The Swiss Family RobinZOM by Perrin Briar

One

    T he rain tapped on the porthole windows like it wanted to
come in. Some of it didn’t bother with the formalities and dripped
in through cracks in the cabin’s roof, which creaked under the gale
force winds battering it. Liz eyed the roof with caution. She
placed a bucket over a patch of water on the floor.
    “ There’s a leak over here
too,” Liz said.
    The
cabin ’s floor and table surfaces were
festooned with buckets and bowls. Some had just a few drops of
water inside, while others were full to the brim. Liz picked up a
full bowl, opened the swing doors and threw the water outside onto
the courtyard below.
    “ I’ll get it fixed when
the rain stops,” Bill said, not taking his eyes off the journal he
was writing.
    “ Having come from a boat
you’d have thought this cabin would be more water resistant,” Liz
said. “Though I suppose it’s not the cabin’s fault. It’s the poor
workmanship.”
    “ Give me a break, we’ve
only been here a few months.”
    “ Five months,” Liz said.
“Long enough to build a roof over our heads that doesn’t
leak.”
    “ I said I’ll fix it when
the rain stops.”
    There was a pause. Liz knew she should have left it there, but
being cooped up during a storm had made her
argumentative.
    “ I’m not sure being in
the tallest trees on the island during a storm is the best idea
anyway,” Liz said. “Maybe we should have a monsoon
house.”
    “ All right,” Bill said.
“I’ll fix the roof and build us a monsoon house when the rain
stops, all right?”
    Bill turned back to his
journal and continued scribbling.
    “ I’m bored,” Jack
said.
    Jack sat with his chin in his hands looking out a
porthole window. The jungle foliage outside waved with the powerful
wind and rain, moving almost as if it were rough seas. Jack put a
hand to his stomach, feeling seasick. A capuchin monkey lay across
Jack’s lap, staring at the ceiling.
    “ Nip is bored too,” Jack
said.
    No one replied.
    “ I’m bored and Nip is
bored,” Jack said.
    “ We heard you the last
time,” Fritz said. “And the hundred times before that.”
    “ I’m bored,” Jack
said.
    “ Will you be so bored
with my foot up your arse?”
    “ Fritz!” Liz
said.
    “ Yes, Fritz,” Jack said.
“But I’m guessing you wouldn’t be. You’d enjoy it.”
    “ You little…” Fritz
said.
    Fritz, fifteen and big
for his age, marched toward Jack, who got
up out of his chair with a big smile on his face at finally having
something to do. Jack ran around the table in the middle of the
room, where Francis sat colouring a picture.
    “ Fritz!” Liz said. “Sit
down right now!”
    “ He started it,” Fritz
said.
    “ I don’t care who started
it,” Liz said. “I’m ending it.”
    With a glare at
Jack, Fritz returned to sitting in the
corner. An eagle sat on a perch beside him. Fritz rubbed Beauty’s
beak with a feather and grumbled under his breath. Jack,
disappointed that the activity was over, sighed and returned to
staring out the window.
    “ Beauty sure loves her
new perch,” Liz said, trying to drum up a conversation.
    “ She’d sit on it all day
if she could,” Fritz said with pride.
    “ You did a good job of
it,” Liz said. “I’m sure she appreciates all the hard work you put
into it to make it for her.”
    That made Fritz smile. Jack got to his feet.
    “ I’m going to go read my
comic books,” he said.
    “ Again?” Liz said. “I’m
surprised you haven’t worn them out. I wish you showed your school
books as much passion. Why don’t you read a book on the Second
World War instead?”
    “ It’s the end of the
world,” Jack said. “Why do I need to know about
history?”
    “ Because history offers
valuable lessons, like how Napoleon defeated the Russians in 1805
despite having a markedly smaller army.”
    “ Or the Greeks against
the Persian forces in 480BC,” Ernest said, not looking up from the
book he was reading. “Though, of course, they died.”
    “ That’s