by ipam
“That’s my honest conclusion. The teen gets wrapped up in the fun of the moment, forgetting that he’s supposed to continue along the next color tone. Or, the teen gives up and accepts where he has landed, due to the difficulty of the academic questions.”
“Some of the questions were hard. It made me feel dumb.”
I caress his arm, smiling. “You’re not…that. You’re my guy. We’re going to be happy as farmers.”
“I am happy about being a farmer. I’m just sad about Jara and Hatch, inside Dookie Town. That wasn’t there life time dream. I wished, I could do something to help them…”
“I, too.”
Buffo slaps my hands, smiling and nodding. “Well, that’s it for me. Suppertime, let’s eat.”
I grin and nod, standing and cuddling with Buffo.
We walk from the swing and into the rear door of the house.
Chapter 2
Monday
Colfax
8:01 am. office of the mayor
early morning. warm. partly cloudy. sunny. no rain. 3 mph winds. 69°F
The city of Colfax is both posh and pretty looking, sorta, with high skyline buildings holding workers and merchandise for the working Colfaxians.
Duchie wears a pair of thigh-high leather boots in gold color, matching her shorty skirt, above her kneecaps. She wears a matching golden sleeveless top of leather, too. Her chopped hair, compliments from one of the knife blades, inside the blue color tone, is wrapped into a bun, until it grows out, again. She marches back to the candy dish of chocolates, grabbing another one, popping into her mouth. She chews and giggles with excitement of her new internship job as a me-chee technician.
Rincon sits inside the chair with his leg over his kneecap, smiling and watching Duchie in amusement. He wears a golden colored leather vest, a white long sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and his cowboy boots, waiting on the new monitor for his internship as the new medical technician.
The medical technician monitor reports to the mayor’s office, this morning for instructing the new five teens of the golden color tone.
Marsilla sits in the loveseat, alone, typing on the palm-sized cell. She reads the first assignment of her internship, waiting on her legal technician monitor. She wears a golden leather jumper over a white blouse and a matching headband inside her pixie, pinching the back of her eardrums with pain. But, she looks pretty and proper, like the newest legal technician. Her mama insisted upon the cute accessory matching her dress. She wears a set of low heeled sandals.
The teens sit and relax inside the room space on the bottom floor of the mayor’s unique office.
The office has four separate tiers connected by a single wraparound open staircase, without a holding banister or hand rails. Each room has a different and function for a specific purpose.
The bottom space is a living room setting for the social visitors and business appointments, containing numerous covered clothed loveseats, long sofas, arm chairs, and glass side tables on top of a tile floor. Each table contains magazines, a vase of flowers, and a dish of candy.
You climb the open staircase to the second tier, an eating table. The table holds sixteen chairs for sixteen friends or business appointments. A big flower arrangement decorates the table, along with sixteen placements of clean and shiny plates, cups, and utensils. The only item missing is the food, being delivered at lunchtime.
The third tier is work space, containing a library of electronic media and the working computers.
The fourth tier holds a lonely desk, nicely polished wood, only. The desk faces the rear of the wall. The rear of the wall faces the air, the sky, and the wind, and 104 floors, above the city streets in Colfax.
The door swishes open in silence, since the female makes the annoying sound, instead.
Nephella frowns with frustration, making her facial piercing dance. She wears her golden colored cat suit from yesterday with the soft golden boots, just to irritate her mama. She says. “Mama, I don’t need you as my monitor. I have lived with you for…”
The mayor smiles. Her cheekbone piercing crinkles into her wrinkles. She strolls from the open door, wrapping her arm about her child. “Daughter, we have arrived at my office. I appreciate your input, child. Attention, interns! Welcome to my office. I am the mayor. You may address me, as mayor, Ms. Mayor, or ma’am. I have great news. I will be your monitor for the next six months…”
Rincon exhales and raises his hand in frustration. “Mayor, I am going to be a medical technician for the rest of my days. I don’t mean any disrespect, here, but you are not qualified to teach me those particular medical skills.”
The mayor exhales, pouting her lips at him. She nods then smiles as her cheekbone piercing crinkles into her wrinkles. “You are correct, Rincon. However, there has been a slight change in the procedure for this year’s interns…”
“Ms. Mayor, I downloaded the new intern manual, this morning, at six, here, on my new cell. It states all interns will be under the direction of the mayor for the next six months. She will provide six exercises for the intern, testing and evaluating academic, mental, physical, and social skills.” Marsilla nods and grins at the mayor.
The mayor nods, smiling at Marsilla. “Excellent, intern Marsilla! You are showing great promise within my cabinet.”
“What cabinet, Mama?” Nephella frowns with puzzlement, standing behind her mama’s back.
The mayor nods, smiling and moving into the middle of the living room space. “Welcome to my office! There are four tiers. This is the living room tier for relaxing and meeting with dignities.”
What dignities, Mama?” Nephella frowns with puzzlement, viewing her mama’s nose profile.
The mayor exhales then says. “I am going to evaluate each one of you, maybe, for a new post. There are five intern positions and only four interns to fill the spots.”
Duchie frowns with confusion. “Good morning, mayor. My name is Duchie from Dandine. I am sorry. I don’t understand your statement or your new rules. I just wanna be a me-chee technician. I really didn’t care about filling another post or position, here, in Colfax.”
Rincon nods, smiling and sitting inside the chair. “I would like to point out, here. There were five teens that successfully presented inside the gold color tone. Therefore, the five teens could easily fulfill the five open positions. If you allowed, the other teen to assume…”
“No, absolutely not, she made her decision. My decision is final.” The mayor frowns, crinkling her nose bridge piercing with a visual ugliness on her distorted face. She says. “And, I am the ruler of the Colfax, here. I am implementing the new changes effective, immediately, and affecting all the interns, here, within Colfax.” She smiles crinkling her cheekbone piercing into her wrinkles. “Now, there will be six courses that each one of you will be tested…”
“Mama, we all had been tested in the Cubby Hole. We all passed, landing inside the golden circle for our dream job. You…you can’t just change the rules, now.” Nephella frowns with frustration at her mama.
The mayor smiles and nods. “Daughter, thank you for your input, as usual. However, I am mayor of Colfax. I can change, and will change, and have changed the rules. The new rules are very, very simple. There will be six exercises. Each exercise is worth hundred points. The points are relative, as a measuring unit. The points could have been assigned 500 points, not 100. Therefore, the number of points is minor in the contest…”
“Contest!?” Duchie frowns. “I passed out of the Cubby Hole. I don’t wanna be tested, or trialed, or competitive, anymore…”
The mayor smirks. “Too bad, your attitude towards the new test, sucks, intern Duchie. I would suggest, suck it up and do it, since I will be reassessing each one of you, interns. Then, I will be deciding each one of your new or earned positions, interns. But, first, we should tour my office. My air space reaches towards the stars, literally. There are four tiers, like stories, without the annoying peoples or the ugly elevators.” She extends her hands.
“This is the living room space for visiting dignities. Please, follow me for the grand tour. We slowly stroll up the open staircase then stand inside the eating space.” She stands, extending her arms, smiles. “This room holds fifteen other dignities to dine with me. We should eat, here, for lunch, today, unless you are too busy, solving your exercise. As we continue upward, this is the library space. There are millions of electronic books and articles for your convenience, regarding your new set of exercises. As we glide up the stairs, we land upon the fourth level. This is my personal work desk.”
Duchie smiles, standing on the edge of the floor, leans over the air molecules. “Whoa! Your office is so cool. Each space, on each tier looks, like a small cubby hole with furniture and functionality. Wow! Your office space is awesome. I can see down below into the living space room. Spat going the monkey,” she giggles with Rincon.
Rincon smiles near the desk, saying. “You should think about installing a set of railing around the open flooring. Someone could accidentally fall off the fourth level then land down into the bottom floor.”
Marsilla stands away from the opening flooring, too. She scoots near the walls, viewing the outside clouds and birds. “I like your walls, I mean, your windows. The walls are only solid sheets of glass windows for viewing the sky, the clouds, the sun, the birds, and everything.”
The mayor walks to her desk, sitting and rotating the chair in a circle. She smiles. “Yes, this is my office. I make all the decision, right here, regarding Colfax and the outer townships. Now, your first exercise…”
“Electromagnetic walls.” Marsilla reads from her cell, smiling at the mayor.
“Very good, intern Marsilla! Yes, the first exercise is about electromagnetic walls or the barrier walls,” she stands, walking towards the double doors of glass. She exits into the sunshine.
The interns follow the mayor.
Nephella stands outside, out of the wind, near the windows, lighting her cigar, remembering her sweet grandfather. The white smoke drifts into the air then carries towards the south skyline.
Duchie dashes to the edge of the balcony, without any railing, also.
Rincon chases after her, pulling her from the edge, then cuddles her.
The mayor extends her arms, smiling and looking at the sun. “This is my crowning glory.”
Nephella squats and grins, burning the cigar on three short piles of bird pookie. The nasty odor invades the balcony with a strong vile sense. She giggles and grins.
The mayor sniffs then frowns, swinging to her daughter. She exhales then swings to the sky, again. “We are 104 stories high into the heavens. This is my personal balcony. When my day becomes, too stressed, I simply step out here and let the troubles fly away into the clouds.”
Marsilla smirks and stands near the windows, surveying the bird pookie on the walls, the balcony, and the roof tops. “You should shoot the birds for messing up your balcony, then, maybe, trouble wouldn’t trouble you, so much…”
“What!?” The mayor views Marsilla. Marsilla fingers the numerous wet and dried white bird droppings around the balcony, nodding and sniggering. The mayor exhales then views the skyline. “This is our little world of Colfax. We are very lucky. It is a cloudy day, so we will be able to see the fireworks?”
Rincon frowns, surveying the skyline. “What fireworks?”
Marsilla narrows her eyelashes at the clouds. “Fireworks, for a celebration?”
Duchie struggles from Rincon’s gripe then runs along the edge of the balcony, smiling and nodding. She fingers the skyline. “The mayor’s talking about the fireworks display from the surrounding outer townships from the drifting soil or matter samples. Let’s see. We’re facing in the northern direction. So, in the northwestern corner, you will see the tiny pink fireworks. That’s the outer township of Tonkey, the radiation pits. Then, in the northern sky is that my home town of Dandine…”
“Dookie Town,” Marsilla yells then laughs.
Rincon pops Marsilla on the arm, snarling at the mean teen.
Marsilla sticks her tongue out at Rincon then giggles, again.
Duchie says. “I was the dookie girl. Now, I’m a Colfax gal,” she giggles, fingering the sky. “In the northeastern sky is Burrville, the farms and farmers. The sky is lined with orange dust, during the morning and afternoon from pulling the tractor plows.” She marches along the edge of the balcony, moving towards the south direction. “If ya follow me towards the south, you will see the tiny green objects, coming from the town of Hamlin, that’s grass cuttings. In the southeast, the town of Montag produces the blue fireworks, without any sound. And, the township of Albend shoots little red teardrops into the air waves, before they fall right back down onto the d…”
“I am impressed, intern Duchie.” The mayor nods and grins. “You are very studious with your topics. We are standing on the highest structure in all of Colfax. And, you are viewing my reign the inner and outer limits of Colfax as mayor. This is where our first exercise should begin.”
Duchie exhales, smiling and fingering the object. “Wow! What’s that mountain? It looks like a statue.”
Rincon cuddles Duchie, dragging her from the edge, smiles. “Payne Mountain, made of golden granite, no grass, or trees, or flowers, I am afraid.”
Duchie giggles inside Rincon’s biceps. “So, what’s the purpose, then?”
The mayor nods and smiles, viewing the granite mountain. “For beauty…”
Duchie frowns. “How’s a granite mountain more beautiful than a flying bird, or a hopping rabbit, or a standing rose flower?”
The mayor frowns, crinkling her cheekbone piercing into her wrinkles, walking across the object. “Please, follow me. This is the cross bridge into your new work space.”
Marsilla gasps, stopping at the edge of the cross path. “This is a dangerous bridge, crossing only over the air molecules. What’s over there that needs my attention?”
The mayor walks over the bridge, yelling. “This is the direction of the map room. It displays the entire providence of Colfax, electronically. This is your new work space for all your exercises.” She stomps in her fashion sandals on the new balcony.
The balcony of the building is even in height of 104 stories to her office building, displaying a single square-shaped door frame, which is closed.
The mayor frowns with fury, crossing her arms, watching and waiting for the interns to walk the open bridge for their new assignment.
Duchie giggles, skipping across the naked bridge, without any railing, either, then lands on the balcony concrete. She advances towards the closed door.
The building is taller than the office building, rectangular shaped in dull white paint, wearing more bird droppings of gray, too.
Marsilla shakes her headband, her curls, and her hands, back stepping in the wrong direction. “No, I cannot cross that bridge. There’s not railing, or hand holds, or enclosed walls. The walls are missing. It is a jungle bridge for the birds, not people. I am a walking and talking person, not a flying bird. I can’t cross that bridge…”
The mayor grins. “This is your first exercise, fear. You must cross the bridge into the map room. Inside the map room, there is your second assignment.”
Rincon exhales, hugging Marsilla. “I will walk with you across the bridge. Why don’t ya close your eyes? Then, the walk will be, like walking on the beach, feeling the fierce wind.”
Marsilla nods, without speaking. Rincon wraps his arm around her, slowly walking over the bridge. He can’t close his eyes, wishing he could. He doesn’t like down towards the city streets, but feels the wind brush his shoulder length hair around his face then it slaps his cheekbone.
The wind is strong, pulling his body towards the south from the upcoming rain storm.
Rincon slowly pads across the bridge, seeing the tiny buildings and small trees. He exhales, stomping with Marsilla onto the concrete then growls at the mayor.
The mayor smiles and sniggers with delight.
Nephella exhales
, frowning with frustration at her mama. She bounces across the bridge, letting the white smoke of the cigar pollutes the air waves of Colfax, giggling.
The mayor swings then leads towards the closed door. She presses her necklace cell.
The door cracks open, sliding inside the wall.
The mayor enters, when the lights illuminates the room.
The room is rectangular shaped room matching the exterior design of the building. There is a center platform with half glass walls. Inside the platform, there are four glass writing desks, without cabinets or drawers.
The mayor walks into the center of the platform, smiling and extending her hands. “This is the map room.”
Duchie walks behind her, scanning the room. “It’s painted pure white. Where are the maps?”
Nephella tosses her cigar onto the outside balcony, walking into the room, sitting at the first glass desk. She exhales, rubbing her hands over the smooth glass, frowning with frustration at her mama.
Marsilla slowly walks inside, scanning the room, too. “The walls are white. Where are the maps?”
The mayor laughs. “How amusing? Two of the interns think the same way, and the other two interns are, only, observers.”
Rincon walks inside, darting his eyes left then right, sits at the desk located in the southwest corner of the platform, the opposite side of Nephella, without speaking. He has learned to observe, first, and then ask questions, sometimes, never.
The mayor smiles. She presses her necklace cell.
The white walls turn into colored maps.
Marsilla stands and smiles at the colored lights. “Wow! This is an electronic grid of Colfax and the outer townships. How is this possible?”
Duchie stands at one of the empty glass desks, sits on top the table, wiggling her boot in the hair. She leans into the glass, rubbing her hands over the smooth surface. “Awesome! The walls glow with colored lights. Electromagnetic waves created the electromagnetic barrier wall. The computer’s capturing and outlining the waves around the walls. This is our second exercise. I like those thinking exercises, best.”