Education of the Heart
Creativity Triumphs
It was fascinating for Dr. Benevole to see Erik at work. The first two days Erik did nothing. He enjoyed a ride on the giant horse Thunder, made a fuss about cooking a lengthy meal for himself and his friends, inviting Dr. Benevole to join them, and spend eight hours playing with the cat. But he did not even start on any kind of alarm clock. Dede, Rene and Jules kept their distance, sensing Erik would not tolerate anyone talking to him now and the doctor was sensible enough to follow their example.
The third day Erik started building a bed from at least six different beds that had been broken and thrown away. Nothing like a clock, but suddenly Dede asked Erik to sing for them again. Erik complied, singing some popular drinking songs with them. A very good sign, he had somehow broken out of his bad mood and was able to tolerate social contact again.
Only then did Erik start to build an apparatus that seemed to be a weird mixture between a grandfather clock and a magician's box and would be fixed to the headboard of the bed. Dr. Benevole was glad to have the privilege to see a genius at work, even if it meant having to see the man throwing things around, creating a complete chaos in the workshop, drinking much tea and leaving half-filled teacups everywhere around the room, leaving it to his three friends to clean up after him.
It was a surprise to the doctor that the three mongoloid men were up to that task, they knew what to do and they knew how to get Erik to interrupt his work and prepare some food for them. He would have gone without food or rest, but his three friends knew they just had to whine long enough and he would give them what they wanted. The doctor was surprised how much practical intelligence these three men had. They knew that Erik had to eat and sleep, they knew how to clean up while he was constantly making a mess. It was as if he needed the chaos - as much as he cursed it - to get in the right creative mood. But it resulted in him yelling at his friends, accusing them of hiding his tools and throwing things through the room.
Dede, Rene and Jules ignored his fury where others would have run away. They knew he was just frustrated and not really angry with them, he just needed to let off some steam.
The closer the day of the exam came, the more nervous Erik became. Dr. Benevole would never have guessed to see Erik fret like this, to the point where he got physically ill, got fever, sickness and diarrhea so the doctor felt obliged to help him. The problem was - it was no real illness, it was just nerves. Of course he could have tried to give him something to calm him down, but given Erik's history, especially his high risk for addiction, he decided to advise Erik against any medicine or drugs to find relief from the stress.
Erik accepted that and asked the doctor for herbs. He had a list which herbs he would need to make some tea that should help him. The doctor knew about the effect of the herbs, it would help his upset stomach and even be a mild sedative. Only the taste would be horrible. But it worked, that and the horrible cat - the cat from hell as the doctor secretly called the beast - which had decided that she was Erik's hottie for his upset stomach now.
The night before the exam Dr. Benevole decided to stay with his patient for Erik was a nervous wreck and the doctor was not sure he would be able to stand on his feet the next day. The doctor tried to help Erik and at the same time wondered if Erik would suffer from such anxiousness every time he had to pass a test or perform in public or even blackmail the managers. Erik usually pretended to have nerves of steel, but right now he was a shaking wreck and full self-pity for he knew that everyone was against him.
The next day Erik took a bath and got dressed in his best suit. When he was finished he looked like nothing could ever trouble him. He appeared to be totally calm and facing everything and everyone with an arrogant smile, absolutely sure that no one and nothing could ever trouble him. The doctor knew better. He had been the one to sit with Erik the whole night in the workshop for Erik had send his three friends to go to bed, not wanting them to see him breaking down. It had been the doctor who somehow helped him through the horrible night.
When Erik left to greet his three friends and Gontier, all four determined to watch the exam and stand at his side if he needed them, he appeared to be absolutely convinced that nothing could ever shake him and surely not some unimportant exam.
The men from the examination board were not happy that they had to come to the workshop at the dumping grounds for the clock was far too heavy to be transported to the decent house where the exam should take place. They greeted Clemenceau, a rather tired Dr. Benevole, even Gontier, but ignored Erik and his three friends who had put on their best suits and were standing attention like royal guards.
"Now, where is that huge alarm clock?" one man asked and Erik showed them to his workshop. There was a bed, complete with mattress, blanket and pillow, and a large box at the head, which obviously was the clock. The clock faced towards the bed so that the head of the bed could be placed against a wall. Erik wound up the clock like any other clock was to be wound up and set it. The men from the examination board took notes. He explained that he had decided against covering the clock with glass so the customer - who was blind and deaf - would feel the hands with his fingers. There was a third hand, which was much longer and broader than the other two. Erik explained this was the one to set the time the alarm was to go off.
"Who wants to test it?" Erik asked cheerfully and the men discussed among themselves and finally one was picked to try it. He did lie down on the bed.
"Rather comfortably," he commended, "Now, how am I to wake up?"
"In 30 seconds," Erik chuckled and the doctor, the magistrate and Gontier gave each other a worried look - they knew that Erik was up to some mischief.
"The clock is rather loud and unsightly," one member of the examination board complained.
"The customer is blind and deaf," Erik snapped, "Surely this can't be a problem."
That moment the alarm went off - a tiny trapdoor, no one had noticed before, opened and water shot from it, spraying all over the pillow - and the head of the man in the bed.
"Ugh! Yuck! What's that?" the man protested and jumped from the bed.
"The task was to make sure he would wake up in time for sure - it was not that it was to be a pleasant morning," Erik calmly explained, "And I made damn sure he would get out of bed in time."
"But the clock is... too loud, too large and ugly."
"Yes, but you did not specify it to be beautiful, small or quiet," Erik protested.
Suddenly one of the board members, the youngest one, spoke up: "Shouldn't we grant him extra points for creativity?"
Again Erik and his witnesses had to wait for hours while the men discussed the result. Erik pretended to be calm, but the way he started to tell jokes about people dying made the magistrate and Dr. Benevole shudder. Had this man no other way to release his anxiety than thinking of murder?
"I have to admit that I would never want such an alarm clock," Gontier stated, "But I congratulate you to this solution."
Erik chuckled. "Surely you wouldn't want that. But you can use every liquid you like - and I... well, the water was not really pure..."
The magistrate gasped while Gontier laughed out loud and the doctor couldn't help smirking. They had a certain suspicion what Erik had put into the water and they could not really be angry with him for they knew just how unfair he was being treated.
Finally the board members told Erik that they could not decide if they could allow him to pass the test. But they would be generous - how Erik managed to keep a straight face at that was a miracle - and give Erik one last chance.
They took him to one of their own workshops, where they laid out the task for him. "We already dismantled this pocket watch. Put it together so it works and you pass the test."
Erik stared at the table. There were not all parts he would need, this watch would never work for they had removed some essential cogs. "I can't do it like this..." Erik told them.
"O, you can use every tool here in this workshop," was the answer.
"So... just to make sure I do not misunderstand you. I can use everything that is in this very room right now?" Erik asked cautiously.
"Yes, that is right. But of course you are not allowed to damage anything."
"Naturally," Erik replied, "Can I... may I ask you to leave me alone for my work?"
"Certainly." They left one of the board members to stay and make sure Erik would not leave the room. The rest decided to go to a restaurant and have lunch.
When they came back, Erik greeted them with a smile, telling them the watch was working. He handed it over and it was ticking and the hands moving. It had been set and was working perfectly.
"It works... but how? Why?" the men from the examination board could not understand how Erik could have accomplished that task. One looked past Erik to the table where some tools lay in a disarray and two of their own pocket watches dismantled and taken apart. Obviously Erik had picked their pockets and used their watches to get the missing parts.
"Our watches!" one man exclaimed angrily.
"It was you yourself who told me I might use everything in this room. You and your watch were in this room at that very moment," Erik protested, "You said if I make it work only with things from that room, I pass the test."
"But out watches!" the oldest man shouted furiously.
"Were in that room at the precise moment I asked," Erik retorted, "And of course I can reverse the whole process, making your watches work again. This one is working - so I passed the test, didn't I?"
"We have to discuss..."
"NO!" Clemenceau interrupted with all his authority as a magistrate, "You will not discuss anything. I watched long enough what you did to him - you did your worst to fail him and he answered all questions, no matter how unfair they were, solved two tasks which seemed absolutely impossible to be solved and if you do not sign his master craftsman certificate today I will write a detailed report about abuse of position and I dare say my colleagues do not take such things lightly."
Erik's jaw dropped. He had never thought the magistrate would use his authority for his benefit rather than to repress and punish him. The men from the examination board looked at each other awkwardly, then one of them sighed and put his signature on the document. "Barely good enough, if it was up to me you would get the mark "inadequate", but you seem to have friends in high positions..." One by one they signed and finally they had to hand Erik the document and, as it was custom, congratulate him. They did with the most sour faces and reluctantly shook his hand, but it was obvious that they would have preferred to shake hands with a rat from the sewers.
Erik was too stunned to react or to really enjoy what was happening. He could not understand or think of anything, only when Dede, Rene and Jules hugged him and clapped him on the back, he realized that this was over. He started trembling as the shock set in as if he had been in deadly peril.
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I'm sorry you will have to wait for the next chapter a bit longer than usual. Please review! I really appreciate every review.