Talking on the school playground again wasn't the best idea. That didn't enter Rudy's mind. Something else had his attention.

"The parent-teacher conference is today?" Rudy breathed as he leaned against a swing set pole.

Penny blinked. "Don't tell me you forgot already."

Rudy closed his eyes. "Kinda hard to think about it when being chased by a rampaging cyclops."

"I'm not denying that," Said Penny as she sighed. "...are you nervous?"

Rudy tittered.

Penny exhaled as she rubbed her forehead. "If this is about the new guidance counselor..."

"How did you guess?" Replied Rudy. He gritted his teeth. "I don't know how you're able to act like everything's just fine."

"Rudy..."

"...I wish I could..."

"What?"

Rudy shifted his gaze away. "I'm sorry. I know the parent-teacher conference is more important. I just...I can't shake these thoughts out of my head." He raised his hands like he wanted to claw at his face. "Even that stupid cyclops didn't knock any sense into me!"

Penny sighed and shook her head. "You need to stop blaming yourself and focus on the present."

Rudy lowered his hands. Penny was right. What was he going to get out of obsessing over this? Biclops took care of the problem. The only thing he should be concerned with is the parent-teacher conference.

That didn't make things easier. Mr. Wilter could take advantage of them having a new guidance counselor to coerce his parents to push him on a different path. Penny would think this idea crazy, but she didn't know Mr. Wilter as long as he had. The cranky teacher had been trying to steer Rudy away from art even before he discovered ChalkZone. Mr. Wilter had a vendetta.

His mom nurtured his artistic skills. But his father was on Mr. Wilter's side, wanting Rudy to join him at his butcher shop. With a potential new ally, would Mr. Wilter succeed in getting even his mom to agree with a change in career?

His vision filled with rapid movement and he jerked back.

"You went into a daze. Are you okay?" Asked Penny.

Rudy softened his expression. "Do you have any ideas about this? What we should do?"

Penny said, "Just try not to worry too much. You'll see. The parent-teacher conference will pass and it won't be any different from the other ones. Don't think so hard on what you think might happen."

Rudy let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah, you're right."

Rudy wasn't able to push out these uncomfortable thoughts. They lingered in his mind and taunted him about his previous accusations. Mr. Wilter surely wouldn't go that far, but the unsure fear about what Mr. Wilter was planning remained ever present. Rudy curled his fingers against his skin and gritted his teeth.

Was he really this pathetic?

His feelings regarding the counselor were even harder to dismiss. He couldn't count the number of times he was told to find something better in life to strive for. There was no reason to think that this counselor would be any different. He could admit that Mr. Wilter was just trying to help, but he didn't know Mr. Quillon or what motivations he had. Doesn't it seem strange that he would show up at Plainville of all places? Oddly specific.

Penny squeezed his shoulder. "We should head into ChalkZone after school. They're going to need our help."

Rudy sucked in a breath. "That cyclops did a lot of damage. It's going to take days, no weeks to repair everything."

Penny said, "Between the two of us, it shouldn't be a problem." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "I still think we could have found out where it was erased. The zoners said it didn't appear too far from where it started attacking the city. But perhaps they're just remembering wrong. Panic and all."

"Then I guess we should make it a priority to find out exactly where it first appeared," said Rudy. "The thing was so big, it would have left footprints."

Rudy paused.

"Do we have any known witnesses?"

Penny tapped her chin. "That one zoner that you saved, he might know something."

"I don't know, Penny. When I found him, the cyclops hadn't yet reached him. How could he know where this thing came from?" Rudy raised his shoulders in a shrug.

"There's still a chance he might know something. And besides, we don't have a lot of options," Penny said. "We might as well at least try. What do we have to lose?"

"Time," Rudy growled. A pause. "But I see where you're coming from."

Rudy paused to survey the school playground. They had been lucky again with being able to have another chat like this. But this luck was not going to last. Someone was bound to overhear them eventually if this kept up. A cold sensation creeped along his skin momentarily before vanishing, causing a shudder.

This didn't go unnoticed.

"You okay, Rudy?"

Rudy shook off the coldness and he forced a smile. "Yeah I'm fine. Just a little chilly out here."

Penny blinked. "But it's mid-seventies today. Rudy, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, just an off day," Rudy said as he swiftly nodded his head. "ChalkZone, the parent-teacher conference, this new guidance counselor..." His voice trailed off.

"I...I understand," said Penny.

Silence descended upon them. The only sounds came from the other students playing. Despite all the noise, it was still eerily quiet where Rudy and Penny were. It was like a barrier had been placed there to isolate them from the others. There was no sign of this changing soon.

There was no point to this, Rudy thought. What good would they do just sitting here? They should become productive about this. The zoners were still waiting for them, right?

So why was he still hesitating? What was keeping him from going back and helping his friends out?

Rudy forced out a growl and squeezed the swing set pole. This was stupid, letting himself get this tied up over something as important as this. What good was he to ChalkZone if he couldn't manage to get himself back together? Especially when the zoners were counting on him to help them rebuild after the terrible attack.

Rudy pushed himself back and gestured for Penny. "Let's go."

Penny blinked. "Now? But Rudy, remember what happened last time. We..."

Rudy cut her off. "It's fine. We won't be gone long."

"We should wait," said Penny. "We might get caught this time, if we tried to leave. Can't this wait until we get home after school?"

Rudy's answer came instantly. "No."

"Rudy!" Penny hissed under her breath.

Rudy closed his eyes and sighed. There was no point in continuing this. "Fine. I'll go by myself."

"That's not what I meant! If you go now and someone notices you're gone..." Penny grabbed Rudy's arm. "You need to stay here!"

Rudy yanked his arm back, causing Penny to briefly topple forward. "I have to do this! I have to make up for not stopping the cyclops!"

Penny jerked back. Her mouth hung open for several seconds as she struggled with her reply. "Wh-what are you...talking about?"

Rudy gasped and covered his mouth. His body froze as the shock of what he said rapidly came into focus. A weight pressed against him, his breathing became labored. Any effort to speak was thwarted by the ice that solidified his veins. His body trembled and he desperately hugged himself in an attempt to get warm.

After a few moments, Rudy shut his eyes and tears burned his cheeks. When warmth spread along his shoulder from Penny's hand, Rudy cringed back from her, widening his eyes. He quickened his breathing.

"Rudy...?"

Tearing his gaze from her, Rudy did something he knew he would regret, but in the moment, he couldn't process what was happening.

He went into ChalkZone.

sss

Mr. Quillon hummed to himself as he held the curtain to one side. His attention squarely on the children, he waited for anything suspicious, especially in regards to Rudy and Penny. He wasn't able to see what happened before. He was not going to screw up this time. These kids really shouldn't be left alone; they aren't trustworthy enough for that.

The adults here were no better. There was some hope that it was just a bad initial impression. That turned out not to be the case. The so-called teachers and staff were pitifully underperforming in every aspect. They were doing nothing to make sure the students couldn't leave school grounds before the bell rang. There was no suitable system in place to stop goofing off in the hallways. Either the staff here trusted their students too much or they were incompetent.

He leaned towards the latter.

Mr. Quillon curled up his lip. Even the nurse was a piece of work. He'd only met her once and that was enough to convince him that she was unsuited for her job. She was way too eager to go to extreme measures to 'help' students in trouble. There was talk about how she tried to saw off Reggie's leg just because he was stuck. Mr. Quillon shook his head.

The students down below hadn't yet done anything that warranted attention. There was no reason to be concerned over a few playground squabbles. Just kids being kids.

But that light...

Rudy and Penny must know about it. They had been near it the other day.

Temptation to check it out for himself was very real. But work needed to be done and an adult walking around in an empty school lot would draw attention. It's not the sort of limelight he needed nor wanted. If he gave people the wrong idea, he might be removed before he had a chance to figure out this puzzle.

Rudy needed to see him and it couldn't happen any sooner. Doing it by force was not going to work. There needed to be a genuine reason for it. However, if there were any positives to this school, it was how eager Mr. Wilter seemed when it came to sending troublesome students to the office. That man was the ticket to success.

What could he say to convince Mr. Wilter to send Rudy his way as soon as possible? What was that specific trigger that really got him riled up? There had been passing whispers in the hallway. A few students spoke negatively about Mr. Wilter.

"I hate Mr. Wilter. I'm so glad I don't need to deal with him and his 'stupid cartoons' tirade anymore."

"Mr. Wilter tried to force me to quit art. Who does he think he is?!"

"I almost took Reggie's lead and drew something on Mr. Wilter's chalkboard just to spite him."

Mr. Quillon narrowed his eyes. Are teachers exempt from having meetings with him?

He shook his head. It didn't matter. This was still going to be a huge asset to him. The only thing left was what should serve as the catalyst. It shouldn't be that hard coming up with something to get Mr. Wilter to give him what he wanted.

Now about those children...

A quick glance was all it took to show that Rudy and Penny had vanished a second time. No, wait. It was only Rudy who had disappeared.

Mr. Quillon clenched his teeth, curling his fingers against his palm. Why don't these blasted teachers have any cameras? He should...

Mr. Quillon paused, and then smiled.

He had found his catalyst.

sss

Penny held her breath as the flash of light vanished from view. She was soon left there alone with her thoughts as they struggled to make sense of what just happened. Trying to move became near impossible, almost like she had been turned into a boulder. Her heart rate took a dive before acting like it was trying to enter a race. She breathed in shakingly and swallowed.

What was she going to do now? Why had Rudy freaked out like that? Had anyone seen what happened?

She crossed off the last part. The other students didn't seem to...

Penny froze, widening her eyes as coldness made her skin cover itself in goosebumps.

A set of eyes was watching her.

Penny took a few steps back and clinched her mouth shut. She kept her gaze steady with the shocked face that stared back at her. Thoughts swam through her head and her surroundings became a blur. She never thought something like this could happen. Was there even anything that she could say?

Only one word escaped her throat.

"...R-Reggie...?"

No answer came from Reggie. No single word spoken since his visit with Mr. Quillon. The look in his eyes told the story instead. There was no mistaking the surprise and horror dawning on his face. His hand reached his mouth, his eyes darting from where the portal had been and back to Penny. And this is how they both remained as time seemed to stop, the seconds struggling to pass by.

Then Reggie's eyes glinted with what seemed to be recognition and realization. His body hardened as his face shifted to something like anger, but not quite. Penny remained silent and she stepped back some more. She couldn't stop her shaky breathing.

Reggie's voice was chillingly dark. "I hadn't been dreaming after all, have I?"

Penny remained silent.

Reggie continued, "This whole time, my foot caught in the ground, my 'dreams' about another world, they hadn't been hallucinations, have they, Sanchez...?"

Penny's heart beat faster as her breathing grew labored. The red flags had been propped up and now was a good time to get out of here. She backed away some more and tried to head to where the students had congregated...

...only to be yanked back by Reggie. She yelped as Reggie's grip tightened. Tearing her gaze away was no longer an option with how close his face was from hers.

"And you knew this whole time. Both you and Tabootie. You knew I hadn't been crazy and you still chose to let me go through all that!" Reggie snarled. Penny's body began to shake. "You two planned that all long, did you?!"

Penny tried pulling her arm back. "Please Reggie, it's not... W-We didn't... I..."

"Shut up!"

Penny cried out when she was slammed against one of the poles holding up the monkey bars. She tried to free her arms from Reggie's grasp to no avail. She struggled underneath him as he leaned forward, his body towering over her like a...

...cyclops...

Penny didn't get a chance to fully register this as something else caught her attention. Her eyes followed the movement of Reggie readying his hand. Penny gasped and began squirming with increased vigor. She tried to kick Reggie away. The way he had her pinned down made this impossible.

"Tell me. When is Tabootie going to come crawling out of that hole?" Reggie's hand formed into a fist.

Breathing rapidly, unable to think clearly, Penny said, "I-I-I don't know! I swear!"

Reggie paused at this, humming. He seemed to be studying her words, staring into her eyes, like he was trying to detect any lying. He then let out a sigh and looked away for a few moments, watching the other students. He gazed back at Penny and smirked.

"Well then, since Tabootie isn't here and nobody over there is going to stop me..."

Penny's blood froze as proof of Reggie's statement made itself known. The other students had heard his shouting and had come closer to see what was going on. None of them tried to do anything and the look of fear in their eyes told Penny why.

"I'll just use you to set an example to Tabootie."

Penny widened her eyes and struggled and pushed back. Her efforts were in vain as the first punch was delivered against her cheek. A scream emanated from her as she pressed her hand against her face. The pain echoed through the muscle and bone and started to stretch along her face. Her eyes locked onto Reggie's and his intentions became rapidly clear.

Penny tried to say something to deescalate the situation before this could continue, but Reggie didn't want to hear it. A punch against the underside of her chin stopped her efforts and she coughed. Reggie struck the sides of her face, knocking her head from side to side. Penny's screaming did nothing to deter Reggie from continuing his attack on her.

"H-Hey Reggie?"

"I think she's had enough..."

The other students' words fell on deaf ears. With his teeth bared, Reggie slammed Penny against the concrete ground. Penny gagged as his free hand squeezed her throat. She clawed at his arm, which only ended up infuriating him more. It only took one punch for Penny to release her fingernails from him.

It was impossible to hold back her screams when Reggie struck between her eyes. Something cracked, giving way to a torrent of pain that stormed her skull. Penny screamed as the bridge of her nose pulsated in raw agony. Something warm dripped into her mouth.

It was blood.

Penny shut her eyes and whimpered, "P-Please... stop..."

"I'm done playing with you anyway." Reggie said as he got up from Penny. "It would've gotten boring sooner or later."

Penny wiped her nose, her skin prickling as her fingers became stained in dark red.

Reggie leaned towards her and said, "When you see Tabootie, tell him I'm saving one for him too. You got that, genius?"

Penny curled up into a ball and let out several choked sobs. Her body trembled as she raised her arm over her face as she braced for another attack.

"Mr. Bullnerd!"

Uncovering her face, Penny cracked, "Mr. Wilter...?"

Reggie's face melted into horror as he realized he had been caught. None of his bald-faced lies was going to get him out of this. He was already backing away as Mr. Wilter strode towards him, a look of rage like Penny had never seen on him before.

"I thought Mr. Quillon had straightened you out!" Mr. Wilter seized Reggie by his arm. The other students had backed away. "I guess you need another visitation with him!"

"N-No please! Not him! Anyone but him!" Reggie pleaded. "I-I'll be good next time!"

Mr. Wilter said, "You had promised to behave after the first visit! Clearly one visit wasn't enough! Now come with me!"

Reggie continued to struggle and beg, but Mr. Wilter was in no mood to listen to him. The only thing that made Mr. Wilter pause was when he glanced down at Penny. His expression momentarily softened before he gestured his head towards one of the other students.

"Get her to the school nurse while I take care of Reggie Bullnerd."

Penny struggled to her shaky feet as two of the students helped her up. As they made their way back inside, Penny's internal thoughts stormed about, her guts starting to burn as she gave one last glance at where Rudy had disappeared. She narrowed her eyes before averting her gaze.

sss

How could he have done that? Penny had only been trying to help. And how did he thank her? By running off like a coward.

Rudy gasped for air as he laid on the ground. A football field's worth of distance separated him from where the portal had been. His heart struck against his ribs as if fighting for more space to beat. Rudy wiped the sweat from his forehead. He crawled up to his feet and fought to get his body under control.

Going back was the only acceptable option. But could he face Penny after what he did? It wouldn't be the first time he had done something stupid, but this was on another level. A pang surged in his stomach and a bile taste lingered in his throat.

Rudy swallowed and trudged back where he came from. It was like he was moving through jello. Every few moments, he'd freeze and his movements would turn more stiff. He still kept going. Staying here was not an option.

Would Penny forgive him for his stupidity? He wanted to believe so.

But disappearing on the playground without making sure no one saw...

Rudy drew in a sharp breath, ice poking into his blood vessels. What had he done?

Rudy ran, the portal's original placement within sight. His heart was forced to beat faster for him and followed pace with his lungs. Burning sensations compiled inside of his chest, scratching up the back of his throat. Where had he drawn that portal?

"Oh Great Creator! I'm so glad you're finally here!" A voice shouted. Rudy froze, nearly losing his balance. "Please, there isn't a moment to lose!"

"Yah! Don't scare me like that!" Rudy rubbed his forehead. After taking in a few deep breaths, he said, "I-I didn't see you there."

The zoner chuckled, not looking the least bit bothered by Rudy's reaction. "Oh don't worry about it. I'm happy you could come. There's some buildings that really need your 'magic touch', if you know what I mean."

"I..." Rudy stuttered. He wasn't able to finish before the zoner grabbed onto his wrist and dragged him. "Wait! School isn't done yet! Let me just..."

The zoner didn't appear to hear him. "Everyone is going to be so happy to see you, Great Creator. Oh what a mess yesterday was, right? Oh I shudder just thinking about it! But you're here now and that's all that matters. Now while we're on our way, why don't I explain to you what you're going to need to do?"

Rudy wriggled against the zoner's grasp. It was like a golem was dragging him. Further efforts caused him to trip his feet up and fall against the ground. The zoner hardly noticed, not even when Rudy clawed at the ground.

All Rudy could do was follow the zoner. Guilt wracked his body.

Penny was going to be furious.

sss

"I'm going to ask you one more time, young lady. Where is Rudy Tabootie?"

"And don't say you don't know. The two of you hang out together all the time on the playground. You know where he is and you are going to tell us right now."

"Stop it! Can't you see she's too shaken up to be interrogated like this?"

"One of our students is missing! She must know what happened to him!"

The voices hardly graced Penny's mind. They were nothing more than noise in the background. Other sensations had her attention, dancing along and preventing her from relaxing.

Her face radiated with pain. Each blow Reggie had given her had swelled and became beacons of discomfort. She tried to caress them, only to seethe at the slightest press. The nurse mentioned that she might end up losing a tooth or two. The thought brought bouts of nausea.

Her nose had long stopped bleeding, but the soreness remained. The swelling forced her to mouth breathe; any effort otherwise sent shock waves throughout her head. The nurse only needed to take one look at the swelling to declare that her nose had been broken.

Penny seethed when the nurse pressed ice wrapped in close against her injured nose. Penny instinctively grabbed the cloth to take over. Holding the ice against her injury did bring some relief, but it couldn't submerge what happened, nor did it taper down the consequences.

Rudy had run off and she was left to pick up the pieces.

Why did Rudy do that? Why didn't he listen to her? Did he have any idea what he was doing?

The burning feeling in her chest was not something she'd wish on anyone. She was unable to shake off the sickness, which grew increasingly worse as time went on. Keeping her mouth shut was merely buying time.

Before she could continue her thoughts, Mr. Wilter seized her shoulders. Penny gasped and leaned back. Mr. Wilter's eyes appeared to be judging her. The next thing she said would need to be carefully planned.

"Where is Rudy Tabootie?" Mr. Wilter asked as he tightened his grip. "You were the last one who saw him. Where did he go? His parents are worried sick!"

Penny sucked in a sharp breath. Her voice remained frozen in her throat. Any effort to think clearly was temporarily halted.

Principal Stringent folded her arms. "Young lady, don't you understand how serious this is? We need to find him before he gets hurt, or do you not care?"

Penny closed her eyes, her heart rate increasing.

"Back off! Give her space to breathe!" Hissed Nurse Jenny. She wiped a moist cloth around Penny's other bruises. "If you need someone to talk to about this, Reggie has also seen what happened. Go bother him!"

Heh, Nurse Jenny sure acted different when the principal was around, didn't she? Penny couldn't be disappointed in that. A chainsaw was the last thing she needed to see right now.

Mr. Wilter and Principal Stringent exchanged glances with each other before looking back. They first peered at Penny, then looked at Nurse Jenny. Neither face adorned approval for this suggestion. But they still backed away a couple of steps. The pressure lifting up from Penny's shoulders brought about great relief. But how long was that going to last before they started asking again?

Mr. Wilter said, "I already have our school counselor dealing with Reggie Bullnerd."

"He might be able to get information, but that isn't guaranteed," Principal Stringent said. "Penny was there longer. She must know something we d-..."

Nurse Jenny narrowed her eyes, cutting the principal off. "You aren't going to get anything meaningful from Penny right now. She was just attacked by a fellow classmate. Let her calm down first."

"You don't understand! This..."

Then nothingness. Penny's mind could no longer keep up with what was being said.

But that didn't mean her world was silent. Even with her eyes closed, Reggie's face was plastered wherever she turned her head. His words dug deep into her heart and the pain from his blows permeated her soul.

And it had been Rudy's fault.

Penny moved her limbs against herself and hunched over. Tears stained her cheeks. Her world became a swirled, garbled mess. Her body wracked and trembled as the chills and burns continued. As she continued to whimper, she managed to find her voice long enough to speak.

"I-I want my m-m-mama..."

sss

This hadn't been the first time that Mr. Quillon had to deal with the same student twice. It was a common occurrence at his other job locations. But that didn't make it any easier to deal with. The last thing on his mind was having to talk to Reggie a second time. What a waste of breath that he could instead be using to learn more about Rudy and Penny.

Nothing could be done about that now. His plan hadn't exactly fallen through. The principal already knew about Rudy sneaking off. It was just a matter of waiting to get the call from her or Mr. Wilter to speak with Rudy directly, alone.

"So we are back here again," Mr. Quillon hummed, resting his chin on his hands.

Reggie gulped and cringed from him.

Mr. Quillon sighed. "I thought I got through to you before. Are you really going to make me do this?"

Reggie trembled. "Please! Not again! I-I didn't mean to... I was just...!"

Mr. Quillon raised a finger, silencing Reggie. "Enough. I had been perfectly reasonable with you before. I had hoped that I wouldn't need to resort to the next step. Now you are forcing me to make a tough decision. Do you understand the implications of this, Reggie Bullnerd?"

"You didn't see what happened! You don't know what they did to me!" Reggie cried out.

"That isn't an excuse for what you did," Mr. Quillon narrowed his eyes. "Since our initial lesson didn't work, I think it's best if w-..."

"Rudy jumped through a portal!"

Mr. Quillon jerked back and blinked. He struggled to keep laughter from emanating from his mouth. "Wh-What? That's your excuse?"

Reggie shook his head. "I'm not trying to make up excuses! I'm telling you the truth! Rudy opened up a portal and hopped through!"

Oh boy, it was going to be one of these sessions, was it? Mr. Quillon chuckled as he shook his head. He might as well entertain the boy. Who knows? Maybe some real progress could be made this time.

Motioning towards Reggie, Mr. Quillon said, "Humor me. What exactly did you see?"

"Well you see, Quilt...er, I mean Quillon, I noticed how Rudy and Penny had been sitting away from everyone else the past few days a-and I just wanted to see what they were doing. But before I got there, Rudy made some sort of circling with his arm, there was a glow, and bam! He was gone!"

Mr. Quillon rubbed his forehead. "Reggie, that's the most ridic-..."

A pause.

"Did you say...a glow?"

Reggie feverishly nodded his head. "White and bright, on the ground, almost like..."

"...like someone holding up a large flashlight," Mr. Quillon finished.

Reggie stared at him for a moment and tilted his head. "Yeah that's right. How did you know?"

Mr. Quillon couldn't answer. His mind buzzed with mental images of what he found the other day. The glow seemed brighter in his head and it moved and flickered in a way that fired up his earlier temptations to solve the mystery. He never would have thought that he would get a clue so soon.

And from Reggie, of all people.

A portal leading into another world? There was no way this could be true, right? Reggie was just a kid. It was more reasonable that Reggie had only imagined what he claimed. It might have been a dream that was being confused with reality or even a lie in an effort to divert guilt. A portal leading somewhere else? It was too absurd to be how Rudy disappeared.

But there was no denying that something had been on the ground and it had only gotten there after Rudy and Penny mysteriously reemerged. Reggie's description still aligned with his own. Judging from the reaction just moments ago, Reggie hadn't known he saw the mysterious substance himself. He couldn't have been lying about this. Maybe Reggie had just stumbled upon it on his own?

"Aren't you going to answer my question?"

Mr. Quillon shook his head and smiled dryly. "No, actually. I'm going to ask you something." He adjusted his chair and leaned closer. "I don't think I can believe you on this. You aren't the most honest student in this school. But I will humor you. Tell me about this portal you claim to have seen."

"I know this sounds crazy, but that portal leads to some chalk world! A-A-And all the chalk drawings in it are alive!" Reggie's hands spread out as he continued. "They can talk, play games, live in houses, everything! Big ones, small ones, and everything in between!"

Mr. Quillon cocked an eyebrow.

Reggie slammed his hands against the table. "Please, you've got to believe me! I'm not making this up!"

Mr. Quillon fought back the urge to laugh. Reggie's imagination was certainly strong, wasn't it? "Go on."

"I was able to use some sort of magical chalk to make things real. I can still feel it in my hands. It wasn't like using sidewalk chalk." Reggie stared at his hands. "It was empowering, how I could do anything I wanted. I wasn't 'just a school bully' any longer."

Mr. Quillon flinched when Reggie punched the table.

"But that blasted Tabootie just had to ruin it all!" Reggie bared his teeth. "He showed up unannounced and took it all away! And he tricked me into believing it was just a dream! Stupid Tabootie! He just wants to hog it all for himself!"

"Fascinating...," Said Mr. Quillon as he stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "You say that this world possesses creatures made of chalk?"

"Yes."

"And anything you draw comes to life?"

"That's correct."

Mr. Quillon rubbed his chin as he turned his head towards the chalkboard. After a few moments, he asked, "Will it work on chalkboards such as this?"

"I...don't know. I guess so?" Reggie shrugged. "That magical chalk did let me open a portal on one."

Pushing himself from his seat, Mr. Quillon stood in front of the chalkboard, his hands folded behind his back. He had little reason to believe Reggie was being truthful. His story was too ridiculous.

But there was a way to both put it to the test and make Reggie realize how silly he was being.

"Reggie, how well do you know Rudy?" asked Mr. Quillon.

Reggie said, "We've known each other for years."

Mr. Quillon said, "Is there anything that gets under his skin?"

"Yes, but why do you need to know?" Reggie paused. "Are you...?"

Mr. Quillon raised a chalk piece towards the chalkboard. "Tell me what to draw."