The Hubby Hold (IQ Testing Book 2) (9 page)

Chapter 10

Orange room of mirrors

I sail from the dark tunnel then emerge into the room of mirrors. I wiggle side to side with excitement, going to seek and search for Buffo.

I missed him, so much. I love him, so much more. I chose him, forever.

The chair jolts then releases me.

I scoot from the chair, galloping towards the orange wall, slapping it silly.

The opening reveals yellow dirt and brown boulders.

I slowly walk into the dirt, stirring up tiny dusters from my boot prints.

The skyline is blue, melting down into the brown boulders. The air is dry, making me, immediately, thirsty for cold water.

I touch my throat, turning to my left, slowly strolling along the yellow dirt. I scoot around a rock, the size of an eating table for four adults, then veer towards the left some more. I slowly walk towards the edge of the yellow soil.

I gasp with fear.

I’m on a mountain side, not a sharp peak, not a flat tabletop, not an inner forest, but, lots of yellow dirt and lots of tall and wide non-moving brown boulders.

I slowly back pedal from the sloping drop, which could land my face onto another pile of rocks. I giggle with my silly mental thoughts then slam into the object.

I swing around.

A row of small four-wheeled terrain vehicles holds two persons, a steering wheel, a tiny fluttering cloth rooftop, and two webbing nets for some real yahoo fun.

I giggle, touching and caressing the smooth metal on the rooftop.

The cupped hand slaps my collar bone, when I gasp with shock.

“Ketona! Ketona!” Buffo dashes from the opening of the room of mirrors, extending his arms, smiling. He slides then slaps the back muscles of the unfamiliar male, blocking and touching his girl. He grabs the biceps of the male, shoving him into the tree bark. “Ketona,” Buffo tucks his hands under her armpits then swings Ketona around in circle for both fun and love. He completes the circle, bringing her face into his face. He deeply kisses her lips, holding the pose, forever.

Buffo pulls back then smiles.

I pant then exhale, catching my breath. I giggle and smile.

Buffo lowers Ketona down to the yellow dirt, making tiny dust swirls in the air.

I can’t stop grinning, giggling between his biceps.

He whispers. “You’re here. I was so worried that you fell back down into the yellow color tone. After the academic questions, I didn’t see ya. I haven’t seen ya for a few hours, doll. Are you okay, darling? Where have ya been, honey?”

I gasp, dropping my mouth. “I…I…”

“Buffo,” the female voices shouts.

Buffo swings around, waving and smiling, when I hide behind his bicep.

The female smiles, dashing from the rock boulder, coming towards Buffo.

“Duchie,” I slide from Buffo, screaming and tossing my arm, sneering, not smiling.

Duchie slides to a stop, dropping her mouth.

Buffo chuckles and hugs Ketona, nodding to his friend. “Duchie’s here with us, too. Okay, we need to start our fun,” he spins and drags Ketona by the arm. “I guess. We use these the provided terrain vehicles for our next fun adventure…”

I trip over my own feet, being rushed by Buffo towards the line of terrain karts.

All the teens are loading into the karts, starting the engines. When a kart warms, the teen driver zooms off, driving the karts towards the high sloped mountain side.

Buffo assists Ketona into the seat, securing the webbing around her body.

I view Duchie.

She dances towards another terrain vehicle, sharing with a different male, not Buffo.

I exhale, asking. “I…”

He chuckles, sliding into the driver’s seat, starting the engine. He secures his own net webbing around his tallness. He winks at her. “I hope this color tone is as fun…”

I frown with annoyance, “Buffo, how are you able to have fun, within the same color tone? I mean, I saw the blue w…,” I pause then clear my throat. “Remember, when we both peeked inside the yellow tone color, holding Java and Hatch?”

He nods and smiles, driving up the sloped mountain side, following the next kart. “This country is pretty. I like the yellow soil. I’ve never seen yellow dirt, like this. Someone’s daddy told the secret to one of the other teens, before, entering the Citizenship Day. When a teen drops down, inside any color tone from the Cubby Hole, the park place changes from the original model into the teen’s bad fear, or good like. So, we figured out which teen had the least scary fear and bestest like, then the teen slid into the me-chee and returned back into the Cubby Hole for our continued…”

I slam both hands onto the console. “Wait! Have you returned back into the Cubby Hole, for a second time, Buffo?”

“Yeah.” He nods and drives higher up the slope between the rocks, creating twisting yellow tornadoes.

I gasp, viewing his nose profile. “And, you did not bother to advance into the...the red color tone.”

He laughs. “Naw, I had to go back into the Cubby Hole and answer the first silly question, about the color of the me-chee, which is always orange. I met the one-fourth question rule, staying inside this park place. I had to take my turn, being the first me-chee chair to land, inside the yellow room, exposing my nasty fear of…”

I exhale, growling. “Yeah, I know. I learned the same method. The first me-chee chair modifies into the teen’s fear, then the second time, the same teen falls into a different park place, the love answer is shared with the rest of the teens…”

“Yeah, I had to go back into the Cubby Hole, another time…”

I gasp then yell. “I’m been…stop.”

Buffo slows then halts the kart.

I jump out then finger the sign, frowning at him. “This is a mountain cougar warning sign, where they live, play, and prey on anything, everything, and me, too. This is crazy, Buffo. We can’t invade and interact with any type of wild animals. Cougars attack on people, cows, and dogs, when frightened or hunger…”

He nods, sitting inside the kart. “A cougar, the mammal is the heaviest cat in the world. The beast is secret and lonely native of the mountain terrain, working both night and daylight hours…”

I gasp, nodding and saying. “A cat!? I love cats. I wrote that down, as my love question, on my app for Citizenship Day.” I scan the boulders. “Unbelievable! The Cubby Hole has twisted my pretty petite cats into long and lean fighting cougars. I failed and fell into the room, first, being the only teen. I changed the park place…”

He smiles and nods. “Yeah, the Cubby Hole is totally fun. Get inside the kart, Ketona! There’s plenty of food up here, for the cats, not us. The hills are full of fat elk. So, we just observe one cougar then turn around quickly, and zoom back down the mountain, and then into the room. The end! Keep your eyeballs peeled for our cat.”

I stomp to the kart, scooting inside. “This is all crazy. I’ll been worried and suffering over you, since the orange color tone. Why haven’t you advanced into the red color tone? I have been listening to all the academic questions, sweating through the correct answers, and then advancing…”

He drops his mouth, viewing her for a quick moment, driving up the mountain side. “Ya advanced forward into the next color tones, without me.”

I gasp then view his nose profile. “I…”

He drives. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up, here, inside the orange color tone, Ketona. Man, you’ve been keeping me waiting for a couple of hours, now, girl. Ya know I was really worried. Some of the math problems ain’t easy. I thought ya failed, or something. I thought you were stuck back inside the yellow color tone, failing and falling behind, too.”

I gasp. “I…”

He smiles. “So, I guess ya’ll be having fun inside the red color. Are Rincon and Marsilla with ya, waiting for me, too? I don’t particular enjoy, being around that new girl Nephella…”

I exhale, gritting my teeth, slamming my fists into the console. “Buffo, why haven’t you advanced into the red color tone, joining me, Rincon, and Marsilla? Why is Duchie, here, with you?”

He drives, turning away from the other karts, into an isolated flat plain, frowning with sadness. “I’ve been waiting for our friends.”

I shake my curls. “What friends? All of our friends are inside the…other color tone, except for Duchie. Why is Duchie, here, with you?”

“Our good friends and neighbors, Jara and Hatch.”

I gasp, viewing the console, nodding. “O yeah! Right, our friends, Jara and Hatch, yes, of course…”

“Have ya forgotten? They’re stuck inside the yellow color tone? We saw them, there, inside the yellow color tone.”

“Yes, I remember. We did. How long are we going to wait for Jara and hatch to show up, here, inside the orange park place? I mean, it’s late afternoon, already. Citizenship Day ends, eventually…”

He drives and smiles. “Naw, not until midnight…”

I view his nose profile. “How do you know that strange fact? We were not told…”

He drives and nods. “I agree. My BPs didn’t tell me, either. Your BPs didn’t tell ya, neither. Some of the teens tattled about some information. So, we kinda put our heads, together, and added two and two, together, and finally figured out, how the Cubby Hole really works. It’s a game for fun and sport and adventure, inside each park place. That’s why it’s called Citizenship Day. The carefree teens have fun, before, becoming a serious working citizen of Colfax. The only one single rule to remember for the Cubby Hole, as long as, a teen zooms back and forth between the color tones, either failing or passing, then Citizenship Day is active. That way, any teen, at anytime, can advance into the next color tone, and eventually into the golden color tone…”

“What about the single difficult question, inside the golden color tone, which is asked to every teen? My understanding, that situation occurs, when the first teen reaches the golden circle, after correctly advancing throughout the color chart, which is Marsilla. Marsilla is there, inside the golden circle, already.” I exhale, tossing my hands and shaking my curls with confusion. “No, that’s not right, either!”

“She is? Huh, I didn’t think Marsilla that smartie with her academic questions.” He nods and smiles. “That’s sorta right, honey. Every teen will end up inside the Cubby Hole, for the single most difficult question, within the golden color tone, before, being granted their particular citizenship, into their new township? If the teen answers, correctly, the single hard question, then the teen picks out their dream job. If the teen answers, wrongly, then the teen stays put inside their current color tone, becoming a citizen of the township, represented by the color chart. So, we all end up in the same place, back there, within the Cubby Hole. However, that situation will occur, when every teen has failed and fallen into a color tone, or every teen has passed into the golden color tone. Not every teen will make it, into the golden color tone, so almost all the teens will work and live outside of Colfax, but me, you, Rincon, Marsilla, and, Jara, and Hatch…”

I smiles. “Nephella is the mayor’s daughter…”

“What!?”

“Nephella is the mayor’s daughter. She’s become a good friend with me and Rincon, too.”

He smiles and nods. “Well, if she’s a friend of yours, then she’s a new friend of mine, too…”

I gasp, shaking my curls. “Buffo, you are…we are taking a wild chance, here, that no other teen won’t pass the three-fourths of the academic question set, or might fail to advance, into the next color tone…”

He laughs. “Naw, me and you will, tarrying both of us towards the golden color tone, for the golden job. We’ll exit from here, the orange color tone, after locating the cougar, then we be gone from here, soonest,” he nods and drives.

I exhale, frowning at him. “When,” I sniff then drop my mouth. I cover my nose with both hands.

Buffo slows the kart, staring at her. “What? What do you see?”

I scan the rocks. “I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. I smell something, like stingy pee-pee. Someone forgot to empty the cat’s litter box.”

He stops the kart, smiling and nodding. “This be the place.” He slides out then walks towards the big piles of rock. He grins and touches the stone. “Look at the size of the scratch marks from the cat.” He sniffs then exhales. “Poo! This place stinks.” He fingers the small pile of green leaves and shredded grass. “This is both dried and wet urine, both marking the cougar territory, and warning off predators. This be the place for a look see at the cat, honey. A cougar is an excellent stalker and ambush predator, living within the dense underbrush with little vegetation, in open area, like here.” He walks around then squats. He studies and touches the object. “I see four toes and four inches of a paw print, embedded into the dried mud. Yeah, this be the place for the cat.”

I sit and exhale inside the kart, not moving. I scan the high rocks, so wide and tall, blocking the hidden caves and part of the blue sky. I say. “We should stay inside the kart for our safety and a quick escape, Buffo. Let the cat come to us. Okay! If we had our cellies, we could snap a pic…”

He smiles, stands and touches his cat suit. “The cat suit records the body heat of the cougar and our heart rate, all at the same time, for the participating event, within each park place, or ya stay stuck inside the park place, the reason for the cat suit.” Buffo swings and advances to Ketona.