The Hubby Hold (IQ Testing Book 2) (12 page)

I exhale, whispering and shaking my curls. “Nephella and her nasty cigars…”

I march away from the nasty bud then stop. I spin around, dropping my mouth. “Yes. No. Yes.” I squat and grab the wet cigar bud then slowly stand. I carefully march to Duchie.

She stares into the opening at the snakes.

I slowly squat, blocking the view of snakes then drop the cigar into her eyeballs. “We got a weapon.” I nod.

Duchie blinks her eyelashes, focusing on the wet cigar.

I smile. “We ignite the cigar. The smoke will bother the sinuses or feelers of the snakes then we race to the truck…”

Duchie smiles, standing and nodding. “We start a fire, lighting the cigar.”

I stand, holding the used and wet small cigar. “We don’t have a magnifying glass to start a fire…”

Duchie walks ahead of Ketona then slaps her me-chee chair. “The chair is made of metal. The metal is glowing in sunlight. Metal can start a fire.” She walks to the front of the chair then squats. She fingers. “See the pretty array of rainbow colors, reflecting off the metal base within your naked eyeballs, that is sunlight beams.”

I squat, nodding and smiling. “Yes.”

Duchie giggles. “We start a fire with sunlight.”

“Really?”

“Really!” She stands, fingering the cigar. “And, the black paper surrounding the abused cigar works best for absorbing heat via the sunlight. We use one of the tiny sun light ray, coming from the sky, that’s reflecting off my me-chee chair. The shape, the height, and the angle is perfect for capturing the sun ray, so we scoot the burned cigar bud, in front of the tiny sun ray then boom. We got a tiny fire…”

“The cigar bud is wet.”

Duchie nods and smiles. “The wetter the better, the water paper will act, like a working glass lens, absorbing more sunlight faster, since a drop of water on the metal intensifies the sun light ray, even further. So, we will add a few extra droplets of water onto the metal, too. Then, we have created a homemade magnifying glass, starting a real fire, through the use of a heat wave from a single sun ray.

I grin. “Really?”

She wiggles her eyebrows. “Really!”

I squat, moving the cigar towards the tiny sun ray.

Duchie shouts. “Wait! Don’t touch the metal, yet. We need a few droplets of water.” She stands near the opening, pressing her finger into the water puddle, draining and dripping off from the tree limbs. She captures the standing water then stands. She walks to her me-chee chair. “Okay! I am going to tap the metal with my finger, along the intersection of the chair and the floor. You, gently drop the cigar bud, in front of the water, so the sun will bombard both pieces…”

“Wait!” I view the snakes then view Duchie. I grin then break the long cigar into two pieces. “We, both, have a weapon, now. We, both, need the smelling stinky smoke to run and climb into the truck.”

Duchie exhales, studying the trees and snakes. “Yeah, we, both, need a weapon. Okay! I’m press my finger against the metal, since you can’t touch my me-chee chair and then you drop the both cigars, behind each finger pressed the water spot.”

Duchie presses her finger in the first spot, then I position the first cigar, directly in line with the sun and water spot. Then, she presses her finger, again, in a second spot, when I drop the second cigar.

We wait and watch with anticipation.

The sun ray beams, from the sky, hit the black paper of the wet cigar then sizzles. The sun burns through the paper, trying to capture the glittering water droplet.

The cigar smells, like beetle dung, awful with from the invisible fumes of a sizzling hiss.

We scoot from the chair and cigars, giving oxygen to the baby flames and fresh air to our sinuses, giggling and grinning with our brilliant idea.

I giggle. “I see a tiny dot of concentrated sunlight burning right on top of the black paper…”

She grins. “The focused ray of sun is powerful enough to reflect off the metal, then it is powerful enough to ignite the black paper, then it is powerful enough to light the wet cigar…”

The cigar slowly sizzles as the black wet paper burns and dissolves from the beginning heat and flame. Then, the paper turns bright red.

I smell an earthy tone of both cedar and oak wood, coming from the sizzling cigar.

I see the white smoke.

The paper burns with gray ashes.

I gently scoot across the smooth concrete, reaching the first cigar, when Duchie grabs the second one. I slowly stand. “Okay, I will lead…”

Duchie holds the burning cigar, panting with fear.

I circle around her, facing the rear wall of the room of mirrors. I cup my arm between her elbow, holding the good smelling cigar, ordering. “Okay, I will lead. You, close your eyes. I am going to lead us towards the truck. The truck should be open. I want you to walk behind me, facing the room of mirrors, but wave your cigar side to side at the snakes. I am going wave my cigar in the front of the snakes. And, I don’t want you seeing the snakes. Our plan only works, if we both wave the cigars at the snakes, bothering their senses. If you bail on me, Duchie, I might get bitten by one of the snake, behind my butthole. Then, I will beat ya black and blue. Do ya hear me, girl?”

“Yes.” Duchie says.

“Okay, good! We got a plan.” I exhale, moving slowly towards the opening. “Close your eyeballs, Duchie! I don’t want you seeing the snakes. Trust me!”

I drag Duchie slowly behind my back, cupping my arm around her elbow. Then, I stop at the edge of the room of mirrors. I say. “Okay, I’m adding steps in our plan, so just flow with it. Okay, we gotta squat and waddle, like a duck, towards the truck.”

“What!”

“Hush it, Duchie. I’m leader, here. The smoke is not reaching their forked tongues at five feet in the air. We gotta be at their level, too. Squat and waddle, like a duck.” I slowly squat, cupping my arm around her elbow. I feel her, squatting, even with my height, since we are the same height. I exhale. “Okay! I will narrate our progress, keeping your mind active and your eyelashes closed. Okay. This is working, perfectly. I am waving my arm side to side. The snakes are sniffing the white smoke and hustling their tails from my wavering arm. This is good. I am waddling my right foot into the grass. So, you waddle your left foot, so we maintain an even balance. And, don’t repeat my words. You just wave your arm and close your eyes. Okay, I am waddling my left foot. The snakes are moving away. We are about thirty feet from the truck. Okay, I am waddling my right foot. The snakes are moving away…”

The snakes are slithering left and right of my arm.

I cringe, wishing my eyelashes were closed, too.

The forest ground and trees are filled with snakes, hissing and flicking their tongues at the new smell, me and Duchie.

I waddle my left foot, waving my arm. “Okay, we are twenty five feet from the truck.”

I waddle my right foot, waving my arm.

I can feel Duchie, waddling behind me and pulling on my arm, but I am strong and holding firm. We are maintaining our balance, upright on our squatted and aching kneecaps.

I waddle my left foot, waving my arm. “Okay, we are twenty feet from the truck. The snakes are parting pretty fast from the smoke. No, we can’t stand, just yet.”

Chapter 13

Red color tone

I stop, breathing heavy, tired from walking on my kneecaps and ankles. I exhale. “Okay. The snakes are almost out of our pathway. Do not open your eyes. Okay. We are about five feet from the truck. You stay here.”

“No.”

“Duchie, the truck has…”

“Okay.” She exhales, waving the cigar side to side, within her blindness.

I slowly waddle from her, not wanting to fall on the ground, either. The snakes around us have cleared out from the smelling smoke. I stand, stretching my calves, moving towards the truck then stop.

The truck is covered in more hissing snakes, sitting underneath a tall tree. The tall is filled with more lazy lounging snakes, too. I frown then exhale. I two-step, grabbing a medium-sized tree branch, for my hands, from the naked ground, without any snakes. I walk towards the truck cab, firmly scooting the hissing snakes, from the driver’s door handle and the curved archway.

The snakes don’t like it, but they fall from the truck then slither away from me.

I wave the cigar smoke as more snakes leave the truck. I smile then back pedal, waving my arm as the snakes, kindly, leave my foot path. I back pedal then go around Duchie.

Duchie squats, waving her arm with her eyes closed.

I smile and stand, in front of her face, saying. “Okay. I cleared the truck. Do not open your eyes. I’m going to assist you to stand and your stretch out your calves, while you walk, too.” I squat, grabbing her arm.

Duchie holds the cigar to the side, away from burning on Ketona’s body parts.

I swing her towards the truck, leading by her hand.

We stop beside the driver’s door.

I open the door, checking for any snakes or baby ones, seeing everything is clear and neatly dusted, too. I scoot her towards the seat, ordering. “Okay. You’re near the door. Do not open your eyes. I don’t think we need the cigars, anymore. I’m taking the cigar from your hand, so use your hands, feeling around the leather then load into the bench seating. I’ll shove you into the seat, too. Then, you scoot over to the side for me to enter.”

Duchie touches the seat then slowly climbs inside the cab of the old truck.

I stand guard the door, waving the cigar smoke at the lounging snakes, flicking their tongues, who watch me.

Duchie scoots into the interior.

I toss her cigar towards the archway of the room, for our retreat out of the truck, and then back into the Cubby Hole. Then, I toss my burning cigar into the bed truck of the truck for an emergency then climb inside, exhaling and slamming the door shut. I grin with excitement of a major accomplishment around live snake. “We did it.”

Duchie whispers. “Thanks.”

I grin, nodding. “See, that wasn’t so hard.” I start the engine with the provided key which has been inserted into the ignition switch, ready for our journey. The truck roars into life, shooting black smoke from the rear dual exhaust pipes. I giggle. “Okay. Do not open your eyes, until we’re further away from the snakes. But, the exhaust pipes are bellowing in rich black smoke, flowing directly at the snakes, too. See, the me-chee provided for our escape, also.”

I exhale, slamming the gear into drive. I press the gas pedal, as the truck putt-putts along the dirt path. Then, I stop driving.

She asks. “Can I open my eyes, now?”

I exhale, nodding. “Yeah, we got another problem and I need your neurons to solve it, too.”

Duchie bounces in the seat, opening her eyelashes, exhaling. “The sleepy snakes are blocking the dirt pathway for the truck, too.”

I nod, studying the snakes. “Yeah, I don’t wanna or feel, like waving away snakes at every single tree, or every single bush, or every single flower petal, either. This color tone is both messy and messed up. Rincon told inside his green color tone, the puppies were really vicious wolves. Inside the orange color tone, my cats were really cougars.”

Duchie scoots around inside the cab, scratching inside the closed compartments, in the interior of the truck. “O! That was you, who activated the cougar hunt. You should be thankful, that some of the other teens didn’t discover that secret, from you. They had set up some pretty nice park places for fun wild adventures, not daring deadly escapes. I was smart enough to read the warning sign showing the cougar territory home base. Okay! There’s nothing inside the glove box, nothing inside the side pocket on the door, and nothing behind the seat. We’re stuck, again. Once, I saw the cougar warning, I, immediately, started looking for one of the cats, then get out of there, more quickly.”

“Okay! How do we get out of here, without starting a forest fire, since, that’s my Plan B with the cigar flames.” I giggle with my silly humorous statement under a serious dome of seriousness.

Duchie stands on her knees, viewing the rear of the truck. “No snakes behind us. Snakes are ahead of us. I’d suggest that you drive the truck, backwards. The black smoke will clear the pathway as the snakes run out of the way of the black smelly smoke.” She nods and smiles.

I nod and smile. “That’s an excellent solution.” I drive backwards from the pathway then slowly circle the truck in front of the room of mirrors.

The rear end of the truck faces the dirt pathway, like it is supposed to drive forward, instead of backwards.

The snakes get pretty miffed at the black smoke then leave the dirt path.

I nod, slapping my hands on the steering column, viewing Duchie. “Okay, you play navigator. I’ll drive, using both rear view mirrors in a backward motion. If I venture, too far, from dirt, yell. I definitely don’t wanna crash our truck.”

Duchie kneels on the seat, scanning the front of the dirt pathway for any objects.

I drive backwards, using the twin rear view mirrors, saying. “Why do these teens continue to play along with the Citizenship Day activities? I don’t like this mind game…”

Duchie says. “It’s not a game to some of the teens, like me. It’s an opportunity to improve our lives, getting out of the outer boring townships. Lamis is another good example, escaping from the township.”

“Why can’t you escape and live in Colfax, instead of Dandine?

“I can’t. The barrier wall, we have found and slammed around the other park places, the same barrier walls are around and surrounding the boundary lines of the township, always. It’s only opened, when the cows need slaughtering, or the merchandise needs delivering into the townships.”

“Wait! You and Buffo both visited your respective grandfathers, during the summertime…”

“During the summertime, only, I saw my grandfather, during the holiday, too. And, that was it…”

I frown and drive the truck, backwards, using the twin rear view mirrors. “That’s, so not nice.”

“Watch your right. there’s tree stump.”

“Okay!” I veer more left, missing the tree stump.

“I guess, some of the teens stay within their particular color tone to socialize with their blood-relatives, every day, otherwise, they would never see their biological parents and kin relatives. Since, I’m, currently, inside the green color tone, I probably won’t see my parents, again, until the holidays, when the barrier wall is lifted…”

“Naw, not true.”

“Yeah, way true.”

“That’s, so not nice…”

“And about your friends, Jara and Hatch!? Geez, I really hope that they have some good common sense. They really need to pass out of the yellow color tone, and into the orange one, and then further up the color chart, ya know. Pothole on your left…”

I nod, driving backwards. I scoot around the pot hole in the dirt. “They will. Buffo explained…”

“Slow down, you’re veering the truck to close to the tree line.”

“Okay.”

“The final act of Citizenship Day is final. You become the citizen of that color tone.”

I gasp. “I…I didn’t make the connection. And, I don’t like the concept of citizenship Day, either. If you’re smart enough to pass into the next color tone, then you’re smart enough to do, any type of job you seek…”

Duchie stares the dirt road. “Tree stump on your right! That is a good idea, but poor implementation, Ketona. All the academic questions are common math problems, except, there is a time limit to answer, or address, or fail. You’re, either a natural a math, or ya ain’t.”

“No, I disagree. I am a natural at mathematics from both studying and learning. However, each park place is getting more complex, not easier. I’d think, if a teen passes the academic questions, advancing into the next color tone, then the park places would be much more fun and entertaining, finishing your citizenship on a positive note with a smiley face.” I drive slowly along the dirt road path, as the black smoke chokes or scares the snakes, out of my path.

Duchie exhales, softly saying. “I wasn’t really trying to steal your boyfriend…”

I exhale, nodding and driving backwards, around the puddles of water, tree trunks, and snakes. “I know that. I’m sorry for being mean to ya. I kinda frustrated, too…”

Duchie says. “I was with you, when we saw Buffo. He was kinda stuck inside the orange color tone, too. I lived and played within Dookie Town while always craving more fun, adventure, and challenge. I’m lucky, I am more. I thought…”

I drive, watching for more potholes and objects. “Buffo failed to pass with 75 percent, again, from the orange color tone.”

Duchie stares at the dirt road. “I lied. I wanted to help myself to Buffo, too. I saw the fancying that Rincon had taken to you, Ketona, inside the red color tone.”

I drive, watching the side mirrors for protruding objects in the dirt. “I don’t understand it, or him, or this. I just wanna do and be, what I wanna do and be, without going through Citizenship Day to do and be, what I wanna do and be…”

Duchie stares at the dirt road. “Tree stump on your right. The Establishment needs workers to work within the outer townships. No person, in the right frame of mind, would work, inside a radiation pit, dying nine months later, unless they ain’t got any brain stems. The posh city of Colfax has limited space, limited jobs, and limited places. Some teens stay inside the current color tone, without advancing and working in snobby posh Colfax, since they failed some, or almost, all of the complex mathematical academic questions. I say, and will say, again. The Cubby Hole is both just and fair for each teen, that both studies and works hard to achieve more in their personal life. I can’t argue the logic…”

“…only the ethics. I can agree with the concept of the Cubby Hole. However, I don’t agree with the current treatment of us, inside the current park place. All the advanced park places are really difficult, both academically and physically,” I exhale, driving backwards.

Duchie stares at the dirt, looking for objects. “Are you going to abandon Buffo, then, yet again?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love Buffo?”

“Yes.”

“Do you wanna your dream job, too?”

“Yes.”

“Wow! You’re really quick with them one-worded answers. You seemed to have decided, this time with your mind, not your heart…”

I look into the side mirrors, driving the truck backwards. Then, I hit a pothole. The truck bounces side to side. I release the gas pedal, asking. “What would you do, in place of my pedals, at the moment, Duchie?”

Duchie studies the dirt road, shrugging. “Slow down! The road’s kinda washed out, over here, from some type of rain storm. Don’t know!”

I smile then sneer. “What kind of true answer is that, coming from my new friend, within the Cubby Hole?”

Duchie smiles and studies the dirt. “You didn’t ask me, the right question.”

I frown with puzzlement, driving. “Which is?”

“Did I, too, abandon a boyfriend, in Dandine, on Citizenship Day?”

“Ah!”

The truck slides to the left then bounces side to side. It slides to the right then falls into the ditch. I stomp the gas pedal. “I’m stuck. What happened? What do you see, outside the truck?”

Duchie exhales. “The road is badly potted with horizontal lines of loose dirt or hidden ditches. We are inside a ditch. Get out!”

I press the gas pedal.

Black smoke shoots from the mud into the air.

Duchie says. “Don’t flood the engine! We can’t walk back to the room of mirrors. We must drive this truck. Get out! Let’s examine the damage and use our smart neurons to figure out, what to do.” She cracks the passenger door.

I raise my palms. “Wait! What about the snakes?”

She chuckles. “The loud overbearing noise from the old truck plus the ugly black smoke from the tail pipe, both have, pretty much, scared off the snakes. And, I’m not afraid, anymore, as long as, you’re with me,” she winks.

I nod and smile, cracking the driver’s door. I step into mud, exhaling and cringing with surprise. I gently close the door, but not shutting it, completely. I don’t want a snake, helping me drive. I slowly walk around the slick mud, marching down the sloped landscape.

I see the about eleven inches, less than one foot, of wet shiny red mud, forming a shallow ditch formation. “Ugh! If ya stomp the gas pedal, I’ll push the tail gate, getting us out of the mud hole…”