The Cubby Hole (IQ Testing Book 1)

  The Cubby Hole

  ipam

  Chapter 1

  Colfax

  Sunday. 6:35 pm. sunset. city Colfax. Payne Mountain. Summer time. hot. humid. 90°F.

  His legs squeeze her legs when his hand tickles her belly button. She giggles and wears a bikini top and cut off blue jeans on top of his chest. “Flip over,” he smiles into her nose.

  I do not obey my boyfriend but giggle, smiling. I say. “I wanna get married here next week right after Citizenship Day. Would your BPs be in agreement to traveling above the steel and concrete flat roads of Colfax for our marriage ceremony on top of Payne Mountain? I understand this isn’t a real mountain with real green grass and tall pine trees, only a wind-blown polished cliff of golden granite. But I love the one of a kind mountain view and the sparking rainbow colors from the sun. I wanna get married in the bright sunshine of the morning too. Do you, Buffo?”

  We are stretched vertically together inside the long granite-made lounge-shaped sofa on top of the mountain. The cool breeze blows the heated sweat from our bodies on a hot humid evening in Colfax.

  He sweet breathes in her smile. “Flip over,” when she twists onto her back inside his body. He shields her eyelashes with both his hands.

  “Hey!” I yell in surprise touching his hands.

  He chuckles. “I got a surprise for ya and don’t ya peek. Okay?”

  “Okay!” I say, not being able to wiggle side to side trapped inside his long legs lying on his chest. I feel his chest raising and falling like a fast sunrise and sunset. He chuckles. I feel his sweet breath on my hair roots.

  He softly says. “Okay! Open your eyes.”

  I blink my eyelashes open. The sun is sitting in a half-circle on the horizon creating a dark purple hazy from the hot day then I see an array of the pretty bright colorful fireworks cover the northern skyline. I finger, giggling and grinning. “What’s that over there in the northwest sky, and in the northern sky, and in the northeasterly sky? I’ve never seen this before. What’s it? I see hundreds of the tiny pretty pink circles hover in the air waves then spark into tiny flames like fireworks then they disappear from sight. Awe! I see yellow tiny bubbles hundreds of them float up from the ground then pop in the air in the far distance away from Colfax,” gasps. “In the northeasterly sky, I see orange dust spray the sky quickly then float away with the winds, more quickly. Where do the fireworks come from? I’m not familiar with the northern towns surrounding Colfax?”

  He exhales, slowly saying. “Colfax is the center of our universe, sorta. The pink flames come from the town of Tonkey. The yellow bubbles are the town named Dandine. And the town of Burrville has the orange dust…”

  “I didn’t know the outer towns produced sky decorations for Colfax’s fun entertainment during dusk. No one told me or showed me or brought me here...”

  He exhales. “This is an excellent explanation of the evening’s presentation. The event occurs one time per year when the sunset is just right like now in the purple hue. That’s when the sky decorations can be seen by the human eyeballs.”

  I grin. “Now I understand. The sky decorations are there all the time hidden by the bright daylight hours then blinded by the dark clouds surrounding Colfax at night. I sleep well in the evening with the thunder boomers rocking my windows even as a child.”

  He exhales. “Yeah, Colfax’s sound is unique from the non-air pollution of the city’s transportation solar operating tram sliding all day and night plus the smooth metal particles of skyscraper buildings clinging with to the electrical lightning making pretty yellow lights in the night sky like star, where our folks work. But I enjoy the country life too. I visit with my grandfather during the summer time session between school riding the horses and the farm plows. A plow is a rolling mechanical device that tears up the soil dirt then the farmers can plant the tiny seeds for crops. Ya know food don’t grow on trees,” chuckles. “Well, some food does grow on trees, the ground and in the sky…”

  “Where the other folks work too?”

  He gently twists her cheek to the other side of the sky. “Look at the southern horizon! There’re more sky decorations for our amusement,” chuckles.

  I see and say turning to the side, narrowing my eyelashes. “I can barely see them above the southwestern horizon, the colors of red in the form of tiny raindrop shapes. Then I see good sized royal blue flames soar up into the air then burst into bright colors of silver and gold then disappear. And in the southeastern sky, there are green objects shaped like rectangular patterns. They fly into the air then blow towards the mountains.”

  “Yeah, I see all the different colored sky decorations too. The green objects come from the town of Hamlin. The town of Montag produces the blue fireworks, without any sound. And Albend shoots them little red teardrops into the air waves before they fall right back down onto the soil. On my grandfather’s farm you could almost touch the fireworks with the vivid colors and wider arrays of geometric shapes. I enjoyed lying on the dirt all sweaty and full of food inside my stomach watching the night sky…”

  I grin and watch the pretty colors. “Wow! I learned something new tonight. It’s so pretty within the sky against the dark purple almost like an artist’s painting. I can’t paint or draw as a talent but I learn any mechanical skill, quickly.”

  He exhales frowning with confusion. “Yeah pretty, tomorrow is Citizenship Day. Ya know we become a real set of real citizens of the city of Colfax like our BPs.”

  I flip onto my stomach giggling and grinning into his face. “I was born a citizen of Colfax. I don’t understand a formal ceremony for becoming a citizen of the place that I was birthed and reared as a southern belle,” I kiss his nose then giggle.

  He fakes a smile. “Technically, our last day as a schooler so the kid has grown up into an adult, sorta. Now each kid starts their new job for the rest of their living days. Next week, we start learning our trade for the rest of our lives but my life will be happy with you by my side.”

  I giggle and grin. “That’s unproblematic. I presume an internship role as a medical technician like my BPs. Aren’t you assuming the learned trade as a me-chee technician like your BPs?”

  He exhales, faking a smile. “Yeah, and it’s time us to scoot off Payne Mountain. My BPs are thrilling my cellie warning me to come home for the evening before complete darkness or face the lecturing.”

  I slide to my right, standing and giggling. I hug his tallness when he devours my petiteness.

  Buffo: tall, muscular; brown cropped hair; brown cat whiskers, pale skin, goofy smile, and smart. He exhales. “Ketona, I wanna get married right here on this spot with a curved arch of flowers below the sunshine. You and me hold hands and say we love each other forever.”

  I smile and nod. “I love you, forever. I like the idea of flowers at our wedding ceremony. However this is a granite mountain with no trees or plants or birds or flowers to entwine around the curved arch,” when he produces a rose from his back. He kisses my lips.

  We part and smile goofy at each other.

  He says and nods. “I’ll get a truckload of flowers hauled up here for our wedding representing thousands of petal for each thought of you. I love ya, darling,” he kisses her again. He pulls back then frowns with worry. “Tomorrow is…”

  “…Citizenship Day. Then we’re no longer schoolers. Yay hay! And we’re getting married. Let’s cheer another round of yay hay, too.” I giggle and bounce on my naked feet. I am petite, black waist-length hair, pale skin, dimples, and smart. I rise on my tippy toes kissing his face then pull back, grinning.

  Buffo exhales frowning with puzzlement. “Ketona, tomorrow is going to be a long day for the both of us. Promise me, you’ll stick
by my side during the induction into Citizenship Day!”

  I giggle and nod then kiss his chin being too short to reach his lips so he kisses my lips.

  He says. “Okay! Promise me, say it!”

  “Promise me,” I smile and nod when he drops his arm around me.

  We stroll down the mountain towards the transportation tram for our individual houses.

  Chapter 2

  Ketona

  7:31 am. Monday. Home of Ketona. My bedroom.

  “I am Ketona, uh. I am Ketona, duh. I am Ketona,” lifting the necklace into my face. I study my cellie. The cellie is attached to a long chair around my neck. I don’t like sporting the device on my wrist or an ornament on my clothing. A cellie is a communication devise for talking with people, sending typed messages, listening to music, viewing telecasts of events, and typing my last homework assignment of my last day as a schooler.

  I read out loud. “I am Ketona. Thank you for allowing me to come to Citizenship Day. I am very appreciative of your generous invitation. Ugh! I’m not invited. I’m forced,” re-typing on my cellie the new words of my Citizenship speech.

  “Ketona,” echoes Mama’s tiny soprano voice from the cellie around Ketona’s neck.

  I exhale dropping the cellie to fix the speech later. I two-step in front of the lengthwise reflection mirror, smiling and nodding for my final performance as a silly teenager, before entering the work world as a responsible adult per my BPs.

  I narrow my eyelashes then frown with puzzlement. I’m okay looking with a wide nose and two narrowly spaced eye sockets, a set of slightly crooked teeth too. But my boyfriend Buffo loves me for who I am. I am short, smart, and sassy living in Colfax following in my BPs footsteps for a perfect career and a successful marriage too.

  I wear my favorite blue jean skirt making my short legs look like tall like Jara. The skirt is paired with my favorite white short-sleeved blouse with six bowties going vertical down my chest making my flat chest look like sexy Jara. I wear my worn comfortable brown leather cowgirl boots making me ready to kick Jara’s butthole during Citizenship Day. I giggle, swinging toward the archway.

  Living room.

  My mama is petite and smart like me patting an empty spot on the long sofa. I prance then sit between her and my daddy. My daddy is short for an adult man, but highly intelligence. They gently slap and attack both my arms for love and encouragement.

  Mama clears her throat, smiling and nodding. “Ketona, today is Citizenship Day. This is the last time that you will ever act or perform like a silly teenager,” views her husband.

  My daddy nods in silence, since my mama does all the talking when lecturing me.

  I exhale, grinning and giggling with her repeating sentence structure. I nod with comprehension. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll have fun today. Tomorrow, I understand that I will assume my appropriate work job position as a medical technician like you and Daddy. Will I be working with you in the science-building also?” I view my daddy, saying. “Or will I be assigned to work with Daddy in the science-laboratory? Where do I start first, Mama?”

  Mama exhales nodding. “Ketona, dear, actually part of the Citizenship Day activities you will be allowed to select which appropriate work job position you are extremely qualified to do first. Therefore, your daddy and I would like for you to be extremely attentive of the me-chee...”

  I frown with confusion, saying. “Me-chees are at Citizenship Day. A me-chee is a mechanical electronic machine in the form of a humanoid. A me-chee has two arms, two legs, and a flat torso of silver-tone metal, except the metal will change color depending upon the job performance of the work task as set by a human trained as a me-chee technician. The metal skull of the me-chee appears like a human’s head with two eye sockets, two nose holes, a mouth, and no earlobes. The hair is always colored rich black but styled in different arrangements such-like a ponytail or a buzz cut or a shoulder length style with bangs or a waist-length design parted in the middle or cropped with left sweep or a cute pixie. The me-chee physical displays other human traits too. Normally, the me-chee is a work machine such-like teaching students, building structures, cleaning houses, piloting vehicles…”

  Mama exhales nodding. “Yes. There will many types of me-chees at Citizenship Day mainly to corral all the many graduating teen schoolers from the outer towns including Hamlin, Burrville, Montag, Albend…”

  “Why?” I frown with puzzlement at her. “This is our town of Colfax for celebrating Citizenship Day. Don’t the outer small towns do the same thing, at the same time along with their own festive celebration? I understand we all graduated as schoolers today.”

  “Have you prepared your Citizenship speech, dear?” Daddy pats the forearm of his daughter, smiling and nodding at her nose profile. “When your mama and I graduated as schoolers we both prepared and presented almost the exact same acceptance speech when we were awarded our new work positions. She spoke first…”

  I frown with confusion at my daddy. “You spoke second. You and Mama have told me that story over and over again, Daddy. Yes, sir! I have finished my acceptation speech for being a medical technician too like you Daddy. Do you want to see and hear my great performance, Mama?” I lift my cellie necklace, nodding. “I only need to tweet it with a few more words then all done,” smiles.

  Mama pats the forearm of her daughter. “Ketona, we are concerned about boyfriend Buffo…”

  I frown with annoyance. “Not plain old boyfriend Buffo, Mama? Buffo is the boy of my dreams who will be my...,” viewing her distorted frown then I say. “But it ain’t too serious…”

  Mama frowns with disappointment. “The proper usage, the situation is not serious. You must learn to speak correctly and formally, Ketona. You will be entering the adult world, not a schooler world today at Citizenship Day.”

  I nod. “The situation is not what you are assuming, Mama. We like each other and like hanging with each other.” I smile since I like hanging off his arm and kissing his face when my BPs aren’t spying on me from the bedroom balcony or the living window. I giggle, smiling and nodding.

  Daddy clears his throat. “We know Belliford’s parents, dear. And we are very concerned about your teenage plutonic relationship with a young teen while trying to start your new career as a medical technician. Today is Citizenship Day. This is a very important day of your life, Ketona.”

  Mama says. “What is the most important element in life?”

  I frown with confusion. “Why are you very concerned about Buffo and me? The most important element in life is air or we die without breathing. I don’t believe that he and I will be working the same job once we’re done with our Citizenship Day’s activities. He is more interested in…”

  Daddy frowns with confusion. “Yes, you are correct, Ketona. Air is an important element. What else is important element in your life, Ketona?”

  I exhale. “Another important element is water for living or we die of thirst,” giggles.

  Mama nods. “You are very astute, Ketona. There is another important element in life also. What is it? We have reached the same final outcome as well with Belliford and his biological parents.”

  I exhale. “Another important element is food for living or we starve to death. What final outcome about Buffo? I don’t understand your statement, Mama.”

  Daddy frowns with disappointment, saying. “You are correct a person needs air, water and food to survive and live within our lovely city of Colfax. But there is another important element. What is this element?”

  Mama nods. “Please remember, you are to pay extreme attentiveness from the instructions of the me-chee during the opening ceremony of Citizenship Day...”

  I frown with confusion then view my boot toes. “What is another element for surviving? I don’t know and I give up. Is this a test or something? I don’t understand.”

  Daddy smiles at his daughter, saying. “The most important element is your chosen working job within the pretty and pleasant city Colfax along with the fresh air,
good nutritious food, and clean water. Do you understand now, Ketona?”

  I nod, smile and swing my boot toes. “Yes, Daddy! Aren’t ya’ll coming with me into Citizenship Day and watching my academic performance? I have studied and learned for this day since elementary school. I think,” I giggle and nod.

  Daddy shakes his skull. “No! This is one day only for the teens like you and Belliford. No adults are permitted inside the auditorium of Citizenship Day,” nods with a slight smile.

  I nod smiling. “Yay hay! I guess I’ll greet and meet ya’ll after Citizenship Day ends.”

  Mama hugs her daughter. “Yes. We will be there right before Citizenship Day ends to see you as a new citizen of Colfax. You will have great success, Ketona. We have taught and trained your academic studies, since your birth also.”

  I giggle. “Yeah, I feel like my brain cells are going to explode with all my academic and book learning knowledge.”

  Daddy pats the forearm of his daughter. “Intelligence is knowledge, dear.”

  I nod, giggling. “Yay hay! I remember for many, many days and evenings. Intelligence is knowledge, a wise axiom, Daddy.”

  Mama smiles and nods. “As an upcoming new citizen of Colfax, you must learn to give up some teen behavior and silly manners like the term, yay hay! We will be patiently waiting outside the lobby area of the auditorium after your activities of Citizenship Day.”

  I nod, smiling. “Yay…I mean that is an excellent suggestion, Mama.” My cellie tings with my departure time. I stand then my parents stand with me.

  Daddy hugs his daughter nodding and smiling. He says. “Please remember, intelligence is knowledge too.”

  We walk towards the front door. Daddy opens the door.

  Buffo stands in front of my neighborhood mates not necessary my schooler friends of Jara, her boyfriend Hatch, Marsilla, and Rincon.

  Jara: female, tall, waist-length blond-hair, pink-skin, high heels, short skirt, sexy, smart.