Chapter Text
"Below the Surface" Chapter 2 "Friends"
Despite Martin's warnings about the bad blood between their parents and Zach Varmitech's parents, Chris found a new friend in Zach over the next month. Sure, they got off to a rocky start with hurling insults at each other, but they were six and seven years old. It's so easy to forgive at that age. Zach was a creative kid. He was always trying to invent something during recess, and Chris loved hanging out with him. It reminded him of playing with his older brother at home. They made a twig base, a table out of packed mud, all kinds of creations came to them from the nature around them. Everyday was fun at recess. Now, Chris had a friend similar to his brother, and their parents were either unaware of Chris's new friend, or they decided that it wasn't a problem.
Now, school wasn't just a place Chris had to go every day. He enjoyed going to school, and Martin always had friends to hang out with. One chilli afternoon, Zach and Chris were playing on the teeter-totter.
"Hey Chris, I know you like animals, right?"
"Yeah, animals are great! They help us keep the world healthy."
Zach went up on the teeter-totter. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could make animals even better with robots?"
Chris went up on the teeter-totter and furrowed his brow. "I don't know. That sounds kind of weird. Wouldn't it hurt them if metal was attached to their skin?" Chris went down on the teeter-totter.
Zach gave a nonchalant gaze to a crow on a telephone pole by the playground. "Oh, that's easy. We'd just sedate them."
"What if they don't want to go to sleep?" Chris wasn't convinced.
Zach did his best not to roll his eyes. Don't worry. "We'd make them comfortable."
"Well...Maybe...." Chris tapped a finger to his chin. He was completely innocent.
"I mean...if someone attached metal to us, is there any way to make that comfortable? Even afterwards?"
Zach waved a hand to dismiss the argument. "We'll workshop it. That's what my parents always say."
Chris and Martin got off the tetter-totter and headed for the slides.
Chris followed Zach up to the slide. "So, what are your parents like, Zach?"
Zach looked down at Chris. "I mean, they're good. Very successful. Difficult shoes to fill....At least, that's what my aunts and uncles always say."
"Wow...um, they seem nice." Zach's words seemed to daze Chris.
The two friends reached the top of the slide.
Zach turned back to Chris. "What are your parents like?"
"They're nice. They're both public school Science teachers. They like to help animals."
"They sound cool." Zach turned and looked at the slide. "I wonder what they'd think of my animal robot idea?"
Chris looked down the slide too. "I'm sure they'd have their concerns like I did, but that's okay. Your parents probably tell you that it's good to ask questions too, Zach."
Zach cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's true."
The two friends slid down the slide. "Whooo!" They rushed to the ground and toppled each other.
"Man, Zach! That was fun!
"Let's do it again, Chris!"
A teacher shuffled over to them, hands on her hips. "One at a time on the slide now boys."
"Yes, Ms. Wilka." Just as they spoke in unison, Chris and Zach ran in tandem back to the slide.
***
Thanksgiving break was closing in, and Martin started hanging out with his friends more. Chris came along for the ride. He was excited to get to see Sam and Parker again. The two brothers walked over to Parker's house.
"How's it going guys?" Martin gave each of his friends a fist bump.
"Not much. What's up?" Parker asked.
"The sun." Sam smirked.
"Don't forget the birds and flying insects." Martin chimed in.
"And bats, the world's only flying mammal." Chris added, peeking out from behind his brother.
"Good to see you, Chris! Parker gave the little brother a high-five.
"How's it going squirt?" Sam tussled Chris's hair.
"I'm ready for an adventure!"
They all played pretend in Parker's backyard until the sun went down.
"Rawr! I'm a lion!" Chris pounced towards his big brother, and they toppled over.
"I got you!"
"Oof! Yeah,you sure did." Martin crashed into the fall leaves scattered on the ground. Sam and Parker ran over to the crashed brothers.
"Hey bros, wanna play "King of the Hill"?"
"You know it!" Martin sprung up, ready to chase his friends.
"Uh, sure..." Chris dusted himself off. King of the Hill wasn't his favorite game to play with his big brother and his brother's bigger friends. He never stood a chance against them.
"Alright, I'll be the king first!" Sam grabbed a stick of red leaves as the flag, and he ran up to the top of a slope in his backyard. "Okay, ready!" He shouted down from the top.
"Haha! Gotcha Sam!"
"Too slow Parker!"
"Better luck next time Martin!"
Chris swung his little arms and legs. He huffed and puffed as he sprinted up the hill. Over the course of this game, Martin's sprint turned into a jog, and finally a side-clutching lomber as he limped after the boys who were 4 years older.
"Ha! Ha! I win!" Sam cried out. Martin's big pal was triumphant.
Chris bent down and clutched his kneecaps. He breathed in and out hard. "Heh...Heh...Whoo! Martin, can we play pretend now or look for animals?"
Martin bent down and ruffled his brother's hair. "Sure Chris!"
"What? No way!" Sam stomped over. "You guys can't go birdwatching! We want to play King of the Hill."
"Um, playing pretend sounds fine, Sam." Parker interjected. "He's the youngest. Let him choose once in a while."
Sam glared at Parker, and Martin gave Chris a look that told him something was coming.
Sam turned on Chris and Martin. "You know, you don't have to bring him. Your brother can stay home when we want to play!"
Martin stepped in front of Chris. "What are you talking about Sam? Chris is my brother, and he's old enough to play with us now!"
"Ugh, you know what I mean, Martin." Sam crossed his arms. "He's a kid!"
Martin grit his teeth. "No, I don't know what you mean Sam. We're all kids! If my brother's not welcomed here, than we're leaving!"
Chris poked his brother's back. "Um, Martin, it's O-"
"No it's not Chris. We can go look for animals and play pretend in our backyard."
Chris had only just turned six, but he couldn't recall his brother being this stern with him.
"Okay...Martin." Chris stood up on the tips of his toes and patted Martin's shoulder.
"Hey, guys...wait!" Parker called out to the brothers, but they made their way out the backyard.
"Nice going, Sam." Parker cocked an eyebrow.
"Hmph!" Sam tilted his chin up to the sky. He noticed a robin arch across the sky.
***
Martin and Sam called a truce within the following two weeks. Martin was always good at mending a friendship, even as a ten year old, kid. The blue brother would still hang out with Sam and Parker, and he even convinced Sam to agree to let Chris play with them, but most of Martin's freetime was spent playing with his little brother, and Chris was glad for that. However, his big brother wasn't the only friend Chris had to play with. Every recess at school Chris would play with Zach Varmitech, a first-grader he was supposed to hate. The two of them had so much fun building things out of dirt and twigs like tiny slides and catapults for acorns.
Chris rarely talked about Zach with Martin on the way home from school or when him and his big brother played outside. Chris wasn't trying to decieve Martin, he just didn't want to hear a lecture about how the Varmitech family was dangerous, evil, or at least bad-spirited. Even as a six-year old, Chris could tell that Zach's parents weren't all that involved in raising him. From what Chris gathered, Zach had a nanny who would take care of him and play with him pretty much everyday and an aunt and uncle on his dad's side who loved bringing their nephew gifts and taking him to parks and playgrounds on the weekends. Zach's parents were industrialists- swamped researchers in the tech and pharmaceutical industries. Chris felt sorry for Zach. His family seemed to have all sorts of wealth, but they were missing so much. When Chris rode the bus home, he wondered what Zach's ride home was like and what waited him at his home. Would the lights even be on when he got there? Chris had Martin to play with at home. Zach needed a friend to go on adventures with in his own backyard too.
***
Summerbreak came at the close of Chris's year of Kindergarden and Martin's 4th grade year. Martin, Sam, and Parker had some fun hang outs over the school year, but the big brother prioritized playing with Chris. Sometimes, Martin would bring Chris along so that his little brother could play with his friends. Even as a six year old going on seven, Chris got the sense that Sam wasn't always keen on having him tag along with his big brother even after Martin and Sam mended the fissure concerning Chris around Thanksgiving break. Making up on the first day of school or over the holidays didn't change everything. Martin even yelled at Sam once or twice, but they always hugged it out in the end.
On the last day of school, Zach had some exciting news for Chris. He jumped in front of a pile of dirt Chris made to mimic an anthill.
"Guess what Chris!"
Chris stood up from the ground. "What is it?"
Zach pointed a thumb to his chest. "I'm going to a robotics lab summer camp. We're going to learn all about building robots and inventing."
"Whoa, cool! Can I come?" Chris marveled.
Zach crossed his arms and grinned. "Why do you think I'm telling you about it? Of course I'm inviting you. It's a week long though. Are you okay with that?"
"You better believe it!" Chris threw his hands into the air. But then he remembered Martin.
The green brother brought a hand to his chin. "Do you think my brother could come?"
"Well, it's a K-3 camp, so he's too old." Zach tried to hide his anger at the mention of Martin. He still didn't get along with Chris's older brother.
"I'd still like to go." Chris smiled, walked over to Zach, and patted him on his shoulder.
"Great! It starts June 15th. Where do you get your mail, Chris? I'll write you a letter and remind you."
"Sounds good to me." Chris gave Zach his mailing address. Chris couldn't wait for this inventors' camp. Summerbreak had a future to it now. One with new adventures.
***
While Chris and Martin spent the summer days playing outside, Zach and Chris became fast penpals. Chris graduated Kindergarten, so he knew the alphabet and some sightwords. He knew the basics of formatting a letter from his time spent writing to Santa the past Christmas. You start a letter with "Dear" and end it with "Love" or "Your friend", and a "P.S." if you forget something. While Zach's parents worked on the latest technology and medicines, Zach and his nanny played with STEM circuit boards. Sometimes Zach even took his dad's watches apart to discover how they worked. Zach wrote that his dad let him play with his old watches since his father had so many of them. His nanny even let him unplug a toaster and take it apart since his parents would buy a new one anyway. Zach's nanny seemed really cool.
Chris told Zach all about his animal adventures with Martin. The lizard they found by their neighbor's pool, the bird they discovered nesting in the craft store, and even a beehive in the woods by their house. If Zach was being honest, Chris's letters made him a little jealous. The Varmitech family had all this money, but Zach didn't have a sibling to go on adventures with. Sure his nanny would play with him, but they couldn't venture out into the forest. She couldn't be a sister. After all, his parents paid her to take care of him. Even if she could trek through the woods with him, she couldn't be a sibling. Zach asked his nanny if he could visit the Kratts for a play date.
"That sounds just wonderful! You should get outside and play with children your age, Zachary....In fact, I'll schedule a play date for you and the Kratt brothers this week. " If Zach's nanny knew about the tension between the Kratts and the Varmitechs, she acted like she either didn't know about it, or she realized that the drama between the families wasn't actually a big deal. Even as a small eight year old, Zach felt relieved that this feud between their families did not seem like a huge deal after all.
During the summer break of first grade, Zach went to a friend's house to play for the first time. He never expected those friends to be the Kratt brothers. Zach knocked on the door and Martin Kratt answered.
"Hey Zach, what's shakin'?" Martin answered the door.
"Um...I'm doing well." Zach couldn't believe how friendly Martin was. He was a completely different person without his school friends around.
"Let's play pretend Savannah! I'll be a giraffe! Their necks are super long!" Martin exclaimed!
"I'll be a lion!" Chris shouted. "What about you, Zach?"
"Well, what all lives in Africa?" Zach gave the brothers a puzzled expression. The Kratt brothers pondered for a second.
"I know!" Martin's eyes lit up. "You can be the honey bader! They're ferocious, and they have black fur. I think you'd like them!"
Zach smiled. "That sounds pretty cool."
"Rawr!"
"Heeea!"
"Wah! Run away!"
The three friends had a blast pretending to be the African animals on the savannah. Zach couldn't believe how much fun he had with the brothers Kratt. Maybe the Kratts weren't so bad after all. Zach had a blast playing with the Kratts.
"Look, Martin! Another snapping turtle!"
"What? Where?"Chris pointed to a tall field of grass, and Martin followed him.
Zach stumbled after the Kratt bros. He recalled Chris telling him about how freshwater turtles often came too far on to land - even into the Kratt brothers backyard.
"Here, Zach. You should get to carry him." Chris handed off the hand-sized turtle to Zach. He grimaced at first, but he slowly got used to holding the turtle, and he realized that he was helping someone....or something...an animal, anyway. When the three amigos arrived at the pond, Zach promised himself that no matter what the future held, he would never forget this good deed he did with the Kratt brothers.