“A Medication That Changes the World Starts With Us”
This article was given to us by Inez Castel who we met in downtown Pemota. As we reported a few days ago, there is a conspiracy at Pemota High. This is what it’s all about.
Father Edward Muncie, of the Roman Catholic Church in Pemota, California, is communicating with the Vatican. The Pope has foretold that the events this year at Pemota High will change the world.
According to Muncie, “Whoever has the tattoo of a dog’s paw will bring iniquity to Pemota.”
Ninth grader, Huxley Core, has reportedly eavesdropped on the secret meetings of churchmen within the church, and can confirm that they are taking the premonition very seriously.
This photograph was obtained by Inez Castel and was taken by ninth grader, Rey Naresh. The photograph shows Viola Specks, a ninth grader, with a tattoo of a dog’s paw on her buttocks. It was taken in a desolate home in the woods by Pemota High.
“Viola Specks asked us to have sex with her,” Der Kath said.
“When we said ‘no’ she asked us to hurt her physically. She’s asked a lot people to hurt her physically.”
According to Warren Schmidt, a bartender at The Pub, Viola Specks asked her father to beat her. And upon hearing the news of the evil dog paw rumor, she requested Huxley, Der, and Joe tattoo that image on her.
“Viola Specks was at church and I listened to a conversation she had with her father,” Huxley said. “She came out of the men’s bathroom crying after asking her father to hurt her.”
Father Muncie said, “Viola Specks suffers from sexual confusion, and self-loathing. That’s why she started a rumor about her father beating her.”
Holly North, a ninth grader, has been quoted as saying, “Viola just wants people to feel sorry for her.”
If you are reading this article that means the process has already begun. You are beginning to understand how much better a world is in which ninth graders strive to be particular archetypes. No doubt, you will be visiting the house with the turret in the woods where the picture was taken. Across from the home there are three lemon trees. Each student is to pick one lemon from the trees. Then you are to squeeze it into a glass of water when you get home and drink it. It’s a symbol of your desire to become the archetypes the trees represent – the Special Tree, the Sweet Tree, and the Achievement Tree. In other words, each tree represents an archetype, a type of person, you should strive to be.
Special Child: The Special Child excels at subjects or talents to such a degree as to garner disbelief by peers and educators.
Sweet Child: The Sweet Child is defined by spending time with and reaching out to classmates who are in a lower social standing.
Achievement Child: The Achievement Child maintains a high level of accomplishment through mere effort and intellectual ability.
By seeking these archetypes over the next several months you will begin to change your brain chemistry. And as you will discover, much to your benefit, you will begin to become Sweet, Special, and Achievement Oriented. Higher IQ test scores, more friends, and a happier disposition will be only the beginning. With your help, we will change the entire world. Good luck!
Rey crumpled up the article, realizing the gesture was insufficient for the amount of anger he felt towards Alexa. He threw it in his locker. He grabbed Of Mice and Men, looked at the title for a few seconds, thinking about the vast complexities of the human brain, and the cookie cutter plan Alexa was hatching. He turned to see Christy coming in the double doors. She was wearing green corduroys and a greyish sweater. Her hair was in a ponytail. Rey thought for a moment about how pretty she looked. He turned in the opposite direction and saw Holly North reading the article. “I didn’t say that!” she exclaimed, then looked around as if the entire ninth grade could hear her.
Then Rey saw Jenine Godfrey, whom he’d still yet to have a conversation with, ever since he saw her with Christy and Annette at the park months ago. She walked towards Christy quickly. “Christy, why didn’t you tell me?” Rey knew that Christy and Jenine were good friends, but Christy told him she never told Jenine anything.
“Tell you what?” Christy said.
“Your father is designing the new health club.”
Christy looked relieved. “Yeah, he’s going to do a really good job.”
“”Did you hear about Annette?” Jenine asked.
“Yeah,” Christy said.
“She’s in Spain! Her parents just decided to take her there.”
“That’s just a made up story.” Christy stopped at Rey’s locker. “She’s on a mental health ward. Rey and I are going to go visit her tomorrow.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Call me tonight and we’ll talk about it.”
“Okay. Hey Rey.”
“Hey,” Rey said.
Christy turned her attention to Rey. “What’s new?”
“Alexa is paying people. But I don’t think it’s students. I think it’s parents.”
“Why don’t you think it’s students?”
Rey zipped up his backpack and slammed his locker shut. “No one seems concerned. They just have money.”
“We’re gonna be late for homeroom. Let’s talk at lunch.”
“You probably should look in your locker. And tell as many people as you can that it’s not true.”
“That what’s not true?”
Rey broke into a sprint for homeroom. “Look in your locker and you’ll see.”
The bell rang, just as Rey turned into homeroom. Miss Calida was shuffling papers and seemed oblivious to the many students reading the newsletter. She was oblivious as well to the people staring at Rey. Rey took a seat near the door.
“Der Kath is not as dumb as I thought,” Sam Patton said. “Like the best hoax ever.”
Eliza Martel looked around, and announced, “Der didn’t write it.”
“It’s some kind of chemical in us,” David Benson said.
Miss Calida had stopped shuffling papers. Rey watched realization dawn inside her. Then she began to look worried, and opened her mouth to say something. But before she could, the loudspeaker commanded everyone’s attention.
“You probably noticed the new fence surrounding Pemota High today,” Claudette Laurie said. Miss Calida took a seat and stared at the loudspeaker. Claudette Laurie sounded like she was reading. “Because of the recent wave of vandalism -- in the bathrooms, and at the beginning of school year -- the government has increased our annual funding on the condition that we try a new technology that recognizes paint and emits an electric shock to vandals who are spray painting the outside of the school. Anyone who wishes to vandalize our school will be shocked electrically. Thankyou.”
A smattering of laughter erupted in Rey’s homeroom. “How would that even be possible,” David Benson mumbled.
Miss Calida raised her eyebrows and responded, “I guess that’s one way to go about it.”
Miss Shumana’s voice came from the loudspeaker and gave the afternoon sports schedule.
David leaned towards Rey and whispered, “Rey. Where is the home where you took the picture?”
“It’s in the woods by Pemota High. We found it just by luck. The article isn’t true. Father Muncie made up the rumor.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t like Huxley.”
The bell rang and it was three periods until lunch when Rey would meet up with Christy. In health, Ms. Parker came into class, her jaw set, and the hard look back on her face. As she went through the names for attendance, it seemed clear she was back to her old self. Once again, Ms. Parker had nothing to say about the conspiracy at Pemota High. When lunch arrived, Rey hustled to the lunch room to see Ryan. Sure enough, Ryan was sitting at his standard table.
As soon as Rey sat down there was something he wanted to know. “So Ryan, have you ever given your dog, Simon, Mountain Springs to drink?”
Ryan shook his head. “No.”
“How long have you had him for?” Rey pulled out a sandwich and took a bite.
“I got him at the beginning of the school year.” His eyes smiled. “You think my dog is an Avocadite?”
“You said that when the dog came in contact with electronics there was a humming sound.”
“Do you know what causes it?”
“It’s Mountain Springs or Hochus Mochus.”
“It’s Bartlett Foods, right? Guess what. They also make doggy treats.”
Rey smiled. “No way.”
“This woman is pretty crazy, huh?” He looked down at his sandwich. “Viola says the article isn’t true.”
“And Father Muncie made up the rumor. Tell Viola to tell as many people as she can that the article isn’t true.”
“I’ll go tell her now,” he said as he hopped up.
Rey surveyed the cafeteria. Fordel was sitting at a table of six people which was a surprise. He was wearing his Adirondack jacket, even though it was warm inside. “I tell it like this. My party is gonna have a bitch for every guy there,” Fordel said.
“What’s with Fordel?” Christy said, as she sat next to Rey.
“He’s paying people to be his friend,” Rey said.
Christy laughed. “There’s something I just realized.”
“What?”
“There’s Mountain Springs and Hochus Mochus on the lunch line. They’re on the vegetarian side. I never noticed it before.”
“You think she’s buying the entire school? The administration and everything?”
“The lunch ladies say the school board wants better, healthier options, for the kids to eat. I guess Hochus Mochus and Mountain Springs fit the bill. It’s not much of a crime.” Christy turned around. “Here comes Huxley.”
Rey turned and saw Huxley entering the cafeteria. Huxley kicked a chair free opposite them and sat down. His arms stretched across the table. He was wearing a confident smile. “So we met Inez Castel in downtown Pemota. You guys have any idea who you’re dealing with? Alexa is one of the richest women on Earth.”
“What do you want Huxley?” Christy asked.
“You guys know about the mercenaries?” Huxley asked.
Christy picked up a tangerine slice and popped it in her mouth, looking pensive. “Yeah.”
“Do you know they’re on the police force? They have more power than anyone in this town. Even the school’s administration.”
“The mercenaries are police?” Christy asked.
“They were mercenaries originally. Now, they’re on the police force. My Dad didn’t even know about it. The Pemota Police Station is an outpost with over ten of them. They call themselves “Relatively Righteous.” So cool, right? And they’re on our side.”
“So what do you want?” Rey said.
“We want the tape back.”
“You’re not getting it back,” Rey said.
Huxley’s cell-phone rang. He pulled it out of his front jeans
pocket and flipped it open. “Yeah.” He paused for a few seconds. “Yeah. They’re right here.” Huxley passed the phone to Rey.
Rey put the phone to his ear. “Rey. This is Hunter Bordare. I met you at the house with the turret on Sunday. Do you remember me?”
Rey guessed he was one of the mercenaries who brought the yoga mats. Rey nodded, feeling his Adam’s apple bob. “Yeah.”
“We’re running the show and the stage is full. So if you don’t mind, we’d appreciate it if you let us finish what we’ve started.”
Rey felt his face get hot. “We can’t do that.”
“Well then we’ve got a problem. And we don’t think about our problems. We get rid of them. So I’m going to ask you again. Will you back off?”
Rey lied. “All right.”
“Give the tape back to Huxley and we’ll say, all’s well that ends well.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks.”
Rey handed the cell-phone back to Huxley. He had no intention of backing off, but had decided lying was in Christy and his best interests. Without saying anything to Christy, he reached into his backpack and withdrew the tape. He handed it to Huxley, embarrassed by his hand shaking.
“It’s not right, Huxley,” Christy said. “The entire world is going to be like zombies who have special talents and abilities. No one will be able to feel important feelings.”
Huxley fiddled with the tape. “If they do what Alexa wants the bitterness will go away.”
“But the Avocadonine doesn’t. They won’t be themselves. None of the ninth graders will be. Everyone will be messed up.”
Huxley put the tape in his pocket. “We’re gonna be millionaires. And you guys are going to college being the only people behind the curve. The entire world is going to get on board.” He stood up and walked out, his shoulders further back than usual.
Christy watched him exit the cafeteria and then she slammed her hand down on the table.
“We’re gonna stop them,” Rey said.
“How? We’re just kids.”
“The answer is Spring. We have to do what she wants. We have to figure out what happened to her.”
Christy nodded. “Okay.”
“I’m going to talk to Mr. Chandon after school.”
After lunch, Rey went to his locker to get his Spanish book. When he opened the locker door he didn’t expect someone to have put something in his locker again. There was a small folded note on top of his books. It was written in italicized writing.
Lemon Juice and Purple Dye
- Greg Chandon