I awoke early, knowing that I had to get Gold up. But today I woke up earlier than usual. I could hear Gold snoring lightly out in the living room, which is what one would expect early in the morning. Gold was a hard sleeper and you could make a much noise as you want and not wake him up.
I slid out of bed, took a bath and got dressed. Then I went out into the living room to awaken Gold. There were several methods I could have gone about this. I could push him off the couch, turn on the TV, or simply snatch his covers away. I was too tired to do anything extreme to wake him up, so I turn the TV onto the news which would get Gold up because he loved laughing at some of the stories.
Sure enough Gold sat up, but I wasn't satisfied… he didn't really seem awake.
"Good morning, Gold." I said, to check if he was responsive.
He turned to me and yawned. "Good morning, Black." I sat down on the couch next to Gold because I had some extra time before I should be heading to school.
I didn't understand much of what the newsman was talking about so I asked Gold. "What is he talking about?"
"They're talking about new mentor standards…" Gold told me before he let out a sigh. "It's really hard being a mentor now-a-days…"
"Gold, you'll do fine. Just stop sighing all the time and try to stay positive. I have to go now, but remember be waiting for me outside of the school so we can go to the castle; you know the way right?"
"To the school?"
"To the castle." I replied, putting on my jacket. Gold gave it to me on Christmas.
"No…do you?"
"We'll figure it out later." I told him before leaving the house.
I closed the door and stepped on the moving pathway. I didn't really feel like walking today, and leaving earlier gives me time to ride the path. I rode it to the edge of the city where I got off and walked to school.
I was normally the first one here but Cheren and Bianca beat me here today. They were both sitting at a table.
"Hey Cheren, Hey Bianca." I said to them as I sat down. Cheren was engaged in a book and Bianca was frantically doing writing something. "…What are you two doing?"
"Oh, Cheren has a hunch that Ms. Juniper will give us a project so me and Cheren are getting started. I'm taking down notes." Bianca told me, not looking up from the paper.
"And I'm skimming for information." Cheren stated.
"So what do you plan to do this supposed report on?" I ask, playing with a stray pencil.
"The effects on micro-organisms on humans." Cheren replied bluntly. I had no idea what Cheren was talking about. He looked up and noticed the look on my face. "We're basically going to see what germs do to people."
I suddenly feel squeamish. "Ick, sounds dirty." Cheren and Bianca glance up at me before returning to their work. "I would ask what you've found but I don't think I have the stomach for it." They ignore me, and continue working.
What's with them? We are supposed to be friends, and really good ones at that, but now they're totally ignoring me. Well, now that I think about it we don't have very much in common. Bianca and Cheren live with their parents while I have Gold. So in that sense I guess we don't have much in common, but we spend a lot of time together, so we naturally all good friends. So how could they forget that in the course of a day?
"I'm going to go ask Ms. Juniper something." I say aloud but they ignore me. I glance at the calendar on the wall. My birthday is a month away, which is probably why Cheren and Bianca are blocking me out: They're thinking of what to get me.
I walk over to Ms. Juniper, who is at her desk, staring off into space… "Ms. Juniper?" She jumps and gasps.
"Oh, Black. You startled me."
I question her silently for a moment. What exactly was she doing?
"Black? Is something wrong?"
Besides the fact that Cheren and Bianca are ignoring me! "No." I lie.
"Ok, what do you plan to do for your report?" She whispers.
I wonder if I should actually tell her. She could shoot it down and tell me that it is a stupid or pointless idea, not say anything of use, or she could think it's a great idea. "I was going to ask the king on what he thinks happened to the pokemon."
"Oh, I thought you we're going to do something stupid like… I don't know… bacteria's effect on humans." She says jokingly. Cheren hears this and lifts his head. "Well, that's an awfully long walk to the castle though…When do you plan to go?"
"I told Gold to meet me outside after school so we could go."
"After school, huh? I guess that's adequate time to go and come back." She pauses, staring up at the ceiling. I look up to, but it's nothing out of the ordinary; just the mobiles we made last week. She ruffles my hair. "Well, I wish you luck!" She says before glancing at the clock. "I should really get started…"
"Ok! Class… I'm starting class now…" She looks around at the three students in the classroom. "Where is everyone else?"
Cheren adjusts his glasses. "They're sick with the flu. They will be contagious these next 2-7 days with high fevers, whooping cough, and a runny nose. Most will not be back before Friday. All of that you would know if you read my report on micro-organisms effect on people, which contains information that we got from a book on your bookshelf."
"Cheren… you shouldn't be offended that I don't want to read your report. Bacteria isn't really one of my interests and there are hundreds of reports on bacteria… you should try something original."
"I am, I'm writing a report on how chemicals caused by emotions can cloud the mind's judgment."
"At least he's trying something new…" Ms. Juniper whispered. Then she sighed. "I'm tired today." She said taking the seat I was sitting in earlier. "What do you three want to do today?"
"Oh! Let's draw pictures!" Bianca chirps, clapping her hands. Cheren and I agree and we began drawing.
A few minutes later we slowly began stopping, until we are all done. Then we hold up our pictures. Bianca's is a crude drawing of a house and her family.
"Oh! Ms. Juniper, I like yours!" Bianca chirps. I look at Ms. Juniper. It's a drawing of her and her father: very detailed.
They look at mine, which is a picture of me and Gold, playing with a Frisbee outside of my house. "That's a very good drawing, Black. Yours and Bianca's make mine look like nothing.
"Look at mine." Cheren pushes. We look at Cheren's… it's a cube… with holes in it.
"It looks like a piece of wood with holes in it." Ms. Juniper points out. While Ms. Juniper would never put me or Bianca down, she has no problem doing it to Cheren and his over-inflated ego.
"It's a Menger sponge, which represents infinite surface area while having a volume of zero." Cheren states.
"I don't believe it." Ms. Juniper puts it simply, and leans back into her chair. Me and Bianca turn to face Ms. Juniper.
"It's mathematically correct." We turn back to Cheren.
"Then explain it."
Cheren pauses. "…It… It's like the ground… you can put all you want on it but you can't put anything inside of it." Bianca and I turn to Ms. Juniper to see if this statement is true.
"What's the point of that?" Ms. Juniper asked.
"You can store stuff." Cheren replied.
"It has no volume so it can't hold anything, and volume is the meaning of storage." Ms. Juniper begins to glare at Cheren. Cheren glares back. "Let me ask you something, Cheren. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Cheren grew eerily quiet. "Yeah, Uh-huh. Write a report on that." Ms. Juniper said, triumphantly.
I return to my picture and how, out of all the people who drew their family, I have no parents. I just have Gold, my mentor. Who, is supposed to replace my parents. One person taking the place of two? Even though mentor are trained to do their jobs I don't think it is fair they are required to replace two people.
"So what do all of you (minus Cheren) want to talk about?" Ms. Juniper asked, looking at me and Bianca.
"What about mentors?" I ask Ms. Juniper. "What do you know about them?"
"Mentors are an elite class of teachers. They go through teaching school and all the things necessary to become a teacher but also go through many extra years to get the things needed to become a mentor. Mentors can be teachers, if they want, until they get assigned a child. Normally it's a child that doesn't act correctly or an orphan." She said as she poked me gently in the stomach.
"…But occasionally they are from parents that don't have the skills to raise children, and even though the children are perfectly normal they end up with a mentor." Ms. Juniper ended.
"That hasn't happened in a while though, has it?" Bianca asked.
"True, Bianca…"
"You said mentors go through special training, correct?" Cheren piped in. Ms. Juniper nodded. "So if you and Gold, Black's mentor, both applied for a job as a teacher, they would undoubtedly pick Gold over you?"
"Yes, that is technically true, but I have on the job training and Gold is Black's mentor, which is considered a full time job so as long as Black is under Gold's care Gold cannot take on another job."
"If a mentor came straight out of college would he still be able to get the job like that?"
"If you're referring to me and Gold again, I don't know." Ms. Juniper said as she crossed her arms. "Gold and I graduated together, but Gold immediately began his special training and by the time he got out I was five years into teaching." Ms. Juniper got up and began to pace, something she normally did when trying to understand something to Cheren. "Sure Gold has more education but I have on the job training, so we are pretty even."
Cheren nodded slowly, clearly getting what he wanted out of Ms. Juniper. Ms. Juniper glared at him, she hated when he nodded his head, like that.
The air was thick with tension until Bianca decided to ask a question. "So how long on average does it take for a mentor to get a child?"
"It mostly depends on the birthrate; If it's high the higher the chance for someone who needs mentoring, the lower it is the lower the chance. The average of lately, has been 3 and a half months, but that expected to increase." She glanced at Bianca, who had a curious look on her face. "A percent of the population is going to turn 25 in these next few years and the unruliness that comes with each generation increases the need for mentors."
"Oh… Well I guess that makes sense, in a strange way…" Bianca, comments, laying her head on the table. I stare at Bianca. She knows she doesn't really understand what Ms. Juniper, but what she did made her sad.
"But that's not entirely definite." Bianca's head pops back up. "There's a chance that won't happen and the average will stay the same or drop… personally I say that Gold is happy to have Black, since he has him for another 16 years."
"W-what? 16 years?" I sputter out.
"What? You think it's too long?" Cheren asks, looking up from a book he's been reading.
Well, no, I don't think it's too long. In 16 year's I'll be 25, the legal age that people are considered adults. I think I'll be able to stay at my house, since I'm a mentor… but what about Gold?
"What will happen to Gold when I'm 25?" I asked, scared of the answer.
"He'll move out and find a new child to mentor." My eyes dropped down to my picture, of me and Gold. We only have 16 years left… that's still a long time, but I don't think I want Gold to leave! I feel my throat tighten and my eyes feel wet.
"OH, but don't worry Black! You have a lot of time with Gold and I'm sure he'll come visit you!" She says, laughing nervously.
"Black, stop crying. It's not just 16 years."
I look up at Cheren. "It's not?"
"No, Mentors aren't allowed to take on children under five and then the law requires that you take care of Gold until he finds another child. So based on the average, you can have anywhere from 16 years and 3 and a half months or 21 years and 3 and a half months with Gold." Cheren said.
"That's not any better!" I yell at him. I sigh and let my head hit the table, getting my drawing wet.
We all sit there, listening to me cry until Cheren announces that the bell is about to ring. Ms. Juniper glares at him, before addressing me. "Well, Black. You only have so much time with Gold so I suggest you make the most of it," She says handing me a handkerchief. "So start today by walking up to the castle and asking to see the king and write the best report you possible can!"
I stand up, feeling rejuvenated by Ms. Juniper's words. "You're right," I wipe my face with her handkerchief before handing it back. "I should make the most of it! Thank you Ms. Juniper."
I walk outside and see Gold sitting on a bench sipping apple juice out of a juice box. "Hey, Gold." I say cheerfully, trying as hard as possible not to let my emotions show.
"Oh, Hey Black. Are you ready to go?"
I nod and we walk off in the direction of the castle.
I notice a few things about the castle when we first arrive. For one, it has vines growing up its walls, making it look aged and lacking. It's not very majestic like I thought it would be. The color of the roof is a bright red while the castle itself is just white brick. The castle is made up of four towers and a large dome in the center.
"Well… this is it. We should go inside, right?" Gold asked. I nod and we walk up to the door. It's nothing special, just regular French doors. We push them open and walk inside.
The room on the other side of the door is smaller than one would expect, but what do you expect when you think castle? There is a single desk, with a man writing something diligently. I walk up to the desk while Gold stands a bit behind me.
I'm too short to see over the desk so I just tap the before I hoist myself up to the point I can see.
"Hello? How may I help you?" The man ask, his glasses sliding to the end of his nose.
"I want t-to see t-the King." I stutter. I'm so nervous…
The man just stares at me, before letting out a laugh. "Oh, this isn't the castle, but it used to be. Now this is the post office. A king hasn't live here for hundreds of years."
"Oh…" I say a bit sadly. "Do you know how to get to the castle? Or have a map maybe?" I ask.
"I'm afraid I don't. But the mail carriers know." My eyes light up as he tells me where to find them.
I let go off the desk and slide to the floor. "Thank you." I say to the man before I walk over to Gold who is looking at a wall of medals.
"What did you find out?" Gold asked, still staring at the medals.
"He said this isn't the castle and that he doesn't know where it is or have a map, but one of the mail carriers might know."
"So let's go." He replies smiling. So I take him to where the mail carriers are supposed to be. It's a building outside, next to a stable.
We walk inside the building and only see two men playing cards. Both have black, unkempt hair but one is larger and has a cleft in his chin, while the other is skinner and has a longer nose. "Would either of you happen to know how to get to the castle?"
One man shakes his head but another speaks up. "Yeah, I do. Who wants to know."
"I do. I want to ask the king something." I reply.
"And who might you be?" The man asks.
"Black." I reply.
The other man lets out a snicker. "And who's he behind ya?" He asks.
"That's Gold, My mentor." Both men look taken aback and begin whispering amongst themselves. "What's with them, Gold?" I whisper to Gold.
"Black, I should tell you that it is practically illegal to withhold information from you since you are being mentored."
"Really?" I whisper.
"Yes, you can ask anything you want… but I think you should still respect people."
The men stop whispering. "Ok, I can't really tell you because the castle is a bit of a complicated path, but I can show you."
"When?" I ask.
"I not exactly sure but I'll make sure you know when I'm going." The man says as he scratches the back of his neck. "And you'll have to get up early… it's a long walk…"
"What's the stable for if you just walk?"
"Wha? Oh, the stable…The stable's always been there… we don't actually use it since there's nothing in it…"
"Well, thanks for your help. We should go now. It's getting late." The man nods and we leave.
"I don't trust him." Gold says as we walk home.
"Why not?" I ask.
"He has that look about him, and did you see how he acted after he found out you were being mentored. It was like he was scared out of his wits!"
"Well, there is the whole illegal information thingy." I reply.
"But most people in town don't abide to that rule, and mentors don't hold them to it. But how could they not know that? They're mail carriers; they spend most of their time out and about, where people are likely to talk to them."
"Maybe they are just uninformed."
"Maybe…"
And that's the last we speak of it.