Note: Benjy has a job at Realie to manage several spreadsheets on various things.
#DEFINES: Realie’s Art Teacher = "Ms Serasi"
System mySystem = Call(mySystem);
System.iforce.setConvexDreamSequence;
QST.Weekday = Monday;
New Scene(autoSetDreamforce())
Benjy is in a laboratory of some sort, not wearing the Millennium Gameboy Advance. The floor is covered in pinkish-purple tiles and the walls are a light purple-blue. The room is about ten feet from front to back and 16 feet wide. Benjy stares confused at the titration experiment in front of him.
Wondering what to do, Benjy picks up a piece of paper covered with symbols, and tries to make sense of them. As Benjy stares, the symbols vanish and are replaced by English words. He reads them out loud:
Benjy: If you don’t see a solid form, just keep adding OH– until you do, you…
Benjy stops reading and looks at the setup in front of him, and looks down at the paper again.
Benjy: You have quite an attitude, don’t you.
The paper goes back to symbols, until Benjy focuses on it again, this time reading, "Oh course I have an attitude, who do you think wrote me." Benjy looks to the side of the experiment where some food lies in a bag with some symbols on it. Benjy stares at the symbols and they turn into the letters "Benjy."
(These are the symbols shown; they are not intended to look as if they have real-world origins)
Next to the bag are some bizarre mushroom-shaped pancakes or pancake-shaped mushrooms, Benjy cannot distinguish which. As Benjy stares at them, a girl in a blue magician’s robe
appears in the doorway, and starts speaking, but the speaking is muffled so neither Benjy nor the viewer can understand. Benjy blinks.
New Scene(dreamforce.exit())
@QST.Calendar: [ Friday ]
Benjy looks around to see that he’s currently riding in a train car.
Max: Benjy, wake up! Next stop is ours!
Benjy quickly turns to see Max, next to him, is already getting up. Benjy jumps to his feet as well, grabbing his backpack in the process, and quickly walks to join Max and his Chikorita, both of whom are in the aisle, getting ready to disembark the train. At this point, QST.camera shifts outside of the train.
In the pouring rain, the train blows its whistle, getting ready to leave the pen-ultimate station (in regards to Benjy’s journey to school) and starts moving. The train’s headlights shine against the rain and sleet. As the train starts to pick up speed, QST.camera moves inside the train to where Benjy and Max are getting ready to disembark.
The train blows its whistle again while Benjy leans on one of the poles.
Max: This is quite a storm.
Benjy: Did you bring an umbrella?
Max: Nope. I’m just going to run. Did *you* bring an umbrella?
Benjy nods, and takes off his backpack.
Benjy: Chikorita, you’re going to have to return.
Benjy holds out Chikorita’s ball and presses the button. Surprised, Chikorita disappears in a flash of light. Benjy now opens up his backpack while returning Chikorita’s ball to his pocket, before taking out an umbrella.
Max: Why did you recall Chikorita? He likes to walk with us.
Benjy: Rain equals reduced visibility–
Benjy zips his backpack.
Benjy: –which means there’s a higher likelihood that Chikorita will get hit by a car.
As Benjy says this, he puts his backpack back on.
Intercom: Next station stop: San Mateo. Next station: San Mateo.
Benjy: That’s us.
Max: Always mister cautious.
Benjy rolls his eyes, but says nothing. The train begins to slow down and Benjy grabs the railing to prevent himself from falling over.
New Scene()
The train screeches to a stop at the San Mateo train station in the pouring rain. After a brief pause, the train doors open and Benjy and Max descend the steps to the platform, and Max quickly dashes under the overhang on the platform.
Benjy: Are you sure you don’t want to share my umbrella?
Max: Boys don’t do that.
Benjy rolls his eyes.
Benjy: Suit yourself then. Benjy turns left and starts walking.
Max: Where are you going?
Benjy: It’s too wet to climb over the fence today!
Max: What? Afraid you’re going to slip and fall?!
Benjy: I don’t want to get my pants wet!
QST.camera now follows Benjy as he walks. After a few paces the Millennium Gameboy Advance pulses slightly.
Yami Benjy: I don’t think this rain is normal.
Benjy: Well, it is an el niño year…
Yami Benjy: Even with that in mind, I still think that this rain is a bit much.
Benjy comes to the end of the fence and walks around it, crossing the street.
Max’s Voice: Hey Benjy! Hurry up!
Benjy tilts his umbrella forwards just enough so he can still see, and increases his speed while being careful not to trip. While Benjy doesn’t trip, he almost crashes headlong into a telephone pole, but moves to the side at the last minute.
New Scene()
Benjy and Max are walking up the steps to Realie. [L] waits just inside the door due to the pouring rain. Benjy and Max approach, [L] calls out to them:
[L]: Max! You’re sopping wet!
Suddenly a large gust of wind blows from behind Max and Benjy, spraying their backsides with water as well as spraying [L] with water. [L] sputters as she tries to wave the water away.
Max: And now, so are you.
With a small burst of speed, Benjy darts across the patio and jumps up the steps. Max follows him. [L] eyes Max nervously as he shakes himself off the best he can, while Benjy folds up his umbrella and places it by the door to dry off. Benjy pocket wiggles as he does so.
Benjy: Okay, okay, I’ll let you out, hold on.
Benjy’s pocket wiggles again as he steps away from the door, and then hurries up the steps, pulling the wiggling ball out of his pocket. As soon as Benjy reaches the top of the stairs, Chikorita emerges in a flash of red light. From down below, [L] can be heard telling Max to go to the bathroom and dry off. Chikorita looks angrily at Benjy.
Benjy: Sorry I didn’t let you walk with us today, but outside it’s–
Benjy gestures through the windows at the pouring rain, and Chikorita recoils, appearing to forgive his trainer somewhat.
Benjy: Come on. Lets put this stuff down and get to class.
Chikorita: Ko!
Chikorita follows Benjy across the main hall to a door which Benjy opens, revealing stairs that lead into an underground tunnel. Benjy flips the light-switch and starts off down the stairs, with Chikorita walking at his heels.
The staircase spirals around once and then lets out in an underground passage which looks fairly typical: a carpeted floor, white-painted cement walls, and a line of fluorescent lights overhead. The hall isn’t exactly empty, with a few water coolers and P.E. equipment lying around. Benjy walks down the hallway with Chikorita at his heels, for a few seconds (real time).
New Scene()
Benjy emerges from the underground passageway in the stairwell of the building on the other side of the courtyard (which is technically part of the same building); Chikorita is still following him as he climbs the stairs to the second floor where his office is located, and quickly enters, allowing the door to close after Chikorita.
The office is still empty aside from the server rack, which Chikorita doesn’t pay much attention to. Benjy puts his backpack down and both go over to the window to stare outside at the rain.
Benjy: Is it clearing up?
Yami Benjy: Don’t think so. It’s just harder to see the raindrops.
Benjy nods absentmindedly. Then the bell rings, and Benjy places quickly extracts his binder from his backpack, and hurries off to class with Chikorita at his heels. Chikorita doesn’t quite make it out the office door in time, so Benjy has to go back and open the door again for Chikorita.
Benjy moves quickly down the hallway, turning a corner and going down another staircase.
New Scene(Classroom)
Benjy enters a classroom with tables instead of desks which is dimly lit. Maya is sitting at one of the tables, working on a laptop. As soon as Benjy enters the room, a phone rings, and Benjy dashes over to get it, nearly tripping on a chair.
Benjy: Student speaking.
Recorded Message: This is the second factory notice that the warranty on your vehicle has expired…
Benjy hangs up the phone. It promptly rings again.
Benjy: Student speaking.
Recorded Message: This is the second factory notice that…
Benjy hangs up the phone. It promptly rings again.
Benjy: Student speaking.
Recorded Message: This is the second factory notice that the warranty on your vehicle has expired, to renew the warranty, press 1. Para escuchar este mensaje en Español, prensa dos.
Benjy: …
Benjy glances over at Maya suspiciously, then hangs up the phone again. It rings immediately, and this time Benjy ignores it.
Benjy: What’s going on?
Maya: It’s been doing that all morning.
Benjy: The second factory notice stuff?
Maya nods.
Benjy: Seems suspiciously like your hacking.
Maya: You always blame me.
Benjy: Well, nine times out of ten, it is…
The phone immediately rings, cutting Benjy off. By Benjy’s feet, Chikorita devours a small scrap of paper.
Benjy: Where’s Ms Serasi?
The phone rings again, and Benjy quickly picks it up and hangs up.
Benjy: Where’s Ms–
The phone rings again and Benjy repeats the procedure, then Benjy starts shaking, unsure of what to do. The phone rings again, but is suddenly silenced as the room looses power. Benjy holds his palm to his forehead.
Yami Benjy: I don’t think this is a normal rainstorm.
Benjy: Something just knocked out the power. This happens all the time in a rainstorm.
Yami Benjy: Perhaps.
Benjy: So, Maya–
Maya shrugs. Benjy walks over behind Maya to glance at her screen. Some kind of tower defense game is on her screen.
Benjy: Maya, you’re not supposed to be–
Maya: But I can’t upload photos if the wifi is down.
Suddenly, the lights go back on.
Benjy: It’s back up now.
Maya groans, and switches tabs. A few seconds later a woman, in her 30s, walks in looking frazzled.
Maya: Benjy was wondering where you were.
Woman → Ms Serasi: I told you to tell him that I was in the restroom. Speaking of which, I know now what you kids have to deal with when someone turns off the light as a prank. It’s just one thing after another today.
Benjy: ?
Ms Serasi: Lightsman made a very unusual choice to replace the teacher you sent to the shadow realm.
Benjy: ?
Ms Serasi: That’s all I’m going to say.
Serasi looks uncomfortable as she sits down at her desk. Katie and Alex now enter the classroom. Katie pauses to glance at Maya’s screen as she walks by her.
Maya: Why are you guys all–
Katie: You know perfectly well.
Ms Serasi: Maya, it’s because there was a time when certain pictures were uploaded by the way of your computer.
QST.camera nows shifts to Benjy, who is proofreading something on his screen.
Benjy: What’s this? This doesn’t look like anyone at this school?
Katie: Is it a stock photo?
Benjy beckons to Katie, who walks over to where he is sitting.
Benjy: This.
Benjy and Katie stare at his screen. After a few seconds Katie turns Benjy’s computer to Ms Serasi.
Katie: Is this a template?
Ms Serasi peers over the top of her spectacles.
Ms Serasi: That’s a brief survey of what’s going on in the news this year. The company that’s doing the yearbook puts those pages in for free.
Katie: No they don’t.
Ms Serasi: They changed their policy this school year, Katie.
Katie: People are going to hate this.
Ms Serasi: If they don’t like them, you can just tear them out.
Katie: No they can’t.
Ms Serasi: ?
Benjy: Have you ever tried to tear something out of a book.
Benjy quickly rolls his eyes. At this point, the phone rings.
Katie: And they’re not free.
Ms Serasi: Katie…
Maya: They charge per page!
Ms Serasi: Maya, these are free!
Katie: No, they’re not.
Ms Serasi: You kids are impossible. Just let it go.
Maya: Benjy should I…?
Benjy: Go for it.
New Scene()
Maya and Benjy are leaving the art room; Chikorita and Pixielite follow Benjy, walking and flying respectively. Benjy is carrying his laptop under his left arm.
Maya: You understood what I was going for?
Benjy: You’ll delete the pages from their servers, right?
Maya shrugs.
Maya: I’ll do something.
Benjy and Maya now reach the door to the courtyard. QST.camera shifts through the door to show both staring through the door at the rain.
Maya: It’s still raining?
Benjy: Appears so. Well, I’m going to go get ready for my next class.
Benjy turns to go, but Chikorita does not and scratches at the door. After a few attempts of calling Chikorita, Benjy has to pick him up and carry him with him.
New Scene()
Benjy stands next to Chikorita as the later relieves himself into a planter bed. Benjy is wearing a red raincoat to protect himself from the downpour, and no longer carrying his laptop.
Benjy: It’s fine if you have to do your business, but at least let me get my raincoat, okay?
Chikorita finishes relieving himself.
Chikorita: Chiko!
Chikorita is now content to follow Benjy back into the building, shaking himself off as soon as they enter the entry way. Suddenly, the emergency phone rings, and Benjy quickly picks it up.
Recorded Message: This is the second factory notice that the warranty on your vehicle has expired, to renew the warranty…
Benjy hangs up the phone.
Benjy: Okay, now we’ve got a problem.
New Scene()
[L] is in her office, sitting at her desk. Suddenly her phone rings. She picks up the phone and puts it to her ear.
Recorded Message: Hello. This is the second factory…
[L] slams the phone down in frustration, startling a young girl sitting in front of her desk, swinging her feet.
[L]: Seventh time this morning!
The girl shudders.
[L]: Sorry, Gina, it has nothing to do with you.
[L] takes a deep breath as Benjy walks into her office.
Benjy: May I have a minute?
[L]: Benjy?
Suddenly [L]’s phone rings, and she picks it up. But after a few seconds slams the phone down again, startling the girl once again.
[L]: Make it quick.
Benjy: We need to replace the spam filter.
[L]: I’m not sure what you mean–
[L]’s phone rings, and she picks it up. But after a split-second slams the phone down.
Benjy: Was that the second factory notice–
[L]: –that the warning on your vehicle has expired. What about it?
Benjy: Have someone fix the spam filter. They’ve gotten to the emergency line!
[L]’s phone rings, and she reaches for it.
[L]: Hold on, I’d better get this.
Benjy presses his palm to his forehead.
[L]: It could be someone important.
[L] reaches for the phone, but a split second later slams it down.
[L]: Why do you think the spam filter isn’t working?
Benjy: Your phone!
[L]’s phone rings once again, but she just stares at it until it has rung four times.
[L]: Benjy, this is Gina Missington, she’s a bit young, but she going to be our new teacher for discreet mathematics to replace Starf while he’s incapacitated. We still have to find someone to take over his psych and discreet math classes.
Gina: Uh–I thought you said…
[L]: Oh sorry. I’m getting him mixed up with someone else. I mean taking time off to be with his family.
Gina turns around to look at Benjy, as [L] jumps out of her chair.
Benjy: Deal.
[L] quickly shakes Benjy’s hand, and dashes out of the office.
Gina: I thought you said…
[L]: I’m sorry, Gina. Technically Benjy is both a student and a member of the staff simultaneously.
Mr. Dallas now enters the office.
Mr. Dallas: Before you go, our insurance wants to know what you think happened to Starf. They didn’t like "alien abduction." Should I add something about a shadow game?
[L]: I’ll talk to them.
With this, Gina suddenly bolts from the Vice Principal’s office, out into the hall and down the stairs.
New Scene()
In the main hall (not actually a hallway), Benjy is applying ice to Gina’s head while she sits on the lap of one of the receptionists. Gina whimpers from the cold. Around them, phones are ringing left and right, and the recorded message is always playing somewhere in the background.
Maya: She’s really our new teacher for discreet math? She’s like what, ten?
Gina: E-eleven, actually.
Receptionist: But she already has a BA in applied mathematics and she’s taking classes to get a teaching credential.
QST.camera turns to show Pixielite holding another ice pack to Gina’s shoulder with a tractor beam. The Millennium Gameboy Advance starts to shine and Yami Benjy projects himself.
Yami Benjy: I thought she had some new genetic disorder.
Gina shakes her head.
Benjy: Well, if anyone asks you your age, tell them you have some odd genetic disorder, they’ll respect you more. And I’m sorry for the lack of a proper introduction. I’m Benjy, freshman on the newspaper committee and yearbook committee. This is Mayakesha, also on the yearbook committee. See her if you ever forget your password to anything. She can retrieve it.
Maya: In three tries or less.
Receptionist: That’s not something to be proud of, Maya.
Maya: I say it is.
Benjy: Well it’s useful.
Suddenly the phone next to Benjy rings, and Benjy starts to reach for it before stopping himself.
Receptionist: What the (bleep) is causing this?
Gina: W-well, if I h-had to guess:
Cutscene() {
QST.camera zooms onto a large company in some city. Emblazoned on the front of the building are the words "Dogbert Robocalling". QST.camera zooms into the building, were workers (who look identical to each other) in cubicles are constantly dialing and re-dialing phones.
}
New Scene[3] = Scene Succession() x3 {
New Scene()
Benjy and Gina, with Pixielite flying behind them, arrive at Mr. Starf’s old classroom.
Benjy: This will be your classroom.
Benjy then walks over to where the fire alarm is mounted on the wall.
Benjy: This is the fire alarm. Pull it if you smell smoke, regardless of the source. The alarm might or might not go off, but it will record that it was pulled so you won’t be sued.
Benjy points out more levers to Gina.
Benjy: Pull this in case of broken glass, and pull this one if someone has a psychological breakdown. This last lever is for biohazard material, like if someone throws up.
Gina starts to shiver.
Gina: D-do those things happen often?
Benjy: Some people have math anxiety. It manifests itself in different ways.
Benjy then exits the room with Gina.
Benjy: Just remember that you are not Mr. Starf. You have no obligation to do things as he did them, or as people claim he did them.
Gina nods.
New Scene()
Benjy and Gina enter the staff lounge.
Benjy: This is the staff lounge. The name is very deceiving though, it’s more of a quiet work area for grading papers and the like. Don’t make conversation with people here just for the sake of conversation.
Gina nods.
Gina: Question, did you really play a shadow game?
Benjy stares at Gina, nervously.
Benjy: Did I what?
Gina: Play a shadow game.
Benjy: What exactly is a shadow game?
Gina: It’s a game where…um…a kind of card game. I’m not really sure.
Benjy: I have no idea what happened. Maybe.
Gina nods.
Benjy: Let me show you the newspaper room, thats probably going to be how you get information out to the parents.
Benjy: Especially things you don’t want the other staff to know.
Gina: Are you really a member of the staff?
Benjy looks at Gina nervously.
Benjy: Sort of… Legally speaking, I think I’m classified an unpaid intern.
Benjy sighs.
Benjy: But that might not be accurate. It’s a long story.
Gina: It’s okay. I have time.
Benjy: I don’t though…
Gina nods.
New Scene()
Benjy and Gina enter the newspaper room.
Benjy: This is the newspaper room. If you want to make an announcement, put it here.
Benjy shows Gina a tray on the wall for announcements. Benjy now points out his desk.
Benjy: This is my desk. If you’re having trouble grading papers, place them here on the top of this tray. Then take one of these forms–
Benjy pulls a form out of a tray on the wall and shows it to Gina.
Benjy: –Staple it to the paper and either check "mystery grader" or "student grader" and be sure to sign it.
Gina: Um…
Benjy: Question?
Gina: Who is the mystery grader?
Benjy: That depends. Usually Reddit.
Gina: Oh…
Benjy: Anything else?
Gina: Um… Where’s the restroom?
}
Refresh Scene()
Benjy sits down at the desk in the newspaper room. Benjy starts to scoot his chair towards the desk.
Benjy: Now what time is it?
Katie’s voice can now be heard from down the hall:
Katie: Ohmigawd! You’re sooo cute!
Yami Benjy: Katie just met Gina?
Benjy: Yep.
Gina’s Voice: H-help me!
Yami Benjy: I do not understand how someone at that age can be expected to control a classroom.
Benjy: It’s called cognitive dissonance.
Benjy moves the mouse, but the monitor remains off.
Benjy: Huh?
Instantly the power goes out and the room goes dark. The room is now completely dark, save for a faint violet light appearing to come from Benjy’s eyes.
Benjy: Just great…
Benjy gets up and pushes in his chair, then exits the newsroom. Aside from the battery-powered nightlight in the hallway, the faint light coming from Benjy’s eyes is all there is to see by in the dark hallway.
Yami Benjy: Doesn’t this school have emergency power?
Benjy: We should, which means…
Yami Benjy: Means what?
Benjy: Something must’ve taken out the emergency power. This is bad. There might be an electrical–
Yami Benjy: Or they just haven’t turned it on yet.
Benjy: And I still have no idea what time it is.
Yami Benjy: So what does that mean?
Benjy: Going to try classes one after another until I get the right one.
New Scene()
Benjy moves quickly and quietly down the hallway.
Benjy: Ten-thirty. Ten-thirty means second period. Second period is coding. Zark.
Benjy zips through some darkened halls.
Benjy: The one class I can’t afford to miss…
Benjy zips through more darkened halls into the main hall, on a bridge over the lower part, where he suddenly slows almost to a stop.
Benjy: It’s also going to be affected most by having the power out.
New Scene()
The sound of rain falling reverberates as Benjy walks down a fourth-story hallway. This hallway isn’t completely dark, as it has a skylight. As Benjy comes to a stop outside his classroom, he braces himself.
Benjy: I’ll just say I had administrative duties and then return whatever he throws at me.
Benjy opens the door to the classroom, and is surprised to find it empty. Benjy looks around confused, and then enters immediately putting up his guard. Half-expecting an ambush as punishment for being late, Benjy walks up to the cabinets at the front of the classroom which the whiteboard is mounted on and opens the closets carefully. He immediately relaxes at seeing no one inside.
Benjy: Now I just have to track down that slippery man…
Benjy: Pixielite! Chikorita! I need your help!
Benjy calls on Pixielite and Chikorita, and they both emerge from their balls in a flash that illuminates the darkness.
Benjy: You guys both know who Mr. Sandleman is, right? Can you track him down?
Chikorita immediately starts sniffing the floor, while Pixielite opens the computer on it’s back and starts displaying a radar. At first the radar picks up nothing, but then someone appears on it, moving in the hallway. As soon as Benjy is sure of this, he opens the door to the classroom and looks out, to see one of the receptionists approaching.
Receptionist: Benjy?
Benjy: Hi, I was wondering–
Receptionist: Mr Sandleman canceled your class because of the power outage.
Benjy: So where am I supposed to be?
Receptionist: He didn’t say, but I’m assuming that you’re supposed to be with Mr Dallas.
The receptionist suddenly flinches.
Receptionist: Benjy, just how long have your eyes been glowing.
Benjy instinctively starts to wipe the glow from his eyes, but this doesn’t work.
Benjy: I don’t know… Maybe it just started?
Benjy’s eyes are now glowing with bright blue light, which illuminates the corridor.
Benjy: I’m going to go see Mr Dallas.
With this, Benjy starts to walk down the hallway.
Receptionist: Wait, why are your eyes glowing?!
Benjy: Your guess is as good as mine!
Receptionist: It’s probably messianic…
The receptionist shivers from head to toe as Chikorita and Pixielite run and fly after their trainer.
New Scene()
Benjy walks through the hallways of Realie on ground level, using the light emitted by his eyes to see by. After several steps he turns at a classroom door, and knocks.
Mr Dallas’s voice: Come in.
Carefully, Benjy opens the door, and the students turn towards him as he does.
Mr Dallas: Finally, someone has some light.
Benjy: Do you know where Sandleman’s class is?
Mr Dallas: No I don’t. Is he not in his classroom?
Benjy nods.
Benjy: The receptionist thought that you might know.
Mr Dallas: Well I don’t… Maybe check with [L].
Benjy: This is becoming a wild goose chase.
Mr Dallas: Well, you could always stay here and shed some light on things.
Kieku: How did you get your eyes to glow?!
Mr Dallas: Yeah, Benjy, I’m curious to know how you got that to happen, too.
Benjy: As am I.
Mr Dallas: You mean you don’t know?
Benjy: I can’t rub it away…
Benjy rubs his eyes again, but nothing comes of it.
Mr Dallas: Maybe it’s some kind of glow-in-the-dark oil, but I’ve never heard of anything like it.
Benjy: Ok. I’ll go ask [L], if I can find her.
Mr Dallas: And if you can’t, check back his classroom on regular intervals. Sometimes he likes to play tricks on tardy students.
Benjy: I know that.
New Scene()
Benjy is now in the main hall and the pouring rain is now turning into a full out storm, with sheets of rain battering against the windows of the main hall. Chikorita runs up to Benjy’s pant leg and pulls on it, prompting Benjy to recall him. Benjy then crosses the main hall and walks up the stairs to [L]’s office, but quickly sees that she’s not there. Sighing, Benjy turns and walks down another hall towards the window out onto the courtyard.
Isabelle’s voice: Benjy!
Benjy flinches, and turns around.
Benjy: What is–
QST.camera swivels around to show Isabelle.
Isabelle: Benjy! What is happening to you?!
Benjy: You mean–
Isabelle: Your eyes! They’re just like Mr Sandleman’s!
Benjy: Where is Mr Sandleman? I’ve been looking for–
Isabelle: He’s in the fourth floor men’s room, having a nervous breakdown.
Benjy thanks Isabelle and hurries off.
New Scene()
Lana and Alexandra stand outside the men’s room door, while Max’s voice can be heard from inside:
Max’s voice: It’s not just you! Benjy’s eyes are glowing too!
Footsteps are now heard as Benjy approaches the bathroom door.
Max’s voice: Lana! What color did Benjy’s eyes glow!
Lana turns to see Benjy.
Lana: Blue!
Max’s voice: Blue!
Lana: His eyes are glowing blue right now!
Benjy excuses himself, and pushes past Lana and into the bathroom. Inside, the room is lit with a couple of flashlights, and as Benjy enters Mr Sandleman exits the handicapped bathroom stall, his eyes glowing with the same bright blue light as Benjy’s.
Sandleman: …
Max: See… It’s nothing to worry about…
Sandleman: But how…
Benjy shrugs. Suddenly the lights come back on, and all three wince at the brightness.
Alexandra’s Voice: We’ve got power!
New Scene()
In the hallway where she ran into Benjy, Isabelle stands at the window staring outside. The storm is letting up, but weird, unearthly light is coming down from the sky.
New Scene()
The storm has let up enough for classes to let out into the courtyard. Benjy and Max emerge from the main building as Mr Dallas lets his class out. Kieku comes zooming out of his classroom and grabs Max and whisks him across the courtyard before he or Benjy are able to tell what’s happened.
Benjy waits for the rest of Mr Dallas’s class to let out, then enters Mr Dallas’s classroom.
Mr Dallas: Hey Benjy, did you ever find Sandleman?
Benjy nods.
Benjy: His eyes started glowing like mine, so he was having an emotional breakdown. Seeing my eyes made it a little better.
Mr Dallas seems puzzled by this.
Mr Dallas: So it’s not just you… I’m sorry, I have to run and I can’t have you in my classroom unsupervised, even if you go into contractor mode.
Benjy nods to signal comprehension, and then exits the classroom. Mr Dallas follows him for a small ways, before heading off in a different direction. Benjy lifts his right hand to see if it is still drizzling, and discovers that it is slightly.
Benjy: The real question is is it worth it going up to the office if I’m just going to come back here.
Yami Benjy: Don’t you need your laptop?
Benjy: Yes, yes I do.
Yami Benjy: Then it’s settled.
With this, Benjy darts off towards the door closest to his office, and Pixielite flies after him. The shortest path crosses several planters and benches, and Benjy leaps over these. One of these leaps, over a planter box is significantly larger than the others, which startles Benjy slightly, although he doesn’t think much of it, and doesn’t notice that gravity has become somewhat weaker all of a sudden. Nevertheless, Benjy lands in front of the automatic door, unhurt. The door opens allowing Benjy and Pixielite to enter the building.
New Scene()
Benjy and Pixielite run and fly (respectively) up the steps to the second story hallway. The fluctuations in gravity cause Benjy to stumble a couple of times, but he doesn’t see this as anything unusual; and is able to make it to his office door without too much difficulty. Here, Benjy punches in the code and opens the door, allowing himself and Pixielite to enter the room.
Pixielite: Be-beep.
Benjy darts across the room to his backpack which is sitting against the far wall. Pixielite flies behind him, but is thrown off by a gravity wave, though it seems able to regain it’s balance in the air fairly quickly. Benjy quickly extracts his laptop from his backpack, and places it beside his backpack.
Benjy: And to think I went to coding class without it. I put it away right before when I took Chikorita outside…
Benjy trails off as he searches his backpack for something else.
Benjy: …Where did that worksheet go? I did it in class…
Benjy continues to search through his backpack.
Benjy: He says he likes to give us the opportunity to lose things, does he? This time I’m going to ask him if that’s a joke, because if it’s not… Dag nab it! Where did that paper go?
QST.camera zooms onto Benjy’s pocket, and through it onto Chikorita’s poké ball.
Benjy: I swear I’m going to–
With this the bell rings, cutting off Benjy’s train of thought. Pixielite also beeps, and Benjy turns around.
Benjy: Yes, I know.
Pixielite: Ixie!
Benjy quickly returns his laptop to his backpack and zips it up, before putting it on and zipping out of his office, Pixielite behind him.
Cutscene() {
Deep within an ocean somewhere, a scuba diver looks around wildly as Lanturn and Relicanth stream past him. In the distance, the diver sees that some kind of crack in the water itself, and starts to approach it to get a better look.
}
New Scene()
Benjy emerges through the automatic doors and starts to dart towards the science classroom. As soon as he has taken a couple of steps, it starts to rain again. Pixielite beeps and immediately shields itself with a forcefield. Benjy flinches, and looks up in the sky to see that the sky appears broken in many places, as if it’s both day and night simultaneously. From one of these places, but only one of these, the rain is falling.
Benjy flinches again, shaking.
Yami Benjy: Benjy… This…
Benjy: We need to take cover.
Pixielite beeps again urgently. Benjy signals to Pixielite, and then makes a b-line for Mr Dallas’s classroom. Pixielite flies after him.
After Benjy has traveled about 35 feet, and is just past the center of the courtyard, suddenly gravity appears to disappear and Benjy is left floating in the air. For a split-second Benjy looks around nervously, then suddenly gravity resumes. QST.camera now synchronizes with Benjy’s field of vision as Benjy braces himself for impact with the ground. But the ground isn’t there, and suddenly the scenery is replaced with that of a beach in late evening. Benjy yelps as he comes crashing to the beach below, slowed slightly by Pixielite’s tractor beam. QST.camera desynchronizes with Benjy’s vision.
Refresh Scene()
Benjy catches his breath in the sand of the beach.
Benjy: What just happened?
Yami Benjy: Look up.
Benjy gets to his feet, and then tilts his head upwards and stumbles, almost falling over at what he sees. QST.camera synchronizes with Benjy’s field of vision again to show a large hole in the fabric of spacetime, about five feet wide and nine feet off of the ground.
Alexandra’s Voice: Benjy!
Alexandra now become visible at the edge of the hole.
Mr. Dallas: Benjy! Are you alright?!
New Scene()
Back in the Realie courtyard, Mr Dallas, Alexandra, and Lana stand around the hole. Katie, Michelle, and Max exit the classroom to join them, but Mr Dallas tells them to go back inside the classroom. They don’t listen, and [L] comes running out of the building.
[L]: What happened?
Mr. Dallas: Hole just opened up and Benjy fell in.
[L]: Alone?
Benjy: No one else here!
QST.camera now moves over the hole, showing Benjy through it. As she does, Doctor Who rushes out of the building.
Doctor Who: Get back! Space isn’t stable!
[L] hesitates, starting to take a step back, and then stops.
[L]: Doctor! [@Mr Dallas First Name] Quickly fetch the ladder in the equipment shed!
Doctor Who: What?
[L]: Get the ladder!
Doctor Who: You can’t space is unstable, that could collapse at any second!
[L]: That’s why it’s urgent!
Doctor Who: But–
[L]: Michelle, Lana, aid Mister–
Michelle: On it!
Benjy stares upwards back into his own universe as [L] gives him the signal to be patient. QST.camera now moves down through the hole where Benjy is.
Benjy: I think the doctor is worried about what will happen if we are caught in the portal when it closes…
Yami Benjy: I am fairly confident that I can stop that from happening.
Benjy: How?
Yami Benjy: I’m not sure, but something is telling me I can. It’s as you said; by spirit alone.
Dallas: Benjy!
Benjy quickly looks up to see Mr Dallas and [L] lowering a ladder though the hole in the universe. Benjy reaches up preparing to grab the ladder, so he can climb through the hole.
Mr Dallas: Got it?
Benjy: I’ve just ab–
QST.camera watches from Realie, where in the blink of an eye, the hole disappears in a spray of glitter, leaving [L] and the Mr Dallas with the top of the ladder.
Alexandra: Aaaah!
Doctor Who: Stay back!
Alexandra: The portal just closed… (horrified)
Doctor Who: MARLIN!
In the light rain, a young man comes running to the edge of where the portal was.
Doctor Who: I tried to warn them…
Marlin doesn’t seem upset, but relieved somehow.
[L]: Alexandra, get another ladder. Marlin, you get that portal open.
Marlin: Um…
[L]: Doctor!
Doctor Who: We don’t have the ability to do that!
Marlin looks around wildly, unsure of what to do
Doctor Who: And even if we did, we would probably cause another spacequake or worse!
[L]: I’ve had enough of your insubordination!
Marlin: We told you, we don’t have that ability!
Lightsman now emerges from the building.
Lightsman: Everyone. Please calm down. What happened?
Lana, Alexandra, Michelle, Katie, and Max look horrified, which Lightsman takes into account.
Doctor Who: Something tore a hole in space, and one of the students fell through.
Lightsman shudders.
Lightsman: I believe we’ve experienced a spacequake. Doctor: you, I, and and the intern will deal with this. Everyone else takes a few minutes to calm down.
New Scene(@Weather = rain)
[L] sits in the main hall with Gina’s head on her lap, stroking Gina’s hair, despite the fact Gina still is passed out from fright. Lana and Alexandra stand beside Marlin, Alexandra stares at him nervously.
Marlin: He’ll be alright, Alexandra. And he’ll probably bring you something from wherever he wound up.
Lana: You really think he’s…
Marlin: I seriously doubt he traveled far. Probably just over the hill in Santa Cruz or Monterey. Maybe Oakland at the farthest. It’s highly, highly unlikely that he traveled farther than that.
Lana puts her hand on Alexandra’s shoulder, but Alexandra pushes it aside.
Katie: You think Gina’s going to be alright?
Marlin: She’s been known to do that.
Alexandra: Is she really our new teacher.
[L]: A teacher, yes. Your teacher, no. She’s replacing Starf in teaching discreet math.
Katie: At eleven years old?
[L] nods.
[L]: You know about tiger mothers Katie?
Katie: Yes… Did she have one?
[L]: Her mother pushed her through college at the age of six.
Maya: Woah…
[L]: Unfortunately, her mother is no longer with us. The Doctor thought she would make a decent teacher so she could at least have a semi-normal childhood.
Katie: What happened to her mother?
[L] looks at Marlin.
Marlin: It’ll hit Perez Hilton in a few days. You really want me to spoil it?
Katie: You know? Naww…
New Scene()
Benjy lies on the beach unconscious, a bruise on his head. The ladder lies in the sand next to him. From the Millennium Gameboy Advance, Yami Benjy projects itself in a kneeling position over Benjy.
Yami Benjy: Benjy? Can you hear me? Benjy?!
…///To Be Continued///…