Easter Bunny Scouts

In the upstairs bedroom of a colonial style home, a light is seen. And after careful observation of the light's movements, it is concluded that the light must be coming from a Flashlight.

This home along Heritage Lane is the original farmhouse that was built by the ancestors of the current residents, Papa-Joe, Mama-Darlene, Daughter-Rebecca, and eight year old Johnny Dean Parkhurst; the little man of the family.

The Parkhursts don't exactly fit-in with their newer neighbors, being the original family and everyone else being new arrival Millennials. Or maybe it's the new neighbors that don't fit. Who knows?

It was mostly Millennials that bought the homes that the Parkhurst family had contracted out to builders. The new homes built by the contractors were built on farmland surrounding the old Farmhouse.

With Silicone-Valley type businesses being built in the city nearby, housing is in demand and homes are fetching high prices.

Besides, Joe wasn't much of a farmer and didn't do well after his Daddy died.

No, Joe is more of a get greasy, mechanic, kind of guy. So after the money from the homes started rolling in, he opened a combination mini-market, gas-station, and a garage at the far end of Heritage Lane; it's all on the corner with Main Street.

Joe works long hours as the Mechanic and Tow-Truck Driver, and Mama-Darlene is the Station Manager and occasional cash register clerk.

Their daughter, Rebecca, is now seventeen and works afternoons and weekends at the station; she's the stocking clerk and register attendant.

But all of this work, by the rest of the family, does not leave Johnny-Dean off the hook. "Johnny is expected to pull his weight," his Papa says. So Johnny has been put in charge of house chores and security.

First, there is yard work. Mowing the lawn is a piece of cake because the lawn mower is the kind you ride on; Johnny zooms around like it is a go-cart.

Everything else is weed-eater jobs and hedge-cutter trimming, which is done with battery-powered tools that are a blast to use, so that's not a big deal either. (The hedges aren't exactly cut straight, but Johnny Mom says he's just being artistic.)

Even picking up leaves and other yard waist is a breeze, Johnny just resets the lawn mower blades and drives right over whatever piles need picking up; Whoosh, into the mower's ketch-bag they go. (It's not great on the blade's sharpness, but it's fast.)

As far a security at the house goes, Papa Joe and Johnny-Dean have developed systems and methods of attack, and that is where our real story begins.

***

It was Sunday, and it was about three o'clock in the morning when Johnny saw a light working it's way across his room.

"Who are you?" Johnny asked of the shadowy figure.

The figure replied. "Ah, --- Oh, I'm an Easter Bunny's Scout and I am looking for the best places for the Easter Bunny to hide the eggs. So everything is fine, go back to sleep."

Suddenly, the old wooden floor creaked right in the area where the shadowy figure had stepped.

Johnny turned on his Spider-man bedside lamp, then he said, "I wouldn't stand there if I were you. My Papa says that this old house's floorboards are weak and might give way under the weight of a grown-up. Move towards the wall a little, it's safer."

The skinny little man was clearly visible in the light of the Spider-man's lamp, and surprisingly he did what Johnny had told him to do while eying the floor suspiciously.

The floor creaked again.

Johnny moved to the end of his bed, and then asked, "Why are you in my room, shouldn't you be downstairs? It seems to me that if we are going to Easter-Egg Hunt in the house, then we would be doing it downstairs."

The so-called Scout replied, "I couldn't get in by coming down the chimney and your window was the only one opened, so I came in this way."

Johnny chuckled, and then stated, "Santa comes down the chimney, not Easter Bunny Scouts."

"You're right," replied the Scout, "The fact is, I don't have any Fairy-Dust and to magically enter a house I need Fairy-Dust, so I just came in through your open window."

Johnny thought for a moment before asking, "How come you're scouting inside the house? The Easter Bunny always hides stuff outside, in the yard."

The floor creaked again as the skinny little bunny scout shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Then the Scout stated, "We changed Easter Bunny's this year. Our new Bunny wants to change things up, you know, be more progressive, so we are scouting inside houses this year."

Then the Scout looked at the floor and asked, "Is this a safe spot?"

"Move back some, you know, more towards the wall," Johnny replied.

Then Johnny asked, "How come you aren't wearing a Bunny Costume like other Easter Bunny Helpers do? All the ones at the Shopping Mall have them."

The Scout replied quickly as he moved slowly towards the hallway door, "Costumes are great for the Malls, you know, where it's nice and clean and people are going to see you. But when I'm out on patrol I might have to get dirty, and dirty costumes are hard to clean. So, because I don't want to get my costume dirty and because no-one is supposed to see me anyway, there is no point in wearing one."

"Stop!" Johnny shouted in a urgent sounding voice.

The Scout stopped, but then he whispered, "Be quiet, you'll wake your father."

Johnny laughed and then said, "Are you kidding, my Mom says that a train could rumble right through this house and Papa wouldn't notice; he's a real sound sleeper."

The Scout took another step towards the hall door and the floor creaked real loud, even louder that before.

"What's wrong with the floor, this time?" the Scout asked of Johnny.

Johnny chuckled and then replied, "That sound ain't the floorboards, that sound is when you are standing on top of the trapdoor. --- By, by!"

And with that said, Johnny turned the Bed-knob on the foot of his bed and the trapdoor that was under the Scout, opened!

***

"Papa, --- hay Papa."

"What is it, Son?"

"We bagged another one. The new trapdoor works better than the last, it's a lot easier to open."

"That's nice, Son. --- Oh, and remind me to call the Sheriff come sun-up, we don't want anyone starving to death in our cellar."

JE Falcon

04-02-2021