December 8th

“But they’ll stare at me! And they have sticks and I’ll be prodded and poked like a… a…”

“Biology experiment?” asked Ludwig.

Gary nodded vigorously.

“Exactly! They might discover my secret superhero identity and that will be the end of Captain Myotonic.”

“Gary, they’re primary children, not private investigators. I promised Madeleine that I would bring take you to her biology lesson so that the kids could learn how to deal with animals that aren’t pets. They’re making all the decorations for the Christmas party, so it seems like the least we can do.”

Gary paced around in a circle, tutting every few paces and sighing occasionally for added effect.

“WE can do? You’re not the one under the microscope here. I don’t suppose you dared to tell your pretty teacher that I’m far more than any pet that any of those kids has at home, did you?” he asked.

“Look, it’s not hard. All you have to do is stand there for a few minutes, run away from the kids if they come too close, chew on some grass and — most important of all — not speak a single word. The teacher will talk about farm animals in general and goats in particular for a few minutes and that’s it. No experiments. No prodding…”

“And there will be Kaiserschmarrn?”

“Two portions.”

“Mister, you’ve got a deal.”