by Ian Schrauth
“This is Selena Dixon, and I am her mother. Vanessa Dixon.”
“Okay, let me just check off you’re here,” He said and tapped on his iPad-like-tablet.
“Wait, if that letter was sitting in your safe, how do they know I’m coming?” I asked mom.
“Remember that time I told you not to get the mail? That Saturday?”
“Yeah?”
“The letter was in there.”
Sneaky woman...
“You’re in! Now, you will be placed in section 14G, on the right side. We will take your stuff,” I couldn’t stand that squeaky voice!
“Well… Goodbye Mom,” I said, and she started to tear up.
“I will see you when school lets out,” She said and hugged me.
After she let go of my body, my stuff was already carried off by one of the workers, and I walked away from her. It hurt that I had to leave my mother to go to school on another planet. It just hurts.
I looked back at my mother for the last time, and then I boarded the bus. Before I entered, the pressure was killing me. I just couldn’t do it. I had to turn around and run to my mother, crying like a little girl. “I can’t leave you!”
“Selena, you have to go. You need defense.”
“I can’t!”
“Go, I’ll be fine,” She said as she let me go and walked me to the train. She stopped before I boarded the train, and I hugged her for the last time. The pain was just unbearable. I couldn’t do it, but I had to be brave.
I forced myself onto the bus, and I walked to train 14G and sat down in the box-like-section they provided. It had a glass door and two couches. One on each side of the walls.[I12]
I tried to pull myself together and tried not to cry, but I forced myself to sit down.
Then the time hit. The train started to move. I looked out the window, and I waved Mom goodbye for the last time.
She waved back and wiped a tear from her face.
And off we went.
4
It was about an hour after I had been on the train, and I was feeling better. Yeah, I cried once in a while, but I felt better.
The train stopped at multiple stations to pick up more people and then started to run again.
I was on the portable computers that were supplied on the train when this girl knocked on my door.
“Is this 14G?” She asked.
“Yes. Come in!”
She entered the section and sat down in the other seat. “How are you?”
“Good,” I replied. “You?”
“Wanting to go home.”
“Same.”
“By the way, my name is Megan,” She introduced herself. She looked like my age.
As we were talking, a lady with a cart knocked on our door. She looked like she had food! “Are you ladies interested in some food?”[I13]
I got out twenty quid, and asked, “Can you convert this into the currency used on Saturn?”
“Yes,” She replied, got out some strange money, and took mine,” Let’s see… Twenty dollars will be two hundred Jhunas.”
I couldn’t believe it! I was going to be rich! “Am I rich now?”
“No. This basically adds a zero at the end of the twenty. You still have twenty dollars.”
There goes my chance of becoming the next billionaire. “What do you have?”
“I have whatever you want.”
“Can you make fried Oreos?” Megan asked.
Now, what type of stupid question was that? You can’t make fried Oreos on a cart!
“Yup,” She replied. She brought out some weird looking box and pressed a button. “Copin vejpvelis,” She said into the box.
After she had said that, she lifted up the box and there were pieces of fried Oreos on a plate! Now, how was that possible?!
“Thanks,” Megan said and took the Oreos.
“I will have pizza,” I told her.
She then put the box over another plate, and said, “Ripeem!”
While she was saying it, I was trying to think of what language that was. It sounded like Arabic, but then it sounded a little French and German.
“Here you go,” She said. “Fifty-six Jhunas.”
“That sounds expensive,” I said and handed her the money.
“It’s not that expensive; it’s only like five dollars,” she replied, took the money, and gave me the pizza. “Have a good ride.”
“Thanks,” I replied as she walked away. I just looked at the pizza. It looked so good! From its puffy crust to its melted cheese. I just had to take a bite.
So I did, and I thought I went to pizza heaven.
If magic is this good, I might enjoy it!
* * *
“Students, we have picked up all of the students. There is not enough room for the others, so you will have to share,” They said over the intercom.
Great, now I probably have to share a cab with a sweaty boy that might stink up the cab.
As we finished[u14] talking, this boy came into the cab.
Oh great!
“Is this taken?”
“No,” I replied.
“Yes,” Megan said at the same time.
“Yes or no?”
“No,” I replied.
“Thanks,” He replied and walked in. He sat down on the other side of the pizza plate. “How are you, ladies?”
“Good. How about yourself?”
“Excited to get to this new school.”
He was, like, the best-looking-boy I have ever seen. He had short, brown hair and the most good-looking face I had ever laid my eyes on!
I couldn’t help but stare at him as he talked. He was just so handsome!
“Oh. By the way, we will be arriving at Venus soon. You better get your money ready so you can buy your stuff. I expect you're all Almen or Finalmen.
“No, we’re freshmen,” Megan replied.
“Oh! You will be getting your stuff for free then,” he replied, got up, exited the box, and turned around. “I hope to see you soon.”
As he left, I leaned over to Megan and said, “He's hot!”
“I know right?!” Megan replied. [I15]
6
The rest of the way to Saturn after receiving our supplies was very boring. All we did was talk and sleep.
As I was about to fall asleep, I heard an announcement,
“Students, we have arrived on Saturn, please grab your things, and head off the bus. We will see you at the end of the year!
We grabbed our stuff and headed into the tall, ancient school. The planet of Saturn was breathtaking! I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was! It was basically like the heavens above.
All of us walked out of the train and grabbed our things from the pile that they placed. Mine was on top, so I got a head start.
When everyone has had their stuff, we saw black smoke come from the building doors and someone walk out.
“Welcome freshmen of Earth! I am Huxvey!” – She said it as ‘hujx-vee’ with a weird accent far away from Earth – “You are lucky to be here because the Almen and the Finalmen haven’t arrived yet! Which gives you time to choose your dorms and put away your stuff! Now, let me check if you’re all here,” She announced and got out her iPad.
As she was taking attendance, I admired her looks. From her long, black, wedding dress-like robe, her pink high-heels, and long red hair that extended to her butt. It was beautiful.
When she got done, she closed her iPad cover, and said: “All three hundreds of you are here!”
That had me surprised. I didn’t realize there were three hundreds of us!
“Now follow me to choose your dorms,” She announced and started to walk back into the school.
We all followed her to a strange, dark hall and she made us file in a straight line. Like, come on lady! We’re not little kids!
“Students, you will go into that room, and the teller will inform you what dorm you will be put in,” She announced and opened the door to a dark hallway. “You may pr
oceed.”
I was first in line, and I entered the room to find some sort of fortune teller wanna-be floating crossed-legged with a bowl of liquid sitting next to her. She was very creepy.
“Press your hand in the clay,” she demanded, “This will tell you what dorm you will be in.”
I pressed my hand into the clay, and she poured the liquid into the print. When the liquid dried – about five seconds later – she took it out and gave it to me. “This is called a Clayer hand.” (Yea, she said Clayer. Like layer, but with a C added onto it)
“You are in Siofit,” It had on the palm.[I16]
I looked at the teller, and she gave me a map of the school, basically, it was a five-page packet that mapped out each floor. Yea, the school was that big.
“Where are the dorms?” I asked.
“The fifth page, to the right,” She replied. “Since you are Siofit, I will transport you to the dorm.”
Her eyes then glowed like the eyes of the devil, and the wall slid open like a shopping mall door. “Go in.”
So, I did.
As the door closed behind me, I walked down the pitch-black hallway, and I found a door! I could barely see what type of door it was, and I ran to it. As it opened for me, I exited, and I was in another hallway. Like…What the heck?!
I turned around, and saw the door, I exited through the door leading into Siofit. Weird…
“Welcome. Place your Clayer hand on this,” It said and a robotic hand spat out a plate. I sat the Clayer hand on the plate, and it took it in. Once it was done making a humming noise, it threw it at me and the doors open.
I entered with my belongings and found I could choose which room I wanted. So, I looked in all the rooms, compared them, and choose the room with the biggest bed, the biggest desk, the biggest drawer, and the most precious view of Saturn. They were basically the same, but I chose that one anyway. I wrote my name down on the door, and put my stuff in the appropriate places.
When I turned on the Desktop computer in the dorm, I connected to the school’s Wi-Fi, and it had a survey to fill out. Basically what we would expect.
After I submitted the survey, Megan came in to join me in my dorm!
“Hey, you signed up for your classes in the library?”
“No.”
“Better do it before it gets crowded,” She replied.
She did have a point there. I did have to get there before everyone else steals all the classes.
I rushed out of my dorm like the speed of light and headed to the library. There, I went up to the front desk.
“Hi! How can I help you?” She greeted in a nice tone. I think I would like this library.
“I’m here to sign up for my classes,” I replied.
“Right over there,” She replied and pointed to a large computer lab.
I walked over to one of the computers, scanned the bar-code on my Clayer hand, and it showed me a white screen with a lot of text.
Student: Selena Dixon
Grade: 1 2 3
Sex: Male Female
Dorm: Siofit
Classes to choose from (put a “@” on the ones you will be taking and a “&” on the ones if the first ones are full)
Core
English I Concepts
English I &
Honors English I @
Physics concepts &
Introduction to Physics @
Honors Physics
CC physics
Pre-Geometry &
Pre-Algebra @ *filled in by parent*
Algebra I
Honors Algebra I
Saturn Government @
Honors Saturn Government &
Study hall, independent @
Magic/electives
Introduction to Computer literacy @
Broom Flying
Potions I @ *filled in by parent*
Introduction to dreaming and sleeping literacy
Introduction to Mind-reading + studies of the brain @
Sathanish I @ *Filled in by parent*
I clicked the accept button, and it said “Thank you. You will receive your schedule soon.”
I walked over to the printer, grabbed the piece of paper with a ton of symbols on it, walked up to the desk, and asked the librarians, “Do you accept book donations?”
“Yes, we do. What book do you have?” She asked.
“It’s in my bag; let me get it,” I replied, looked through my bag, and brought out a copy of each of my books.
“Who wrote this book?” She asked, sounding confused.
“I did.”
“Wait, you’re an author?!” She asked in surprise. Maybe being an author might do well in this school.
“Yes. That series is a trilogy, but I will bring them next year.”
“Ms. Grasso, you need to see this!” the secretary called.
When she called this, Megan came in, and asked, “What happened?”
“Nothing, I just gave her a copy of my first book,” I replied.
I then saw another one of the librarians walk up, and she asked the other one, “What is it, Ms. Roman?” The librarian had hair like a boy, and she was skinny. She wasn’t that hot.[I17]
“This girl right here has written this book! Do you think you can add this to the system?” She asked.
“I have to read it first,” She replied and took a look at the back cover. “Seems interesting! I am ‘gonna take this back to my office, and read this. OK?”
“Sure!” I replied. “I know you will enjoy it!”
She walked back to her office and started to read it. I watched her read it, and she looked like she was truly interested in it!
I thanked them, and headed to my dorm for a nap.
7
The nap was quick, and it was already morning here on Saturn. I woke feeling ready for the day. Surprisingly, I wasn’t tired. Usually, I would be tired from the loss of sleep, but the air on Saturn differs from Earth, it seemed.
I could tell that today was going to be a boring day because it was the first day of classes, and there were probably going to be some introductions.
Great…
I got up from my bed, and I looked around me. Megan was still asleep and it was quiet. I walked over to the shower room, took my shower, and headed out to find Megan asleep.
I took my pillow, and started to beat her with it! What fun!
“Hey! What the hell was that for?!” She yelled.
“Time for school.”
“What time does it start?” She asked and rubbed her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“You mean, you woke me up for nothing, just so you can beat me with a pillow?!”
“Maybe…” I replied.
She rolled her eyes and laid back down. “Great, now I can’t sleep.”
As I walked out to the front door, I noticed that some papers with our names on them slipped into our mailbox.
I picked them up and it was our schedules!
Student: Selena Dixon
Sex: Female
Year: Freshmen
ID: 5749057494
Classes in order
1) English I foundations…..Xjungtha, Mr...Room 129
2) Pre-Algebra...Crestle, Mrs....room 123
3) Intro to Computer literacy...Kerp, Mrs….Room 128
4) Study Hall...Snookie, Mr....Room 421 (optional)
5) Saturn Government…Snookie, Mr.…Room 421
6) Potions I…Xjung, Ms....Room 302
7) Sathinish I...Davis, Mr....Room 220
8) Intro to Dream and sleeping literacy...Sauda, Mr....Room 421
9) Intro to Physics...Skolte, Dr….Room 219
After reviewing my schedule, I had approved of it…
I didn’t realize then I would have misery…
As I went to gather my things, I took another look at my schedule. And that’s when I realized I was in a special class. A class for people with special needs.
“Students, you have fifteen minutes to get re
ady,” Huxvey announced.
“CRAP!” Megan yelled and rushed into the bathroom. Waking her up WAS a good thing!
“If you are ready, teachers are ready for their students,” She also announced.
Good.
I walked out of the dorm and headed into my English class. Great…
When I arrived, it looked like a very small classroom with posters all over the walls. The seats were facing the board and the teacher’s desk in front. “Welcome! Please sit wherever,” The teacher said. The teacher looked something like a rock star. He almost looked like he came from the 80s!
“Is this English I foundations?” I asked.
“Yup,” He replied. “Like I said, sit wherever you want.”
As I chose a seat that was far away from the teacher as possible, I saw five other students come in. Those were students that had special needs. There’s nothing wrong with them; special needs kids are the best. It’s just that I signed up for Honors English I and they put me in this class.
“Hello, kids! Sit wherever you want, and I will make a seating chart later,” The teacher said.
The kids wandered around the room, and everyone decided to sit near me. Oh well… it’s only for today.
“Welcome to English I foundation. I am Mr. Xjungtha. In this class, we will discuss what verbs, nouns, and more are,” He rambled. “Also how to use them in a simple sentence, and read many short stories. Now, in this class, there will be a very small quiz every day..,”
As he was flapping his gums about the class, I started to get sleepy.
I must not fall asleep!
I must not fall asleep.
I then fell asleep.
“Excuse me miss, is there a problem?” I heard a voice in my sleep ask me.
I didn’t respond.
There was a pause, then he yelled, “SELENA!”
That got me up. Great, how was I going to get her out of this one?!
“Is there a problem?” He asked again.
“No…” I replied.
“I don’t appreciate you sleeping in my class! Stay awake!”
* * *
When I arrived, the teacher – Mrs. Crestle – pointed out my seat, and I noticed this cute guy was sitting right next to me! What girl doesn’t like cute guys sitting next to them?