There was about a week left of summer vacation when Aleister got back from Japan. Andy, Rob and Scott blasted slap shots with a tennis ball at the goal, which was tended by Jason. With Aleister back, they could play two on two street hockey versus the goalie, which was much better competition. Little did the boys know, however, that nobody travels to Japan over a summer and comes back unchanged. Aleister walked out to the cul-de-sac without his CCM hockey stick with the wicked blade he cooked over the gas stove into a highly illegal curve.
“Hey, Aleister, welcome back!” said Jason, lifting up his goalie mask to properly greet his fried.
“Arigato, Jason-san,” said Aleister and he gave the goalie a formal bow.
“Dude, where’s your hockey stick? We wanna play two on two.” Scott said. Of the five of them, Scott took street hockey the most seriously. The others didn’t take him too seriously.
“Tell us about Japan, Al,” said Andy, “I mean, did you see any ninjas?”
“I hear the Nintendo games are like two years ahead of us, is that true?” Rob chimed in.
“I have many great things to tell you, my friends,” Aleister said, talking like some kind of monk. He held his hands in front of his body, in an almost prayer like manner. “You may not believe the things I have seen.”
“Ninjas?” said Andy.
“Oh Andy, Andy, not ninjas. So much better than ninjas. Come over to my house, and we will drink tea, and I will share things that will expand your minds.”
“You came back weird, Al,” said Rob. The boys put down their hockey sticks and followed Aleister back to his house.
It got even more weird when they entered the dining room. The table was laid out with an elaborate tea service. Little ceramic cups without handles sat at each setting, one for each of the five boys. The ceramic tea kettle sat on a metal trivet in the center of the table. Five boxes of Poki were arranged like a flower next to the kettle.
“Sit and drink tea, my friends, and I will share what I have learned, and what will arise in our near future,” Aleister gestured grandly.
They drank some tea, and munched on the Poki, which none of the boys had ever tried before. Devouring the cookie treats, the boys listened intently to Aleister’s story of Japan.
“My father introduced me to Master Inoki. He was an old man, probably over 200 years old, dressed in a simple white robe with a black belt. But he was stronger than anybody you could imagine,” Aleister said.
“Even Hulk Hogan?” Jason said.
Aleister gave him a stare, “yes, even Hulk Hogan.”
“Wow, that’s strong, “ said Jason.
“Master Inoki can bent solid steel with his bare hands. Trees crumble at the might of his punches. He can run on top of the wind, and perform seventeen backflips in a row. And he taught me something, guys.”
“What did he…” Jason started, but was interrupted by a punch to arm from Andy, “ow…”
“He taught me the Flaming Dragon Sonic Karate Chop...And now, I’m going to teach it to all of you,” Aleister smiled.
“Whoa,” said Jason. All the other boys agreed. Whoa. The end of the summer was going to be amazing.
“Hey, Aleister, welcome back!” said Jason, lifting up his goalie mask to properly greet his fried.
“Arigato, Jason-san,” said Aleister and he gave the goalie a formal bow.
“Dude, where’s your hockey stick? We wanna play two on two.” Scott said. Of the five of them, Scott took street hockey the most seriously. The others didn’t take him too seriously.
“Tell us about Japan, Al,” said Andy, “I mean, did you see any ninjas?”
“I hear the Nintendo games are like two years ahead of us, is that true?” Rob chimed in.
“I have many great things to tell you, my friends,” Aleister said, talking like some kind of monk. He held his hands in front of his body, in an almost prayer like manner. “You may not believe the things I have seen.”
“Ninjas?” said Andy.
“Oh Andy, Andy, not ninjas. So much better than ninjas. Come over to my house, and we will drink tea, and I will share things that will expand your minds.”
“You came back weird, Al,” said Rob. The boys put down their hockey sticks and followed Aleister back to his house.
It got even more weird when they entered the dining room. The table was laid out with an elaborate tea service. Little ceramic cups without handles sat at each setting, one for each of the five boys. The ceramic tea kettle sat on a metal trivet in the center of the table. Five boxes of Poki were arranged like a flower next to the kettle.
“Sit and drink tea, my friends, and I will share what I have learned, and what will arise in our near future,” Aleister gestured grandly.
They drank some tea, and munched on the Poki, which none of the boys had ever tried before. Devouring the cookie treats, the boys listened intently to Aleister’s story of Japan.
“My father introduced me to Master Inoki. He was an old man, probably over 200 years old, dressed in a simple white robe with a black belt. But he was stronger than anybody you could imagine,” Aleister said.
“Even Hulk Hogan?” Jason said.
Aleister gave him a stare, “yes, even Hulk Hogan.”
“Wow, that’s strong, “ said Jason.
“Master Inoki can bent solid steel with his bare hands. Trees crumble at the might of his punches. He can run on top of the wind, and perform seventeen backflips in a row. And he taught me something, guys.”
“What did he…” Jason started, but was interrupted by a punch to arm from Andy, “ow…”
“He taught me the Flaming Dragon Sonic Karate Chop...And now, I’m going to teach it to all of you,” Aleister smiled.
“Whoa,” said Jason. All the other boys agreed. Whoa. The end of the summer was going to be amazing.