Chapter Three

Like everything else on Gniees Si Gniveileb, or Gni, the Magic Planetarium was gleaming and glittering in the bright white sun, its many rainbowed facets protruding out at all angles. The windows were at every level, in every size, shape, and color imaginable and nonthinkable. There were so many different pieces and additions to the museum that the overall effect was almost as if you were looking at a child’s Lego house, the many parts not quite where they were supposed to be, yet still connected, a part of the whole. Anyone who wasn’t used to seeing all the colors and designs of Gni would probably think that a four year old went psycho with a crayon.

Zade and I stood in front of the metallic blue and gold metal crisscrossed pattern of the front mitzs. The intricacies of the ironwork must have taken a master metal-manipulator to get the design just right. It still probably took years.

“It’s so beautiful,” I said, awed by its magnificence, outshining even the outlandish designs of the buildings surrounding it.

Nothing but silence greeted my whispered admiration. I turned to Zade, hoping that he was as struck by awe as I was.

His face was a completely neutral blankness, not even a hint of any emotion in his expression. His hands were hanging limply at his sides, his posture relaxed. I looked at his eyes and realized that he probably hadn’t heard me because the molten silver swirls of his eyes had slowed down, as if he had hit the hibernate button. He looked like his box was missing a bulb.

“Uhh, are you alright?” I asked, turning to face him, confused by his absolute lack of response. Deciding to goad him and try to get him to snap out of it, I said, “so… if I said anything right now, would you hear me…No? Okeey-dokeey. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor! What? Nothing? So…no?” I sang as I reached to poke the hardness of his arm.

As the last word left my mouth and just as my finger was about to touch him, his hand reached out, faster than my reflexes and grabbed my wrist.

“Do not touch me,” he snarled, releasing my wrist just as fast as he’d caught it. He turned away from me, looking up at the building again.

Silence reigned for a few moments before I finally asked, “So, what were you doing? Studying the paint?”

He heaved a great sigh, probably irritated at my inability to leave well enough alone. Never taking his eyes from the structure, he said, “I was simply studying the patterns of the currents in the building and it’s system’s main lines of electricity so that if I enter the building, I won’t cut the circuit with my own discharges. Is that good enough for you, Lire? Am I supposed to stand here with my thumb up my ass, looking at all the shiny things? You tell me, Lire, you tell me.”

I backed away from him, startled by his sudden venom and bitterness.

“Well, what is it? Let me guess, you’d pick the shiny, right?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

“No,” I muttered, trying to recompose myself. Let them all laugh, I thought. I’ll try not to mind, for I have found something they’ll never find. I lifted my chin up and regarded the beautiful building in front of me, seeming to be the only one who could see the real magic of its magnificence.

He rolled his eyes and gestured to the building in front of us. “Look at this place,” he scowled. “ It looks like the gay pride parade vomited all over it. Who would actually want to be here?”

“Yoo-hoo! Zade! Lire! You two need to be inside the building with the rest of the class! The nice people here have lots and lots of games and toys and exciting goodies planned for us,” Mrs. said, opening the great front mitzs and poking her head out. “Come along! I know how overwhelmed with fun you must be, what with all the joy we’re going to share but you need to keep moving!”

I started walking towards her and heard her faintly muttering to herself something that sounded like, “happy, happy, joy, joy,” over and over again. I cringed.

Mrs. reentered the building followed by a reluctant Zade and me. Inside, it was as amazingly brilliant as it was outside. Above us, small silver balls raced each other around and around a frighteningly complex maze of wires and trips, some landing in buckets to be carried to the top again and others bouncing off the xednaps, catapulting themselves across the room only to land in a net at the top and slowly begin their race back down.

“Golly, gee, Mrs., I can practically feel the all the oodles of fun building up inside of me, slowly preparing to release themselves in the form of cancer into my blood stream,” said Zade from right behind me. “Please won’t you let me have more?”

I turned an inquisitive brow to him at his blatant sarcasm, but he chose to ignore me just as Mrs. had chose to ignore him.

“All right, you only have three hours pack as much of fun in as you can! Then, we will all meet back here,” shouted Mrs. over the rising din of the class. “Don’t forget you partners and be sa—“

A loud crack sounded from all sides of the room as if a giant was crushing the entire building in its fist.

“Wha—,” I began, but was cut off by an even louder crack.

The entire class started screaming and everyone hit the floor. Panic ensuing, Mrs. and the employees all tried to tell us directions to get to safety, to get down, to get away, but no one heard. We were all too busy screaming and panicking.

A/N: Parts/characters/other miscellaneous things were taken fromBerenstain Bears, The Magic School Bus Show, Junie B. Jones, and Dr. Suess.

If you’re wondering why I chose to name their world what I did, just read it backwards, hopefully that will help. Also, do the same with my other made-up words and it may help you understand what they are, but not always (mitzs being the exception so far).

In addition, I apologize that I don’t really know what I’m talking about when I’m writing what goes on with Zade’s electricity power thingy. I’m not exactly spiffy on all the technical terms, ect.

Thanks for reviewing.