast, the vampire caught up with him.
‘I understand that you are afraid,’ he told Charley. ‘You know, when I was little, my grandpa took me to visit an old, ramshackle castle every weekend. He was obsessed with it. You can’t imagine how terrifying that place was! The walls were crumbling, the stairs broke away and there was no light. I was horrified, but as I loved my grandpa very much, I definitely wanted to go with him. So I invented a method not to be scared. I counted from one to ten to myself, then took a deep breath and then counted backwards from ten to one. I also found a point and focused only on that. I kept doing it until I calmed down. Try it!’ He encouragingly patted the chameleon’s shoulder.
‘OK, I’ll try one more time,’ Charley agreed.
He got on the board and carefully pushed himself. He also stared in the distance and his lips were moving.
‘You can totally do it!’ Harper yelled. This time, he nicely rolled forward and got quite far, and most importantly, he did not fall, but jumped off the board. The others burst into applause. ‘Great! You did it! We are so proud of you!’ they shouted.
‘Charley, you are incredibly brave, I admire you!’ Harper praised him.
‘Thank you,’ smiled Charley. ‘Thank you all for your support.’
‘Wait!’ cried Vernon. ‘Where is Spencer?’
‘What? Didn’t you keep him on a leash?’ asked the two bulldogs at the same time.
‘I was so curious to see if Charley manages to stay on the skateboard that I didn’t pay attention and let the leash go,’ the vampire panicked. ‘Oh, no! Where are you, Spencer?’ he screamed.
The others ran around scared. They looked under every bench, searched behind every bush, but they couldn’t find the tiny spider anywhere. ‘Spencer! Spencer!’ they shouted his name, but to no avail. Vernon was so nervous that his voice quavered while he was calling his little pet. ‘Is it possible that Charley hit him with the skateboard?’ he asked shakily. This made Charley horrified and he quickly turned the board over to check its wheels. ‘Look, a free rider!’ he cried relieved. ‘Here he is. He fell asleep on the bottom of the board. Spencer, wake up!’ he called the spider.
Vernon ran there. ‘Spencer, how could you fall asleep?’
Spencer yawned. ‘I couldn’t keep up with you, so I climbed on the bottom of the board when Charley fell. Then it was so good listening to the rolling of the wheels on the pavement that I fell asleep. I’m sorry that I scared you,’ he said.
‘No problem, the only thing that matters is that we found you,’ the others reassured him.
After the big scare, Charley promised to take his friends on a really special hike next time.
‘Let’s make it special by going on skateboards,’ Blake the bulldog suggested.
‘Er… I don’t know…,’ started Charley, but then he changed his mind. ‘You know what? If I could learn to skateboard, then why couldn’t we go hiking on skateboards?’
‘Now you’re talking!’ everyone agreed.
For the rest of the afternoon, Charley was improving his skateboarding skills while the others were encouraging him enthusiastically. Vernon held on to Spencer’s leash very tightly.
‘I love our friends,’ Blake whispered in his twin brother’s ear. ‘You can never get bored with them.’
‘So very true,’ – said Benjamin, and they ran after the others.
Sloan’s Surfing Tricks and Treats
On a sunny Friday afternoon the students of Bento High School walked out the gate happily. They had written the terrifying Maths test, so they felt relieved.
‘I can’t believe the sun is shining!’ ‘When will it be cloudy again?’ Vernon said angrily.
‘It’s just a few hours until the sun goes down,’ the others tried to calm him.
‘I can’t survive so long in this sunshine. I’m going home,’ the vampire said and turned so fast that his cape was flying behind him.
‘Guys, do you want to come to the beach with me?’ Sloan asked. Everyone agreed to join him, except Rosie, which made him really disappointed. He gathered all his bravery and walked up to her.
‘Would you like to come to the beach? I’ll show you my tricks,’ and he flashed his horrifying teeth in an attempt to smile at the rabbit.
‘What? You also do magic tricks now?’ asked Rosie surprised.
‘Well, if you want, I’ll watch some videos on the net and learn a few tricks,’ he said while desperately juggling with his surfboard. Unfortunately, he was so nervous that he dropped it.
‘Honestly, I don’t like magic tricks. You know, the rabbit in the hat and everything,’ said Rosie.
‘Er… then I’ll show you surf tricks,’ said Sloan enthusiastically.
‘Oh, that’s what you meant!’ laughed Rosie.
‘Yes, but I wasn’t sure what you were more interested in,’ he said looking at his fin embarrassed.
‘Sloan, I’m interested in your new tricks. I think surfing is cool. And the competitions are also really exciting. Although I don’t understand the scores.’
‘Then let’s go to the beach!’ Sloan cried a bit too loud.
He must have practiced these tricks a lot if he is so excited – the rabbit thought.
Ollie was already on the beach preparing his DJ equipment. Cosmo the crab was tinkering away in the sand.
The shark arrived running. He was running so fast that a sandstorm arose behind him. He was yelling to Ollie from far away. ‘Rosie is coming! Rosie is coming!’
‘OK, I get it, Rosie is coming, so what? She always rides here. Buddy, what’s wrong with you? Why have you been running so fast? You shouldn’t run on the beach, because you can swallow a lot of sand while panting. You must walk or lie down here.’
Rosie and Harper arrived, followed by the two cat girls, Camill and Chloe who were hopping.
‘It’s so great that we have come to the beach!’ cried Camill and she turned a cart-wheel.
‘Calm down, it’s not cheerleading practice,’ Ollie fretted.
‘Ollie, you have to understand that not everyone would like to spend the whole afternoon with eating,’ Camill said and continued jumping.
Ollie looked at her resentfully and started the afternoon mix.
Chloe immediately went up to Camill. ‘You can’t talk to him like that. You hurt his feelings. I want us all to feel great. Please, let’s not ruin this wonderful Friday afternoon.’
‘Fine, I’ll make it up to him,’ agreed Camill.
In the meantime, Sloan had already got on his board and was shouting to his friends from the sea. ‘Hey, guys! Watch this!’ Everyone gathered and watched in awe. Camill lay down to sunbathe next to Ollie’s DJ stand. Sloan did amazing tricks that were so breathtaking that even Soren the seagull got scared and left him alone.
‘Incredible! You are awesome!’ screamed Rosie and applauded. The others also whistled and yelled to the shark in appreciation. When he finished his show and came out to the beach, Rosie ran to him. ‘Sloan, you’re so talented! You were fantastic!’ she said and hugged the shark. Sloan was so excited that he literally fainted.
‘Oh, no! Sloan, are you all right?’ worried Rosie and knelt down next to him in the sand. She slapped his face and Sloan opened his eyes.
‘I’m sure you haven’t eaten enough. Here, take my protein bar, it will help,’ said Rosie and started feeding him with her favorite snack. Sloan hated protein bars, but he felt so happy that Rosie was taking care of him that he didn’t say a word, just bravely swallowed each bite. Rosie was relieved and stayed next to him for the rest of the afternoon.
After a while, Camill sat up and turned to Ollie. ‘You know, you were right. It’s really cool lying in the sand and doing nothing all afternoon,’ she said apologetically.
‘See? I told you so,’ said Ollie smiling.
As the sun started to set, the friends gathered around Ollie’s stand. They chilled, listened to the music and enjoyed the thought of a whole weekend awaiting them with exciting adventures.
Vernon’s Birthday Party
Everyone at Bento High School was getting more and more excited. Vernon’s birthday was approaching and his parties were the most popular among students, because he always came up with the coolest themes. The vampire was not keen on anything and was often negative about things, but he loved his friends and was hoping to cheer up from parties, that’s why he organized them with unusual enthusiasm.
Of course, Ollie the octopus provided the music and he made special sets to impress the guests. The food and drinks had to be red and garlic was totally forbidden at these parties. Or actually, anywhere near Vernon.
About a month before his birthday, Vernon started to get nervous. ‘What should be the theme this year? Will they like it? Can I come up with new snacks that are red?’ he wondered. Whenever he couldn’t find the answer to such questions, he talked to Rosie the rabbit. She always had the greatest ideas. Also, she was enthusiastic about everything, which was in total contrast to how Vernon felt about most things.
‘Rosie, please help me with planning my birthday party. I already have some ideas, but I’m not sure about them,’ the vampire said.
‘OK, tell me what you’ve got,’ Rosie replied.
‘Actually, I think I’ve come up with a great theme: Welcome to the dark side! And everything would be black and Ollie would make a slow mix,’ he said.
‘Er…Vernon, it’s totally not OK to be so depressed about your birthday. You have to enjoy every moment of it and honestly, your guests should like it, too. Just think how embarrassing it would be to see your friends standing around, feeling sad. You don’t really want that, do you?’ Rosie looked at him kindly.
‘I don’t even know how to feel good myself, how could I figure out what makes others happy?’ the vampire said miserably.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you. First of all, Ollie should make a set full of energetic songs. Just let him do what he usually does and it’ll work,’ Rosie explained.
‘Fine, I can do that,’ the vampire agreed.
‘Secondly, the theme should be exciting, but inviting at the same time. You mustn’t scare your friends away. And absolutely no dark or black.’
‘Rosie, but then it’s not me. Everyone knows I only love black. I can’t have a pink flamingo party! They would laugh at me!’ Vernon said.
‘OK, I have an idea then. Let’s combine your darkness and your friends’ colors, to make everyone happy. How about a “Glow in the dark” theme? Everything will be dark, but we will have these bright neon lights all over the place and guests should come in neon-colored dresses.’
‘Genius! I don’t hate it,’ Vernon enthused.
‘Perfect!’ the rabbit smiled.
‘Rosie, thank you so much for your help. You’re a great friend, you never let me down,’ Vernon said.
‘You know I’m always happy to help,’ Rosie replied.
They immediately got down to the details and arranged everything for the big day. The invites were sent, the cake and snacks were ordered and the party hall was beautifully decorated. Even Ollie managed to finish the mix, even though just the night before the party. ‘Why hurry?’ as he always said.
The day of the party arrived and when the guests entered, their jaws dropped in amazement as they looked around. With the bright lights and all the glowing decoration the party hall was mesmerizing. Even Blake and Benjamin the bulldog twins who would never get off their skateboard just stood in awe. Harper the horse also stood still, which was not typical of her. Sloan the shark kept turning his head from Rosie to the glowing balls, clearly unable to decide which one appealed to him more.
Vernon was sitting in a corner with his sunglasses on.
‘What’s wrong? Why are you sad?’ Blake asked him.
‘This place looks so cool,’ Benjamin added.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Vernon said. ‘But have you seen the buffet? The catering company mixed up my order! Hardly anything’s red!’ The vampire was clearly devastated.
‘It’s not such a big deal,’ said Blake, but his twin brother Benjamin quickly started shaking his head and mouthing: ‘Don’t’.
‘I mean, I know it seems like a disaster for you right now, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out,’ Blake continued.
‘Sure! At least the guests can eat any color, so half the problem’s solved,’ Benjamin smiled. ‘Come on, Vernon. Let’s see what we can do,’ and they walked over to the buffet table.
‘See?’ Vernon whispered. ‘It looks terrible.’
‘Wait a sec! We just have to find something red to put on the food,’ Benjamin said.
‘I’ve found the solution!’ Blake arrived running. ‘There’s ketchup next to the fries that we can put on the salty meals and I saw some cranberry jam for the pancakes that we can use on the sweets. Problem solved,’ he said proudly.
‘This way everyone can eat from everything,’ Benjamin added.
‘Fine, it’s not the worst thing I can imagine,’ said Vernon.
‘Why? What’s the worst thing you can imagine?’ asked Blake.
Benjamin shook his head again and mouthed: ‘Don’t’.
‘I mean, I’ll go and get the ketchup and jam,’ Blake corrected himself and jumped on his skateboard to reach the other side of the hall.
Sloan appeared. ‘Come on, Vernon! Let’s check out the red tuna sushi.’
Harper arrived trotting. ‘Vernon, come dance with me. The music is fantastic.’
‘See, everyone’s enjoying the party. Join us,’ Benjamin told Vernon.
‘Sloan, OK, I’m coming to try the red tuna, but Harper, no way I’m going to dance.’
The horse looked disappointed.
Benjamin looked at Vernon and mouthed ‘Go!’
‘But I’m going to stand next to you and listen to the music,’ Vernon said.
The party turned out to be a huge success. Vernon really liked his red velvet birthday cake and even managed a smile while the others cheered him. Everyone danced late into the evening and all the food was gone by the end of the event. Guests had an amazing time and they continued to talk about the fabulous Glow in the Dark theme, but only until news spread about Vernon organizing his next party.
Clash of the best
On a sunny Saturday Camill felt bored. It was a rare occasion, as she always had cheerleading practice or followed the school team to matches at weekends, but this time the games were cancelled. She had finished all her homework the day before, because she had been used to not having any free time for that on Saturday or Sunday. She was stretching on the couch, scrolling down videos on her phone, when someone yelled from the street:
‘Camill, are you home?’
Camill looked out the window and saw Tyler and Trevin the tigers.
‘Yes,’ she answered. ‘I’m stuck here, bored to the bone.’
‘Do you want to hang out in the park?’ Tyler asked.
‘We could call Chloe, too,’ Trevin added.
‘Absolutely. I’m coming.’
After a minute Camill appeared at the gate hopping enthusiastically. ‘I’ve spoken to Chloe, she’s going to meet us in the park.’
‘Cool,’ the tigers said.
When they were all sitting together in the park, trying to figure out what to do with their time, Harper the horse arrived.
‘Hey, what are you guys up to?’
‘It’s so good you came! I’m sure you’ll be able to help us thinking up a competition of some kind,’ Chloe said.
‘Well, you are all athletes. Why don’t you check who’s faster and stronger? That way you could see which sport makes you the fastest and strongest. I’ll be the referee,’ Harper suggested.
‘That’s a great idea!’ Camill exclaimed and started jumping around. The others got excited, too.
‘All right, then. I’ll draw the starting line here. Let’s see who can run the fastest around the park and get back here first,’ Harper instructed them. The four friends lined up and excitedly waited for Harper to yell: ‘Ready, steady, go!’
They ran around the park at a dizzying pace and Harper was surprised to see that they passed the finish line at exactly the same second.
‘Who won? Who was the fastest?’ they cried out in one voice.
‘None of you and all of you. You finished at the same time,’ Harper explained.
‘Oh, no! I can’t believe it!’ Camill was disappointed.
‘So are we all equally strong and fast?’ Trevin asked.
‘Well, I think your sports strengthen these skills the same way. We have to find another way to check,’ Harper said. ‘Chloe, what’s your strength in cheerleading?’
‘Jumping high, obviously’ the cat smiled.
‘OK, what about you guys? What’s your strength in ice-hockey?’
‘Speed skating,’ Trevin answered. ‘But we can’t do that here in the park.’
‘Then we’ll borrow skateboards from the bulldog twins. First, each of you will have to jump and the one going the highest will win. After that, you’ll compare your speed on the skateboards. What do you say? Then we’ll add up the scores and see who’s the absolute winner,’ Harper looked at them.
‘Cool,’ the tigers said.
‘So great,’ the cats enthused.
‘Then let’s do it, let’s go!’ Harper said happily.
They prepared the race course and did some warm-up exercises. On Harper’s count of three they all jumped as high as they could. The cats won effortlessly, Chloe even beat Camill by a few inches. The tigers had no chance.
‘Girls, congratulations!’ Trevin said.
‘You are way better than us, hats off to you,’ Tyler praised them.
‘Thanks guys, but let’s wait for the next round. I’m really not sure about my skateboarding skills,’ Camill laughed.
All four friends lined up again, but this time on skateboards. When Harper yelled ‘Go!’ they pushed themselves as hard as they could. On the first section Trevin was the fastest, then Tyler took over the lead, but the cats were following them dangerously close, not allowing the tigers to relax for one second. By the time they reached the finish line, Trevin managed to pass Tyler and he won.
‘Who’s the fastest and strongest?’ Camill demanded.
‘Have I won? What’s my overall score?’ Tyler asked Harper.
The horse quickly added up the numbers. ‘Hm,’ she said. ‘This is funny. Your total scores are the same. You all won,’ Harper smiled.
‘So there is no best?’ Chloe asked.
‘Yes and no. Each of you is the best in one skill or sport, but it makes no sense to compare them, because they are different. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. You are all uniquely talented,’ Harper explained. ‘And it doesn’t necessarily have to be sport. Think of Ollie, for example. He makes sure not to do any sport… like ever, and still he is the best DJ we know, right?’
‘Or like Vernon,’ Tyler added. ‘He doesn’t even come out of his room if there’s a tiny ray of sunshine, but everyone knows that he has the best parties.’
‘Exactly,’ Harper agreed.
‘Speaking of Ollie, why don’t we go to the beach and check out what he is playing today,’ Camill said.
‘Yes! And we can chill with the others after racing so hard,’ Chloe smiled.
‘Cool!’ the tigers said.
‘Let’s go then,’ Harper said and the group of friends headed to the beach. Ollie the octopus was really happy to see them.
‘Ollie, we are the best!’ Camill exclaimed.
‘Oh, I know’, Ollie nodded. ‘We are the best of friends.’
They all stayed there until late afternoon, chatting, enjoying the music and celebrating that each of them is the best at something.
Let’s meet the outdoors – but who’s gonna drive me home?
In the last few weeks Charley the chameleon has been nagging his friends to go on a hike with him. Blake and Benjamin the bulldogs insisted on staying on their skateboards the whole way.
‘No, that’s too dangerous,’ Charley told them.
‘It’s not. We are like pros, we are literally grown together with our board,’ Blake tried to convince him.
‘Our boards are like legs to us,’ Benjamin added. ‘And you promised we could go on skateboards, remember?
Charley had no choice, but to agree. A promise is a promise, after all. He also invited Delilah and Dylan the dachshunds, because he was worried about their fitness, as they always drove everywhere. ’You have to come and meet the outdoors,’ Charley said.
’We are outdoors all the time,’ Delilah replied, ’we drive everywhere in our convertible.’
’You can’t call that outdoors,’ Charley said.
Delilah looked at Dylan for support, but he actually liked the idea of not speeding, but walking for a change. ‘This way we could spend time with our friends,’ he told her, ‘and at the end of the hike, I’m sure we can all have some ice cream in our favorite parlor’ he added.
‘Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean, all that sugar…,’ Charley started, but he quickly changed his mind when he saw the disappointed look on Dylan’s face. ‘…is actually useful after a nice walk,’ he finished the sentence, smiling.
The little group met on a sunny Saturday and headed to the nearby hills. Charley kept looking back over his shoulder to check that the bulldogs are doing fine, but to his great surprise, they managed to keep up with the others on their skateboards. Everyone was having an amazing time. Around noon they sat down on a clearing and shared food from their lunchboxes, just like on a picnic. When they turned around and headed back, Dylan suddenly said to Blake: ‘Can I try skateboarding? It’s downhill from here on and I’ve done it many times before in the park.’
‘Sure, why not?’ Blake agreed.
Charley was not keen on the idea, he was afraid that Dylan is not as experienced as the bulldogs, but Delilah reassured him, ‘Don’t worry, he’s really talented at sports. He isn’t like me at all.’ Dylan smiled at her and kissed her, then stepped on the skateboard with Benjamin by his side for support. They stayed at the back while the others walked at the front. The little group progressed fast, as the route downhill was much easier. Everyone was chatting cheerfully, when they suddenly heard a scream and a thud from behind.
‘Aah! My ankle!’ Dylan yelled. Everyone ran back and saw Dylan lying on his side and holding his ankle with a painful expression on his face. Delilah started crying.
‘I think you’ve sprained your ankle,’ Blake said, ‘mine looked exactly the same when I sprained it. It’s going to turn blue and get swollen very soon.’ His twin brother looked at him, shook his head and mouthed ‘Don’t’.
‘But don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it looks. It won’t hurt that much. It won’t even need to be put in a cast,’ Blake corrected himself.
Charley was really worried. ‘What are we going to do? He can’t walk like this. How are we going to get down the hill?’
‘We can carry him,’ Benjamin offered. The two bulldogs gave their skateboards to Charley and Delilah and picked Dylan up. They were walking slowly and carefully, but after a few minutes they were panting so hard that they had to stop.
‘How can you be so heavy, Dylan?’ Blake asked.
‘Well, I guess I must have eaten a lot of sausages lately,’ Dylan said apologetically.
‘OK, we can’t go on like this. We can’t get off the hill fast enough and it’s going to get dark soon,’ Benjamin said.
‘Oh, no! I knew it! We shouldn’t have let him skateboard,’ Charley cried.
‘Man, calm down! We’ll solve it,” Benjamin tried to reassure him. The boys were thinking hard when Delilah said quietly, ‘I know what we should do. Actually, I have a confession to make.’ Everyone looked at her questioningly. ‘I wasn’t sure that we can do this hiking thing and thought we would get exhausted, so yesterday I parked the convertible behind the bushes next to the road, halfway up the hill.’
Blake burst out laughing, ‘Hilarious! Delilah, you’re amazing!’
‘You shouldn’t have underestimated yourselves and to be honest, I’m a bit disappointed, but now it comes in handy,’ Charley said. Everyone agreed. Delilah left quickly to get the car. When she got back, the bulldogs placed Dylan carefully on the back seat.
‘Let’s meet at the ice cream parlor,’ Delilah said. ‘We deserve a treat after this ordeal.’
‘It was just a hike, not an ordeal,’ Charley said sulkily.
‘Never mind,’ Benjamin patted his shoulder. ‘We had a great time and ice cream is always a fantastic idea.’ So the little group headed to the ice cream place. Dylan got a pack of ice to put on his ankle and when he got his bowl of chocolate and strawberry flavor, he was feeling much better already. The friends laughed a lot and agreed that the hike turned out to be a cool adventure. Even Charley smiled when he found out that the parlor had sugar and fat-free desserts.
Vernon’s July 4th Party
Vernon was feeling low again. He was sitting on a bench in Green Hills Park, moping, while his pet spider Spencer was trying hard to cheer him up, unfortunately without any success. His friends sat down next to him, patted his shoulder, told funny stories, but he didn’t even say a word to them. Finally, Rosie the rabbit arrived. She was not one to be discouraged by Vernon’s moods and always managed to bring life back to him with her optimism.
‘Hey, Vernon! What’s with the sad face? You of all people should be running around excitedly,’ she said when she sat down at the vampire’s side. Vernon looked at her, but still didn’t say anything.
‘You forgot, right?’ she looked at him questioningly.
‘You know that I never forget anything,’ Vernon replied grumpily.
‘Well, then what’s your explanation to sitting here and not planning the next best party of the year? The 4th of July is coming!’ she exclaimed.
‘The weather,’ Vernon whispered.
‘What do you mean? It’s perfect…,’ she wanted to say, but then she realized what the problem was. ‘Oh, it’s perfect for us, but not for you. It’s too sunny.’
Vernon nodded sadly.
‘Don’t worry! We’ll talk to the others and I’m sure we’ll come up with something. You must have a party on the 4th of July, Vernon. That’s THE party day! And you need to cheer up.’ She started calling their friends and soon everyone gathered around Vernon and they enthusiastically interrupted each other with their ideas.
‘You could wear my baseball cap,’ Blake the bulldog offered.
‘How about some palm trees?’ Tyler the tiger asked.
‘I can lend you my sunglasses,’ Dylan the dachshund said.
‘Guys, that is very kind of you, but Vernon needs more shade on the beach. We must think of something bigger,’ Rosie said.
‘A tent! We need a tent!’ Blake exclaimed.
‘Great idea! But where are we going to get one?’ Rosie asked. Everyone fell silent, thinking hard. Finally, Ollie the octopus suppressed a yawn, stretched his eight arms and said ‘I know where. A few weeks ago I was the DJ at a birthday party and it was raining, so they put up a tent in the garden. We could borrow that.’
Everyone cheered and Harper the horse quickly galloped away to get the tent. Even Vernon smiled a little when he saw how happy his friends became from the idea of the party. He gathered all his positive energy and started arranging the details.
The day of the party arrived surprisingly fast. The tent was set up, there were lots of red snacks on the tables and absolutely no garlic. Vernon made sure that there was a special fruits section for Charley the chameleon, so that he could stick to his healthy diet.
The guests enjoyed Ollie’s music. Vernon looked at his friends and felt almost happy, but definitely satisfied that the party turned out so well. He was about to grab a rare steak when he heard a whoosh sound and the tent started shaking. The wind became so strong that its roar made the music seem quiet. Everyone stopped dancing and looked at the tent in shock. The tarpaulin swayed and slapped, then the wind won and tore the tent away. Surprisingly, the bad weather ended as soon as it started, so a few minutes later Vernon and the guests were standing on the beach in full sunshine.
‘I can’t believe this! I’m going home!’ Vernon cried.
‘Wait, don’t leave yet,’ the others begged him. ‘We’ll figure something out.’
‘We can’t set the tent up again, it has flown miles away,’ Vernon said.
‘I’ll go and check what we could use as shade,’ Harper said and ran away. She returned seconds later. ‘I’ve found seven sun umbrellas next to the sun beds over there,’ she panted. ‘Each of us could hold one above Vernon’s head, so he would definitely be protected from the sun.’
‘No, I can’t expect you to do that,’ Vernon said, ‘then you can’t have fun at the party.’
‘I have an idea,’ Ollie said quietly. ‘Give me those umbrellas,’ he said and held one of them in each of his seven arms above Vernon’s head. ‘I still have one for the turntable,’ he said smiling.
‘Ollie, you’re the best!’ Rosie said.
‘Thank you so much! You are a really good friend,’ Vernon smiled at him.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Ollie sighed.
The party continued and after sunset Ollie put the umbrellas down. The vampire was so happy that he actually talked to all the guests and even made some jokes. The friends watched the fireworks in awe, then sat around the campfire and sang together. Vernon’s 4th of July party turned out to be the party of the year again. Until the next one…
Vernon’s Trick AND Treat
On a cloudy afternoon in October, the extraordinary friends at Bento High School gathered in the park for a chat.
‘Can you believe it, guys?’ asked Dylan the dachshund. ‘The year is almost over. It’s already Halloween next Tuesday!’
‘I know,’ enthused Charley the chameleon, ‘I can’t wait for Vernon’s Halloween Party!’
‘I wonder what he is planning for this year,’ said Trevin the tiger. ‘Have you guys come up with costume ideas for trick or treating?’
‘I know mine!’ said Rosie the rabbit. ‘You will be really surprised,’ she smiled mysteriously.
‘Let’s meet here at seven on Tuesday and we can go trick or treating together,’ Dylan suggested. The others agreed.
When Tuesday evening arrived, the friends met and they were all excited to see each other’s costumes. They did a great job, because it wasn’t easy to figure out who is who. The only exception was Vernon who didn’t put much effort into his costume and only wore a big black hat and a black eye mask in addition to his usual black cape.
‘Vernon, how come you’re here? You hate this big fuss. And where’s Spencer your spider?’ asked Trevin.
‘I left him at home, because I was afraid someone would trample on him.’
‘And why don’t you wear a more disguising costume? I recognized you immediately,’ said Rosie.
‘Well, I was busy preparing my Halloween Party and to be honest, Rosie, you’re so smart you are impossible to deceive,’ Vernon answered smiling.
‘That’s so sweet of you,’ said Rosie, but she started thinking when Vernon said such a kind thing to her last time. Still, she was happy about the compliment and especially about the vampire feeling so relaxed and glad.
‘Come on guys, let’s go,’ Trevin told the group.
‘We should wait for Charley,’ Rosie said.
‘He called me and said he would join us later,’ Trevin said and the friends headed to the first house that had a very scary, huge Jack-O’-Lantern at the gate. As they moved from house to house the pile of sweets became bigger and bigger in their bags. They were having a fantastic time, laughing and joking, trying to be very spooky. At one of the houses Vernon marched ahead and took two handfuls of chocolate balls that were wrapped in green foil.
‘Vernon, what will you do with those chocolates?’ Trevin asked surprised.
‘I’ll eat them, of course,’ Vernon answered.
‘But they are not red, they are green!’ Trevin exclaimed.
‘Well, I’ll unwrap them,’ Vernon replied. Trevin wondered for a few seconds, but shrugged it off by thinking Vernon was always strange. He rushed after the others to the next house. When their bags got full of sweets, they decided it was time to go to Vernon’s. Delilah turned to him: ‘Trevin and Rosie want to walk to the party, you know how sporty they are, but I can give you a lift in my convertible.’
‘No need, I’d rather walk with them. I love exercising in the fresh evening air,’ the vampire said. Delilah was astonished. ‘What?! Exercising and fresh air? Wait a minute! Who are you and what have you done to my friend Vernon, who would never say no to a nice little drive?’
‘Well, it’s just today. It’s Halloween. Any other day I would go with you,’ Vernon said embarrassed.
Rosie joined them and eyed Vernon suspiciously. ‘Are you blushing? Okay, this can’t be true! You’re definitely not Vernon! He never blushes at anything!’ The others gathered around the fake Vernon. ‘Take your eye mask off,’ they demanded.
‘All right, fine! I’m not Vernon,’ he said and took off his mask and hat.
‘Wow! I don’t believe it!’ everyone exclaimed as they discovered that it was Charley in disguise.
‘You are amazing, you totally fooled us,’ Dylan said.
‘Not totally,’ said Trevin. ‘I felt there was something wrong with Vernon eating those green chocolate balls.’
‘But you almost took us in,’ Rosie said. ‘I was just a little bit uncertain about Vernon complimenting me.’
‘Well, I had great fun seeing the shadow of doubt on your faces,’ Charley said smiling.
‘You should totally put back on the mask and the hat and let’s see what the real Vernon will say,’ Rosie suggested. Charley disguised himself again and the group of friends headed to the Halloween Party. When they arrived, Vernon opened the door for them. ‘Oh, you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting for ages,’ Vernon said impatiently, but his jaw dropped when he saw Charley as the fake Vernon. ‘What’s going on here? Who’s behind the mask?’ he asked.
‘It’s me, Charley,’ the chameleon replied proudly.
‘You can’t have seriously thought that anyone would believe you were me? I’m unmistakable,’ the vampire said with a hurtful expression on his face.
‘You would be surprised,’ Trevin said smiling.
‘Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. Come in, the party is at full speed. And by the way, Rosie, you look awesome in this costume.’
They all had an amazing time, but Rosie kept looking from the real to the fake Vernon, being confused by how nice they both were to her that evening.