Andrew Moots: Daydreamer

"Now look here, young man, it’s about time you learnt some responsibility and start handing up your work on time! Stop being so lazy in class!" Andrew Moots shouted at the cowering figure standing with head bowed in front of him. He grabbed its right hand and turned its palm to face upwards.

    "This should teach you a lesson, Greg Burns!"

    Andrew Moots swiftly brought the thick wooden ruler down on the outstretched hand.

    Three slaps of his ruler on the teacher’s table signalled the end of Mr. Burns’ lesson.

    "Class dismissed! And Moots, get your head unstuck from your textbook!" he roared.

    Andrew Moots was startled from his comfortable headrest on his Biology textbooks.

    "…Mmmstph…lesson over already?" he murmured, slowly getting up from his seat and taking a leisurely stroll out of class to the dining hall ahead of his diligent classmates who were still packing away their books.

    He trotted down the staircase all the way to the ground level and squeezed past the crowded tables absentmindedly, as if his mind was concentrating on something else. He sidled over to join the queue at the Chinese food stall, with the glazed expression of one that has just awoken from a deep state of hibernation.

    A multitude of lovely aromas wafted past his nose as dish after dish was brought before him on silver platters. He closed his eyes and sat back, savouring the smell of each exquisite delicacy.

    "Cleopatra certainly has good taste," he thought to himself.

    "A small mouthful from each platter, as per normal, Mootarix," an armed guard instructed him.

    "Only too happy to be of service," Andrew Moots – Mootarix – replied, "tasting my queen’s food is always a pleasure."

    Making sure he was not overly conspicuous, he took a generous portion of olive salad, honeysuckle and tenderloin. It was then that he saw what he wanted to taste the most: a scarlet red Maple Cockatoo, feathers still intact and roasted to perfection. He leaned forward to displace a haunch from its perfectly shaped body…

    Th-piak, th-piak, th-piak!

    Three quick blows landed on the outstretched arm of Andrew Moots as he tried to reach for the roast chicken lying on the chopping block.

    "Hooey! Yoo doon’t taach my cheeken, yoo! Get yoor feelty hands offa eet!" the Chinese stallholder screamed.

    Andrew Moots looked queerly at the man.

    "I wasn’t going to eat it, I was about to taste it, that’s all," he muttered, "Forget it, I’m not going to buy anything from you again,"

    He turned around and walked around to the back of the school compound, where he would often go to sit and think, alone. However, when he arrived, his favourite spot was already occupied.

    "You owe us ten bucks each, boy. Pay up or D-I-E, you got that?" a voice said. It was Sid, the nastiest kid in school, and he was ganging up against a single freshman.

    Noticing Sid and his gang of three friends surrounding the scrawny silhouette of another boy, he decided not to interrupt their conversation and sat down a manageable distance away to think.

    A scream rang out, clearly and shrilly. Not very far off in the distance, he spied a group of young men trying to harass an attractive young girl. They were tossing her handbag around and taunting her unceasingly.

    Not being the type to sit back, watch and do nothing, Andrew Moots sauntered up to them and coolly told them to stop harassing the woman.

    "It’s none of your business, punk, so scram before we beat the pulp outta you," one of them threatened.

    "Go ahead, make my day," Andrew Moots replied, rolling up his sleeves.

    Andrew Moots barely felt a thing this time, but he did manage to see Sid’s laughing face before he blacked out completely.

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