All went well enough in the beginning; the road was lightly traveled and the skies were clear. When they entered Butternut Elementary School, everything seemed pleasingly bright and airy. A pleasant humming filled the air, and the four students were drawn to it like moths to a porch light. When they reached the swing set, they saw that the humming was being made by a white-haired, slightly portly old man. Everything seemed all right, friendly even, and almost without being aware of it the students found themselves sitting down and nodding off.
Dan shook his head, trying to clear it. He looked up, and he could see the old man bent over the other three, in what seemed to him a very threatening manner. He was speaking evil things; for how long this had been going on, Dan had no idea, but he managed to catch the last end of it, and it filled him with horror.
�. . .Each of you, of course, will be put in 3 AP math classes. We�re of course not going to consult with the parents about these new schedule changes, but they�re not here, so we don�t even have to pretend to be friendly. Becky, I think, we will put in the front row of an English class with Mr. Kohanski. Brad and Chris will do nicely with Ms. Merrill. And, let me see here - what�s this? Lunch? Ha! We don�t need a lunch for you fellas, heaven forbid. Now, I wouldn�t be leaping too far to say that these new schedules meet with your complete approval, yes? All you need to do is sign on the dotted line.� Dan looked sharply at his friends; they were all nodding silently, their eyes half-closed. The old man put a pen into Becky�s hand and attempted to make her sign her own name. None of the others objected.
Snapping out of his haze, Dan ran off a ways, screaming for help. Almost immediately, as if in answer, a strangely-dressed little man came skipping down the path, singing to himself as he went along.
�Heigh ho, it�s Colin Bolindello
His coat is blue, his hat is yellow.
Oh boy, he�s such a merry fellow,
Now he�s here at last to say hello!�
Dan flagged him down and explained his predicament. The man, evidently �Colin Bolindello� because his outfit matched the one in the song, nodded understandably and jumped off in the direction Dan had indicated. Dan hurried to catch up, but even so he quickly fell behind. When he managed to get him in sight again, Colin was capering in a circle around the old man, lightly tapping him on the knees and periodically reaching on his tiptoes to give him a rap on his balding head. As he did this, he sang a chiding song:
�Mister Krause, Mister Krause, you mean old man -
Ruining schedules whenever you can
It�s time to go back to your office space
And leave these people alone for today.�
With a twinkling flash, the old man disappeared. Chris, Brad, and Becky stood up on shaky legs, rubbing at their eyes.
�Ugh, what happened?� groaned Chris.
�I just had a very bad dream,� said Becky.
�Nonsense,� said Colin. �You just ran afoul of Old Man Krause. Sometimes he periodically forgets that he�s supposed to be in meetings all day and tries to �improve� student schedules. But now that is all past. You must come to my house now.� And he went skipping away towards a small cottage by the side of the freeway. The four students looked after him, then at each other, but shrugged and followed him. He had, after all, just saved their lives.
When they reached the cottage, they all commented on its cozy decor, especially the statue of an elf-lady on the roof. They were all duly startled when the statue jumped down to join them.
�That�s not a statue,� Colin said, grinning roguishly. �That�s my good friend Laurenberry. We run through the woods, sing to the birds, and dance with the fairy folk.�
�I think they�re smoking something,� Brad whispered loudly to Becky, and she nodded in agreement.
�That may be so,� Colin agreed. �But at least we have good food.� With that he brought out several large plates, all of them groaning with food. The students ate until they were stuffed. When everyone was finished eating, Colin lit up a long wooden pipe. Brad nudged Becky significantly with his elbow. Colin blew smoke rings and gave them some good advice.
�There are many ways you can go to get to the Annex. I recommend . . . the Highway Downs. It�s not particularly safe, but you people seem to thrive on going through dangerous places. And of course, it�s only dangerous if you go through it at night. Do not go into any of the abandoned cars on the side of the roadway. Fraught with peril they are, filled with the Broken-down Wights, who will steal your souls, your wallets, and any spare tires you may have on you. I will come with you to show you the way.� With that, they left the cozy cottage.
Colin left them at the fence by the highway. They wandered down the shoulder, passing several abandoned cars and giving them a wide berth.
�Let�s stop for a drink,� Dan suggested. The rest agreed, but the drink quickly turned into a snack, which turned into an afternoon luncheon, and before they knew it it was dark out.
�Well, we must press on as best we can,� Chris said grimly. �Stay away from the cars.�