He was passing a small silver ball between his hands. Suddenly, he extended his arms and the ball stretched into a rope, which he then shaped into an oval and placed it horizontally in front of him. Next, he worked on other smaller objects by using the same technique. Like a clay maker, he rubbed, pulled and twisted each object into form. After shaping different objects within the oval, a black vibrating globule suddenly appeared in front of him. It vibrated faster and faster until it exploded into a sea of symbols, numbers and formulas. The symbols, numbers and formulas swirled and circled Einstein until they formed a giant radiant ring. The ring spun faster and faster, until it too exploded and the box filled with thick smoke.
To my astonishment, when the smoke cleared, a small futuristic city emerged in front Einstein. The oval became some sort of a highway system, encircling a city filled with different landscapes, buildings, and cars. Einstein tilted his head to admire his work. He then grabbed one of the cars and examined it in this palm. In a blink of the eye, he shrunk down in size and got into the car. He joyfully drove that little sport car all around the city until everything burst into a thick cloud of smoke again.
The futuristic city disappeared while Einstein emerged in his original size. Standing in a now empty compartment, he lifted his head and instantly froze like he just seen a ghost. He then proceeded to walk over and pound his fist against the window of the box.
“What’s he doing?” I frowned. “Is he working on some acting skills?”
“No.” Secretary smiled. “I just made us visible again. He’s just shocked to see you.”
As soon as Secretary finished the sentence, it instantly disappeared and reappeared inside the compartment with Einstein. A second later, both of them were standing next to me.
Einstein embraced me and excitedly screamed, “Beanie! Beanie!... I can’t believe it! You’re… Here!!!!”
I kept nodding and patting his back, never expected this monster would be this happy to see me!
We made our way back to Fairy and Nightingale, and even though Einstein and Nightingale only exchanged a simple nod, I could tell they were happy to see each other.
“Hey, Beanie. How’s Caterpillar?” Einstein asked.
“He’s… doing good… I think.” I shrugged.
“Oh I missed that kid, always whining and crying, you don’t see that much in here.” He giggled. “But hey, look at you, Beanie, you look… tall!” He yelled.
“Look who’s the shortest now!?” Nightingale teased.
“SHUT UP! Wait until I get out of here, you’ll be surprised to see how tall and strong I am!!!!!!!!!!!”
“What’s he doing?”
18
White Board
Christine once took me to an amusement park and that was the first time I rode a merry-go-round. I sat on a pretty brown horse while it went up, down and in circles to some lovely music in the background. Christine stood outside giggling while taking photos and waving her hands whenever I passed by.
After that, we walked around the park while I enjoyed a double scoop of chocolate ice cream on a waffle cone. Then some loud screams from above caught my attention. I looked up and saw a group of people in a roller coaster racing down a hill at an incredible speed. I couldn’t tell from their expression if they were happy or terrified. While still watching the crowd, my ice cream accidentally fell off the cone and began melting on the hot ground. I just stood there, staring at it with a sad expression on my face.
Christine gently patted my head and said, “Don't worry baby I’ll get you another one. But promise me you’ll never ride that thing to scare me, or you might end up like your ice cream.”
“Who’s next!??”
Fairy, Nightingale, Einstein and I were now standing outside of the School of Technology. You were probably wondering how we got out of there. No, we didn’t go through that 3D Maze again, instead Einstein simply pushed on a wall that created an opening and led us outside. He kept making fun of us and calling us stupid for taking the difficult route. Eventually, Nightingale had to slap him in the head to shut him up.
While Fairy was checking the map, Einstein peeked behind us and suddenly shrieked.
“Wow! What’s that? How come I never saw it before?”
“One of your students is in the School Of Art. Let’s go.” Fairy’s body flashed.
“That will be Da Vinci!” Nightingale rubbed her hands.
“How do you use this thing?” Einstein asked Fairy.
“Do you see Achilles in School Of Science, Fairy?” I asked.
“Science!?” Einstein exclaimed. “He’s in Physics! He…”
“NO!” Nightingale interrupted. “I’m pretty sure he goes to Science!”
“Physics!” Einstein shouted back.
“SCIENCE!!!”
“Okay, okay, kids.” Fairy finally stopped them. “We’ll find out later.”
“AND WHO ARE YOU, FLYING PEANUT? How come I’ve never seen you before? How come you didn’t introduce yourself to me first???” Einstein moaned.
“Such a baby!” Nightingale complained.
Soon after, we arrived at another large building. This building was quite special because it didn’t have a fixed form; rather it seemed to be made from a clay-like material that would constantly change color and shape. Curious, I brushed my hands again the wall and to my surprise some of my colors came off my fingertips. However, there was something was bothering me as I stood there looking at this fanatic building.
I DIDN’T SEE A DOOR.
“NOT AGAIN PLEASE. Where is the DOOR!???” I walked back and forth nervously. “I passed so many other schools with these HUGE fancy doors on the way here, how come the schools we want to go into never have a door!?”
“Have some patience, Kid.” Fairy grinned.
“Oh please.” Einstein sniggered. “You should have seen how crazy she became when we borrowed her beanie. Don’t ever expect her to have any patience. ”
“You called that BORROW!!???” I puffed out my cheeks.
“Don’t argue with him Beanie.” Nightingale placed her hand on my shoulder.
“He’s so silly, that’s why Moon doesn’t like him.”
“WHAT!?” Einstein scowled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!? Moon loves me!! I’m going to marry her one day!!”
Nightingale grunted.
“Look at it, Kids!” Fairy called to us.
Among the constant change in color and shape, there was one wall on this building that seemed different from the others. It was an empty white board that didn’t change; it remained constant while the material around it shifted.
I knocked on it, pounded my fist against it, pushed it, kicked it but nothing happened.
“WHAT IS IT?” I glared at Fairy.
“I’m sure it’s here for some reason.”
I sniffed.
“Hey, check it out!” Fairy pointed to the lower corner of the board.
“What again!?” I squatted down next to it.
“There is a door here!”
Fairy was pointing at a tiny black outline of a square at the lower left corner of the board.
“This? You called this a DOOR?” My voice cracked.
“I think it is.” Fairy said.
“Oh YEAH? Then why don’t you tell me how we’re going to get in there?” I said impatiently.
“Oh wait, I know… maybe we just…” Speaking in a mocking tone I touched the tiny square with my pinky. “Turn the knob and it will op…”
“Oh My GOD!” Nightingale jumped up in shock. “Where is she!!!!???”
I had no idea what just happened.
Before I could even finish the sentence, everything started to spin and I found myself in a white room again. The only thing I could see was a black outline of a square like the one I just touched, except that this one was much larger, large enough for a person to go through. I could hear Nightingale shouting for me from above, but I couldn’t see any of them. I screamed for
them, but none of them could hear me.
Standing in front of this strange white board, Fairy, Nightingale and Einstein were left there wondering what just happened to me.
“So, I suppose she’s in the school now?” Nightingale looked confused.
“Well… I don't think so…” Fairy pointed to the corner. Next to the square, a circle appeared with a triangle underneath and two lines sticking out from the bottom and sides. It roughly resembled a female human figure.
“HEY, BEANIE, IS THAT YOU????????? OH, it raised its hands, it must be her! She can hear us!”
Well, I was actually covering my ears because Nightingale’s scream was so loud that almost made me deaf!
”What should we do now?” Nightingale looked at Fairy, but it didn’t respond. She then turned to Einstein, who was just standing there quietly staring at the board.
“If… that one is a door, then this one must be, too.” He proclaimed.
On the lower right corner of the board, there was another tiny black outline of a square.
“It must be the door for either entering the school or coming back here!” Fairy shouted.
“WE KNOW!” Nightingale and Einstein snarled back together.
“Beanie, Beanie!” Nightingale shouted. “Listen to me! There is a door on the right, just keep going straight to your right… no your left!”
I walked towards left.
“NO!!! How come she’s going up?… TURN BACK, BEANIE, TURN BACK FIRST!”
I turned back.
“Ok? KEEP GOING?. NO!!!!!!”
“LEFT!”
“NO!”
“RIGHT!”
“NO!”
“GO NORTHWEST!”
“NO!”
“GO SOUTHEAST!”
“NOOOOO!!!”
I felt like I was walking around in the same spot.
“You know…” Fairy interrupted. “Even if you could give her the right directions, look how far it is… it might take her few days to get there…”
FEW DAYS?
“Then what? You tell me!” Nightingale seemed upset.
“You guys are useless.” Einstein shook his head and sniggered. “I’m very disappointed in you Nightingale. I always thought you were just little bit stupider than me, but now I have to say you’re far below my intelligence. And you, flying peanut, apparently you don’t know anything either.”
“So you know!?” Fairy asked enthusiastically, apparently it wasn’t offended by Einstein’s comment. Nightingale, on the other hand, was red with anger and about to explode.
“Of course I do.” He rubbed his fingertips against a color section of the building and began drawing something on the white board.
Oh wow! A magnificent bridge magically appeared in front of me. It was so tall and long that I couldn't see the top or end of it. After the bridge appeared something else began to materialize. It started with four circles that turned into four wheels and a frame. From the frame, wires and smaller components began to appear, intricately connecting to one another. Next, one by one, the body, the seats and the doors came into sight. And just like that, a gorgeous silver convertible was now parked next to the bridge.
Einstein stared smugly at his work and flashed an arrogant smile when he finished.
“What now?” Nightingale asked.
“SERIOUSLY?” He shouted back with an exaggerated expression.
“Just hurry up! We don’t have much time left!” She screamed.
“Hey, Grumpi-nie! It’s genius Einstein. Listen to me very carefully now.”
SHUT UP!
“I want you to get into the car and put on the seatbelt. There’s a big red button in front of you, push it once you’re ready.”
I followed his direction, went into the car and sat down.
“Don’t forget the SEATBELT!”
“Huh, maybe he’s not all bad… he still cares about my safety.” I murmured while putting on the seatbelt.
I pushed the button, nothing.
I pushed it again, still nothing.
“COME ON!” I moaned.
Finally, the engine fired with a jolt and the car began to move.
“YES!” I clapped.
The car drove onto the bridge and started making its way up to the top, everything was fine until… I glanced down…
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, EINSTIEN!!!!!”
“I know you’re genius, but couldn’t you just make the car go faster or something!!! It’s so dangerous for her to drive down a giant hill like that!!!” Nightingale shoved Einstein in anger.
“Hey, don’t blame me! I was the only one who knew how to help her!” He laughed.
When the car reached the very top of the bridge, it paused. I quickly looked down again… All I could see at this moment was… my ice cream melting on the ground and my eventual funeral.
“AAAAARRRRRRGH...”
“AAAARRRGH…”
“AARRGH…”
I was racing down the bridge at an unbelievable speed and my entire body was shaking violently. My heart was about to jump out of my throat and my voice had gone hoarse from all the screaming. I held on tightly to the seatbelt, my eyes were closed and my face was buried in my poncho. Finally, when the car reached the bottom of the hill it began slowing down and eventually coming to a complete stop. I was stiff like a statue with my hands still holding on to the seatbelt. Then I took a deep breath and finally began to relax my body little by little. I patted my face few times to make sure I was still here.
After a few more long deep breaths, I lifted up my head and pulled back my hair from my face. The first thing came into my view was a black outline of a large square. I jumped out of the car and ran over to it immediately. Without hesitation, I pushed on it and walked through.
As I stepped through I could hear loud cheers and claps from above.
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, EINSTIEN!!!!!”
19
School of Art
One time, I saw a drawing in Morris’ sketchbook. It was an old man sitting on a beach. It looked like a bright sunny day, but the he was wearing a winter coat, scarf and gloves. He just sat there, staring off into the distances with a slight smile on his face as if he was thinking about something.
For some reasons I really liked that drawing, so I grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and tried to copy it. But no matter how hard I tried, it would always look different.
So I went to Morris for help. He laughed and said,
“If you only knew what was going on in this old man’s head, these pictures would look the same to you.”
Nightingale, Einstein and Fairy stood outside of the School of Art watching me enter the other door.
“YES! She made it!” Nightingale and Fairy both jumped up and down in excitement.
“Cool! Who’s NEXT??” Einstein grinned.
“I don’t have to go with her.” Nightingale walked away.
“I believe Key Holder can take care of it by herself.” Fairy followed Nightingale.
“WHAT!!?? No one wants to ride my sports car!???”
A flash of bright light blinded me as soon as I walked through the door. Before I could see anyone, I could already hear the sounds of students talking, laughing, screaming, running and jumping all around me. Suddenly, a gigantic creature at least 20 feet tall popped into sight and began sprinting towards me. I moved backwards, fell back on the ground and quickly spun sideways to avoid it. In the commotion, I almost kicked a tiny, can-sized student that jumped over my feet. I sat against the wall, watching all these students pass me by. What was strange was they were constantly changing sizes and features, just like the building itself. I began breathing faster, feeling lost in all this craziness.
I stood up and edged along the wall carefully, afraid to step on anyone or be stepped on. It was a very frantic campus, filled with energy and creativity, but I was lost. I had no idea where to go or who to ask for help. No one here seemed to notice that I didn’t belong. Then I saw a
room, with no one in it but a pool, so I snuck in to get away from all the commotion. It had different atmosphere, clam and peaceful.
“You like in here?”
I jerked back, and standing behind me stood a shimmering gold creature but it had the form that was similar to a human female. It had very attractive facial features and a lovely smell. I stood there staring at it quietly; I couldn’t move my eyes away. It walked over to me and touched my cheek with its soft and warm hand.
“Is something bothering you?” It asked softly.
“No... no.” I blushed.
“You’re not a student here, you’re a Key Holder.” Her voice was beautiful.
“I’m here looking for my student.” I responded timidly.
“Why don’t you like our campus?” It asked.
“I LIKE IT!” I protested.
“Then why did you make this quiet and lonely room?”
“I didn’t make it, I just saw it. No one was in here, so I came in.”
“What you see in here is from you. You created it.”
I didn’t respond, because I didn’t understand what it meant.
“You don’t get it.” It giggled. I lowered my head, feeling embarrassed. “It’s okay. It’s your first time here, so I’ll explain it to you. In the School of Art, the environments you see all around you are created by the students, completely based on their own thoughts and creativity. Art comes from the mind and heart, if you can create art simply from your feelings and emotions, then the outcome is usually amazing. But if you’re creating art just to please someone or to show off or to make profit, then the results are usually far away from perfect.”
I nodded.
“But you said that I was the one that created this room? I wasn’t thinking about a pool though.” I said.
“What were you thinking before you entered this room?”
“Well… It was very noisy and crazy outside. It made me kind of nervous, so I wanted to find a quiet place and then I saw… Oh…” I paused. I understood now. “So did I create you too?”
“No, I’m the president of School of Art.”
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