Atthe same time, Mandark and Olga began to walk together to the park.
“Ihope that Gary brat is there so I can pulverize him again in Frisbeegolf.” Olga rubbed her hands in anticipation and grinned.
Mandarkgroaned. “Honestly, you’re obsessed with that kid.”
“Iam not! He’s just fun to beat.” Olga protestedvehemently.
“Wellafter watching you two duke it out in basketball, volleyball,badminton, tennis, skateboarding, biking, monkey bars, running, hackysack, bubblegum blowing, spitting, tree climbing, arm wrestling,Sepak Tecraw, burping, pushups” Mandark took a deep breath.”you have to admit he’s more than a stranger now.”
“I’mjust a little competitive. That’s all.” The raven-haired girlshrugged, her pigtails bobbling up and down with each step.
“Alittle?” Mandark asked incredulously.
“It’sstill not obsession-“
“Suuuure.”
“Let’snot forget who the real obsessive one is here!” Olgareminded her brother.
“Hmm,that’s a thought. Maybe you’re in love with Gary, then.” Mandarkteased
“Eww!No, NEVER!” Olga spat, then punched her brother in the arm.”Just for that, I should tell Dexter”
“Alright,alright I take it back.” Mandark rolled his eyes and rubbed hisarm.
Thesiblings arrived at the park, the sun now completely above the hills.There were only a few people at the park, and most of them werechildren playing on the playground as their parents watched fromafar. It was fairly quiet, apart from a few screams once in awhile.
Olgascanned the area, searching for Gary. She did not see hi im, however,so she opted for sitting down on the grass next to her brother.
—
Dexterwaited for the light to change at the crosswalk, staring at the redhand flashing across the street from him. He vaguely remembered thatMandark’s laboratory was crimson red, and sighed wistfully. How longhad it been since he’d last been invaded by Mandark? It seemed asthough it’d been forever ago when the two were at each other’s necksin the fight for dominance.
Butsince they had begun to attend High School, there was increasinglyless and less time for laboratory work and more time spent on schoolwork. Even during the summer, Mandark and Dexter attended classes ina local community college in order to get ahead.
Acar honk startled Dexter out of his daze, and he snapped back intofocus. The light had changed red again, and he had missed the chanceto cross over. Sugar looked up at him curiously, wagging his tail.
Adumfounded Dexter pushed the button to cross once more, feelingextremely stupid for all his genius.
Whenthe light finally flashed green once more, Sugar took off at a run,dragging Dexter along with him. They crossed the street without muchtrouble and entered the park. A large wooden sign that read “OakwoodPark and Recreation” stood at the entrance proudly. A simplewooden fence consisting of stacked logs surrounded the perimeter ofthe park. There was a also red brick path that winded through thepark, and a plain cement path for bicyclists. These were placed onopposing sides, so pet-walkers wouldn’t collide with those ridingtheir bikes.
Betweenthese paths lay the rest of the park. There was one hill, green asemerald, that had a both pear and oak trees scattered upon it. At thebottom of this hill was a metal goal for frisbee golf, and a smalltheater for the plays and concerts at night. Next to these was alarge sandpit with two large volleyball nets. Finally, on the otherside of the pit was a playground enclosed in a thick grove of trees.
Sugarsniffed the air and barked eagerly. He dragged Dexter over to theplayground, just out of Mandark’s view.