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Schism
Schism is a word that describes a division into two separate factions or groups. It is also the word that best suits most of what happens in this story. We are started with there being a schism in a class. Half the class wanted to do something, whereas the other half wished for something else to have happened. Even though the class was evenly split, neither half succeeded in being able to get what they wanted, for just as the teacher’s decision was about to become evident, something marvelous yet terrifying happened. The classroom door burst open and in came two different beings both carrying something equally horrid. One being was shaded ghastly green with grains of gorgeously gross gangrene surrounding its lips. There was also what appeared to be red veins spontaneously sprouting from its cranium, for hair. The other was coloured grey and did not have red veins for hair, but instead had what appeared to be miniature morsels of itself clinging onto its skin. Within the classroom there was yet another schism, for one section of the class screamed while the other children just stared with their mouths gaping.
One might wonder what the teacher did when this unique experience occurred. Well, the teacher did the only, somewhat, sensible thing to do: telling the two beings, “Would you kindly, remove yourselves from this place of learning? You must leave before I regrettably have to summon the Headmaster.”
The two beings steadily stared at one other before slowly but surely turning towards the teacher. One being lifted up its horridly haunting object at the naïve teacher and out shot a pronounced purplish glob of goop that landed upon the teacher, who then did the least sensible thing, which was to open her mouth. Not surprisingly the fact that she opened her mouth let the goop seep past her lips and down her throat. As the goop devilishly devoured the simple-minded teacher, the divided class went whole again and all fainted.
At this point in the adventure, we are introduced to the main character, who’s name is Jeremy. He is going to have to lead this unfortunate class to a heavenly haven. To reach this heavenly haven Jeremy will have to be able to take control of numerous shocking situations and aide the weak throughout this disastrous devastation. But, here is the twist: will all the students be able to reach this heavenly haven or will there be a schism that divides the fortunate and the unfortunate?
A second protagonist in this story was a young, innocent girl by the name of Hail. She awoke in a gigantic room on a stiff bench. As she looked around, she found that there was yet another schism, where some of her fellow classmates had either awoken, partially awoken or were totally, undeniably unconscious. She then noticed that she sat on a bench made up of hardened goop, and she whispered to herself, “Oh golly gee, I hope to god this isn’t the same goop as the kind that swallowed Mrs. Artless!”
To her astonishment there was a reply from a boy who sat juxtaposed. The boy’s eyes were so wide, it seemed as if they would roll out of their sockets. He said, “No, I don’t think it’s the same, we haven’t been ‘eaten’ yet and I’ve been awake for what has felt like years. Though this goop is stronger then my grandma’s hugs, there is no way to get up.”
It became apparent that Hail’s mind was not processing the situation properly, for then she asked a ridiculous question, “Do you know where we are?”
“No, as far as I’m concerned we are dead.”
This was far from the truth, though it was a possibility for their future. To continue the story, we must introduce a new word which represents many things to come to this unfortunate, ill-fated class. The word that must be established is atrophy, which means to waste away or wither. The class is not withering, except from maybe hunger since the two insensitive alien beings had kidnapped them before the bell rang for lunch. They were indeed wasting their energy away which they would undoubtedly be in need of later on. As Hail began her atrophy of her energy by painfully crying out for help, in her desperation she threw her head back which, coincidently, just happened to wallop Jeremy in the head and awaken him. As Hail cringed in pain, Jeremy observed his surroundings just as Hail had done previously. When he became aware of their preposterous predicament he immediately tried standing. This was a reasonable action for someone who had not been told that the benches of goop made standing impossible. Another reasonable and sensible action of Jeremy’s was that he did not begin the atrophy of his energy by crying and pleading to the gods in desperation. He also did not throw his head back, therefore Hail did not receive a wallop to her head. He kept his ‘cool’ and then spoke to Hail and the others surrounding them.
“Okay, everyone, we don’t know where we are, how we got here, or how long we will be here for. So let’s not act irrationally alright? Remember that activity we did in class about surviving? Always act as if you will be wherever you are for a long time. True the circumstances in that activity were that we were just stranded on an island and were allowed certain tools, but this situation is similar. We have to calm down and figure a way out.”
Upon hearing Jeremy’s speech, many of his classmates started to become calm. He then explained that they needed to fix the apparent schism in the class. He said, “Okay first thing we have to do is wake everyone up. This is how I think we should do it. Does everyone remember how to play the telephone game? You spread the message along. That is the way we should wake everyone up. Everyone needs to wake up the person beside them and then tell them about the situation we are in and get that person to wake up the person next to them and so on. Don’t worry everyone, we can do this!”
Once the game of ’telephone’ had each student awake and calmed. The once divided class commenced upon devising a way to escape. The conclusion they came to was that nothing could be done while their bottoms were glued to the goop benches.
Just as they came to that conclusion the two beings abruptly appeared and without using words motioned to the students that they needed a volunteer. To follow the same ‘theme’ that this story has been following, there was yet another schism. The students divided themselves to debate who would be the ‘guinea pig’ for these vile, villainous and victimizing beings. Hail got fed up with this schism, and humorously (hoping that if this was her time to go, then she would leave her class smiling in her memory) declared, “Thing One and Thing Two, you and you second, I’ll go where you have beckoned, but never will you cause me fear, for I have saved those I hold dear.”
The being with the spontaneously sprouting veins for hair went to her goop seat and used the horrid object it held and vacuumed up the bench. She was brought over to an elevator, that none of the students had noticed. With a wink to her classmates she disappeared from their view. Jeremy took action once again and came up with an idea of how to escape. “We lost Hail, but before they take another one of us, we have to get out. Okay, so it’s time for the telephone game again, here is the plan.”
The plan appalled many students, but they all agreed that they knew what to do. So, once Jeremy received the response that everyone was ‘game’ he lowered his mouth to the bench of goop and started the long process of sucking up goop, then spitting it out onto the floor. Soon after the whole class had started the slow solution of speedily sucking up the benches of goop. Many of the students that had wasted a lot of energy crying for help and throwing their heads back needed the help of those who had not, but eventually they all succeeded in removing their bottoms from the goop. Jeremy then organized his classmates into groups. Group by group they filed onto the elevator. Once all the students had reached their destination they were stunned, out of the window they could see stars. There were millions upon millions of stars, with huge gapes of darkness between the glittering beacons of hope. This scene should not have shocked the students so significantly since they had been stolen from school and stationed on seats made of slime, there should not have been any single strand of suspicion of their surroundings being space.
Since the class stood in a hall, and most halls have two directions, an organized schism commenced: half going down one hall and the other following the other pathway. The half that was lead by Jeremy fortunately had picked the right hall to follow and eventually came to an end. In their path stood the two beings…
Jeremy’s heart sank, which without a doubt was the same as every other student’s heart. Jeremy thought to himself: “I had done so well. I had been like a general in war! I had rallied my ‘troops’, and had escaped imprisonment. Why? Why, now do I fail? After exiting that elevator and seeing the stars, I felt sure we would escape. I had even been able to see the northern star glistening brilliantly as if it were a torch at the end of a tunnel. Actually I had been sure that was what it had been. It lit up my heart and told me to follow it. Why have you betrayed me? Why did I….” this last thought was cut off for the two beings simultaneously rose their arms and once again without saying anything, pointed towards a palette on the wall, which resembled a clock, that read “0:35 SECS”.
The two beings then pointed to a large thing that appeared to be a submarine with jet engines on it. The students quickly realized what they had to do and rushed to the sub, forgetting all about the fact that they had half their classmates off somewhere else. As they filed inside, there was a surprise waiting for them: their forsaken ‘guinea pig’, Hail! In her hands was the joystick to control the jet-engine submarine. She turned to face them with a huge smile on her face, and with a wink and a flick of her thumb she closed the door behind her class.
“I guess my departing speech before had been for nothing, because I am still alive! Look those ‘things’ taught me how to fly this thing!”
With that she slowly pushed forward on the joystick and they took off from their prison, never to see the other half again, but feeling hopeful that they were safe. Sadly they did not return to Earth, but instead landed on a planet that mysteriously had all the resources they needed to survive. Back on Earth that one class was always remembered as the class that all but disappeared, leaving behind only a puddle of goop on the floor.