The Place Between Part 12

Reporting once more from Temecula! Drove up and I am enjoying a lovely glass of wine while finishing up this week's post. Hope you'll curl up with your favorite sips and enjoy this week's segment on The Place Between! If you're not caught up, why not start from the beginning? (Interestingly enough, this story started en route to a winery in Temecula.)

The Place Between Part 12

President Andrea was not happy with the idea of her people running amok among men. The lateness of the hour at which Cassandra and Martin brought their laid out plan to her door did not help her opinion. However, with stern warnings and a reminder that using magic beyond their guarded tracks of land above, President Andrea conceded with the plot to let Martin go above ground. Edgar, unfortunately was not approved.

"He'll stick out," President Andrea had solemnly advised. "It'll be difficult enough to pass off one of you, let alone the pair of you. Especially, Edgar, a man who has learned everything about the world above from thirty year old books." 

Neither Martin or Cassie could argue with this point. 

"And I'm warning you," President Andrea said with a firm point of her finger at Martin, "If this principle at her school has any connection to us - be careful. We can afford no mistakes."

Martin and Cassie recognized the risks, but allowing a plot to poison the place between could prove to be equally as devastating.

With the president's assistance, Martin and Cassie continued to hammer out every detail late into the night: 

In the early morning, after her father had left for work, Cassie would borrow an outfit from her father's closet that would fit Martin and help him to blend in better. 

Martin would use magic to appear behind the old market in town where Cassie knew there were no cameras. From there he would walk to the school and meet her at the back of campus. 

The pair of them would go to the office together and Cassie would sign in Martin as a guest, claiming him to be a cousin of her's in town for a visit. 

"And any particular reason for visiting our school today, Mr..." the assistant in the office squinted at the name on Martin's ID card that he presented to her while filling out the visitor sign-in sheet. "Mr. Shire?" 

Had the situation not been so tense for her, Cassie would have demonstrated her embarrassment for choosing such a name; having no experience with people from Britain, Cassie decided "Shire" to be the easiest and the most British name she could think of.

Clearing his throat and not even attempting his "American" again (he had tried it earlier that morning and it had been a complete failure), Martin said, "As you can imagine I don't get to see my cousin very often, so I want to spend as much time with her as possible. And as a teacher in a school back in England in the process of moving to L.A. I'm curious about the educational system here." Cassie had added in the Los Angeles move detail last minute for Martin - how else could they explain the California ID he forged with magic? 

The assistant stared blankly at Martin. Her stare pretty much summed up everything that Martin would see in a day at this school. 

Though meeting someone with an English accent at the school was extraordinary, the office assistant had a backlog of matters to get to. Handing to Martin his ID and the standard square visitor sticker on which Martin was to write his name, the office assistant smiled meekly then walked away. 

Cassie and Martin made quiet sighs of relief. Martin was shocked that it was so easy to get him into this school. He wondered if it was always that easy.

Shaking her head once, Cassie answered, "It's all about confidence. Let's go," the pair of them walked through the office that was busy with activity. A group of students were hanging out in the doorway of their favorite counselor. At the end of the office the school nurse was having a light argument with a mom about her son having being too many times dismissed for having chronic headaches as excuses from PE. Teachers were buzzing in and out with tall coffee mugs clutched in their hands like precious gems. It was only seven a.m., after all. 

Martin was amazed. Pretending like this was an ordinary day was exceptionally difficult. He felt like a child being brought to a fair or some other fantastic display, when this was nothing but a regular school day. 'Aside from the fashion and the technology, they're really not that different from us at all.'

Stepping out of the office and into the cool morning, Martin gave a look to Cassie. 

"Yep, this is what real life is like for teens," Cassie smiled half heatedly. This was a great educational experience for him. However, Cassie would have much preferred his visit to her world to have been under better circumstances. 

Many of the students on campus who saw Cassie with this tall stranger began to wonder who he was and what he was doing with her. It was a small school. Most students knew each other and they certainly would know if a stranger was on campus. Realizing how quickly word would travel around campus that Cassie had brought someone new to the school would get around, Cassie whispered to Martin, "Try not to talk if you don't have to. You have a British accent, which instantly makes you a Prince Charming. And I'm sorry to say, the girls around this place will be trying to latch onto you if they find out. They're all looking for ways out of this mountain." 

Meanwhile, back in the office, as the office assistant worked on her morning duties, she spoke, "Yeah, that guy who came in with Cassandra had an Brit-tish accent. I half expected him to ask me for tea." Most of the students who were in the office overheard this and began their whispers immediately. Gossip spread faster in high schools than plague in an overcrowded neighborhood. 

Martin and Cassie quickly skipped to the library where she knew her two friends would be waiting. They would have to be stealthy in order for this to work properly. President Andrea had approved giving Cassie a ring with which she could communicate with Martin should anything go astray. The big, silver item with a large rock face was something her friends would notice. 

Taking one last glance at the watch she borrowed from her mom, (she had to leave her cell phone at home this morning) Cassie checked the time. They had five minutes before the first bell would ring. Hopping up the stairs, the pair entered the library. 

Martin's eyes doubled in size as they walked into this beautiful space. The walls were covered with books and every table had at least two students each. Most of the students were playing on their cell phones or curled up in balls trying to get a few precious extra moments of sleep, but seeing this library as their refuge warmed Martin's heart. 

Cassie led him to the front of the library and stood in line behind a boy who was checking out The Feasts and Follies of the Animal Court. Cassie had hoped that by jumping into line, her friends on the couch would not notice her, but of course, they did. Mike strolled right up to Cass and said, "Hey, why didn't you answer your phone this morning?" 

Operating under absolutely no sleep from the night before, she had to stare and process the question asked for several minutes before finally answering, "Oh, because I left it at home."

"Well, why'd you do that?" Mike sarcastically asked. He glanced over Cassie's shoulder to look at the man with her who clearly was trying to look like a hole in space. "Who's he?" Mike mouthed, hoping not to seem rude.

Glancing nervously to the now awaiting eyes of Marlie the ever welcoming librarian, Cassie quickly said,  "Step up, so I don't have to introduce him twice." With a less than gentle shove, Cassie pushed Martin forward to the counter to meet the central player in their plot. Marlie just didn't know it yet..

"Good morning," Marlie greeted, but there was no doubt that there was a question included in her words. 

"Morning," Martin and Cassie greeted simultaneously. Both realized that they were probably the worst combination of undercover folks to have ever taken on a mission. 

"Marlie, Mike," Cassie jumped in and started talking. She figured it better to get the accent elephant out on the table with this group as quickly as possible. "This is my cousin, Martin Shire. He's in town for because he is moving to LA. He also happens to be a teacher from England. We thought it would be good for him to meet with the principle to get an idea about how our school system works." 

"Wow," Marlie immediately began, "All the way from England. Seems like a bit of a long trip."

Shrugging, Martin said, "Well, you know. Thought it'd be good to see my family before I check out the neighborhood to where I will be moving." Martin was repeating verbatim the phrase that Cassie had taught him should any sort of "suspicion" question arise. "Bit of a last minute trip, but I've been glad for it."

"Ah, well, very nice, welcome to our little school," Marlie said with a warm and welcoming smile. 

Mike gave Cassie a look that said he didn't quite buy it. 

Ignoring the glare, Cassie began her request to Marlie, "Is there any way, Marlie, that you could call the office to arrange Martin's coming in to chat with the principle? He'd only need, like, five, maybe ten minutes?"

Marlie thought it odd that Cassie would ask her to arrange the meeting and the sideways expression she made said as much.

"I wouldn't know the first thing about scheduling an appointment with the principle," Cassie said defensively, but lightly. "I've never even been in his office." 

"The last principle had pictures of her cat everywhere in that ," Mike interjected. He had been in the last principle's office quite a few times. 

"Duh," Cassie retorted, "That's one of the many reasons why we started calling her 'Umbridge.' That's my legacy." Inhaling deeply and trying not to lapse in to Harry Potter quotes in front of Martin, Cassie returned to Marlie and made a begging face. "Please? He did come all the way from England after all." 

Chuckling, Marlie said, "Gee, Mr. Shire, for your sake I sure hope that this is not the highlight of your trip." 

Shaking his head, Martin could not have agreed more, "Me too."

Before Marlie made the call, she asked Martin several questions about where he was from and how she wished to get over to the land of great literature. Martin scraped the bottom of his memory's barrel to recall details of the place where grew up prior to moving to the Place Between. 

In the midst of that conversation Chelsea joined Mike and Cassie to ask about this man with her.

Cassie reexplained her story about her cousin to which Chelsea sharply asked, "Well, how come you didn't tell us about him?"

"We didn't know he was coming," Cassie answered defensively. "He called my dad midday, so my dad left worked go and pick him up from San Diego. It was kinda awesome after everything that want down yesterday."  

"Any updates on that?" Mike quietly asked Cass, hoping not to stir suspicion from the adults. 

With one nod, Cassie said to her friends,"I'll tell you later." The first bell was about to ring and Cassie wanted to ensure that Marlie made the appointment for Martin. 

"I hate to rush you, Marlie, but the bell is about to ring, could you please call the principle? Not the vp, the actual principle." There was a slight ring of desperation on Cassie's voice. Everyone immediately present heard it.

Marlie sent to Cassie another sideways look. There was something  going on here, but she knew that she'd probably find out later.

~*~*~

Only a few segments remain! Don't forget to check back in to see the exciting closing chapters of The Place Between!!!!

Your humble author, 
S. Faxon

The Place Between Part 11

About a week ago I put out a request for a vintage or antique wooden ship wheel. My brother in law responded by saying if I found one, he would eat his leg. 

I found one.

Now, I do not expect him to munch on his limbs, I'm just amazed at how quickly I found this. This wheel is the first antique that I have purchased and I am quite proud of it, as I am sure you can tell.

However, as detailed readers you all may be thinking, "but that's not wooden!" Indeed. I am still looking for a wooden, unfinished wheel. Preferably one that is under 30" that was on a working vessel. If you happen to know someone who has one and is selling, let me know. 

We're coming down to the exciting conclusion! Only a couple more segments in this exciting tale of Cassie and the mystical Place Between! If you're just joining this adventure, flip back a couple of posts to The Place Between. For the rest of us, onward!

The Place Between, Part 11

Cassie's parents could tell that their eldest was experiencing more than a healthy dose of teenage "angst". Her temper was short. Her mind unfocused. Cassie's mom tried to begin a conversation with her by entering her room during the time of evening that was set aside for homework. It was a noble idea that unfortunately was not so great in execution. As was standard for any territorial beast, Cassie did everything short of screaming and foaming at the mouth to protect her sacred refuge. Her mother had pointed out the gross looking roots that Cassie had in a vase on her standing dresser as "odd." Cassie was immediately offended as this had been a gift to her from the Rooties in the Place Between. She snappily said that it was a biology experiment that was not to be touched. The excuse that finally scooted her mother on out was, "I just have a ton of homework to do before tomorrow, so can I please, you know, work on it?"

Cassie's mom was not pleased with her daughter's attitude, but she knew that her daughter truly did her best to do good in school, so she stepped out and kindly closed the door.

It was not within Cassie's typical string of behavior to bottle up news from her parents and it was difficult for her to keep her lips sealed. However, she knew that her parents had a lot on their minds. She did not want to cause them any more burdens of worry if she could avoid it.

The anchor weighted hours ticked away slowly, painfully until the last light in the house clicked out well after midnight.

As if the lamp's switch was connected to a spring in her mattress, Cassie ejected herself from bed. She slipped on her boots over her jeans. She had been waiting in bed dressed in the jeans she tore and her heavy sweatshirt. Slamming down her green beanie over the crown of her head, Cassie stood in the center of the room with the magical coin in her hand.

Holding it up, she whispered to the coin, "Take me to the Place Between."

The spinning sensation ended as quickly as it began. Her feet were planted once more in the entrance of the grand underground city.

No longer a stranger in these halls, Cassie bolted through the caverns headed to the chambers where Edgar and Martin called home. She knew well enough that they would be roused and alerted to her presence by the security measures in place, yet still she ran. She wanted to save time by rushing as fast as she could to Martin.

The hall leading to the terminus where Martin lived was alight, meaning that one of the residents was awake in the common area. The blue hued halls seemed incredibly dark compared to the midday warmth that glowed from the room she approached. As expected, there was Martin, pulling a dressing robe over his maroon colored pajamas. Cassie had never stopped to think about what people in the Place Between wore to bed, but for whatever reason, she felt a bit of commonality from this. This place truly was not so different and it only made all the more drive in her to try to protect it.

"Cassie, what's going on?" Martin's ring had been buzzing for the last five minutes, alerting him that his ward was within their space. He did not expect her to have found her way to this common area so quickly.

"We have a problem," Cassie quickly, yet quietly said. "I've gotta tell you about what happened today."

Though Martin was glad for her attempt to be discrete, any use of the "p" word was enough to cause hysteria down here. "Not out here," Martin looked around and then decided to bring her into his apartment so they could speak. "How important is this, Cassie?" Martin was trying to determine if he should call the President or if this could wait until morning. 

Cass paced the decent sized, simply decorated flat a minute before answering; "I think people above are on to the Place Between." 

Martin walked to his single padded chair and slowly sat. The idea of this seemed too immense to be real. "How do you mean?" His mind immediately flashed to the event on Friday night when things veered out of control. He kept himself from panicking to think that the eye, the recording camera had seen them as they bolted out from the ruins.  

Cassie began to explain: "We had these really creepy people come to my school today. They said they wanted us students to have internships where we would use a pesticide to clear a certain type of moth out from a historical site that was going to be restored. The ranch," Cassie pointed up, knowing that they were under the abandoned place. "That's the site. And the pesticide - my friends and I think it's this stuff called, um, sodium arsenite. It's really, truly bad stuff. It poisons the soil and it cannot be washed off produce. It kills everything and it makes the people who eat it or are around it very sick. It could be really bad if it reached you guys down here." Cassie was especially worried for the rooties who would surely die if exposed to that poison. 

Shaking his head trying to prioritize questions, Martin found this to be the most prudent; "Your friends? Have you told them about us?" 

"No," Cassie firmly denied. "I needed their help to figure out what the pesticide would be, so I told them that these creeps were probably trying to take over our apple farms by spraying out our trees with that stuff. It does also make sense, except for the fact that this is the site they want. Not our orchards." Cassie paused for just a second to take a deep breath and before Martin could get out another question, she added, "And these two people that came were really weird. My friends and I were passing notes to each other and they took my friends' notebooks and apparently they fine tooth combed every page to see if they were a part of a conspiracy. That's gotta be telling, right?"    

Martin considered a moment then said, "I don't know about telling, but it certainly is suspicious." He stroked his chin a moment with his thumb, considering more and more, before coming up with his next question, "These people - who were they? Did they give you their names or, what did they look like?" 

"Yeah, they're um, their names were Eddie and Angelica - I doubt those were their real names. One was blond, really perky - creepishly so. The other one, Eddie, he had curly brown hair, brown eyes, shorter than most guys. I'd say they were probably about the same age - mid thirties?" 

Scratching his memory and trying to analyze the situation, to think on what this all could mean, Martin hoped that he could help to iron out a few more answers before he took this to the president. "Let's see. Did these people say where they were from? How were they allowed onto your school's campus?" 

Cassie rolled her eyes. Getting on and off the campus was as easy as looking confident. They were starting to add more security to the school, but as it presently stood, it was only too easy to get on or off campus. Sighing, Cassie answered, "Well, they told us that they were from the district and that the principle had approved their coming or something like that."

"Your principle approved it?" Martin asked. This suggested that the headmaster of the school believed in the credentials of the people coming into their school. The pair of them must have presented something that made them appear trustworthy. With this notion, that the people were likely brought into the school using some sort of license to prove who they were, perhaps they really were blundering fools working for the district without any awareness of  the Place Between. And yet, something did not quite feel right about this story. The reason that the pair would think teens capable of conspiring with seemingly no foundation for this accusation was odd. Perhaps this was normal for the world above. It was easy enough to find out. "Tell me, Cassie, is it normal for adults and people of authority to be so paranoid of teenagers to think them to be connected to conspiracies?"

Cassie chuckled, thinking back to her friend who was excelled for having a joint in his backpack when it had not even been his; someone on the bus had ditched it in his backpack and because it was on him during a random search, the presence of marijuana on his person was enough to convict and evict him. Now he was a bitter kid finishing his high school degree online with nothing but too much time on his hands. But this was not the situation for which that response was proper. Cassie knew that the whole reason why she was here was to provide these insights. She could not betray that trust with a snide personal anecdote. "It depends. Teens are seen as rebellious and a lot are, but for the most part, the way that those two people treated us was beyond necessary. It was so bad that our teacher had them removed from campus and is trying to have them reported to the board. He said that the principle would take care of them, but my friends and I doubt it."

"Why is that?" Martin leaned forward in his chair. He had doubted that this late hour would allow him to pay close attention, but Cassie's story was as convicting as a strong cup of tea.

Shrugging, Cassie answered, "Well, 'cause we don't really know this principle. He's only been our principle for a couple of months. Mid semester they brought him in. Or last principle was promoted or something and Mr. Manslo came from the city apparently from a school that had been struggling and he saved, something like that. He said during his intro that he had always wanted to come back to the mountains."

"Come back?" 

"Yeah, I guess he grew up here. But it was a long time ago; neither of my parents remember him," Cassie answered.

Martin grew quiet, he was mulling everything over. He was concerned that there may be a fouler purpose here than he had expected or anticipated. The pair of them remained silent for a while. Martin wanted to play through this cautiously, but efficiently. He knew that in order to substantiate the claims being made by Cassie that a thorough investigation would have to be seen through. This was far too delicate a job for the sentinels - they were far too aggressive and obvious. It would be impossible for them to go to the town, as would be needed, to learn more about these people and their plot. There was but one bold move to be done and there would be many details to see through, but it was the best idea that he could muster at the moment. "Cassie, how difficult would it be for Edgar and me to come to your school to meet your principle?"

Cassie nearly doubled over. At first she thought it a joke, but then she realized. That Martin was serious. "Um, I can't even..." Cassie took a step back and truly considered the possibility. "I don't think hard, but we'd have to create a story as to why you guys are there and I'd need to get you guys clothes because what you two wear would not fit in at all above. You'd stick out like crazy."

Nodding, this was all easy to accept, but explaining it to President Andrea as he would need to do, was ever more intimidating. "We'll need identities. I'm sure that we will stand out and we will need legitimate papers to convince anyone if we are stopped that we are just like everyone else."

Sitting down on the plain carpeted floor, Cassie could not believe what she was about to say; "We'll need to make you guys fake IDs. Can you replicate one, if you saw it? You know, with magic?"

Shrugging, Martin couldn't see why not. "It shouldn't be terribly difficult, I imagine."

This was too incredible. To think of all the money and time kids wasted on fake IDs when for the people in the Place Between the process was likely as easy as tying their shoes. "I'm not going to lie, Martin," Cassie began. "My friends may get really suspicious if they know you two are with me. I'm going to have to tell them something. Any suggestions?"

If it wasn't after midnight and if there were not a thousand other questions running through Martin's mind, he was sure that something good would come, but for now, all he could think to say was, "Anything but the truth."

~*~*~

Wha-oooh! Will Cassie have to lie to her two best friends? Is there something more to the principle than meets the eye? Find out in next week's read, The Place Between!

But before you go, I have a very special Birthday shout-out to my dearest and bestest friend, VICTORIA!!!!! Happy birthday, comrade! May this be the start of yet another wonderful and beautiful year of life for you! I am so proud to call you my best friend and I cannot wait to see what our next spontaneous adventure will bring!

Until next week.
Your humble author,
S. Faxon

Liked this read? Why not call an S. Faxon classic your own; got a Nook, got a Kindle? Got ya covered.

STAR WARS & The Place Between

OOOOOOHHHHHHH MAAAANNNNNN! 

I cannot wait. I asked this on my facebook page and I'll ask it again; how many more days until Christmas? I know what I'll ask for: tickets.

First time here? Click this start button to make your way back to this post with a bit more experience with Cassie and her besties: START!

The Place Between: Part 10

The answer that Cassie sought did not come within the span of lunch. There were so many pesticides that contained sodium that the list seemed never ending. Class could not wait. Cassie and her friends had to disembark upon their quest, but Mike swore to Cassie that he would find the answer for her. 

The answer seemed like a thousand miles away.

Mike had sent a text to his mom to pick him up an hour after school ended, allowing the bunch of them to have more time to search. He told his mom that he and Cassie had a science project to work on, which wasn't so far off from the truth.

Throughout her Poli Sci. class, beneath the desk, Cassie kept rotating the coin in her hands that Martin had given her. She hoped that it would stop time and take her to the Place Between, but she knew from her lessons with Edgar that magic had no power over time. It helped to keep them human, Edgar had said. Edgar's lessons rang throughout her head, while the words of her teacher regarding how lobbyists made their whispers influential in Congress were lost. 

The anxious feeling in her stomach tortured her until at last the end of day bell rang at 2:15. 

Cassie and Chelsea bolted to the library to claim their favorite corner where they could continue their investigation in privacy. This was far too serious a situation for their favorite couch. This gave freshmen a great sense of victory as they took over the cozy blue hued seats.

The pair of them awaited Mike's arrival nervously. Daring hardly to speak at all, except to say, "Where is he?"

They knew their time together would be short, so every minute lost felt like a small physical injury.

The librarian Marlie greeted the students as they entered the library. In the afternoon time, it was common for the library to become full in no time. This was the one sanctuary the students could go to where there were no teachers and no drug dealers. It was the only place in town where they could hang out and be regular teens. Whether they were doing homework, gossiping, or playing cards, this library was home.

When finally Mike made it inside to their meeting spot, he plopped down on the grey carpeted floor and leaned heavily against the section on US history. "Sorry it took so long, guys," he apologized while digging through his pack. "I got stopped by Mr. Pryor," he pulled out his and Chelsea's commandeered notebooks, looking far worse for wear. 

"Oh my God," Chelsea yelled. The noise level in the library was so escalated by the students settling into their favorite spots that her outside voice blended with the rest of the cacophony.

Sighing, Mike explained, "Apparently, those jerks were serious. They put their effing grubby fingers on every page to see if we were conspiring against them."

"Paranoid much?" Cassie said. This was further proving her worry against those two creeps. 

Nodding, Mike furthered, "Yeah. Pryor said he legit had to manhandle these away from them. That's why they look so jacked up. And you are not going to believe this; he said he went to the principle to try to ban them from the school for harassing our class. The principle said she'd investigate it, but..." shrugging dramatically, Mike said what was in the back of Cassie and Chelsea's heads. "It sounds too good to be true."

"In other words," Chelsea began dramatically, "Won't be long until Mr. Pryor gets his pink slip." 

Nodding, mike said simply, "Prob."

The dreaded pink slip was the sign that a teacher was the district's budget cut. Cassie and her friends had yet to have a year in their schooling career where one of their favorite teachers was not given the horrendous news. It was as terrible as any curse or sickle for the teacher and the students. 

"This only adds to our reason to find that pesticide," Cassie prayed that her gut was correct in this, so to get the continued support from her friends. Though she couldn't tell them about the world she was trying to protect, it was a comfort to have a common enemy that they could share. "They could be some really effed up people trying to poison our trees. Can you imagine what would happen to our town if all of the apples and produce we make here became jacked up?" About midway through her Poli. Sci. class, Cassie had configured a brilliant was to get her two best friends on board. "Think about it, if there's poison on our apples, do you think tourists will be wanting to come here any more?"

"Mmmm," Mike started as he began to boot up his computer. "Make mine a poison pie."

"Geeze, Cass," Chelsea was having a slightly harder time accepting all this, but there was an edge of it that could make sense. "But what would they gain? Like what would be the point of taking out the only source of money for our town?"

"Remember how we learned about how Monsanto takes over small farms and then makes them their own, so that they could make more profit?" Cassie knew she would sound like a conspiracy theorist, but she recalled how passionately anti-Monsanto Chelsea became during that segment in their political science class. "Maybe they're going to try to do that with us." 

"What're you three hooligans up to?" Marlie asked as she came up to the three teens in the corner of her library. It was customary for Marlie to make a couple of rounds throughout the library to ensure that her young wards were keeping their noses clean. This was a great luxury to which she now had access with a handy volunteer to watch the desk at the front of the library.

Cassie knew that Marlie was on their side, so she was the first to quickly answer, "There were a couple of creeps in class today from the district. They wanted to do a weird science experience slash internship for us, so we just wanted to check them out first to see if these guys are legit or not."

Marlie analyzed them a second, knowing full well that there was more to this story than what Cassie was sharing, but if that was the case, odds were that Cassie would tell her eventually. "Alright well..." Marlie began to give the teens advice, but a group of freshmen playing cards stole her attention away and with that, Marlie was off to put out a fire.

For the next half hour, the teens pursued an answer with much wanting for a lead, until Mike said, "This stuff seems pretty nasty." Pointing to his screen, the teens all read:

"SODIUM ARSENITE: DISCONTINUED IN THE U.S. FOUND TO BE EXTREMELY TOXIC. USED FOR MANY YEARS AS PESTICIDE AGAINST THE GYPSY MOTH. USED MOST COMMONLY IN FRUIT PRODUCING TREES IN NEW ENGLAND REGION."

"This has got to be it!" Mike exclaimed.

The half an hour that they had spent investigating this had been equivalent to pulling teeth for these three teens, so this find felt invigorating, thrilling, and terrifying.

"Apparently this stuff can seep through the ground and leave toxic poison in the dirt and rivers for years. It clings to everything." As Mike read off the symptoms of this dastardly sounding poison that matched the description willfully given to them by those fools, Angel and Eddie, Cassie devised the next step.

"Guys," she cut off Mike midway through his description of how the pesticide could not be washed off the peels of apples once applied. "We gotta keep this to ourselves for a couple more days."

"Why?!" Chelsea immediately replied. "Cassie, these creeps are gonna get people killed if we don't say something."

"No, we will," Cassie insisted. Her priority was to let the people in the Place Between know before anyone else. "We'll keep this to ourselves for a couple of days, but in the meantime, we'll look into this pesticide more, we'll find the contacts for the mayor, and the local news places. If we try to go to the principle, you know nothing will happen. We gotta go to the big wigs to bust these guys."

Mike and Chelsea nodded. It made sense.

"We're gonna want them to fall hard, so, you know, like in all of the crime shows we've seen, we've gotta get as much evidence as possible to bring these guys down," Cassie knew that this would placate her friends for now. They wouldn't run to the police without her go ahead. This would give her the chance to tell the world that she was quickly falling in love with about the dangers that now stood to destroy their home. All that needed to be done now, was to wait until her parents went to sleep, when she could safely slip away to the Place Between.

~*~*~


Ok folks, here's the situation: this is the first blog post that I have done 100% on a desktop (that I borrowed from my mom), and I wrote it in under 90 minutes. It is not often that I have the luxury of sitting at a full size computer. But I really would like to call a desktop my own someday and I absolutely do not need anything fancy. If you would like to have guaranteed blog posts from me every Thursday, the best way for you to help me fulfill this promise would be to donate toward this cause. You can pitch in, by purchasing a work of my own to call your own! Visit Amazon's Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook to make The Feasts and Follies of the Animal Court, a book in your e-library today! OR if you have already purchased my first published work, please feel free to send a donation my way up at that PayPal button at the top of the screen. I promise that your contributions go toward supporting my writing and not towards senseless nonsense. That's what my day job is for. ;)

Take care and we'll see you next week!

Your humble author,
S. Faxon

The Place Between Part 9

This is a very interesting week for me; I was able to enjoy a beautiful Easter Sunday with my family, hanging out with my little niece (just over a month old!). But I also received the mournful news that one of the teachers from my old high school passed away last week. It's not news you ever expect to hear and when it hits, it hurts. 

The short story you've been reading over the past few weeks has been based largely on my experiences in high school (I will attest that I was never taken to a magical place and/or interacted with wizards and rooties). There were quite a few downsides to my high school experience, but the good memories, those are the ones that shine bright. Memories of the teacher that passed away are most certainly among the bright. 

My grandma passed away while I was a student in his class; I had been very close with my grandma, I still wear her ring every single day and I know that she will forever be in my heart, but these are the things you think of/ do after time has passed. Shock was what set in first. It didn't seem real. The strongest person that I knew and loved was gone. 

I was back in class the next day after my grandma passed. There are only three memories that I have from that Friday - and one of them involved this teacher, Dan. We had been given an assignment, I have no idea what, but he pulled me aside, gave me a hug and said, "Whatever you need, you know we're all here for you." That was a big deal; yes, the other two memories are of two other teachers doing the same for me; my first teacher that day (We had seven periods in a day), I was the second kid in the class and he beeliined for me to do the exact same thing for me. Only a few of my peers really knew what happened - it's not exactly an easy subject to breech. I imagine that my mom probably callled ahead to let the teachers know that I was likely to be a bit off in class. Having those teachers, strong, great mentors and role models really helped me thruogh those very difficult times. 

I am so grateful that I was able to be a student of Dan's - not only was he a good man, he was a great teacher. As you may gather from my postings, my academics in high school weren't particularly focused. I did have some AMAZING teachers in high school, but quite a few were not. Dan was an excellent teacher. He taught us about the world and he made us all feel important, smart, like we mattered. And for teens, that's a pretty powerful message that sticks.

Thank you, Dan, for all you did for me and for all that you did for all of the students who attended that high school on the hill. You will be missed, but heaven has gained a great new member. May the surf be great where you are, Dan, and may the wind be ever at your back. 

~*~*~

And now, on to part 9 of The Place Between

The experience of sitting through the rest of the speech from Eddie and Angela was comparable to torture for Cassie. She tried to reassure herself that these people really were just jerks from the district with out an independent thought rattling around their empty heads, but she knew she would feel a lot better getting this information down to the Place Between as soon as possible. Trouble was, she still had a full day of school to sit through. She couldn't imagine how much more torture she could endure.

"I can't believe they took our fricken notebooks!" Mike cursed as they left biology. Needless to say Mike and Chelsea were fuming with frustration. 

"We gotta go find Mr Pryer," Chelsea insisted. "He'll get our notebooks back by beating the  living crap out of those idiots!" 

Cassie truly sympathized with her friends, but her mind was racing. She was trying to remember the earlier part in the fall when they did a small segment on chemestry, but her notes from that part of class were back at home and chemestry was not her shining subject by any means. "WAIT!" Cassie shouted out, startling quite a few students around her as they passed through the halls to their next classes. "No, none of you, go on with your normal lives," Cassie dismissed the other students then cut off Mike. Looking him dead in the eyes, she asked, "Didn't you do a project on that biologist earlier this year?"

Mike starred and processed the request of his friend a minute before answering meekly, "Rachel Carson?" 

"Yeah! That one," Cassie pointed excitedly at Mike. Both Chelsea and Mike stared at their friend like she had lost a screw. "Did you do any research on pesticides with that?"

"Yeah, a ton," Mike said with a shrug. He was internally very excited that Cass even remembered this presentation he did several months ago, but he didn't want to look too excited. "Why?"

Thinking on that reason herself, Cassie came up with, "Once I get my thoughts together, I'll let you know. Can you hang out after school?" 

"Cassie, what's this about?" Chelsea asked, hoping to not be late to their next class. 

"Those people were more than just your standard creeps," Cassie said to her two best friends. "They're up to something that could be really bad. I don''t know what yet, and I know this sounds nuts, but I'm going to need your guys' help to prove it." 

The bell rang, alerting the students that there was but one bell remaining before their next class. Mike and Chelsea began to hasten away toward their classes on the opposite side from the hall. The concern that they held for Cassie's strange twist in behavior was unsettling, yet in their casual way, the two teens decided that whatever crusade Cassie would pursue would likely be worth while. 

"Yeah, alright. See you at lunch, Cass," Mike said, heading off with Chelsea to Calculous, leaving Cassie on her own before her art class. 

Chelsea ran off towards the opposite side of campus where her classroom was located. As her boots pounded  the ground, she tried with all of her might to think on ways that she could be wrong. The last thing that Cassandra wanted to do was to set offf any panic alarms where there need not be any, but if there was a betrayer in the midst, she wanted them exposed. "But who could it be?" Cassie thought as she ran through the door of her art class. Her art teacher was one of those teachers who was quirky and easily distracted, so it was most common for students to get away with things in class that other teachers would ping instantly - being late was one of the top five missed offenses. "Does this have to do with those kids and that ouija board they left? Are they investigating because the camera caught those stupid teens smoking in the barn? There's no way those two morons were higher ups or legit spies - they were far too dumb and obvious." Gooing to her locker to remove her art supplies for lab, Cassie tried to devise a plot where she could bring Chelsea and Mike into her ring of knowledge without breaking any rules for not telling any body. She knew she needed help and most importantly, she knew that the space between would soon also be in desperate need.

~*~*~

The endless circles that Cassie mechanically drew in her concept notebook were little towards assuaging her mind from worry. When finally lunch did come around, Cassie was in no mood to stand in lines waiting for food. 

"Cassie, is everything alright?" Chelsea asked her long time friend, worried by the scattered looking expression on her face. 

"Yeah," Cassie answered, though neither of her friends were convinced. "I just really need your help, guys, to figure out what those two are really up to." Mike and Chelsea were not about to say no to their friend, especially after the way those creeps treated them.

The three of them went to their favorite corner of the lunch court behind the lunch cart with the impossibly long line behind it. Mike pulled out his laptop, a thin tablet like device that booted up quickly, and listened to Cassie explain:

"Those two were far beyond your average types of creeps; the sodium based pesticide that they are using, or planning to use, whatever, that's what we need to try to figure out." Cassie spoke in a whisper to her friends so that the lunch cart ladies standing closest to them would not overhear. "Mike, I know you probably put the most work in to that science project, so by chance, do you have a list or something of all pesticides and their, I don't know, ingredients?" Cassie really wasn't sure what she was looking for, but if she remembered anything from Mike's project, it was that there were some seriously nasty chemicals used in the past that harmed both animals and people. 

"All?" Mike asked, the idea was quite intimidating as the list was never ending.

 

"At least those that were used in the last one-hundred years or so?" Cassie tried to make it sound as if she knew or had any idea about what she was talking about, but she was truly in the dark. 

"Alright," I 'll see what I have. 

 While Mike looked up the files on his computer, Chelsea quietly asked Cass, "Do you think they're like, going to use something bad or try to mess up that creepy place somehow?"

Shrugging, Cassie thought hard a moment before the answer came suddenly to her without drawing too much attention to the things about that old ranch she knew. "Look, no one has ever known anything about that place - not even our parents. Why would it now be considered a 'historical landmark'?" She looked hard into CChelsea's eyes, hoping to press upon her how serious she was. "My dad is obsessed with local history, you know that. Even he doesn't know anything about that place. Who the hell are these people now from the 'district' to tell us otherwise. And, a moth? Do you honestly think that if there was a super bad moth flying around that we wouldnt have heard it from the local apple orchards? Kelly MPhinn talks about ever effing detail of her life and her folks have run one of the best orchards here in the mountains forever! Don't you think she would have told everyone if moths were posing a risk to her family's trees?" 

The last point in particular ran exceptionally true. It was nearly impossible to get Kelly to shut up. 

No matter what theory Cassie had within her, there was a point to connecting the dots with a girl who had no shame for sharing every secret imaginable. 

"Alright, Cass," Chelsea said with a nod. "Let's get these guys."

Mike snapped to tell Cass and Chelsea that he hasd something. "OK, I've got my page on the list of banned pesticides in the U.S. Anything specific you want me to look for?"

With a deep breath and a sound feeling that her two best friends had her back, Cassie strongly said, "Sodium. Find me the top ffiive pesticides that had sodium as one of their main components." 

With a nod of his long banged head, Mike was on the search.

~*~*~

Wha, oh, what devilish, dangerous plot stands against the Place Between???? Find out next week!

Your humble author,

S. Faxon