(1) I think it's called that...
Fierce Fox's magnificent blimp landed on Big Nate Island. The first thing I noticed was the art style. It's hand-drawn, monochromatic and oldish. Definitely not Poptropica style.
I held out my feet, landing on a wooden surface. Right next to me is an old, pale blue building with a dark blue, tiled roof, sitting on cement ground. I walked up to a boy, who has spiky, black hair and was standing near a bench. He wears a yellow t-shirt, with the top part highlighted in blue, stretching across the tips of his shoulders. He also has jean shorts and white sneakers. He was staring at me like I was some sort of god.
"I'm supposed to be on my way to school, but I'm hoping to find some clues about the capsule here on Main Street." The boy- Nate- explained, gazing at me with starry eyes. It made me feel a bit odd. Someone gave me a tap on the shoulder. That someone was Fierce Fox, giving me a 'what now?' look. I gestured her to follow me, and we entered the old building- the Pop In Shoppe.
Nate followed us inside, smiling at me. Not really paying attention to him, I hopped up a few red platforms to the attic. Only then did I take in the shop's surroundings- most things are very simple. They seem to be stripped from a comic book, like the rest of the island. The attic's kind of cosy, with a plump green couch and lots of junk surrounding it. I walked up to the couch and picked up a piece of illustrated paper on it- part of a Big Nate comic.
"What's that?" Fierce Fox asked, entering the attic.
"Part of a comic. There's more parts we need to find," I answered. "We can start by getting out of here." We exited the Pop Shoppe together. Fierce Fox faced me.
"Okay, so what's the deal with this island?" she asked.
"In a nutshell, we're doing a variety of activities to find a time capsule for Nate." I explained, with a small grin.
"Who's Nate?" Fierce Fox asked.
"The guy who wants to find the capsule and become rich. However, everyone else wants to fix the school," I said, with a chuckle. Then, I pointed to electric wires, which are high above our heads. "Go up there and find a piece of paper. Meanwhile, I've got some photography to do." Fierce Fox gave me a weird look. "Just go."
I headed to a little place called the Photo Studio. It's literally shaped as a camera: the lenses are the circular, blue doors. I opened them, entering a room which reminds me of the Tardis. The room's much bigger on the inside, and shaped like a box. The interior is yet again simple, with a small wooden desk; checker-designed wallpaper, and a yellow screen for taking photos. On one of the lights was a comic strip. Using my enhanced jump, I reached up and grabbed it.
After I exited, Fierce Fox and I bumped into each other.
I grinned. "Got it?" Fierce Fox nodded. "Great, now let's continue!" She followed me as we ran past the school (I could see why they wanted to fix it- it's a mess), and went into the playground. It sort of reminds me of school camp: a rock-climbing wall, monkey bars and etc. Above the great, grey climbing wall was yet another piece of flying paper.
"I'll take care of this one. Go to the lighthouse and catch the one there." I ordered. Fierce Fox nodded and rushed off. "WAIT!" I cried, before she was completely out of sight. "Don't forget to look through the telescope, get the comic on the roof- like I said- and pick up the flying picture, near the ladder." She nodded and left. I climbed the wooden frame, gazing at all the slides and monkey bars. Next to the peak of the climbing wall is a bridge, with coloured, plastic lumps. I ran up it, Nate following me with a grin.
"Hey there..." he said, in a dreamy tone. His face had a pale blush. I groaned, trying to ignore him following me like a stalker. Instead, I focused my attention on the illustrated paper flying around in the sky; I soared upwards and grabbed it. Just a few more pieces to go, I thought blithely.
I made my way down the playground, paying short attention to a trio of chatting girls. Underneath their feet was the capsule, but we weren't meant to know that yet. Grumbling, I exited the area, Nate finally retiring from creeping around behind me, though he kept waving. Fierce Fox came towards me, with a proud expression.
"Where next, know-it-all?" she asked, with a joking tone.
"Know-it-all says this way," I joked back. We returned to the crappy, red-brick school, which literally leans like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Wooden construction frames are on the sides, littered with wood planks and paint buckets. I jumped up the square-shaped wooden frame, reaching the top. There, through my bulging eyes, I saw the next comic piece. I snatched it up, then hopped back down to the ground. I faced Fierce Fox. "Ready for school?"
We pushed the old, frail wooden door of the school opne. The doorframe says, 'Knowledge', with a drawing of a lobster above it. Inside is quite run-down. The red and yellow tiled floor's cracked; pieces of the wall are missing; water's been spilled all over the floor and the P.A is hanging out by a wire.
"Whoa," I observed. "This makes my school look like a palace." I gave a little wink to Fierce Fox. Then, I climbed up the small, brown stairs to the busted P.A. A comic strip was hanging off the wire. I grabbed it, not receiving one electric shock. My feet landed on the second platform, in front of the door to the Science Lab (my favourite place in school, naturally). I gestured Fierce Fox inside.
The Science Lab is probably the most unharmed place in the entire school, although some of the blue and yellow floor tiles have been stripped up. The posters are pretty old-school. There's this one with a fish, going through stages until it becomes Nate. I trotted up to a little stove, which has a conical flask on it. Three test tubes are nearby, each separately full with the three infamous primary colours. I gestured Fierce Fox over to be my 'lab assistant'.
"Now," I instructed. "Pour 'bout a seventh of the yellow stuff into the conical flask." Fierce Fox picked up the test tube, and did such thing. I did likewise with the blue ingredients. Then I turned the little dial underneath on, heating up the concoction. It was fun! Science is awesome. The olive-green liquid began to smoke, bringing out the most revolting stanch.
"Wow! A stink bomb!" Nate exclaimed. "Now that's what I call a science project!" he smirked. "You're smart..."
"Definitely stinky..." I commented, thankful once the object vanished into my inventory. I turned to Fierce Fox. "Run to the end of this room and pick up another piece of the comic on the Solar System model," She nodded, and did such thing before I could blink. I grinned; she followed me out of the science lab and to the locker area. One of the orange, metal lockers- Nate's locker- was stuffed full of fruitless papers.
I held out my hand to Fierce Fox. "Comic pieces. All of them, please." she handed them over. With all the comic pieces in my clutches, I began to piece them together, like a puzzle. The white boxes around the separate comic strips had a code- more specifically, Nate's locker code.
Suddenly feeling slightly devilish, I faced Fierce Fox. "Would you like the honours?" I asked, gesturing to the locker. "Put these numbers in, column order: nine, three, zero, five." I took a few steps back while she did that, still grinning. Suddenly, Nate's locker flew open, and many papers bombarded Fierce Fox, sending her flying across the room. If it was a little while ago, I wouldn't have dared to laugh. I didn't care this time.
"Hilarious..." groaned the dazed Fierce Fox, as I giggled myself silly. I trotted up to the locker; in front of it was a pile- scratch that- mountain of papers. My hand reached in, like a scavenger, and pulled out the School Blueprint.
After Fierce Fox finished pulling paper out of her hair, we left the school and returned to the Photo Studio. However, instead of going right to the screen, we turned left where an old, fat guy stands. He's near a lime-green wallpaper; there's many photos on the walls. Behind him is a stand with a scuba diving costume.
"Ask him to trade that old photo you found at the lighthouse for the scuba diving costume," I said to Fierce Fox, letting her go in front of me. She did just that, making me surprisingly proud. The scuba gear floated into her inventory. I smirked. "Perfect. Let's go."
We headed inside the 'Krazy Komix' store (1), which is a parallelogram-shaped, orange building with huge doors, and an imprint of Nate's face. Inside's a variety of comics, pictures and information about the island. The first thing I noticed apart from the blinding colours was the teacher, who stands near a table of books. I approached him, and he said, "Holy cow, you found all the pieces of the comic! I'm glad I could finally see it!" I grinned at his reaction, although I expected it. "You can keep the comic, and here's a little something for all your hard work!" A packet of stale bubblegum flew into my inventory. I turned to Fierce Fox.
"Now make a choice," I offered, making her raise her eyebrows. "Detention or scuba diving?"
"I have the scuba thingy..." Fierce Fox replied.
"Good point," I said, my hands in my pockets. "This is what you need to do..."
I returned to the broken-down school, feeling a little guilty. I barely ever got in trouble- heck, the worst thing I had ever done was be a few minutes late to class. I had never been late before so I got a late pass, and it wasn't really trouble anyway because my leg was misbehaving. But I, Alice Manchester, have never been to detention. Ever. Until now.
I groaned, trying to get over destroying my innocence. But once you've destroyed it, there's no getting it back, a wary voice in my head warned. Sighing, I placed the stale gum in my mouth (which tasted blander than tofu) and reluctantly chewed. I blew a few bubbles, which is abnormal because I'm no good at blowing bubbles. A door was thrown open, and a grumpy teacher stormed out, glaring at me.
"I smell bubble gum! Get over here!" she commanded, her grey hair shining. As if they could move on their own, my legs carried me over to the detention room. It's a simple wooden room, with a few columns of desks, and a teacher's desk at the front. "No gum in school! And no talking in detention!" the teacher ordered, as I casually stood there. My inventory flew open, and I placed down the stink bomb, blocking my nostrils. "Eeewh! What is that awful smell?" the teacher cried, running out.
Perfect. I rushed past the teacher's desk, to a few seafoam-coloured drawers. Of course, they're not really drawers. I opened the bottom two, revealing a ladder. I slid down this ladder, which is broken at the bottom. The area I snuck into was as dark as night, covered in dust. I found a light switch, which enlightened the area. It's like a little garage, with many tools you'd use in the garden or on a car. I passed the tools, which are hung up on the lavender wallpaper.
A proper-looking boy stands at the end of the room, gazing at nothing. A bit creepy if you ask me. Anyway, I spotted a bronze bell clapper hanging from the ceiling. I reached out my fingers with a leap and grabbed it, watching it vanish into my inventory.
I left the crappy school and headed to the lighthouse. I prayed that Fierce Fox hadn't drowned and retrieved the items. Luckily, that was the case.
"So, what now?" Fierce Fox asked, as we stood near the grey rocks of the white and red lighthouse. Our feet were emerged in the water, near the Oyster Beds. I grinned at the jet skis floating nearby us.
"We're going to ride. Give me the keys." I said. Fierce Fox handed me the keys, and I climbed onto the rough rocks. I jumped onto the jet-ski, keys in hand. Suddenly, Nate appeared out of nowhere, with a competitive beam across his face.
"Whatever's out there, I'm going to get to it first!" he yelled, making his way over to the jet-skis. He smiled at me. "M'lady." Ignoring him, I flexed my arm out to Fierce Fox, pulling her on board.
"In your dreams!" I yelled back, a mild edge in my tone. "Come on, Fierce Fox. Let's beat this kiddy!" I shoved my hands onto the accelerator, Fierce Fox's arms around my waist. I felt awfully assertive, having an urge to 'beat this kiddy'. Then the race begun.
The jet ski raced through the water; such liquid sprayed everywhere. Random inanimate objects float ahead of us, bobbing gently. I swerved out the way of a fridge, Nate on our tail.
"Be my lookout, please!" I ordered to Fierce Fox, as more objects came into my view. I swiftly dodged them, although I had no idea how to drive a jet ski. Only then I realized, actually. It didn't matter, however, because we were still winning. I kept revving forwards, merely missing more items.
"LEFT!" Fierce Fox screamed, almost deafening me. I listened to her and drove left, avoiding a giant metal object. I grinned, knowing there was no way Nate would catch up to us now. Then, I heard Fierce Fox cry again, but it was too late. We smashed into a buoy.
I unluckily was flung off, my body landing into the water. Thankfully it was physically impossible for me to drown, but it would take a while to bring me back on board. Too long for Nate's tastes; his figure was in the distance. Fierce Fox gasped in horror.
I shook my head. "Go on ahead and get the map under the rocks. Use the seals to help you," I could hear Nate. "Go, now!" Although reluctant, Fierce Fox agreed and the jet-ski zoomed away. I sighed. See? I failed. Pride got me again...
Nate was in the process of dodging a buoy when he spotted me floating around. "What the heck are you doing in there... ma'am?" he asked, actually stopping to talk to me. A pale blush was splattered on his cheeks.
"I fell off." I answered.
"Oh! Are you okay?" Nate asked, with a lot of concern. Something's up with him, I thought. He held out his hand, like a gentleman. "I'll take you to the rock island, miss."
"Uh..." I paused, wondering what to answer. "No, my friend's coming to pick me up."
"Are you sure?" Nate questioned, still acting like a gentleman. "I'm more than happy to take you... Heh heh..."
"No, it's fine. Well, you've lost anyway. My friend has already found the map." I replied, with a shrug. Right on cue, Fierce Fox drove up behind me, ready to take me on board. Nate sighed in melancholy, as Fierce Fox grabbed me. I gave Nate a small wave as we drove to the shore.
As soon as the jet ski docked up against the grey rocks, I ordered Fierce Fox to use her lobster (from diving into the sea) to rotate the light at the top of the lighthouse. She did so; the brilliant white light shone on the school's bell. A seagull that had been nesting there squawked and flew away, leaving behind its nest.
Of course, we weren't going to the school just yet. There was something we- well, I- needed to take care of. And that was going to Nate's kid club, back in the playground. I had an idea, especially since learning something about Nate's feelings. I gave Fierce Fox the bell clapper and told her to go to the school bell and ring it. After that, I waltzed back to the playground; Nate followed me again.
I grinned sweetly, which made me feel sappy inside. Like mush. "Hello, Nate," I greeted, trying not to cringe. I'm not exactly girly, or the sweetest person. I usually don't attempt to find romance, because when you're like me, there's no hope. This can be a good thing at times, however. "Say... what are you doing?"
Nate tried to hide his blush. "H-hey, miss... Just hanging out... Like a cool kid..."
"Did I forget to introduce myself? My name is Alice," I replied, my voice like honey. "Say... you don't happen to have any peanut butter crackers, do you? I happen to be a little peckish."
"Oh... of course, Alice..." Nate chuckled back, his voice shaky. Just like that, he handed me a box of peanut butter crackers, which were way past their expiry date.
"Why thank you..." I smiled, in my silky voice. Oh, the wonders of manipulation.
"Uh... you wanna... Maybe come up to the club?" Nake offered, scratching the back of his head. Suddenly, a noisy bell boomed through the area: the school bell. The girls, who were chatting nearby, moved away swiftly. I trotted over to where they were standing, opening the box of peanut crackers. I pulled out one of the expired crackers, placing it on the floor.
"Here, boy!" I called, tapping my foot. A pale red dog, with an Elizabeth collar around his neck showed up, picking up the cracker in his jaws. He dug a spot underneath it, revealing some sort of grey box. I picked up the grey box, which is covered in stains. It's pretty old. My finger flicked up the lock. A shimmer in the box caught my eye.
Nate grinned. "Wow, look at the pearl! That must be worth a fortune! Hey... maybe we can sell it and... Split the money!" he suggested, blushing. I nodded vigorously in agreement (though I was doing it to tease him). Then Nate's other crush- Penny- arrived, grinning at the pearl.
"Nate, you found the treasure! Now you can save the school! You're a hero!" she cried blissfully.
Nate's eyes scanned the both of us, romantically overwhelmed. He could tell we wanted different things. That can be frustrating. "Uh... Just... save the school! Yeah, that was my plan all along!" he blurted out, trying not to sweat. Still overwhelmed, he leaped into a nearby bush, leaving the pearl with Penny and I.
"Thanks to you, the school can remain open." The detention teacher congratulated Fierce Fox, who had returned (of course).
"Uh... and why exactly is that a good thing?" Nate asked in the background, peeking out from the bush. He stared at me. "Oh, hey Alice... Sorry I couldn't split the money for you..." Suddenly, I began to fade, due to Fierce Fox earning the medallion. He screamed. "No! Alice! Don't leave me; I love you!"
I chortled. "Maybe next time, Big Nate… Maybe next time." My screen turned white.