The Cubby Hole (IQ Testing Book 1) (7 page)

Lamis frowns with fury. “I will too. I’m been studying since I was a little girl for Citizenship Day making my parents proud of me…”

Rincon tosses his arms, laughing. “We all have been studying for Citizenship Day since birth. But I am sorry to forecast the bad tidings for you, not me. I will be getting the golden job.”

I growl. “I will get the golden job since I’ve been studying inside my mama’s womb…”

Duchie laughs and fingers Lamis. “I like you Rincon and your silly little nicknames. So ya wanna guess her nickname too?”

Lamis frowns with fury. “Stop it, Duchie!”

Rincon frowns with confusion. “You possess a nickname. What is it?”

Duchies slaps her cat suit, laughing. “Ya called me the dookie girl. She’s named the slaughter princess. O! I am most mistaken the next color tone is your real color of angry flaming red, sugar,” giggles and nods.

I stomp between the girls frowning with fury. “Duchie, shut it! Lamis, what’s Duchie saying or not saying?”

Lamis views the cave floor then the ceiling then the rain and finally Ketona. “That is my nickname where I come from. I guess.”

“Why are you called the slaughter princess? I don’t understand.” I say and nod.

Duchie giggles then fingers the rain. “They don’t get it, Lamis. They don’t understand Citizenship Day…”

Rincon strikes the wood together for making fire, exhaling. “I can’t get a fire burning.” The tall girl stands then walks from the wall offering a box of matches. Rincon smiles then nods taking the matches. He lights the fire stirring the wood around making a nice warm blaze then gives back the match box. The tall girl sits near the fire extending her cold hands. I sit with Buffo around the fire. Lamis sits beside me along with Duchie. Rincon and Marsilla sit next to Duchie. Rincon exhales then says. “Why do they not understand Citizenship Day? Is the ‘they’ referencing us for some reason?”

“There is a purpose of Citizenship Day,” Lamis says. “I am from…,” clears her throat. “Have any one of ya’ll ever been outside of Colfax to another outer township?”

Buffo nods and smiles. “My grandparents live in Burrville. They’re crop farmers. I visit them every summer for riding horses and the farm plows with my grandfather…”

Duchie scoots next to Buffo touching his bicep. “My grandfather lived in Burrville too. We have some much in common, sugar.” I growl looking at Duchie when she giggles and rubs Buffo’s bicep.

Buffo leans into Ketona smiling. “This shall passeth,” kisses her cheekbone.

Rincon clears his throat, grinning. “No, I am a Colfax kind of guy,” winks at Ketona.

Buffo frowns with confusion. “This is just a silly game for fun on Citizenship Day until we start our new jobs on the first day of the work week, next Monday morning at eight am as told by my daddy.”

Duchie exhales then says. “Why do ya think the color chart holds a specific color in a specific position? A real color wheel is positioned from the lightest pale shade to the darkest hue.”

Marsilla nods. “The me-chee color chart does also. It goes from a faint shade of light pink to dark hue of green.”

Buffo says. “Naw, the last color’s gold. The first color’s silver. These are not true colors, only strokes of mineral within the earth’s soil.”

I frown with annoyance. “Say it! Stop raining on the poor drowning plants. What is the purpose of Citizenship Day beside getting wet or getting stung by ants or getting cut by knives inside hidden plant bushes?” I wipe the blood from my aching hand wound.

Lamis exhales then frowns with purpose. “Tell them, Duchie! They have right to know also.”

Duchie says and nods. “The me-chee color tone is in a specific order for a reason or a purpose…”

Buffo nods and smiles. “I remembered it from Payne Mountain. The color tones are associated with the sky decorations that me and Ketona saw last night.”

I frown at Buffo not understanding his statement.

Duchie winks and nods, patting Buffo on his forearm and keeping her hand there. “You are correct, sugar. You’re one of the smarter Colfaxians…”

“Payne Mountain is the tallest man-made structure inside Colfax made of smooth pretty golden granite. What were you doing on top of a granite hill?” Rincon frowns with confusion looking at Ketona when the thunder roars as a single lighting strike hits the closest tree.

I smell burning wood then scoot closer to Buffo. The girl with the tattoos and body pieces squeals then stands. She runs and squats into the dark wall corner holding her ears from the booming sound. I eye roll then frown at silly Rincon, giggling. “Looking at the fireworks…”

Duchie nods and giggles rubbing on Buffo’s arm. “These are not really fireworks, sugar. Does smart and handsome Buffo want to take an educated guess about the fake fireworks, darling?”

I wipe the sweat from my brow with nervousness then fling my wet hands into the air. “Please tell us the true story! I feel that my BPs…my biological parents have not provided me with the real story here. And please tell us everything since there seems to be another purpose here.”

Duchie nods. “Alright, I’ll share all my knowledge…”

“Knowledge is intelligence.” I whisper then exhale with anticipation.

Duchie says. “Lamis, you can add to my information if my statements are different from yours. If you ever have viewed the purple haze during the sunset you see numerous colored brightly soaring fireworks. Well, these are not really fireworks but right now I will address as fireworks with a later explanation. Beginning in the southern skyline you will see an array of geometric shaped neon blue fireworks soar up into the sky then pop with thunderous sound too. The fireworks come from the small town of Montag where all the people work for money, food and clothing inside Colfax. The people represent the cake maker, the shoe maker, the clothes maker, the food maker, and the other makers of goods which provide services to the fine folks of Colfax. They drive and ride inside a set of man-made fueled old fashioned automobiles. The blue fireworks are the flames of blue methane gasoline fumes polluting the atmosphere over Montag as the people drive back and forth from Montag and then park inside the large parking lots then take the free solar tram into the posh city of Colfax…”

“Why not extend the solar tram out into Montag?” I frown with confusion.

Duchie giggles and gently caresses the arm of Buffo. “Why not ask the Establishment that specific question? They rule over Colfax and the outers towns also. The pink flames come from the town of Tonkey. The yellow bubbles are the town named Dandine, where I live. The small town of Burrville has the orange dust…”

I wipe the sweat then fling my arm again. “Wait a minute! I don’t believe you. The firework event occurs one time per year when the sunset is perfect with a purple hue then you can see the sky decorations with your eyeballs.”

Lamis giggles then covers her mouth. “She doesn’t watch the sky or the stars or the moon or the heavens, poor child. She is truly deprived of life’s small wonders.”

Duchie nods. “The flood lightings from the solar powered street poles block the purple sky, the sky decorations, and your naked eyeballs, sugar. You should get out of the house more, love,” giggles with Lamis. She exhales then says. “I was saying the southern fireworks are really methane bubbles from the automobiles of Montag where people live, not work. In the southeastern skyline you will green fireworks coming from Hamlin. These people clean your city streets and mow your manicured grass, and dust your residential house every week here in Colfax. Colfax is not the largest employer of workers but the bestest, ya’ll. At night they recycle the green grass and the green plants into fuel for summertime air conditioning and wintertime warm heating within their houses. The green bubbles are the toxin fumes drifting out from the grinding machines. In the southwestern sky the color of red,” winks at Lamis. “Your turn!”

Lamis nods then says. “The red fireworks come from the slaughter houses when the tossing animal blood soars into the sky. The high winds catch the tiny bubbles of red then pop them over the clouds then the bubbles fall back onto the dead animals, the dry soil and you. The outer town of Albend kills the animals for meats. Ya eat meat! Right, I do. I love meats. Albend also has manufacturing automated plants that package the meat and can the fruits and vegetables. Ya buy packages of dead cow, dead pig, dead chicken. Right, I do too. So the packages and cans of food items end up at your local food store here in Colfax like in my home town of Albend and her home town of Dandine.”

Duchie says and nods. “In the town of Burrville the sky is bursting with orange dots. The dots are dust bunnies soaring into the skyline. You can’t see the dots during the day only at night. I do know all this to be true since my grandfather lived on a farm.”

Buffo smiles. “Does he still residence there in Burrville, Duchie?” the thunders roars when the lightning bolt strikes on the ground as the girl with the tattoos squeals then hides her face.

Duchie frowns with sadness. “Naw, he died. Thanks for asking…”

I frown with annoyance. “I am asking you to finish your shared information before it stops raining. What else is important for us to know about the outer towns?”

Buffo leans into Ketona. “A brillianteth affair,” kisses her cheekbone.

Duchie frowns at Ketona then scans the faces of the other teens. “The yellow bubbles come from the green water of deep dookie wells inside my home town named Dandine in northeastern skyline. The bubbles float into the clouds way high then broke making a pretty firework display. The fiery pink sparklers in the northwestern skies come from the town of Tonkey. The town of Tonkey holds all the radiation pits,” slaps her hands as the teens jump. She says. “Radiation kills ya dead! The radiation pits are mined by hand with lots of dead bodies that need lots of live bodies to continue the mining of the radiation nuggets...”

Marsilla frowns with confusion. “What’s the purpose of the radiation nuggets which are inside a radiation pit? Why are people actually touching more than one radiation nugget? Everyone has learned in school that it kills even from the minor exposure level. Whatever!”

Duchie nods. “This is the real purpose of Citizenship Day.”

Buffo smiles, claps and chuckles. “Now, we know the purpose. I’m not worried anymore. Since the pink color tone I have gotten six out of eight every single time with the passing 75 percent score zooming into darkness then into lightness,” chuckles. “This last time I got the Confucius question right which propelled me into getting six out of eight, a score of 75 percent into the color of orange. Confucius is a cool harmonious society of both peace and joy. Filial piety entails for an individual to be obedient and caring toward your BPs and your elder grandparents by supporting them in their old age with their ailment problems, because ya love them,” when Ketona hugs him with a smile.

I’m really sweaty nervous and stomach-achy worried about Buffo and the escalating degree of complex academic questions within the Cubby Hole. Each color tone achieved gets me closer to the golden job. I will achieve the golden job being smart like my BPs and smarter than Rincon.

I am very concerned where Buffo will land within the color tone grid. I cannot help or aid him with the correct answers. I can’t cheat either. Cheating is not within my soul but I am not able to perform any type of cheating maneuver with the colored shielding. I slap my wet forehead, giggling. Now I understand the shielding mechanism to protect your private mental thoughts with the correct academic answers to the posed questions so another teen can’t steal them.

Lamis frowns with annoyance. “If a teen ends up trapped on purpose or accidental inside the red color tone then she or he will go and live in the outer city of Albend, not here within Colfax for the rest of their living days killing cows, pigs, chickens…”

Marsilla sours and shakes her pixie. “You are wrong for a reason. You are lying for a purpose. She’s both poor and stupid coming from Dookie Town. That’s my nickname for the dookie girl Duchie from Dandine…”

I scan the ceiling, saying. “I agree with Lamis. There are about two hundred kids inside the Cubby Hole room. So it’s time to leave and finish the golden race,” nods and smirks.

Marsilla frowns with puzzlement. “When does Citizenship Day stop? Wait! This could go on forever for us. We left about sixty kids inside the pink color tone and twenty kids inside the yellow color tone. They have to answer all the questions to make it into the golden color tone…”

Rincon asks. “What happens when the first teen reaches the golden color tone? He gets the golden job…”

“Citizenship Day ends…,” nods Lamis.

Buffo leans into Ketona whispering. “Fate has speaketh,” chuckles.

“And if you’re accidentally stuck in a different color tone other than the golden one?” Marsilla asks.

“Your new job begins…,” giggles Duchie.

“That’s not fair. That’s completely unfair. Everyone should have a chance and a right to qualify for the golden job,” I nod and toss my arm.

Marsilla slaps her cat suit, nodding and smiling. “Ya don’t get it like I do being brilliant. There’s plenty of time for everyone to advance through the array of colors from silver all the way to gold since the maximum time allotment is two minutes and eight seconds as stated by your smart friend, me. Everyone gets the exact same questions. No question is different whether you’re from Burrville or Colfax or Tonkey. The test is fair and equal so you are the variable component for answering them all correctly. It becomes your own fault, not answering correctly or stupidly. Take your pick?”