The Cubby Hole (IQ Testing Book 1) (2 page)

I slide off the seat then stand when Buffo wraps an arm around my shoulders. We follow Jara and Hatch down the concrete hard steps from the third-level tram platform onto a soft patch of lovely light green manicured lawn.

Jara smiles and fingers the structure, saying. “A fairy tale castle is located down here. I wanna get married here, Hatch.”

Hatch views the building. “Wow! Colfax Rotunda is four-stories tall. I’m never ventured into the southern part of the town,” he kisses her face then says. “A fairy tale castle for my fairy tale princess bride, yes, ma’am, we got hitched right here after we place within our new jobs.”

Marsilla nods and grins. “No one comes here other than on Citizenship Day, our last official day as a schooler.”

Chapter 3

Me-chee

The building has a rounded floor and a rounded dome with five tall vertical columns holding up the front porch. The ground me-chee wears a set of shoulder length black hair bouncing over his pink-tinted metal skull, not smiling. The machine presents a permanent smirk of dark red-colored lips vocalizing the Citizenship Day instructions to the teens. He wears a royal blue long jacket and matching trousers with dark blue cowboy boots. He stands between two entrance ramps pointing his metal pink naked hands at each ramp entrance, saying. “The teen beaus walk up the ramp on your left. The teen belles walk up the ramp on your right.”

Hatch cuddles Jara, stopping and studying. He chuckles, shouting at the me-chee. “I’m ambidexterity, dude. So I get to walk up the right side with my belle.”

On the front façade of the building there are six tall columns decorating around an empty porch which is not inviting for Citizenship Day. Usually, a warm friendly front porch of a family unit holds a couple of rocking chairs, one long swaying swing and numerous colorful potted flowering plants. On each side of the opened double doors is by a me-chee.

The female me-chee possesses a set of red colored vertical curls swaying side to side around her pink-tinted metal skull, not smiling. The me-chee wears a yellow plantation dress showing off her pink-tinted naked shoulders. Her arms sways side to side, saying. “The teen belles enter here and halt. The teen belles enter here and halt…”

Hatch and Jara cuddle and prance towards the right ramp, when the male me-chee dressed in the blue long jacket and shoulder length black hair swiftly draws a hand gun from his jacket pocket. He aims directly at Hatch’s forehead then quickly lowers the weapon to his kneecap, not smiling with the permanent smirk painted on his pink metal. Hatch rapidly back steps pulling and curling Jara into his chest while holding his left arm in the air for a self-defense defeat. The me-chee says. “Good show, sport! Teen beau, please walk up the ramp on your left.”

Hatch exhales frowning with frustration then kisses Jara. He swings around and stomps up the left ramp shoving the other teen males to the side. He enters stopping inside the entrance-hall of the Colfax Rotunda.

The entrance-hall is a half-circular shaped room with an eighteen foot ceiling. The forward wall is squared-shaped and closed off as an entrance point made of solid white paint. There is a transparent wall in the middle of the room separating males from females. The right wall face holds a squared-shaped opening almost covering the entire wall with the letters in rich black: BELLE.

The left wall is a second squared-shaped opening and reads: BEAU.

Another female me-chee, an aqua-colored plantation dress with pink-tinted naked shoulders and swaying blonde vertical curls, directs all the girls towards the Belle opening.

I spin around seeking Buffo. I see a male me-chee wearing a spiked hairdo of brown, a red long jacket and matching pants using his pink painted pointing at the Beau opening.

Buffo seeks Ketona then waves a farewell as I wave too. Then I back step into the entrance portal when Buffo disappears from my eyesight too.

I two-step to my right curving the wall then stop.

A round room consists of tall individual lockers made of reflective mirrors. The floor is silver-tinted along with the ceiling too.

The me-chee wears a mint-green plantation dress with brown vertical curls standing at the front of the room, repeating the vocal instruction. “Please select a locker and change your clothes. No cellies or personal possessions are allowed on Citizenship Day. Please select a locker and change your clothes. No cellies or personal possessions are allowed on Citizenship Day…”

I prance to an unoccupied locker beside Marsilla opening the mirrored door. I lay my pretty flower and necklace cellie inside the locker then touch a silver one piece cat suit then view Jara.

She has stripped off her clothes then models her cat suit inside her sexy body. She also wears her red high heeled shoes instead of the matching silver soft flat-heeled boots.

I giggle and quickly exchange my skirt and blouse inside the cold temperature room for the cat suit sliding back into my socked feet the worn and comfortable cowgirl boots of dull brown.

Marsilla wears her cat suit and matching silver boots, frowning with frustration. She cuddles her cellie into the cat suit, frowning with disappointment at her possession. “I can’t take inside the next room my cellie.”

A second female me-chee inside the room with black curls and a mint-green plantation dress whips out the metal mint-green fan expanding the sharp plates in her metal hand. The dangerous fan stops the approaching teen girl playing on her cellie on the tile. The me-chee says. “Cellie alert! Cellie alert! Teen belle, no cellies or personal possessions are allowed into the next room.

The teen back steps from the metal robot frowning with disappointment. She swings around then places the cellie inside her locker.

I grin to Marsilla, saying. “No cellies, dear.” I scan the room seeing an array of unfamiliar faces of females, remembering. There are other girls from the outer towns of Hamlin, Burrville, Tonkey, and whatever. I have never visited the outer towns around my town since my BPs live in Colfax along with their BPs. I giggle and gently close the mirrored door, not wanting it to break or get into trouble becoming a good citizen of my home town Colfax. I stroll to girl, smiling and extending my hand like a true southern-belle. “Hello! I’m Ketona. Welcome to Colfax and Citizenship Day.”

The girl struggles with the catsuit over her plump body then giggles. “Lamis!” she pants and pulls the catsuit over her breasts. “I didn’t expect a wardrobe change today. I only prepared an exchange of warm words and some quick sweaty handshakes.” Lamie: tall, plump, bronze-colored skin, short blonde-hair.

I view the girls moving towards the archway, nodding and smiling. “Yay hay! Me too, I’ve never attended any Citizenship Day before. I’m an only child, me, one kid from my BPs. Have you been to Colfax before Lamis?”

Lamis shakes her pixie side to side, frowning with puzzlement. “BPs!?”

I grin at her. “Biological parents.”

“No, not with my BPs, we’ve never visited Colfax either.” She smiles pressing down the seams of the catsuit then seats along the center bench placing her boots over her naked toes.

The third female me-chee in her purple plantation gown with red vertical curls stands on the opposite end of the room with her arms extended outward, saying. “Please enter here one at a time! Please enter here one at a time…”

I exhale, feeling the butterflies flutter inside my guts for my solo presentation at Citizenship Day. My parents told me that I am required to show off my intellect today during the activities. My new friend Lamis stands and giggles as we pad towards the single door.

Lamis enters first then I follow behind her through the door.

Cubby Hole

I two-step to my left from the archway allowing the other females inside like a good mannered belle. I scan the big auditorium.

The walls are silver-tinted inside a circular room without any outside viewing windows of trees or pretty creative colorful art decorations or a single citizenship poster of my birth town Colfax. The ceiling reflects the same silver-tint. In the middle of the room there are rows and columns of silver-tinted lounging chaise fit for one solo person. A chaise is a combination of a sitting sofa and a lying bed mattress allowing your feet to rest upon the furniture while sleeping, eating or watching a fun activity.  Both the vertical base and the horizontal seat are comprised of solid silver-tinted metal for resting and sleeping and eating, if need be.

Buffo scoots beside Ketona cuddling and chuckling into her ear with amusement. He’s always happy and friendly, asking. “What’s it?”

I view him grinning at his slick catsuit of silver too. The catsuit nicely hugs his muscular curves bulging biceps, thighs, and buttocks. I caress his chest, no really caring about the room, the chaise, or Citizenship Day.

Marsilla slides next to Ketona studying the object, nodding and smiling. “A resting sofa, I hope we get served a hot lunch here too.”

Female: petite, red waist length ponytail, pink skin, freckles. She slides next to Buffo, giggling and grinning. “The Cubby Hole!”

Java hangs off Hatch’s shoulder, gasping and scanning the room on the other side of the new petite female. She says. “This is the Cubby Hole.”

Marsilla frowns with puzzlement scanning the chairs. “The what, the Cubby Hole?”

Jara fingers the chairs. “This is the Cubby Hole. I heard it as hot gossip from some of the younger adults when I followed my mama around her office as a little kid, a long time ago.”

Hatch frowns with confusion scanning the room. “The Cubby Hole!? I’ve never ever heard of the Cubby Hole. This is Citizenship Day for completing our last day as a schooler. Tomorrow, I start to work with my daddy in the me-chee design center.”

Marsilla frowns at the numerous chairs. “What did the gossip reveal about the Cubby Hole, Jara?”

Jara nods grinning. “One of the young girls said that the Cubby Hole was something that she would never forget, ever. The other young girl just nodded. Then they both saw me standing there spying and went back to work.”

Hatch asks. “Where does your mama work, Marsilla?”

Jara says. “Let’s pick our sofa away from the crowd, honey,” she and Hatch scatter into the crowd, touching and pointing at the rows of stationary metal sofas. They select one then slide into the single sofa, sucking on each other’s face.

“Find us a sofa too,” Buffo squeezes Ketona’s hand then stomps forward moving towards one of the sofas in the second row, saying. “But I don’t think we’re supposed to do what Jara and Hatch are doing.”

I nod, touching the solid silver-tinted sofa with my free hand. The upper head rest material is both smooth and silky. The seating material is soft and satiny. The base of lying body is hard material, not cloth. I say. “This is all so confusing. My BPs didn’t mention a catsuit, a sofa, or a lunchbox. They did tell me about the me-chees thou. They look cute dressed in the old-fashioned historical garb with the fake swaying hair pieces. I don’t really like the catsuit. I feel naked on the outside of me.”

Buffo touches his chest then her chest, chuckling. “I like. Your catsuit makes ya shiny and pretty in sparkling tiny colors of pink, yellow, gold, and blue.” He views his legs. The slick fabric is a shimmery color tone of pink, yellow, gold, and blue. He touches the sofa, nodding. “This is a good spot not in the middle, not on the end or near the door or near the heated bodies.”

I touch the sofa with my free hand when Marsilla speeds passed me. She occupies the sofa before my mechee-chair.

In front of the auditorium, the me-chee wears a long jacket of hunter green with matching trousers, and red cowboy boots. The boots clash violently with his pink-tinted colored metal skin. He wears a black ponytail behind his neck. He raises both arms, saying with the painted smirk. “Good morning, teens. You are not citizens yet. Welcome to Citizenship Day! I am called Me-chee. Please select any me-chee chair. Once every teen has seated I will begin the instructions.” The schoolers scoot around lying in an individual sofa.

“That’s a thought-machine,” Buffo fingers standing beside his chosen chair, hugging on Ketona.

Rincon shakes his curls bouncing around his thin shoulders coming up Ketona, saying. “Incorrect!” He parks beside Ketona standing in the same cat suit and height as her. He says. “It is a modified me-chee. You can visually see that its skull is slightly more oval shaped than the shape of a human. All me-chees are modeled after the humanoid body frame for both purpose and prettiness, not scaring the little tikes at home. The modified me-chee’s wave patterns are electronically designed to feed input and outputs from each me-chee chair unit.”

Me-chee spreads both metal arms sideways, saying. “Please hear me again. Each schooler needs to settle into an individual me-chee chair. No one schooler is allowed to share a me-chee chair. Please find a me-chee chair before we begin the instructions. The instructions are very important for your Citizenship Day.”

Hatch stands assisting Jara to stand from the chair. He frowns with annoyance, saying. “Shoot fire! If that me-chee draws a pistol on me I’m leaving and tattling to my daddy,” he kisses her face then swings to the occupied chair next door to Jara, sneering and stomping his cowboy boot. “Scat cat! This be mine now!” The short teen male frowns not moving, when Hatch grabs and jerks him out of the chair. The teen completely falls off the smooth metal. Hatch growls. “I be bigger and meaner, kid! Shoo bird!”

The teen stands frowning with annoyance then swings towards one of the empty chairs in front of the room.

Buffo chuckles at the nasty encounter of Hatch then kisses Ketona. He pulls back licking her cherry lip gloss, smiling at her. “A strange Citizenship Day indeed. But I like your cat suit thou. I hope ya get to keep it. We can have some fun sliding in and out of the mud puddle near my house, when it rains,” he winks and chuckles. She slaps his chest then kiss his soft lips for her amusement. He pulls back from their tender sweet kiss then assists Ketona into her sofa between him and the rest of the chairs then he kisses her lips again. He pulls back with a smile and a nod. “I hope we got done early too. We can go picnicking on top of Payne Mountain again. The weather’s good and hot today. You can sweat all over me again. I like,” he winks at her. She giggles. He swings and then wiggles between the silky pieces of silver-tinted fabric of his me-chee.