The Doggy Equivalent

At Hallett Cove they stop for a break.

Margaret hops off first, rubbing her bottom.

Professor Xu Xing leans the bicycle against a tree.

Gaius drops his bike on the grass and opens his back pack.

Baby Pierre does a wheelie and skids to a halt beside Margaret.

Woop! says Baby Pierre. Did it bite you?

I'm just saddle sore, says Margaret. Did what bite me?

The big fat redback spider, says Baby Pierre. I could see it right under your bum. Looking upwards.

Margaret looks under the saddle of Schopenhauer's bicycle.

But the spider has gone.

Gaius hands out mandarins to everyone.

Baby Pierre doesn't want his.

He gazes out to sea, beyond the rocky coastline. The sea is covered in scribbles of light. He takes out his pencil, and begins sketching, while half listening to Margaret and Professor Xu Xing.

So, says Margaret, tell me about your feathered dinosaur.

We call it Yi Qi, says Xu Xing. It was found in the Jurassic fossil beds in China. It has feathers and an unusually long wrist bone.

Margaret has an unusually long wrist bone, observes Gaius.

Shut up, Gaius, says Margaret. That's not even funny.

Let me see, says Professor Xu Xing.

He catches hold of Margaret's wrist and observes it with interest.

Do you think I might turn into a bird? asks Margaret. What kind of bird would I be?

A duck, says Professor Xu Xing.

Ha ha, laughs Gaius.

I mean it as a compliment, says Professor Xu Xing.

Thank you, Professor, says Margaret. Perhaps you meant to say something different.

Perhaps, says Professor Xu Xing.

There is a strong scent of mandarin skins, and the sounds of the scraping of pencil.

I did a quiz yesterday, says Professor Xu Xing. On Facebook. What Kind Of Dog Would You Be?

Really, says Gaius. On Facebook? You don't find it beneath you?

Of course not, says Professor Xu Xing. It is with trifles that a man best reveals his character.

( My goodness. Another quote from Schopenhauer! )

And what sort of dog were you? asks Margaret, hoping it might be the doggy equivalent of a duck.

A Saint Bernard, says Professor Xu Xing. But I wasn't entirely convinced. The first question was impossible to answer.

What was the question? asks Gaius.

Which of these houses would you prefer to live in? says Professor Xu Xing. There were three pictures. A small wooden hut on wheels; a snow covered cottage in a forest at dusk with its lights on; and a grandiose modern house with a swimming pool.

What did you choose? asks Margaret.

I didn't like any of them, says Professor Xu Xing, but I chose the snow covered cottage.

That's why you came out a Saint Bernard, says Gaius.

That's what I deduced, says Professor Xu Xing.

Everyone laughs except Baby Pierre who is sketching the scribbles on the ocean.

And the large redback spider who has crept up behind him.