Monkeys on computers

 At Creek Valley School, the blue monkeys had overtaken the library. They climbed the shelves and typed Shakespeare essays on the computers. Miss Selina had tried to ban computers from the library after they were handing in book reviews on behalf of the students as the previous librarian hadn't taken the monkeys with her. She was suspicious whenever a perfectly typed book review was handed in and preferred handwritten ones complete with spelling mistakes, for she knew that that likely hadn't been a cut and paste Chat GPT copy job. 

Mrs Hardback, the Headmistress however was all for technology for she had bought the computers for the school years ago and wanted everyone to use them, eventually rendering all pens and pencils and paperbacks obsolete. She didn't forsee the time when the library would become a video game parlour. 

Miss Selina voiced her concerns but Mrs Hardback had lots of money invested in this new technology, and nothing left for books, so when it came time for budget cuts to be made she took her scissors and cut Miss Selina's name out of the school newsletter.

We already have a Mrs Chan so, we don't need two of them, it will only confuse everyone, declared Mrs Hardback, who ruled the school without question. Then she readvertised Miss Selina's job, but there were no takers, so she poached a librarian from the other school who was under the impression that the Creek Valley school library had more books than the one she was already in, where in reality it was just a dark, windowless room full of sleeping computers. And monkeys. 

Traffic on Lincoln Road

 Pablo and Mr Muggs met up at La Porchetta. Mr Muggs really wanted to cross the road, but he was a bit chicken. He wanted to get to the other side to the Bird Barn. Whaea Selina used to go to Pomaria School, I know because I saw her school photo in the 'Find Whaea Selina' book. And that's just down the road from the Bird Barn. 

Mr Muggs was thinking of the tasty birds. Pablo's mouth was full of cheese. He was wary though and warned Mr Muggs about crossing the road there were way too many cars and a cat pancake was a real possibility. There was a long line of late model SUVs snaking along to Waipareira Avenue, and trucks hearing toward the supermarkets, and buses, and Toyotas, Suzukis, Hondas, Subarus, Daihatsus, Mitsubishis, queuing toward the five petrol stations and drive through takeaways. 

If only we had wings and could fly. 

I thought it was the 21st century and we would have flying cars by now. 

Lincoln Road stretched toward the horizon of the Waitakere Ranges. It could be cleared of all traffic, and turned into a runway, and all the airplanes could land and park near the Hangar Bar, or Sunderland School,  and we could send out a search helicopter to locate Whaea Selina again. 

The birds at the Bird Barn might agree to this plan, if they had not thought of this first. They knew something the cat and the mouse didn't.