Doctor's Note: This popped into my head today. I hope you find it as pleasant and uplifting as I did! - Dr. Mini Pie
Halfway through advanced history class, Téa Gardner glanced up from her quiz paper to see Seto Kaiba snap his briefcase shut and stride up to Mr. Riggins's desk. She strained to catch their low voices.
"…as we discussed."
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. You're dismissed."
Kaiba handed his quiz paper to Mr. Riggins, who didn't bother to look it over, and quietly stepped out of the classroom.
"Miss Gardner. Eyes on your own paper," said Mr. Riggins. Téa blushed and ducked her head.
Not that Kaiba leaving early was anything new, she remarked to herself as she circled the correct names of the trade agreements made between 1934 and 1941. It was just funny to watch the billionaire C.E.O. ask permission for anything.
And had she glimpsed a power drill in his briefcase?
At about 1:30 in the afternoon, two men in powder-blue uniforms rapped on the door of the South Domino Home for Children. Rosa Elias, a fairly new social worker on staff, answered them, shielding her eyes from the sun. It was hot and humid.
"We've got a delivery out front," said the first man, whose breast-pocket stitching read Nick. "Where d'you want us to drop it off?"
Rosa squinted over their shoulders to the idling semi-truck and frowned. "Er…how many boxes are there?"
"You got a backyard?" asked Wayne, the second man. He wiped his friendly, sweaty face on his sleeve.
"Yes, we do. But…"
Wayne nodded. "I'm thinkin' we'll just pull the truck 'round back and park it. Whaddaya think, Nick?"
"If that's alright with you, ma'am," Nick inclined his head toward Rose.
"Um…sure."
Harried, Rosa watched the bulky men lumber back to the truck. The letters KC, glaring white in the sun, were emblazoned on their backs.
Two hours later, the last of the middle schoolers trudged into the tiny foyer of the Home and dumped their backpacks in the corner. They were prepared to pile around the television set in the playroom, but they made it only halfway there when one of them spotted a big truck parked out back. They piled instead around the window.
"What's that?"
"Dunno."
"Says KC on the side."
"I know what that is!" blurted a quiet girl with face-engulfing glasses. "Kaiba Corp!"
Right then they spied a glittering black limousine parked behind the truck.
All of their eyes went wide.
"This is a very special activity, so you all need to be on your best behavior," Ms. Yvette Sterlace admonished the crowd of thirty-or-so children who sat cross-legged in the yard. Rosa observed her veteran supervisor in admiration.
Ms. Sterlace put a hand on her hip and wagged her finger. "You have to be very careful with all these materials, and you have to listen to every word Mr. Kaiba says. It's very important. No one is allowed to talk."
But nobody made a sound. They were transfixed by the celebrity, clad in work jeans and an oversized t-shirt, who stood next to her.
"How many of you have been to Kaiba Land?" asked Seto Kaiba, casually wielding a drill in one hand and balancing a two-by-four on the opposite shoulder.
Everyone raised their hands—the Home had taken a sponsored trip there just a few months ago.
"And how many of you rode a roller coaster while you were there?" he asked.
Most hands went up.
"Which one?"
"White Lightning Torpedo," offered a timid little girl. Others chimed in.
"Monster Plunge."
"Escape from the Dragon Cave."
Mr. Kaiba nodded. "Did you know that before any of those were built, they had to be designed at a small scale?"
One older boy said 'yeah', but most shook their heads.
"For every ride at Kaiba Land, we first use our blueprints to build a small, to-scale model." As he spoke, Mr. Kaiba paced along the row of crates lined up against the fence. "It enables us to test safety, functionality, and speed before we invest in construction."
He spoke to them as adults, Ms. Sterlace noted; he didn't simplify his words. Every child paid him rapt attention.
"In these crates are the supplies you'll need," he informed them. "Scrap wood, poly tubing, nails, screws, tape. The tools you'll need are along the opposite fence."
Finally a tall and serious girl in pigtails broke the silence. "What are we supposed do with them?"
"You're going to design your own roller coaster, and build a to-scale model," he said, matter-of-fact.
Everyone looked excited but confused. "That's too hard," they protested. "We don't know how."
Mr. Kaiba stopped pacing. He swung his two-by-four to the ground and leaned against it. He hooked the drill onto his belt like it was a gun in a holster.
He said with trademark, untouchable self-confidence, "I'll show you how it's done from step one."
No after-school event at the South Domino Home for Children had ever been this cool, and none would ever be again.
Though it was low in the sky by now, the sun still burned hot. That didn't deter the children from their work: Every single group still hunched over their projects with intense concentration. Some structures were starting to reach high in the air; and little hands were likewise shooting up, calling on Seto Kaiba for help.
Ms. Sterlace dared to catch his arm as he strode between two groups.
"This is truly wonderful," she lauded right away to deflect his irritation. But he wasn't angry; he listened.
Ms. Sterlace went on, "They're loving every minute of this. I can tell." She shook her head and grinned. "And now all they'll want to do is go to Kaiba Land!"
"That can be arranged," said Mr. Kaiba, smirking a little. Ms. Sterlace chuckled. She tested her luck and patted his shoulder.
"It's good to see you again, even if you have grown so much taller than me."
Mr. Kaiba's smirk softened before it disappeared.
"Mr. Kaiba! Can you help us?!" Three frantic boys struggled to hold up a crumbling loop-de-loop.
"Yes, hold on," called Mr. Kaiba. He made to join them.
"But I am wondering…" said Ms. Sterlace with a sudden frown. Mr. Kaiba turned back and raised his eyebrows as Ms. Sterlace gestured toward the truck.
"Why all the extra thumbtacks and rolls of tape?" she asked. "This is more than we'll ever need."
Mr. Kaiba blinked. He looked as close to sheepish as she'd ever seen him.
"It about makes up for what I stole from the supply closet," he said quickly, and darted away.
It took her a moment before she laughed herself nearly to tears.
END