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PART XX: I'm Learning About Monsters

Lilian Madwhip

PART XX: I'm Lily Madwhip and I'm Learning About Monsters

I'm Lily Madwhip and I'm Learning About Monsters

I'm at the library, which is called Winslow Library, reading a book on mythology. Winslow Library is named after Miles Winslow, who donated books to the town after the original library burned down... because Miles Winslow accidentally set it on fire. It's a long story. Short version is, Miles Winslow was a crazy fellow.

After I told Felix everything about Hekate, he asked me if I knew anything about Grease and I told him I saw the movie five times, although I didn't know what that had to do with anything. Also I never understood why their car turned into Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang at the end. It turns out Grease is a country too, and that's where mythology comes from. Felix suggested I go to the library and "brush up" on the subject, because apparently Hekate was around way back when people rode chariots instead of cars and everything was dirt and olives.

I already know about the minotaur, which is a person with a cow for a head. Not the whole cow, just the head. He lives in a maze. I also know about Medusa, who was a lady with snakes for hair. Not the whole snake, but most of it. But other than those two, I'm not a mythology know-it-all.

It turns out people from Grease were obsessed with mixing up animals. Besides the minotaur, there's also centaurs, which is where the other half of the cow went. Then there's harpies, which are ladies with vultures for butts. Not the whole vulture, just the butt. I didn't know those were myths though, because I've seen commercials on TV where people admitted they had harpies and were taking medication to get rid of them.

Then there's the chimera. That's like a lion-goat-scorpion. I don't even know where to begin. Like, where did someone think they saw this thing? Was it like they were walking along and saw a lion looking out from behind a tree, but there was also a goat behind it and they mistook the goat's butt for the lion's butt? And where the heck did they see a scorpion big enough for its tail to look like part of this mess? I think people in Grease just drank a lot. My Uncle George drinks a lot, at least since my cousin Susie got run over by a boat. I don't think he ever saw a lion and a goat at the same time though, and thought they were the same animal.

I have a yellow pad of paper for taking notes, but I have no idea what kind of notes to take, so I just draw in it. First I draw a chimera, because it's the weirdest animal I've read about yet. Then I try to draw a harpy, but I'm not any good at drawing people, so I give it the body of an alligator. I call it an alligarpy. Eventually I'm not even reading the book anymore, I'm just doodling imaginary animals combined with other animals.

"What are you drawing?"

There's another kid in the library. He's taller than me, so he's probably older. He's got crazy brown hair and freckles... or maybe his face is just dirty. I wish I had freckles. And he's wearing old, velcro shoes. The velcro is so old that it doesn't even stick together anymore and the straps just hang loose. Still, velcro shoes are nice. I wish I had velcro shoes. So jealous right now.

I look at my most recent piece. "It's a... pigapotomus. It's from mythology." That's not actually true, I just made this one up. "That's stories from long ago about superheros and monsters."

"I know what mythology is." he wipes his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie. I can see the snot streak go up to his elbow. There's other, older, crustier streaks up both arms. Ew. He may know what mythology is, but I bet dollars to doughnuts that hygiene isn't in his vocabulary.