In this day and age the aspiration of 'being famous' seems to be a genuine life goal for a lot of youngsters. Of course when such an array of riches becomes instantly available to these youngsters it quite often has a predictably detrimental effect on their well being.
Everyday our newspapers are filled with photos of individuals who are little more than children falling out of cars, dating a different person every week, or otherwise involved in some form of scandal.
Is this a life that I would want for my kids? Absolutely not. Kids grow up far too quickly these days and of course they always know best.
It is not my right to criticise or tell these individuals what to do. They are their own person and must make their own way in life. But for the young singers, dancers, actors, sportsmen and, more recently these DigiDestined, I can only see a dark and sad ending.
Extract from L.M. Johnson's 'Honey Trap'
Under the scalding sun in the midst of a barren plain of land, a girl hammered in the final nail of a school that she, along with a team of dedicated volunteers, had been constructing for the past six months. It consisted of two classrooms and a clean, cool area for sport. There were tables and chairs, a blackboard, multi-coloured chalks, exercise books and pencils, things that the children of the school had never seen before. Such simple things that the girl always tried to appreciate.
Sora put down the hammer and wiped the sweat from her brow. Her usually striking red hair had been bleached slightly and was far lighter than before. She hopped down from the ladder and landed gracefully.
She took cover under a shelter that had been temporarily built to house the team. She made her way through the modest set up towards the back of the shelter, where a man was working, buried under stacks of paperwork.
"I hope those orders are going to be completed on time Joe," said Sora playfully.
Joe looked up at her with a furrowed brow.
"It's only filling in boxes Sora," he muttered. "Can you lend a hand?"
"Sure," she said, and she took half of the stack and a pencil before settling down on the ground. Joe rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
"It'll all be worth it when you see the school," said Sora, noticing her friends fatigue. "But you can't see it until these are done. That's the deal."
"I'll get them done," he grumbled. As he went to grab the topmost sheet of paper, his elbow clipped a couple of folders, upon which a mug of tea was sitting, and the whole lot went tumbling to the ground, despite his best efforts to salvage at least one item. The mug cracked and muddy brown liquid shot in every direction.
"Oh shoot," said Joe. He grabbed the folders before the tea seeped into the precious papers.
"Joe!" cried Sora.
"It's not my fault!" he replied instantly, fishing into his utility bags for rolls of toilet roll.
"Why do you even have tea?!" said Sora, hopping to her friends aid. "It's a million degrees out there!"
"Hardly a million," said Joe, suppressing a smirk, "more like one-twenty; that would be my guess. Besides I like a few home comforts."
"Couldn't you have just settled on a ton of photographs or something less. . .wet?"
Sora held up a single, sad piece of paper that had failed to stay within the comfy confines of the folder. It was beyond saving.
"Oh shoot," repeated Joe, "I'll have no idea which bit of paper that is, meaning I'll have to sift through the entire lot to find the missing page number, then try and. . ."
"Joe, it's fine," said Sora, "you can still see the page number!"
"Oh," said Joe, looking a little sheepish. "So you can."
Sora closed her eyes and shook her head.
"When was the last time you took a rest?" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I forget."
"Well take a break. Go make some more tea and we'll sit in the shade outside. The rest of the team should be back soon."
"I really should finish. . ."
"Joe, I wasn't asking," said Sora firmly, "outside, now. Wait. Tea, then outside!"
And with that she left a dishevelled Joe with a heap of soggy bog roll.
Five minutes later, and miraculously without any further mishap, the two of them were sitting under a huge canopy. A soft breeze was blowing, kicking the dust up. From their vantage point they could make out children playing in the village. The sun was scalding and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
For the two of them, but for Sora in particular, in had been an essential getaway. She had always planned to do some humanitarian work of some kind, but the timing could not have been more ideal. Things had been getting out of hand. Every day she read stories in the papers, or online, of supposed rendez-vous with various bachelors, and a large number of married or spoken for men. The paparazzi had figured out her favourite places months ago. She could no longer go to her favourite coffee shop on her street without being hounded. She could no longer pop into the local hairdressers for a quick chat with her best friend from school. She envied her friend and her insignificant life. Sora wanted nothing more than that.
For Joe it had been a lot easier. Never one to fit in with the 'cool' crowd or do something extravagent, the tabloids had largely glazed over Joe. Though he had been the target of two incessant stalkers and had largely been shunned by prominent members of the medical profession for his supposed celebrity lifestyle.
That had been the point when the two of them had decided to come here. Away from everything. Sora had come up with the project and using the little endorsement money she had, for she refused nearly every endorsement contract shoved in front of her face, she had made it a reality. For Joe the idea of doctoring in this place was a no brainer too. He didn't have the resources or means to carry out extensive research, but he was making a difference. He was saving lives. He couldn't ask for more.
Now that the school had been built though, Sora knew that her time here was coming to an end and a return to her homeland was imminent. She sighed sadly.
"From here it looks amazing," said Joe, looking at the school. "Do you think I could. . ."
"No!" said Sora, "not until everyone else gets back. Be patient Joe."
Joe didn't argue. He went back to looking down at his laptop. Sora continued to stare out at nothing and everything.
"Are you going to stay here?" she asked.
Joe paused for a few moments.
"I think so," he said, "I don't see any reason to go back."
She had known he would say that.
"I'm jealous," she said, forcing a smile.
Joe looked to her.
"Maybe you don't have to go home," said Joe. "They'll be organisations clambering over themselves to get you on board one of their own projects."
"I know," she replied. "I just can't help feel like. Like, I'm running away."
"Running away? You're not running away from anything. You would have done this regardless of whether we had been, found out."
"I would have," said Sora.
"Well there you go," said Joe, returning his gaze to the screen. A story had popped up. A photo of a scruffy looking guy stumbling out of a nightclub accompanied it.
"I see our old friend is up to his old tricks," said Joe chuckling.
Sora looked down at the screen. The image of Davis drunk out of his mind with a girl on each arm was all too familiar.
"He'll never learn," she smiled.
Part of her wish she could embrace the lifestyle that had been forced upon them. Davis certainly did.
It was at that point that something altogether unexpected happened. Joe tapped the side of his screen as it began to flicker. A buzzing sound rattled through their ears.
"It's never done this before," said Joe frowning.
Sora was not focused on the laptop. She was far more preoccupied with what was going on in the sky.
Clouds were beginning to form. Not just whispy white ones though. Dark and menacing. The wind whistled ominously.
"Joe," she said slowly, her eyes wide.
"I know," he said, "sponsors gave me the damn thing, I knew I should have brought my own!"
Sora grabbed Joe's head and jerked his gaze upwards. The clouds were now beginning to swirl and dance a vicious ballet. Joe pushed his glasses further up his nose.
The two of them watched as the sky lit up. Thunder rumbled. No rain. Joe's laptop began to vibrate. Lines of code were scrawling the screen. The wind forced him to grab it for fear of it being tossed into the air. The cables holding the canopy upright were straining.
"Sora, we need to move from under here," said Joe, trying to remain calm.
"Joe I'm already out," she shouted over the wind. "Move yourself!"
Joe had been daydreaming. Sora had already scarpered. He picked up his laptop, his utility bag, and scrambled to his feet. Joe was struggling to keep a grip on the psychotic laptop.
Then came a tremendous crash of thunder that made the both of them jump. Screams and crying could be heard from the villagers. Only a couple were still outside, either too in awe to move, or scared stiff.
Then the sky was plunged into a white flash, followed by an almighty bang. Sora had not shielded her eyes and her vision blurred.
"Joe!" she cried.
"Joe!" came a second voice.
Joe's heart skipped a pulse.
"That. That sounded like. . ."
Joe!" Sora screamed. "The school's on fire!"
Joe once again was snapped back into reality. The flames were being fanned by the howling winds and were threatening to leap onto the base. Sora had already set off at a sprint towards the well. She reached it and grabbed the rope, yanking the bucket up as fast as she could. She hauled the bucket up and out and tore back to the school. The wind buffeted against her, stinging her.
And then it didn't.
The wind had stopped. The thunder had ceased. The clouds were departing. She carried on running until she reached the school and tossed the water over the burning timber.
It was fruitless. The water hit the flames and hissed rebelliously.
Sora sunk to her knees, her eyes welling up, as before her she saw her brain child, her raison d'etre, crumbling to the ground. The flames were relentless. It wouldn't take long.
So why weren't the beams crashing to the ground? Why were the walls still upright? Sora looked through sore eyes and tilted her head. She brushed her knees down as she got to her feet.
The flames were indeed licking the entire school. It was ablaze. But the structure still stood firm. This could not have been an ordinary fire, but she had seen the lightning hit. She had seen it with her own eyes.
Hadn't she?
She could feel her breath begin to quicken as the sound of Joe's panicked voice and pounding footsteps got louder.
"Sora!" he shouted. "Get away from the school! It's going to collapse any second!"
Sora began to step towards the school, her eyes fixated on the flames, only stopping when Joe wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He was breathing heavily.
"Sora are you crazy?!" he panted. He looked to the school.
"It's beautiful," she said softly.
Joe took his glasses off and rubbed them on his mucky shirt before replacing them. Sora slipped out of Joe's grip and continued to move towards the school.
"Sora be careful," Joe hissed, but he too began tentatively stepping. Sora had reached the school. She placed one hand on the door. No pain.
"It's ok Joe," she said giddily. "Come on!"
Joe could hardly dare to believe it. He worked with facts and hard research. He had thought he'd left the world of magic mumbo jumbo behind many years ago. Then he remembered the voice that he thought he'd heard, the sight he thought he'd seen on his laptop screen before it had started sparking.
Sora had pushed the door open. A faint, cool whooshing sound swept through the was no damage anywhere. Sora held out her hands in front of her. The flames licked her skin forming patterns in the air.
Joe had poked his head through the door, looking with his mouth slightly agape. He ran a finger down the side of the wall and rubbed it against another finger.
"No trace of anything," he said.
"Joe come and look at this," called Sora.
Joe hesitated, taking another thorough look around, before tiptoeing inside.
"Well," he said, "the school sure looks nice."
He looked to Sora. She had her hands on her knees and was fixated on something on the ground. Joe saddled up to her and looked to where she was looking.
Down on the ground, wedged in deep, was a large black cube, glowing softly.