by ipam
The me-chee raises both arms for attention, saying. “Greetings again! I am a thought me-chee. I am specifically designed to interact with your me-chee chair. For example, chair number one is hot wired into my computer brain along with the other chairs inside the Cubby Hole. Therefore I can monitor the number one schooler inside the number one chair. This common rule applies to each me-chair chair. For your curiosity, there are 313 schoolers and 313 me-chee chairs…”
Buffo leans over the empty aisle into Ketona. “Is thirteen an unlucky number?” She shakes her curls laughing. He nods and smiles then returns into his me-chee chair.
The me-chee says. “This is Citizenship Day. You are located inside the Cubby Hole. This is an activity of Citizenship Day. All graduating schoolers are required to attend and participate in the Cubby Hole. The explanation of the Cubby Hole is going to be very inadequate, without truly experiencing the first tone in both body and soul. There are seven tones of the Cubby Hole,” when a horizontal array of colors inside a boxed chart appears above his metal skull. He fingers the first colored block. “You are currently a stationary colorful, maybe not odorless. Since, some of the younger males usually sweat profusely inside their tom-cat suit.” The schoolers chuckle. The me-chee says. “You can see the pretty array extends from the color tone of silver to pink to yellow to orange to red to green to blue and finally to last color tone of gold. The gold tone allows a schooler to select any work job, at any work building, anywhere in the city of Colfax or your home town for the rest of your work career.” The schoolers cheer and smile. The me-chee says. “From the opposite end of the colored array, an advancement into the color of pink will represent a tub of schoolers who are vying for the same work job at the same work building, everywhere throughout the city of Colfax or your home town, not receiving your desired work job for the rest of your work career,” when the schoolers boos. The me-chee nods. “This is the purpose of the Cubby Hole. You, as a new adventurous and ambitious schooler plowing into the adult work world, determine your own fate. This is a very important piece of information. You are nothing now. Please view your suit. You are the color of silver. You are a perfect color match to your lounging me-chee chair and this room too. To jump over your current color of silver and into the next colorful tone of pink, you must answer a series of academic questions. This should be a simple task for a studious graduating schooler,” when the teens mumble. The me-chee says. “You must not only answer the questions but beat the percentages of the task. For example, to advance out of silver you must answer three-fourths of the addressed academic questions. For example, if there are eight posed questions, then the math percentage of three-fourths will equal six correct answers, tallying all the posed questions. You will have ten seconds between the questions for the correct answer,” when the schoolers boo. The me-chee doesn’t smile nodding its metal pink head then says. “The tone color rules are very simple. If you address one-fourth or less correct answers of the posed questions, then you are stationary in your current color tone. If you answer three-fourths or more of correct answers of the posed questions, then you will advance to the next color tone. I have clearly stated that answering the correct number of questions guarantees you a color tone. However if you answer two-fourths of the posed questions with a set of incorrect answers, then you will slip back down into the previous color tone,” when the schoolers boo. The me-chee fingers his metal skull, saying. “I do not understand being a machine,” when the schoolers laugh. The me-chee says. “I must emphasize here. To maintain your current color tone, you answer correctly one-fourth or less of the posed academic questions. If you attempt to answer all the posed questions and then two-fourths are incorrect, then you will slide back into the previous tone color. The me-chee chair is programmed purposefully to dip and slip you through the color pin wheel. Therefore, the goal for an ambitious schooler is to answer all questions correctly and then advance to the next tone color with the mission to reach the gold tone color,” when the schooler clap and cheer. The me-chee says. “I will be the me-chee voicing each academic question to you inside your individual me-chee chair then you state the correct answer back to me. You must use the following prefix phrase for your selected answer. My answer is…then your vocal response. I know that some of you will need to verbally talk out loud through the solution before quoting out loud in a clear voice your answer,” when the schoolers chuckle. The me-chee says. “That is part of the thought process. This mental process is allowed within the ten seconds time limit,” when the schoolers boo. “Ten seconds is a very long time in computer time as well as human thought. You will have ten seconds to complete and voice your finale response to me, the me-chee host. A big hint, the answer is always one or two words, not an entire sentence structure for a mental grading system,” when the schoolers cheer. “Has everyone settled into a me-chee chair with nervousness and anticipation?” He scans the room then says. “Excellent teens, I see lots of pointy boot toes, a few spiky tall fashion high heels, and some bare toe bones. You make stay in your bare feet for the academic questions also.”
One of the schoolers shouts from the rear of the room. “Lunch, when’s the food serviced around here?”
The me-chee nods, saying. “Your inquiry is a very good question. You will discover the answer shortly. Is everyone ready to begin?” Silence lingers in the auditorium. The me-chee nods. “We are ready to begin,” snaps his fingers.
My me-chee chair glows with a protective shielding of tinted-silver over my body like a shield. I see through the tinted color a silvery figure of Buffo, the pinkish-silver me-chee, the glowing silver walls, the glittering silver ceiling, and the blurry color chart.
The me-chee says. “You are the color tone of silver now. You have the opportunity to advance into the color tone of pink by answering the following posed academic questions. O! I forgot to mention, the number of posed questions are not provided to you in advance for each color tone. There could be a tally of ten questions asked within the pink color, or twelve questions asked within the red color, or sixteen questions asked within the yellow, or four questions asked within the orange. This is the point of an academic test, ya’ll,” when the schoolers laugh. The me-chee says. “You will not be informed if you have given me a correct or incorrect answer for each question asked either, since it would panic your mental thought processing from the purpose of the academic session. By answering each question quickly it allows me to provide the next question faster. I am a machine, not a fruitcake. You will discover providing me the answer very quickly will also provide you with a nice reward instantly. At the end of the academic questions I am the thought me-chee in which your responses of the correct or incorrect percentages will be tabulated then you will receive the proper color tone. If you turn pink, you have correctly answered three-fourths or more of the posed academic questions. And I do not accept any dumb questions or nasty comments from any individual schoolers either. Therefore, please lower both your wiggling arms and shaking legs. I suggest closing your eyelids while concentrating on my sexy voice with easing your anxious emotions as teens. I will remind again. Please state, my answer is…then your vocal response to each single posed academic question. I will begin.”
I close my eyelashes shifting my body back and forth into the soft fabric of the me-chee chair feeling eager and grinning at my new assignment. I like academic tests and testing doing very well in all my academic classes, since I was four years old on my first day as a schooler.
The voice of the thought me-chee echoes inside each silver-tinted enclosed cubby hole with the first question. “What is the outer skin tone color of the me-chee inside the Cubby Hole room, presently?”
I hear the first question then giggle, saying in a clear voice. “My answer is…pink.”
The thought me-chee asks. “What is the common color tint of the sky?”
I say. “My answer is…blue.”
The thought me-chee asks. “What is the common color tint of pasture grass?”
; I say. “My answer is…green.”
The thought me-chee asks. “What is the common color tint of the dirt soil?”
I say. “My answer is…brown.”
“What is the sum of one plus one?”
I giggle then say. “My answer is…two.”
“What is the multiplication of 12 times 12?”
I say. “My answer is…144.”
The thought me-chee asks. “The half-life of one isotope of radium is 1,600 years. Within this isotope, 15/16 of the radium atoms will decay over time. What is the time period?”
I pause and calculate the math inside my smart brain cells. “My answer is…6,400 years.”
The thought me-chee asks. “A body drowns in water. After a length of time, the body will surface upon the waves based on the water temperature at the bottom of the lake, the depth at the location, and consumption of beverages and food preceding the body’s death. Name one food item high in carbohydrates, where the bacteria will encourage a quick refloat of the death body upon the water surface?”
I frown with concentration then smile, saying. “My answer is…potato chips.”
I feel heatness underneath my skull, back, and fanny. I blink open my eyelashes. My me-chee shield has turned into a pretty pink color tone, when my catsuit shimmies in a candy pink color too. I giggle and grin, swinging my face to Buffo. He lays his tallness comfortably inside his me-chee chair wearing a tint of silver. I feel tightness, when the fabric of my me-chee chair wraps around my entire body like a soft warm blanket locking me inside the smooth furniture. The chair and I shake side to side with a set of violent jolts then fires with heat.
I feel both scared and excited, when the flooring underneath the me-chee chair drops. I drop too down into a dark hole screaming with fright and flinging only my free ten finger pads trapped against my side inside the warm blanket with excitement.
My me-chee chair halts on top of a dark platform. I feel both thrilled and nervous. Then I swiftly speed forward trapped inside the me-chee towards a bright light at the end of a dark black tunnel.
Chapter 4
Pink
I slide into a well-lighted rectangular-shaped room then abruptly halt with a tongue biting jolt away from a forward solid metal wall of pink. My heart starts beating again, when I spit exceed lip spittle and nose mucus from my face over the flooring from screaming fright. I scan the room of pink still trapped and striped inside my me-chee chair.
Two walls of reflective mirrors are parked beside me inside the room when I giggle seeing my smiling face reflecting in the mirrors.
The me-chee chair unwraps the single protective layer of soft fabric from my body keeping me safe from the wind-channel ride within the dark tunnel.
I jump twirling in a completely circle inside the pink room. I stand near the chair giggling and grinning. I shake my scared bones and weak kneecaps side to side noting no injuries to my limbs. I giggle and nod. “I completely understand. I correctly addressed and answered all the academic questions first before any other schooler,” I clap and bounce with excitement. “My BPs would be so proud and happy, if I could tattle. I’m the first one here. I’m all alone inside the pretty pink shimmy room of mirrors. Where’s here? What’s here?” I giggle running up and down the mirrored walls then slam accidentally into the metal pink wall, when it disappears.
The wall turns into a lush forest of woodlands dirt red clay, green low bushes, tall trees, colorful flowers, blue sky, yellow sunshine, and a slight breeze of a pretty day.
I slowly walk into the bright sunshine, smiling at the pretty work of nature. I touch the tree with my hand. Real. I pick the flower from the vine stem. Real. I kick the bushes with my boot toe. Real. “This is really a nature forest of nature,” giggles and nods, slowly scanning the pretty landscape. I live in the cold hard steel cast city of Colfax. Each house of three blocks has a manicured lawn with manicured flowers and a manicured lawn service to care for the manicured lawn. I’m a teen doing nothing but studying most days when not entertaining Buffo on my very limited days.
“This is really one of the many adventure themed park places of the famous Cubby Hole.” Rincon smiles and says coming from the wall opening strutting a few feet behind Ketona.
I twist around seeing Marsilla and Rincon stroll side by side then they part. Hatch, Jara, Buffo, and my new friend Lamis exit the pink room one after another as we form a loose huddle in the middle of the flat grass.
Rincon gently taps the forearm of Ketona winking and smiling. “Congratulations Ketona! You have successfully answered all your academic questions correctly before me. I was stumped by the last question then puzzled it out, before the ten second deadline.”
Buffo dashes by Rincon. He captures and cuddles Ketona, kissing her smile. He pulls back smiling and offering a wildflower from the natural park. She accepts it then sniffs the sweet fragrance. He smiles and says with happiness. “I did it too. I answered all my questions. Citizenship Day is fun. My BPs told …”
Rincon fingers the trees then the grass, saying. “This is our reward for answering all the academic questions inside the Cubby Hole for the color tone of pink. Our ultimate goal is to answer all the academic questions while attaining the color tone of gold first which will be me, of course.”
I giggle between Buffo’s biceps, winking at Rincon then say. “Or me, of course too!”
Marsilla holds her stomach, shaking her pixie. “I did not enjoy the tunnel ride. Will I and the me-chee chair take a wild ride for each and every color tone attained after correctly addressing the academic questions for a hundred percent score?”
The unnamed petite female with the red ponytail and blue eyes smiles and slides between Buffo and Hatch nodding her ponytail. “Yeah darling, the me-chee is the transportation machine for accessing your particularly acquired theme action and adventure park place,” views the trees, snapping her chewing gum. “This one’s some type of forest-woodland park cool spot. The breeze is nice from the stuffy Cubby Hole room of heated bodies. The sun is pretty too,” then she spits her chewing gum onto the pretty natural grass as I cringe with her non-southern belle manners.
Rincon frowns with annoyance at the new girl. “Do you care to share your name and your knowledge with us?”
The female winks at Rincon. “Guess so, sugar! I’m Duchie. I’m from Dandine…”
“A dookie girl,” Rincon laughs and fingers her with his shocking anti-social manners.
Marsilla slaps his arm, frowning with fury and shaking her pixie. “Where are your proper southern-beau manners taught by your mama, Rincon? That’s not a nice phrase while acknowledging a visitor to our home town of Colfax. Welcome to Colfax, Duchie. I’m Marsilla birthed and reared here if here is still in the city limits of Colfax,” scans the landscape then frowns with worry.
Duchie giggles then fingers Marsilla, shaking her ponytail. “She don’t know.”
Rincon grins and shakes his curls. “Naw, I suspect more than a couple of us standing inside this loose huddle doesn’t know the reason either for my accurate but insensitive nickname. Please do the honor and enlightening us belles and beaus, Duchie.”
Java frowns at Rincon. “What!? What ya referencing, Rincon. What’s it that we do not know?”
Duchie giggles, nodding her ponytail and playfully slapping on Buffo’s arm. “I’m from the town of Dandine. Dandine’s the sewer plantation for the city of Colfax and the surrounding towns of Hamlin, Tonkey, Montag, Burrville, and Albend. People like to use that particular word for my town, my folks, and me. Don’t bother me none. I’m used to it.”
I cuddle inside Buffo’s arm nodding and saying. “Well, it does bother me. I am not used to it. Therefore, no one is allowed to say that particular silly word around me or Duchie, if she is present around me. Yay hay! We got a new friend and survived Citizenship Day along with the silly academic questions. I mean really who’s going to miss the question, what color is the sun. Okay! We’re here in the forest-woodland park place. Is that the r
ight term to say, the park place of someplace on the planet. I don’t think we’re inside Colfax any more since Colfax doesn’t have a forest of real live brown bark trees and green plant bushes. What are we supposed to do now?”
Marsilla views the forest. “Let’s scout about for some fun! I’ve never seen a real live forest with real live trees and plants living my entire life inside a city of steel and concrete. Are the trees rough on your fingertips?” she advances to the tree hugging and touching the bark then picking the leaves. She examines each leaf, twig, and tree limb.
Rincon shakes his locks side to side saying with a snobby tone. “I do believe that our best course of action would be to tarry back towards the me-chee chair and entertain the next color tone of yellow. It is the next glowing gem on the color chart. Our goal is to advance as quickly as possible to attain…”
“Naw!” Hatch shoves Rincon on the back towards the thick forest of trees. “Let’s scout about for some fun like Marsilla ordered. I’ve never been to a real live forest of leaves and trees either. I saw it on my cellie,” views the tall trees. “You can’t even see the blue colored skyline between the thick green leaves on the branches. Wow! This is really cool along with the air temperature cooling my body too.”
Java cuddles into Hatch’s chest frowning with annoyance. She doesn’t touch or stare at the trees only Hatch. She says. “I don’t understand this park action adventure thing. I vote along with Rincon that we return to the me-chee chair and take one more scary ride back up towards the auditorium inside the Colfax Rotunda and complete the activity for Citizenship Day. Then we go back to my house and swim in the pool or play billiards or watch some entertainment program wasting the rest of the day, darling. Where are we actually located geographically? We are not in Colfax anymore, guys,” giggles and nods.
I hold Buffo’s hand with the flower tucked behind my ear.